Every AI receptionist, priced side by side
Smith.ai and Ruby put people on your phone and bill by the call or the minute. My AI Front Desk, Rosie, Upfirst, GoodCall and Fonio sell AI by the call, the minute or the caller. Here is what each one publishes, next to Allo's AI receptionist at a flat $32 per agent.
Seven answering services, one sheet
Entry prices as each vendor publishes them, with the link to the page we read them on. Per call, per minute and per caller are different meters, so the meter has its own column.
- Who answers
- AI, then your team
- Starts at
- $32 per agent/mo, annual ($45 monthly)
- Billed by
- Flat per agent, no meter
- What it is
- Full team phone system
- Who answers
- AI, human backup
- Starts at
- $150/mo for 75 calls
- Billed by
- Per call, $2.50 each over
- What it is
- Answering service
- Who answers
- People
- Starts at
- $300/mo for 30 calls
- Billed by
- Per call, $11.50 each over
- What it is
- Answering service
- Who answers
- People
- Starts at
- $250/mo for 50 minutes
- Billed by
- Per minute, rounded up
- What it is
- Answering service with an app
- Who answers
- AI
- Starts at
- $99/mo for 200 minutes
- Billed by
- Per minute, $0.25 each over
- What it is
- AI front desk
- Who answers
- AI
- Starts at
- $49/mo for 250 minutes
- Billed by
- Included minutes
- What it is
- Answering service with an app
- Who answers
- AI
- Starts at
- $24.95/mo for 30 calls
- Billed by
- Per call, $1.50 each over
- What it is
- Answering service
- Who answers
- AI
- Starts at
- $79/mo for 100 customers
- Billed by
- Per caller, 79¢ each over
- What it is
- Answering service
- Who answers
- AI
- Starts at
- €119/mo for 1,000 minutes
- Billed by
- Minutes, €15 per 100 extra
- What it is
- AI phone agent
The AI receptionist, on the job
Six businesses, six real calls. Pick yours and listen: the AI books the slot, answers from what the business told it, remembers the caller, or hands the call to a person.
Marlow Family Dental
A hygiene slot offered from the real schedule, booked before the caller hangs up.
Three ways to answer the phone
The services above are not one category. They split on who picks up and on what sits behind the call once it is answered.
People who answer for you
Smith.ai's receptionists and Ruby put a live person on your line. Good for calls that need judgment, and priced like it: about $10 a call on Smith.ai's Starter plan, $5 a minute on Ruby's smallest one.
An AI in front of your number
My AI Front Desk, Rosie, Upfirst, GoodCall and Fonio answer, take the message and book the slot. They sit in front of the phone you already have, and the bill follows a meter: calls, minutes or callers.
An AI inside your phone system
Allo's AI receptionist answers on the same line your team uses. When a caller needs a person it rings your team, and the call, transcript and summary land in your CRM. One flat price per agent.
Why teams pick Allo over an answering service
The receptionist answers. The phone system behind it does the rest.
Answers every call, day or nightThe AI receptionist picks up around the clock, qualifies the caller and books the job, at the same price however many calls come in.
Ringing
Drafts the follow-up for youThe moment the call ends, Allo writes the follow-up email or SMS and updates your CRM. You review, then send.
Hands off to a real personWhen the caller needs someone, the call rings your team on the same line, with recording, routing and analytics built in.
Maya RiveraDirect line RingingAI receptionist alternatives, answered
It depends on which Smith.ai you use. Its AI Receptionist starts at $150 a month for 75 calls on the Pro plan, then $2.50 per extra call. Its live receptionists start at $300 a month for 30 calls, then $11.50 per extra call. Allo's AI receptionist is $32 per agent per month billed annually ($45 month to month), with no per-call charge, and it hands calls to your own team when a person is needed. (Smith.ai pricing from smith.ai, October 2026.)
No. Ruby is a live virtual receptionist service: people answer your calls. Its plans start at $250 a month for 50 minutes, billed per minute and rounded up to the next minute, which works out to $5 a minute on that plan. If most of your calls are routine questions and bookings, an AI receptionist like Allo's handles them for a flat $32 per agent per month. (Ruby pricing from ruby.com, October 2026.)
All three are AI answering services billed against a meter. My AI Front Desk is $99 a month for 200 minutes ($79 billed annually), then $0.25 a minute. Rosie starts at $49 a month for 250 minutes. Upfirst starts at $24.95 a month for 30 calls, then $1.50 a call. Allo's AI receptionist is a flat $32 per agent per month, and it comes with a full phone system for your team: calls in and out, routing, recording and CRM sync. (Prices from each vendor's pricing page, October 2026.)
Because a busy week should not cost more than a quiet one. Allo's AI receptionist is priced per agent, like a seat, so your bill stays the same whether it answers 50 calls in a month or 5,000.
Yes. The AI receptionist is an add-on to any Allo plan. Each Allo plan includes a business number, AI transcription and summaries, and native CRM sync. There are no setup fees and no contracts, and you can try Allo free for 7 days.
Yes. You keep your number and port it to Allo at no cost, and you can run Allo alongside your current answering service while you compare the two.