How Much Does an AI Receptionist Cost in 2026? (Managed vs DIY vs Base44)
Real prices from the vendors' own pricing pages, what each one includes, and the no-code option most comparisons leave out
By Shlomi, founder of DoitWithAI | Updated | Base44 facts rechecked October 12, 2026
Quick answer
Managed AI receptionists run $29 to $300 a month (Dialzara $29 for 60 minutes, Rosie $49 for 250 minutes, Goodcall $79 for 100 unique callers, Smith.ai $150 for 75 AI-handled calls; its $300 plan is human-staffed). A DIY voice stack is pay-per-minute plus a phone number. A Base44 Superagent on the Builder plan is $40/month billed yearly ($50 monthly) with the US number included, but it only answers up to 20 trusted callers you pre-add, so it is the cheapest option for your regulars and not a public line. Prices checked 2026-10-12.
Pricing and plan facts last verified: 2026-10-12 on Base44's official pricing page.
Free plan, no credit card. Affiliate link: DoitWithAi earns a commission if you later upgrade. See /disclosures.
We earn a commission if you choose Base44 through our links. That is why this page shows every price, including the ones that are cheaper for you.
Checked October 2026 against the vendors' pricing pages. Every number below carries a source and a date, so you can see how stale we are.
What you are actually paying for
Every AI receptionist bills on one of three units. The unit decides your bill more than the headline price does.
- Minutes. Rosie and Dialzara sell talk time. Good if your calls are short, bad if your callers ramble.
- Calls. Smith.ai sells answered calls. A 30-second hang-up costs the same as a 10-minute intake. Bad if you get many wrong numbers.
- Unique callers. Goodcall sells people, not calls. One customer who phones five times counts once. Good for repeat-caller businesses, which is most service businesses.
The fourth model is credits. Base44 meters calls at 0.2 credits per minute (Base44 docs, checked 2026-10-09) inside a fixed plan price. Dollars below.
Before comparing vendors, pull last month's call log and count calls, minutes and distinct numbers. Those three figures tell you which unit works in your favour.
Managed AI receptionist services compared
Cheapest paid plan per vendor, so the comparison is like for like.
| Vendor | Monthly price | Included | Overage | Number included | 24/7 | Free trial | Source + date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dialzara (Business Lite) | $29 | 60 minutes | $0.48 per minute | Not stated | Not checked | 7 days | dialzara.com pricing page, checked 2026-10-12 |
| Rosie (Professional) | $49 | 250 minutes | Not stated | "Pick your area code" shown; not stated outright | Yes | 7 days | heyrosie.com pricing page, checked 2026-10-12 |
| Goodcall (Starter) | $79 | 100 unique callers (Goodcall estimates about 150 calls) | $0.79 per extra caller | Yes, local number | Yes | Free demo agent, no length stated | goodcall.com pricing page, checked 2026-10-12 |
| My AI Front Desk (Business-in-a-Box) | $99, or $79 billed annually | 200 minutes | $0.25 per minute | Not stated (page mentions an outbound number only) | Not checked | 7 days | myaifrontdesk.com pricing page, checked 2026-10-12 |
| Smith.ai AI Receptionist (Pro) | $150 | 75 calls (Free plan: 25 calls) | $2.50 per call ($3.00 on Free) | Not stated | Yes | Free plan, 25 calls a month | smith.ai/pricing/ai-receptionist, checked 2026-10-12 |
| Smith.ai human-staffed (Starter) | $300 | 30 calls | $11.50 per call | Dedicated number listed | Yes, live-staffed | None; 30-day money-back | smith.ai/pricing, checked 2026-10-12 |
| Base44 Superagent (Builder) | $50, or $40 billed annually | Calls metered at 0.2 credits per minute; 10,000 integration credits a month | Upgrade the plan; no pay-as-you-go | Yes, dedicated US (+1) number | Not stated as a claim | Free plan to build and test; the number needs Builder | base44 pricing page and docs, checked 2026-10-12 |
Two Smith.ai rows, on purpose
Most roundups quote Smith.ai at $300 for 30 calls. That is the human-staffed plan. The AI-only receptionist starts at $0 for 25 calls and $150 for 75.
