The AI Phone Answering Services: Compared for Small Businesses
An AI phone answering service picks up your business calls, answers common questions, takes messages and books appointments. In our directory, Goodcall, Rosie and Smith.ai handle general service-business calls, while TakeOrder.ai takes restaurant orders. Every price below comes from the vendor's own page.
Last checked: . Not affiliated with the companies listed.
How we picked and checked these
Each tool is an active listing in our Voice and Phone category. Every fact below is taken from the vendor's own pages, linked on each tool page, and dated. None of these tools were tested by us, so each is labelled "Based on public information — not tested". Read what our checks promise. Order within a group is fixed, never by payment.
Pricing models: per month, per minute or built into software
Three models appear in the listings. Flat monthly plans with a usage cap, such as Rosie (250 minutes a month) and Goodcall (100 unique customers a month). Per-minute platforms such as Vapi, Retell AI and Bland AI, where cost depends on the voice and model you choose. Add-ons inside field-service software, such as Jobber's AI Receptionist add-on, which sits on top of a plan. A per-minute price looks cheap but can grow with call volume; compare it with your real number of calls.
Comparison table
For service businesses that miss calls
| Tool | Best for | Free plan | Easy-Start | Pricing summary (vendor) | Our label |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goodcall | Small service businesses that miss calls and want an AI receptionist. | No | 6/10 | From $79/month (Starter, 100 unique customers/mo); Growth $129/mo; Scale $299/mo; Enterprise volume pricing | Based on public information — not tested |
| MyAIFrontDesk | Small service businesses that miss calls and want appointments booked automatically. | No | 6/10 | Business-in-a-Box $99/mo billed monthly or $79/mo billed annually; Partner/Enterprise custom; 7-day free trial | Based on public information — not tested |
| Rosie | Small service businesses that miss calls and want them answered and booked. | No | 8/10 | Professional $49/mo (250 minutes, appointment links by text); Scale $149/mo (1,000 minutes, books directly on your calendar, warm and live transfers); Growth $299/mo (2,000 minutes, waterfall transfers, custom training, white-glove onboarding). Annual billing gives 2 months free; 7-day free trial. | Based on public information — not tested |
| Smith.ai | Small businesses and law firms that miss calls and want them answered and booked automatically. | Yes | 8/10 | AI Receptionist: Free $0/mo (25 real calls/mo, $3 per extra call); Pro from $150/mo (75 calls); Enterprise from $500/mo (300 calls); billed per call, month-to-month, 30 days' notice to cancel. Human receptionist plans from $300/mo | Based on public information — not tested |
Field-service software with AI call answering
| Tool | Best for | Free plan | Easy-Start | Pricing summary (vendor) | Our label |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jobber | Home service businesses that want scheduling, invoicing and an AI phone receptionist in one system. | No | 8/10 | Core from $29/mo billed annually ($49/mo monthly, no commitment); higher plans up to $699/mo; AI Receptionist add-on $29/mo | Based on public information — not tested |
| Housecall Pro | Home service contractors who want scheduling, invoicing and AI call answering in one system. | No | 6/10 | Basic $59/mo, Essentials $149/mo, Max $299/mo billed annually (higher if billed monthly); 14-day free trial | Based on public information — not tested |
| Workiz | HVAC, plumbing, electrical, locksmith and other home-service companies that miss calls and want an AI receptionist built into the same system that schedules, dispatches and invoices jobs. | No | 4/10 | Not published; plans (Standard, Pro, Ultimate) say 'Request pricing' via a demo request. Genius Answering, Genius Phone and Genius Marketing are add-ons sold separately. 7-day free trial, no credit card. | Based on public information — not tested |
| Broadly | Local service businesses such as HVAC, plumbing, roofing, auto repair, dental and legal offices that want reviews, chat, texts and calls handled by one done-for-you AI package. | Yes | 8/10 | Free $0/month (no agreement, no setup fee). AI Voice $199/month + $99 setup; AI Front Desk $299/month + $250 setup; 24/7 AI Workforce $699/month + $500 setup. Paid packages are a 12-month agreement billed monthly; prepay the year and pay for 10 months (AI Voice $1,990, AI Front Desk $2,990, AI Workforce $6,990). Multi-location: priced per location, quote via Vendasta. | Based on public information — not tested |
Restaurants
