How Much Does an AI Receptionist Cost? (2026 Pricing Guide)

There's a contractor somewhere reading this who missed three calls today. All three called someone else. At an average ticket of $800, that's $2,400 gone. Not this month. Today.

So you start Googling "AI receptionist" or "answering service for contractors" and you find prices ranging from $29/month to $1,400/month. That's a 48x difference. For the same basic job: answering your phone when you can't.

Except it's not the same job. Some of these services take a message and send you a text. Others answer the phone, ask the right questions, check your calendar, and book the appointment while the homeowner is still on the line. The gap between those two things is the difference between capturing revenue and losing it.

This guide covers every major option -- traditional answering services, AI receptionists, hybrid solutions -- with real prices, real hidden fees, and the math on what each one actually costs per lead captured. No affiliate links. No sponsored rankings. Just the numbers.

The price range (it's wild)

Before we get into individual services, here's the landscape:

That range exists because "phone answering" means completely different things depending on who you're paying:

• $29-49/month: Basic AI. Picks up. Takes a message. Sends you a text. Done.
• $59-199/month: Mid-tier AI. Answers, captures info, maybe does basic scheduling. Some trade awareness.
• $229-799/month: Full-service AI. Answers, qualifies, books on your calendar, handles emergencies, filters spam. Purpose-built for your trade.
• $800-1,400/month: Traditional answering services with live humans. Takes messages. Charges per minute. Your July bill alone could cover six months of AI.

The question isn't "what's the cheapest option?" The question is "what's the cheapest option that actually books jobs?" Because a $29/month service that takes messages doesn't help when a homeowner's AC dies at 2pm and they need someone today. They're not waiting for your callback. They're calling the next guy.

Traditional answering service pricing

Before AI entered the picture, there were two options: hire someone to sit at a desk, or pay an answering service. Most contractors went with answering services. Here's what that actually costs in 2026.

How traditional services charge

Almost every human answering service uses per-minute billing. Not per-call. Per-minute. That distinction matters because a one-minute "I'll have someone call you back" costs less than a five-minute conversation where the operator tries to capture job details. You're paying for talk time, not outcomes.

*Based on a typical contractor handling 100-200 calls/month with average call duration of 2-4 minutes

The summer problem

Here's where per-minute billing destroys contractors. Your call volume doubles or triples in summer. That $500/month bill in March becomes $1,200 in July. Your busiest month -- the one where you're making the most money -- is also your most expensive month for answering. You're getting punished for being successful.

An HVAC contractor running 250 calls in July at an average of 3 minutes per call, at $1.10/minute, pays $825 in overage charges alone. On top of whatever the base fee is. That's more than most AI receptionists cost for the entire year.

What you get (and don't get)

• You get: A human voice answering the phone. Message-taking. Basic call screening. Maybe bilingual support.
• You don't get: Appointment booking. Emergency dispatch to your on-call tech. Trade-specific questions ("What brand is the unit? How old is it?"). Spam filtering. Calendar integration. CRM updates.

The human takes a message. You call back. By then, the homeowner with a burst pipe has already booked someone else. You paid $3-5 for a message that went nowhere.

For a deeper comparison, see our full answering service pricing breakdown and AI receptionist vs. answering service comparison.

AI receptionist pricing: every major player

Here's every AI receptionist service worth knowing about in 2026, with real pricing. Not "contact us for a quote" nonsense. Actual numbers.

Dialzara -- $29/month

The cheapest dedicated AI answering service on the market. Dialzara picks up calls, captures caller information, and handles basic scheduling. Plans scale from $29/month to about $99/month for more minutes and features. Per-minute overage charges kick in if you exceed your plan.

• Customizable AI voice and scripts
• Call transcripts sent to you
• Basic appointment scheduling
• No trade-specific training
• No emergency dispatch
• Limited integrations with field service software

Real cost at 150 calls/month: $49-99 depending on plan, plus potential overage fees. Roughly $0.33-0.66 per call.

IsOn24 -- $39/month

A newer player focused on small businesses. IsOn24 answers calls, takes messages, and can handle simple appointment requests. The $39/month base is attractive, but the feature set is thin. You get an AI that picks up and captures information. That's about it.