"Not stated" means the pricing page did not say and we did not guess.
The no-code middle: Base44 Superagent
Read this before you pick Base44
Verified in our own Base44 account on 2026-10-12: the Superagent number answers calls only from up to 20 trusted numbers you add. Unknown callers are not answered, and there is no live transfer. If your phone rings with new customers, a managed service above is the right column. If it rings with the same 20 clients, Base44 is the cheapest line on this page.
Base44 is a no-code platform owned by Wix; 10 million people have built on it. Its Superagent is a personal AI agent that is included on every plan, and since September 2026 it can answer a phone.
Base44's own wording: "a dedicated phone number your agent can answer, chat with callers, and take notes from each call." The number is a US (+1) line and it needs the Builder plan or higher (Base44 changelog, 14 Sep 2026).
What Builder costs: $50 a month, or $40 a month billed annually. Builder includes 250 message credits and 10,000 integration credits a month. Calls are metered at 0.2 credits per minute per Base44's docs. New accounts see a 30% off banner on yearly plans in the first 48 hours after signup, which makes Builder yearly $28 a month for the first year against the $40 base (in-app banner, verified 2026-10-12). Full plan breakdown: Base44 pricing.
Free to build and test: the Free plan is $0 (25 message credits a month, capped at 5 a day, 100 integration credits). The number needs Builder, so the free tier is for deciding, not answering. See Is Base44 free?.
One gap: Base44 documents a trusted-caller list of up to 20 numbers and does not say whether unknown callers are handled the same way. Unknown callers are the whole point of a receptionist, so test with a number that is not on your list first. Steps in our Base44 AI receptionist tutorial.
Cost per answered call at 30, 100 and 300 calls a month
One assumption makes the units comparable: an average call lasts 3 minutes, so 30 calls is 90 minutes, 100 is 300, 300 is 900. Each cell is plan price plus any overage, divided by calls, on the cheapest verified plan that covers the volume.
| Vendor | 30 calls (90 min) | 100 calls (300 min) | 300 calls (900 min) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dialzara | $43.40 ($29 Lite + 30 extra min at $0.48) = $1.45 per call | $135 ($99 Pro + 80 extra min at $0.45) = $1.35 per call | $349 (Elite, 1,000 min) = $1.16 per call |
| Rosie | $49 (Professional, 250 min) = $1.63 per call | $149 (Scale, 1,000 min; Professional needs the next tier at 250 min) = $1.49 per call | $149 (Scale) = $0.50 per call |
| Goodcall | $79 (Starter, 100 callers) = $2.63 per call | $79 (Starter; Goodcall says 100 callers is about 150 calls) = $0.79 per call | $129 (Growth, 500 callers; Starter needs the next tier) = $0.43 per call |
| Smith.ai AI Receptionist | $15 (Free, 25 calls + 5 at $3.00) = $0.50 per call | $212.50 (Pro $150 + 25 extra calls at $2.50) = $2.13 per call | About $500 (Smith.ai's 300-call tier at $1.67 per call) = $1.67 per call |
| Base44 Superagent, Builder yearly | $40 (18 credits used) = $1.33 per call | $40 (60 credits used) = $0.40 per call | $40 (180 credits used) = $0.13 per call |
| Base44 Superagent, Builder monthly | $50 = $1.67 per call | $50 = $0.50 per call | $50 = $0.17 per call |
Base44 arithmetic in one line: 900 minutes times 0.2 is 180 credits against 10,000 integration credits on Builder, so the plan price is the whole bill at every volume here. How credits work: Base44 credits explained.
Read it honestly. At 30 calls, Smith.ai's free tier is the cheapest line and Base44 is mid-pack. At 100, Base44 and Goodcall are close. At 300, a fixed price beats every per-call and per-minute plan, and Base44 is the only fixed price here.
What you give up at each price
Managed service: someone else's scripts
Works on day one, with a support team when it does not. You give up control: their call flow, their voice list, your number inside their system. If you leave, the number and call history may not come with you. Check the terms before you print it on your van.