| Tool | Best for | Free plan | Easy-Start | Pricing summary (vendor) | Our label |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TakeOrder AI | Independent restaurants and pizza shops on Toast, Square or Clover that want every phone order taken, with a 14-day trial before paying. | No | 6/10 | Starter $199/mo (500 calls/month); Professional $399/mo (unlimited calls); Enterprise custom. 14-day free trial, no credit card, no contract. | Based on public information — not tested |
| Foreva AI | Restaurants on Square or Clover that miss phone orders at busy times and want an AI to take them straight into the POS. | No | 4/10 | POS Integration from $250/mo; Complete Solution from $250/mo. No setup fees, cancel anytime (vendor). FAQ says final pricing depends on size and features. | Based on public information — not tested |
| Virnika (Agent Penny) | Restaurants with busy to-go phone lines. | No | 2/10 | $300/month per location including 700 talk minutes, then $0.43/min; month to month, no setup fee; 10+ locations: custom (talk to sales) | Based on public information — not tested |
| Slang.ai | Restaurants that want phone calls and reservation requests answered without staff. | No | 4/10 | Core starting at $399 per location; Premium starting at $599 per location; Enterprise custom (quote required, billing period not stated) | Based on public information — not tested |
Build your own phone agent (needs developer work)
| Tool | Best for | Free plan | Easy-Start | Pricing summary (vendor) | Our label |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vapi | Developers and product teams building custom phone agents into their own software. | No | 8/10 | Pay as you go from $0 with $5 free credits ($0.05/min Vapi hosting plus provider costs, 1 free inbound US number); Core $29/mo prepaid; Pro 10% of hosting fee, $999/mo minimum; Premier custom | Based on public information — not tested |
| Retell AI | Businesses and developers building custom AI phone agents for support, booking or outbound calling. | No | 6/10 | Pay as you go: $0.07-$0.31/min for voice agents, $0.002+/message for chat agents; $10 in free credits to start; Enterprise custom | Based on public information — not tested |
| ElevenLabs Agents | Teams and developers building custom voice agents for support, scheduling or sales. | Yes | 10/10 | Free plan ($0/mo, 15 minutes of calls); Starter $6/mo; Creator $22/mo; Pro $99/mo; Scale $299/mo; Business $990/mo (first-month discounts on Starter and Creator); extra calls $0.080/min; LLM and telephony billed separately; Enterprise custom | Based on public information — not tested |
| Bland AI | Enterprises in regulated industries automating high-volume phone calls. | No | 6/10 | Start: $0.14/min, $0 platform fee; Build: $0.12/min plus $299/month platform fee; Enterprise: custom (talk to our team); call transfer time billed extra ($0.05/min Start, $0.04/min Build) | Based on public information — not tested |
Prices change. Confirm on each vendor's own pricing page.
Best for service businesses that miss calls
Goodcall
AI phone agent that answers business calls, captures leads, books appointments and texts call details.
- Good for: Small service businesses that miss calls and want an AI receptionist.
- Watch out: No free plan; you can test a demo agent free but pay once a phone number is connected.
- Price (vendor, checked 2026-10-20): From $79/month (Starter, 100 unique customers/mo); Growth $129/mo; Scale $299/mo; Enterprise volume pricing
MyAIFrontDesk
AI receptionist that answers calls, texts and chats, qualifies leads and books appointments for small businesses.
- Good for: Small service businesses that miss calls and want appointments booked automatically.
- Watch out: Plan includes capped usage (e.g. 200 voice minutes/mo); overage billed per credit.
- Price (vendor, checked 2026-10-20): Business-in-a-Box $99/mo billed monthly or $79/mo billed annually; Partner/Enterprise custom; 7-day free trial
Rosie
AI answering service that answers business calls 24/7, books appointments and sends call summaries.
- Good for: Small service businesses that miss calls and want them answered and booked.
- Watch out: No free plan (7-day trial only); plans are capped by monthly minutes. Booking directly on your calendar and live/warm transfers start on the Scale plan ($149/mo); Professional only texts appointment links. US phone numbers only.
- Price (vendor, checked 2026-10-24): Professional $49/mo (250 minutes, appointment links by text); Scale $149/mo (1,000 minutes, books directly on your calendar, warm and live transfers); Growth $299/mo (2,000 minutes, waterfall transfers, custom training, white-glove onboarding). Annual billing gives 2 months free; 7-day free trial.
Smith.ai
AI receptionist that answers calls 24/7, qualifies callers and books appointments, with optional live human agents.
- Good for: Small businesses and law firms that miss calls and want them answered and booked automatically.
- Watch out: Free AI plan is limited to 25 real calls per month; human escalation costs extra.