• 24/7 call answering
• Message capture and forwarding
• Simple scheduling
• No trade-specific knowledge
• No emergency handling
• Limited customization

Real cost at 150 calls/month: $39-79 depending on tier. Roughly $0.26-0.53 per call.

Rosie AI -- $49/month

Rosie markets to small businesses including some contractor verticals. Plans start at $49/month with call limits, scaling up to $99-199/month for higher volume. Overage charges apply when you exceed your plan. The AI is reasonably natural-sounding and can do basic calendar booking.

• Clean call answering with customizable greetings
• Calendar integration for booking
• Text message follow-ups
• Call transcripts and summaries
• Partial trade awareness (not deep)
• No emergency dispatch

Real cost at 150 calls/month: $99-199 depending on plan tier. Roughly $0.66-1.33 per call. Watch the overage charges during summer.

Read our full Rosie AI comparison.

Goodcall -- $59-199/month

Backed by Google, Goodcall has solid voice AI technology. Callers often can't tell they're talking to a machine. Plans are generally flat-rate within tiers, which is better than per-call billing. The platform is general-purpose though -- built for restaurants, salons, and professional services as much as for contractors.

• Google-powered voice AI (very natural)
• Automated appointment scheduling
• SMS follow-ups and confirmations
• Handles simultaneous calls (no hold times)
• General-purpose -- not trained on trade terminology
• No emergency dispatch
• DIY setup (you build the scripts)

Real cost at 150 calls/month: $99-199 (flat rate). Roughly $0.66-1.33 per call.

Read our full Goodcall comparison.

My AI Front Desk -- $79/month

My AI Front Desk targets small businesses that need basic phone coverage. The $79/month price includes unlimited calls on most plans, which is a solid deal if volume is your concern. The trade-off is that the AI is fairly generic and setup is entirely self-service.

• Unlimited calls on higher plans
• Appointment booking via calendar sync
• Custom greeting and FAQ handling
• Text message notifications
• General-purpose AI (no trade training)
• Self-service setup and configuration
• No emergency dispatch

Real cost at 150 calls/month: $79 (flat). Roughly $0.53 per call. Good value if basic coverage is all you need.

Read our full My AI Front Desk comparison.

Jobber AI Receptionist -- $99/month add-on

If you already use Jobber for field service management, their AI receptionist plugs directly into your existing system. It answers calls and can create jobs and book appointments within Jobber's ecosystem. The catch: it's an add-on to your existing Jobber subscription, not a standalone product. So the real cost is your Jobber plan ($69-349/month) plus $99.

• Direct Jobber integration (native)
• Creates jobs and quotes automatically
• Books into your Jobber schedule
• Only works with Jobber (not standalone)
• Limited customization compared to dedicated AI services
• No emergency dispatch

Real cost at 150 calls/month: $99 add-on (plus your Jobber subscription). Total: $168-448/month. Roughly $1.12-2.99 per call including the base Jobber cost.

LeadTruffle -- $229/month

LeadTruffle is specifically built for home service businesses and connects with Thumbtack, Angi, and HomeAdvisor. It's more of a lead management platform than a phone receptionist. The AI captures caller information and qualifies leads, but appointments are booked after the call via text follow-up, not during the live conversation.

• Built for home services (understands the industry)
• Thumbtack/Angi/HomeAdvisor integrations
• Lead qualification with trade-specific questions
• CRM-style dashboard
• Follow-up sequences via text and email
• Books AFTER the call, not during
• No emergency dispatch
• Higher tiers: $399-599/month for multi-location

Real cost at 150 calls/month: $229 (flat rate). Roughly $1.53 per call. Best value if you heavily use Thumbtack/Angi.

Call2Calendar -- $299-799/month

This is us, so take it with whatever grain of salt you want. Call2Calendar is the only AI receptionist built from the ground up for home service contractors. The AI -- Jessica -- is trained on HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, and general contracting terminology. She books appointments during the live call, dispatches emergencies to your on-call tech within 30 seconds, and filters spam so you only hear about real jobs.

• Trade-specific AI (knows what a compressor is, what a tripping breaker means, what a slab leak is)
• Books appointments during the call (not after)
• Emergency dispatch in 30 seconds (conferences homeowner and your tech)
• Spam filtering
• Done-for-you setup (we configure everything for your business)
• Flat pricing. No per-call, per-minute, or overage charges.
• Your July bill is the same as your January bill

Real cost at 150 calls/month: $299-799 depending on plan. Roughly $2.00-5.33 per call. The per-call cost drops significantly at higher volume because pricing is flat.

