Published prices for AI receptionist software aimed at small businesses run from about $49 a month to around $500 a month, depending on how many minutes or calls you need. Human answering services cost more: Ruby's published plans start at $250 a month for 50 minutes of talk time. What you'll actually pay depends on your call volume, how the vendor counts usage, and whether you set it up yourself or pay someone to set it up and run it.
This post covers real published prices with links, a worked example for a typical contractor, and the costs that don't show up on a pricing page. Prices are as listed on each provider's site in October 2026. They change, so check before you buy.
How do AI receptionists charge?
There are three common models, and they matter more than the headline number.
Per-minute plans sell you a bucket of talk time each month. They're cheap when calls are short and add up when callers ramble. Per-call and per-caller plans charge for each call handled, or for each unique person who calls, which is easier to predict if you know your call count. The third model is a flat monthly price from a provider who sets up and runs the receptionist for you. That's the model Kedvezo uses.
What do the published plans cost?
| Provider | Type | Listed price | What's included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rosie | AI, per minute | $49 / $149 / $299 a month | 250 / 1,000 / 2,000 minutes |
| Goodcall | AI, per caller | $79 / $129 / $299 a month | 100 / 500 / 2,000 unique customers |
| Smith.ai AI Receptionist | AI, per call | Free, Pro from $150, Enterprise from $500 a month | 25 calls free; Pro from 75 calls; Enterprise from 300 calls |
| Ruby | Human, per minute | $250 / $395 / $720 / $1,725 a month | 50 / 100 / 200 / 500 minutes |
| Smith.ai Virtual Receptionists | Human, per call | $300 / $810 / $2,100 a month | 30 / 90 / 300 calls |
A few details from those pages are worth knowing. Goodcall says extra customers bill at your plan's own rate and that it never meters minutes. Smith.ai's AI plans charge for calls over your allowance, $2.50 per extra call on the 75-call Pro tier, and its human plans charge $8.50 to $11.50 per extra call depending on the plan. Ruby says larger plans are available if you talk to them.
What would a typical contractor pay?
Take a three-truck HVAC company that wants the receptionist to handle overflow and after-hours calls. Say that's 120 calls a month, averaging three minutes each, for 360 minutes of talk time.
- Rosie: 360 minutes is over the 250-minute plan, so you'd need the 1,000-minute plan at $149 a month.
- Goodcall: 120 calls from roughly 100 unique callers fits around the Starter plan at $79, with extra callers billed at the plan's rate.
- Smith.ai AI Receptionist: Pro at $150 covers 75 calls. The other 45 at $2.50 each add $112.50, for about $262.50 a month on that tier.
- Ruby (human): 360 minutes is over the 200-minute plan, so you'd need the 500-minute plan at $1,725 a month.
- Smith.ai Virtual Receptionists (human): Basic at $810 covers 90 calls. The other 30 at $10.50 each add $315, for about $1,125 a month.
So for the same calls, the published AI options in this example land between roughly $79 and $263 a month, and the published human options land between roughly $1,125 and $1,725. Your numbers will be different, but the gap is usually that wide.
What isn't on the pricing page?
The software price is only part of the cost. With a DIY tool, you also pay in time and setup:
- Someone has to write the script: decide what the receptionist asks, what it says about pricing, what counts as an emergency, and when to transfer. Get this wrong and it books the wrong jobs or sends routine calls to your cell at midnight.
- Your calendar and transfers have to be connected. Booking only works if it can see real availability. Transfers only work if the right people's numbers and hours are set up.
- Texting needs registration. If you want missed-call text-back or text confirmations, U.S. carriers require A2P 10DLC registration for business texting. That means registration fees and paperwork. The missed-call text-back guide explains it.
- It needs tuning. The first few weeks always turn up questions it can't answer and calls it routes wrong. Someone has to read the transcripts and fix them.
None of that is hard, but it adds up to hours you'd otherwise spend on jobs, and that time is what a managed plan costs extra to cover.
DIY or done for you?
DIY makes sense if you like setting up software, your calls are simple, and you'll actually review transcripts every week. The tools above are real products, and the prices are low.
Done for you makes sense if you'd rather not touch it. A managed service costs more than the cheapest software plan, because you're paying for someone to write the script, connect everything, handle texting compliance, watch the calls, and fix what goes wrong. Ask any managed provider exactly what's included, whether there are overage charges, and whether there's a contract.
What does Kedvezo charge?
We don't publish a price, because the right number depends on your call volume and what you need. Kedvezo's AI receptionist is one flat monthly price, quoted on a 15-minute call, month to month, with no overage charges. It includes the setup, the script, the calendar and transfer rules, missed-call text-back if you want it, and a report every month. Pricing has the details.
The fastest way to judge whether it's worth it is to call (352) 450-5262. Kedvezo's own receptionist answers, and that's the product.