- Price (vendor, checked 2026-11-08): AI Receptionist: Free $0/mo (25 real calls/mo, $3 per extra call); Pro from $150/mo (75 calls); Enterprise from $500/mo (300 calls); billed per call, month-to-month, 30 days' notice to cancel. Human receptionist plans from $300/mo
Best if you already use field-service software
If you run jobs, quotes and invoices in one system, an AI answering add-on can keep everything in one place. The trade-off is that you pay for the whole platform.
Jobber
Field service software for home service businesses, with an AI receptionist add-on that answers calls and texts and books visits.
- Good for: Home service businesses that want scheduling, invoicing and an AI phone receptionist in one system.
- Watch out: No free plan (14-day trial); the AI Receptionist is a paid add-on on top of a plan.
- Price (vendor, checked 2026-11-01): Core from $29/mo billed annually ($49/mo monthly, no commitment); higher plans up to $699/mo; AI Receptionist add-on $29/mo
Housecall Pro
Field service software for home service businesses with a CSR AI agent that answers calls and books jobs.
- Good for: Home service contractors who want scheduling, invoicing and AI call answering in one system.
- Watch out: No free plan (14-day trial only); full product is broader than the AI agent and priced as a whole platform.
- Price (vendor, checked 2026-10-24): Basic $59/mo, Essentials $149/mo, Max $299/mo billed annually (higher if billed monthly); 14-day free trial
Workiz
Field-service software for home-service businesses with Genius Answering, an AI receptionist that answers calls, texts and web leads 24/7 and books jobs straight into the schedule.
- Good for: HVAC, plumbing, electrical, locksmith and other home-service companies that miss calls and want an AI receptionist built into the same system that schedules, dispatches and invoices jobs.
- Watch out: Plan prices are not shown on the pricing page (each plan says 'Request pricing'). Genius Answering is an add-on sold separately. The page lists English, Spanish and French in one place but only English and Spanish in its FAQ.
- Price (vendor, checked 2026-10-17): Not published; plans (Standard, Pro, Ultimate) say 'Request pricing' via a demo request. Genius Answering, Genius Phone and Genius Marketing are add-ons sold separately. 7-day free trial, no credit card.
Broadly
AI workforce for local service businesses: an AI receptionist for web chat, texts and (on Premium) phone calls, AI review replies and requests, and AI-written marketing and social posts.
- Good for: Local service businesses such as HVAC, plumbing, roofing, auto repair, dental and legal offices that want reviews, chat, texts and calls handled by one done-for-you AI package.
- Watch out: Paid packages ($199–$699/month) need a 12-month agreement plus a one-time setup fee ($99–$500); the AI phone and front-desk agents are in the paid packages. Not tested by us.
- Price (vendor, checked 2026-11-08): Free $0/month (no agreement, no setup fee). AI Voice $199/month + $99 setup; AI Front Desk $299/month + $250 setup; 24/7 AI Workforce $699/month + $500 setup. Paid packages are a 12-month agreement billed monthly; prepay the year and pay for 10 months (AI Voice $1,990, AI Front Desk $2,990, AI Workforce $6,990). Multi-location: priced per location, quote via Vendasta.
Best for restaurants taking phone orders
TakeOrder AI
Voice AI for restaurants that answers the phone, takes orders with upsells and sends them to the POS, with drive-thru, kiosk and reservation options on higher plans.
- Good for: Independent restaurants and pizza shops on Toast, Square or Clover that want every phone order taken, with a 14-day trial before paying.
- Watch out: Starter is capped at 500 calls/month, English only and 1 POS. The team finishes setup by phone after you sign up. The page is inconsistent on how many POS systems are supported, so confirm yours.
- Price (vendor, checked 2026-10-17): Starter $199/mo (500 calls/month); Professional $399/mo (unlimited calls); Enterprise custom. 14-day free trial, no credit card, no contract.
Foreva AI
AI voice agent for restaurants that answers phone calls 24/7, takes food orders and sends them into Square or Clover with the menu synced automatically.
- Good for: Restaurants on Square or Clover that miss phone orders at busy times and want an AI to take them straight into the POS.
- Watch out: Only Square and Clover are supported today (others 'coming soon'). Prices are 'from' figures and the FAQ says pricing depends on business size and features. Signup path is not clearly self-serve.
- Price (vendor, checked 2026-10-24): POS Integration from $250/mo; Complete Solution from $250/mo. No setup fees, cancel anytime (vendor). FAQ says final pricing depends on size and features.
Virnika (Agent Penny)
AI phone agent for restaurants that takes to-go orders, processes payment and sends orders to the POS.
- Good for: Restaurants with busy to-go phone lines.
- Watch out: No free plan or trial listed; minutes beyond 700/month are billed at $0.43/min.