Smith.ai -- $292.50/month (30 calls)

Smith.ai is the big name in virtual receptionists, combining AI with live human operators. The humans step in when conversations get complex. It's well-regarded in the legal and professional services world. Not built for contractors, but the human backup is genuine added value.

• AI + human hybrid (humans handle complex calls)
• Appointment booking through calendar tools
• CRM integrations (Salesforce, HubSpot)
• Bilingual support (English/Spanish)
• 30 calls included at base price. Additional calls: $9.75 each.
• Not trained on trade terminology
• Limited emergency dispatch

Real cost at 150 calls/month: $292.50 base + (120 extra calls x $9.75) = $1,462.50/month. That's $9.75 per call.

Read our full Smith.ai comparison.

Full comparison table

Every service. Side by side. Pay attention to the "Books During Call" and "Trade-Specific" columns. Those are the features that separate tools built for contractors from tools built for everybody.

*Per-call cost calculated at 150 calls/month. Your actual cost depends on volume and plan tier.

What you actually get at each price point

Price means nothing without context. A $29/month service that takes a message isn't the same product as a $299/month service that books jobs. Here's what each tier actually delivers.

Cost-per-lead: the number that actually matters

Monthly price is the wrong way to evaluate these services. The right way is cost per lead that turns into a booked job. And that number changes everything.

Here's why: A $29/month service that captures 150 calls but only converts 10% into booked appointments costs $1.93 per booked job. Sounds cheap. But a $299/month service that converts 35% of those same calls into booked jobs costs $5.70 per booked job -- and you just booked 37 more appointments.

Look at that last column. The answering service costs $44-67 to generate one booked job. The premium AI costs $5-7. Even though the monthly sticker price is lower for the answering service on some plans, the cost per outcome is 7-10x higher.

The cheapest option per booked job isn't the $29/month service. It's whatever service has the highest conversion rate relative to its price. For most contractors doing 100+ calls/month, that math points toward the mid-tier or premium AI options.

Hidden costs that'll wreck your budget

The advertised price is rarely the real price. Here's what doesn't show up on the pricing page.

1. Setup fees

Some services charge $100-500 for initial setup and configuration. Others include it. Ask before you sign. Traditional answering services are particularly bad about this -- $200-300 setup fees are common, and you'll pay it again if you change your script significantly.

2. Per-minute and per-call overages

The biggest budget killer. A service that advertises "$49/month" but includes only 100 minutes will cost $150+ when your phone blows up on a Monday morning. Services with overage charges include: Rosie AI, Dialzara (some plans), Smith.ai ($9.75/call over base), and every traditional answering service.

How to protect yourself: Ask what the bill would be at 2x and 3x your normal call volume. If the answer doubles or triples the price, you're going to hate that service in July.

3. Integration fees

Connecting to your calendar or CRM is sometimes extra. Some services charge $20-50/month for "premium integrations" with tools like ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro, or Jobber. Others include it. If you're paying for an AI that books appointments but can't connect to your actual calendar, what's the point?

4. Number porting or dedicated numbers

Some services give you a new phone number and require callers to reach you through it. Others let you forward your existing number. A few charge $10-25/month for a dedicated local number. If you need to keep your existing business number (you do), confirm that call forwarding is supported and what it costs.

5. Contract lock-in

Annual contracts at a "discount" that you can't escape. Monthly pricing is higher but lets you leave if the service doesn't work. Watch for 12-month commitments with early termination fees. For a service you've never used, month-to-month is always worth the extra cost.

6. The cost of NOT having key features

This one doesn't show up on any invoice, but it's the biggest cost of all. A service without emergency dispatch costs you every after-hours plumbing emergency that goes to voicemail. A service without trade training costs you every caller who hangs up because the AI couldn't understand their problem. A service that books after the call instead of during costs you every impatient homeowner who books with the next company.

These "missing feature" costs don't appear on your bill. They appear in the jobs you never knew about.

ROI math: what missed calls actually cost you

Forget monthly pricing for a second. Here's the math that matters: what are missed calls costing you right now, and does ANY of these services pay for itself?

