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AI Receptionist Report

The Top 10

AI receptionists ranked by who they are actually for

A "best overall" that ignores your business is not useful. We rank each provider against the kind of company it serves best, show what we have verified, and withhold numeric scores until our structured call testing is done.

  1. 01TK

    Best Overall for Service Businesses

    Torklio

    Built around what happens after the call: qualification, deterministic booking, screened transfers and one customer history.

    • Designed around what happens after the call: qualification, booking and follow-through, not just answering
    • Deterministic booking against Google/Outlook calendars, so the AI cannot promise a slot that is already taken
    • Phone and website chat share one customer history
    • No outsourced human receptionist pool; escalation goes to your own team
    • SMS features were still listed as 'coming soon' at last check
    • No public developer API documented

    The publisher of this website has a financial interest in Torklio.

    Starting price

    $99/mo

    Editorial PreviewReview
  2. 02SM

    Best for AI With Human Backup

    Smith.ai

    AI handles the routine; live receptionists pick up when the caller needs a person.

    • Real humans can take over when a caller insists on a person
    • Mature company with an established track record
    • Strong fit for law firms and professional-services intake
    • Per-call pricing: $300 for 30 calls ($10 per call) on the entry plan, $11.50 per call over
    • Appointment scheduling and extra CRMs cost extra per call
    • Workflow after the call is less service-trade specific than vertical tools

    Starting price

    $300/mo

    Editorial PreviewReview
  3. 03GC

    Best for Straightforward Small-Business Setup

    Goodcall

    Fast, uncomplicated setup for single-location businesses that mainly need calls answered and captured.

    • Quick to set up for a single-location business
    • Unlimited minutes on every plan, so long calls cost nothing extra
    • Entry price of $79 per agent per month ($66 annual)
    • Metered by unique customers: 100 on Starter, then $0.50 each
    • Starter retains call details for only 7 days
    • No human backup

    Starting price

    $79/mo

    Editorial PreviewReview
  4. 04RO

    Best for Simplicity

    Rosie

    Forward the line, get the message. The least configuration of any option here.

    • Lowest verified entry price in our database: $49 for 250 minutes
    • 7-day free trial on every plan
    • Booking, transfers and in-call texting on the $149 Scale plan
    • Professional plan cannot transfer calls or book directly
    • No overage rate published
    • No human backup

    Starting price

    $49/mo

    Editorial PreviewReview
  5. 05DZ

    Best Budget-Friendly Option

    Dialzara

    The cheapest verified entry point: $29 a month for 60 minutes with a published $0.48/minute overage, scheduling and CRM/calendar integration on every plan.

    • Cheapest verified entry price: $29 for 60 minutes
    • Published per-minute overage on every plan
    • SMS agent and website chatbot bundled
    • Entry plan's 60 minutes covers only a handful of calls
    • Overage of $0.35–$0.48/minute adds up fast
    • Limited public track record

    Starting price

    $29/mo

    Editorial PreviewReview
  6. 06FD

    Best for Small-Business Automation

    Frontdesk

    Calls, texts and chat in one $99 plan with 200 voice minutes, scheduling, transfers, an AI-native CRM and 20+ languages; several feature claims still await verification.

    • $99 plan bundles calls, texts and chat with 200 voice minutes
    • Published credit-based overage ($0.25/minute)
    • No contracts, 7-day trial, 20+ languages
    • 200 minutes is a modest allowance; overage at $0.25/minute
    • The $20 Basic plan cannot answer calls
    • No human backup

    Starting price

    $99/mo

    Editorial PreviewReview
  7. 07SF

    Best Enterprise Voice-Agent Platform

    Synthflow

    Custom inbound and outbound call flows with vendor-led implementation; enterprise contracts only, from $30,000 a year.

    • Custom flows with vendor-led implementation and launch support
    • Enterprise SLA, security review and SIP/telephony options
    • Broad integration scope (CRM, calendar, contact center, API)
    • Enterprise-only pricing from $30,000 per year
    • Not a self-serve product for a small business
    • No trial or monthly plan published

    Starting price

    Pricing verification needed

    Editorial PreviewReview
  8. 08RT

    Best for Developers

    Retell AI

    A voice-agent platform for teams that want to build the receptionist themselves.

    • No monthly platform fee; pay only for minutes used
    • Published component rates and an all-in range
    • 20 concurrent calls and 10 knowledge bases included free
    • Not a finished receptionist — engineering required
    • Effective rate varies four-fold with model and voice choices
    • Ongoing maintenance burden

    Starting price

    $0/mo

    Editorial PreviewReview
  9. 09VP

    Best for Maximum Customization

    Vapi

    Bring your own models, voices and telephony for total control.

    • Deepest customization of any option here
    • Bring your own models and keys to cut pass-through cost to $0
    • Transparent $0.05/min platform fee
    • Requires engineers to build and maintain
    • Model and telephony costs stack on top of the platform fee
    • HIPAA compliance costs $2,000/month extra

    Starting price

    $0/mo

    Editorial PreviewReview
  10. 10SL

    Best for Restaurants

    Slang AI

    Reservations, hours and menu questions handled the way restaurant calls actually go.

    • Purpose-built for restaurant call patterns
    • Reservation-platform integrations named on the pricing page
    • Texting, recordings and summaries on every plan
    • $399 per location per month is the priciest verified entry point here
    • No minute, call or overage figures published
    • Not designed for service businesses or trades

    Starting price

    $399/mo

    Editorial PreviewReview

Full comparison table

Select up to 4 providers
TK
Torklio

Service businesses that need the call to turn into a booked job

Starting price
$99/mo
24/7 answering
Yes
Appointment scheduling
Yes
Call transfers
Yes
Human backup
Partial
CRM integration
Partial
Developer access (API)
Verify
Industry specialization
Yes
Test score
Sample only
Review status
Editorial Preview
SM
Smith.ai

Businesses that want human receptionists behind the AI

Starting price
$300/mo
24/7 answering
Yes†
Appointment scheduling
Yes
Call transfers
Yes†
Human backup
Yes†
CRM integration
Yes
Developer access (API)
Verify
Industry specialization
Partial†
Test score
Sample only
Review status
Editorial Preview
GC
Goodcall

Small businesses that want a simple setup

Starting price
$79/mo
24/7 answering
Yes†
Appointment scheduling
Partial†
Call transfers
Yes†
Human backup
No†
CRM integration
Partial†
Developer access (API)
Partial
Industry specialization
No†
Test score
Sample only
Review status
Editorial Preview
RO
Rosie

Owners who want the simplest possible answering setup

Starting price
$49/mo
24/7 answering
Yes†
Appointment scheduling
Yes
Call transfers
Partial
Human backup
No
CRM integration
Partial
Developer access (API)
No†
Industry specialization
No†
Test score
Sample only
Review status
Editorial Preview

† Not independently verified: based on the provider's public materials or editorial knowledge, not yet checked against a dated source. “Verify” means no data has been entered yet. Test scores appear only when the 10-call challenge has been completed for that provider.