- Price (vendor, checked 2026-10-15): $300/month per location including 700 talk minutes, then $0.43/min; month to month, no setup fee; 10+ locations: custom (talk to sales)
Slang.ai
Voice AI that answers restaurant phone calls 24/7, handles reservations and routes VIP guests to staff.
- Good for: Restaurants that want phone calls and reservation requests answered without staff.
- Watch out: No free plan or trial; pricing is per location and requires a quote.
- Price (vendor, checked 2026-10-24): Core starting at $399 per location; Premium starting at $599 per location; Enterprise custom (quote required, billing period not stated)
Best for developers building their own
These are platforms, not finished answering services. Use them only if someone on your team can build and maintain the agent.
Vapi
Developer platform for building, testing and deploying voice AI agents that make and answer phone calls.
- Good for: Developers and product teams building custom phone agents into their own software.
- Watch out: Needs developer setup; total per-minute cost adds model, voice, transcription and telephony fees on top of Vapi hosting.
- Price (vendor, checked 2026-10-17): Pay as you go from $0 with $5 free credits ($0.05/min Vapi hosting plus provider costs, 1 free inbound US number); Core $29/mo prepaid; Pro 10% of hosting fee, $999/mo minimum; Premier custom
Retell AI
Platform for building, deploying and managing AI voice agents that handle inbound and outbound phone calls.
- Good for: Businesses and developers building custom AI phone agents for support, booking or outbound calling.
- Watch out: No free plan (only $10 starter credits); per-minute cost varies with the chosen LLM, voice and telephony.
- Price (vendor, checked 2026-10-20): Pay as you go: $0.07-$0.31/min for voice agents, $0.002+/message for chat agents; $10 in free credits to start; Enterprise custom
ElevenLabs Agents
Platform for building and deploying conversational AI agents for phone, web, chat and email.
- Good for: Teams and developers building custom voice agents for support, scheduling or sales.
- Watch out: Usage-based costs; LLM and telephony charges are extra; needs setup work.
- Price (vendor, checked 2026-10-16): Free plan ($0/mo, 15 minutes of calls); Starter $6/mo; Creator $22/mo; Pro $99/mo; Scale $299/mo; Business $990/mo (first-month discounts on Starter and Creator); extra calls $0.080/min; LLM and telephony billed separately; Enterprise custom
Bland AI
Enterprise voice AI platform for building, running and monitoring AI phone agents for inbound and outbound calls.
- Good for: Enterprises in regulated industries automating high-volume phone calls.
- Watch out: Pay-per-minute usage pricing; no free plan, and enterprise rollouts typically take weeks.
- Price (vendor, checked 2026-10-20): Start: $0.14/min, $0 platform fee; Build: $0.12/min plus $299/month platform fee; Enterprise: custom (talk to our team); call transfer time billed extra ($0.05/min Start, $0.04/min Build)
When a human answering service is better
Smith.ai lists human receptionist plans from $300/mo next to its AI plans. If callers often need judgement, empathy or complex intake, ask a vendor how and when a call is handed to a person, and what that costs extra.
What to check before you choose
- How many calls or minutes the plan includes, and what overage costs.
- Whether it can transfer a live call to you or your staff.
- How it books appointments, and which calendar or software it connects to.
- Call recording and caller-consent settings, and whether callers are told it is an AI.
- Whether you can try it free first, and whether a card or sales call is needed.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get AI to answer my calls?
Yes. Goodcall, Rosie, My AI Front Desk and Smith.ai each list an AI that answers business calls and books appointments. Some also text you the call details. Callers should be told they are speaking to an AI where required, so check each vendor's consent settings.
How much does an AI answer cost?
Published starting prices differ a lot: Rosie from $49/mo (250 minutes), Goodcall from $79/mo, My AI Front Desk $99/mo billed monthly, Smith.ai Pro from $150/mo. Restaurant tools start higher, at $199 to $399 a month. Confirm current prices on each vendor's own pricing page.
Which voice agent is the best?
It depends on your business. Service businesses that miss calls fit Goodcall, Rosie, My AI Front Desk or Smith.ai; restaurants fit the order-taking tools; developers fit Vapi or Retell AI. We do not rank by payment, and none of these are tested by us.
Is there a free AI phone assistant available?
Two listed tools have a free plan: Smith.ai's AI Receptionist is free for 25 real calls a month, and ElevenLabs Agents includes 15 minutes of calls on its free plan. Most others offer only a short trial or paid plans, so check the vendor's page.
Want it set up for you?
If you would rather not configure a phone agent yourself, our setup service for local service businesses can do it. See also our guide to AI receptionists: cost and setup and the full Voice and Phone category.