The contractor missed-call equation

Read that again. $15,840 to $26,400 per month. Gone. Not because you're bad at your job. Because your hands were full, you were in a crawlspace, or you were on another call. The math uses conservative numbers -- a $800 average ticket (covers everything from a $350 service call to a $1,500 emergency repair to a $12,000 system replacement) and a 30% close rate.

Now compare that to the cost of fixing the problem:

Every single option on this list -- from the $29/month budget AI to the $1,400/month answering service -- pays for itself if it captures even ONE additional job per month. One $800 HVAC repair pays for 2-27 months of service, depending on which option you choose.

The real question isn't "can I afford an AI receptionist?" It's "can I afford not to have one?" Because the cost of doing nothing is $15,000-26,000 per month in lost revenue. Even the worst option on this list recovers a fraction of that. The best options recover most of it.

Want to run the numbers for your specific business? Use our missed call calculator with your own call volume, ticket size, and close rate.

Which one is right for you?

Forget the comparison table for a minute. Here's a decision framework based on what kind of business you're running.

You're a solo operator or brand-new business

Budget: Under $100/month. You're doing everything yourself. Every dollar matters. You need something answering the phone because right now 100% of calls go to voicemail when you're on a job.

Go with: Dialzara ($29/mo) or Goodcall ($59/mo). You're not going to get trade-specific intelligence at this price. But you'll go from answering 0% of overflow calls to answering all of them. That alone is worth 5-10 extra jobs per month.

You're running 1-3 trucks with an office manager who can't keep up

Budget: $100-250/month. Your office manager handles the phone but also does invoicing, scheduling, and everything else. During busy periods, calls get missed because they're already on another line. You need overflow coverage and after-hours handling.

Go with: Rosie AI ($99-199/mo) or My AI Front Desk ($79/mo). These will catch the overflow and handle after-hours. If you use Jobber, the Jobber AI add-on ($99/mo) is worth considering for the native integration. For Thumbtack/Angi lead volume, LeadTruffle ($229/mo) makes sense.

You're an established contractor losing real money to missed calls

Budget: $300-800/month. You know you're losing jobs. You've done the math. You need something that doesn't just answer the phone but actually books jobs, handles emergencies, and knows your trade. You want to stop playing phone tag with 85% of callbacks.

Go with: Call2Calendar ($299-799/mo). Trade-specific AI. Books during the call. Emergency dispatch. Flat pricing so summer doesn't kill your budget. Done-for-you setup so you're not spending 10 hours building call scripts when you should be running your business.

You want human backup and cost isn't a concern

Budget: $1,000+/month. You want a real person available for complex calls. You don't handle high call volume. Per-call pricing doesn't bother you because you get under 50 calls a month.

Go with: Smith.ai ($292/mo for 30 calls). Genuine human backup. Professional service. Just watch the per-call charges if volume increases.

The bottom line

Here's the honest truth about AI receptionist pricing in 2026: every option on this list pays for itself. Even the $29/month service. If it captures one additional $800 job per month that would've gone to voicemail, it's paid for itself 27 times over.

The difference between the cheap options and the expensive options isn't whether they pay for themselves. It's how much revenue they capture:

• Budget AI ($29-49/mo): Captures calls that currently go to voicemail. Takes messages. You call back. Recovers maybe 10-15% of missed opportunities.
• Mid-tier AI ($59-199/mo): Captures calls and books some appointments. Better voice, better experience. Recovers maybe 20-25% of missed opportunities.
• Premium AI ($299-799/mo): Captures calls, books during the call, handles emergencies, knows your trade. Recovers 30-40% of missed opportunities.
• Traditional + Smith.ai ($800-2,400/mo): Human involvement. Takes messages mostly. Recovers maybe 8-15% of missed opportunities. Costs the most. Captures the least.

The gap between 10% recovery and 40% recovery on 150 monthly calls at $800 average ticket and 30% close rate is the difference between $3,600 and $14,400 in monthly revenue. That's $129,600 per year.

Don't overthink this. Pick something. Start capturing calls. If the cheap option works well enough for your business, great. If you outgrow it, upgrade. The only wrong answer is voicemail.

For a detailed look at how each AI service stacks up feature by feature, read our 7 Best AI Answering Services for Contractors guide. For the straight comparison between traditional and AI, check out AI Receptionist vs. Answering Service.