DIY stack: your weekends
Full control and the lowest marginal cost at scale. You give up a month of weekends, then one a quarter when a provider deprecates something. Nobody is on the hook but you.
Base44: trusted callers only
A fixed price, a number included, and an agent that runs the rest of your business from the same place. You give up one thing a managed service does out of the box: answering strangers. Base44 confirmed to us on 2026-10-12 that the number answers only up to 20 trusted callers you add, and that there is no live transfer to you. What it does do, verified the same day: books appointments into Google Calendar or a Base44 booking app during the call, keeps a transcript, and messages you a summary on WhatsApp, Telegram or iMessage. Forwarding your existing line to it works, but the trusted-caller gate still applies.
How to decide
| You want | Pick | What it costs |
|---|---|---|
| Zero setup, answering calls today | A managed service: Dialzara at low volume, Goodcall if the same people call back | $29 to $79 a month to start, overage on top |
| Control, and to own the number and the logic | Base44 Superagent on Builder, or DIY if you have a developer | Base44: $40 a month billed annually ($28 for the first year with the 30% yearly offer, first 48 hours) or $50 monthly. DIY: per-minute, check today's rates |
| To try before paying anything | Smith.ai Free (25 calls a month) to hear a managed one; Base44 Free to build your own agent before you buy the number | $0 for both |
At 100 or more calls a month, Base44 is the cheapest line in the 300-call column and the only one that does more than answer the phone. If you need booking inside the call this week, it is not there yet. Buy accordingly.
Ready to test it? Our receptionist quick-start page gets you from signup to a ringing number.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest AI receptionist?
Dialzara's Business Lite at $29 a month for 60 minutes is the cheapest paid managed plan we verified (checked 2026-10-12). Smith.ai's AI Receptionist Free plan is $0 for 25 calls a month. Base44's Builder plan is $40 a month billed annually with the number included, which is the cheapest fixed price once you pass about 100 calls a month.
Is there a free AI receptionist?
Yes, with limits. Smith.ai's AI Receptionist Free plan handles 25 calls a month at $0, then $3.00 a call. Base44's Free plan lets you build and test a Superagent for $0, but the phone number needs Builder ($40 a month billed annually, $50 monthly). Rosie, Dialzara and My AI Front Desk offer 7-day trials, not free plans.
How much does an AI receptionist cost per minute?
About $0.20 to $0.48 a minute on managed plans billed by the minute: Rosie works out to $0.196 ($49 for 250 minutes), Dialzara overage is $0.48, My AI Front Desk overage is $0.25. Base44 meters calls at 0.2 credits a minute inside a fixed plan price, so there is no per-minute dollar charge.
Smith.ai vs Rosie vs Goodcall: which is cheaper?
Rosie is cheapest to start at $49 for 250 minutes, Goodcall is $79 for 100 unique callers, Smith.ai's AI Receptionist is $150 for 75 calls (or $0 for 25). At 300 calls a month Goodcall Growth ($129, 500 callers) is about $0.43 a call, Rosie Scale ($149) about $0.50, Smith.ai's 300-call tier about $1.67.
Can I build an AI receptionist for free?
You can build and test one for $0 on Base44's Free plan (25 message credits a month, capped at 5 a day). Running it on a phone number is not free: the number needs Builder at $40 a month billed annually. A DIY stack bills per minute and the number is rented.
What does Base44 charge for a receptionist?
$50 a month on Builder, or $40 a month billed annually, with a 30% yearly discount offered to new accounts in the first 48 hours ($28 a month in year one against the $40 base). Builder includes 250 message credits and 10,000 integration credits a month, and calls are metered at 0.2 credits per minute per Base44's docs. There is no separate receptionist fee.
Does the phone number cost extra on Base44?
No. The dedicated US (+1) number is included with Builder and higher plans; there is no separate line rental. It is not available on the Free or Starter plans. You can forward a number you already own to it, but only callers on your trusted list (up to 20) are answered.
How this guide was checked
- Every managed-service price was read from the vendor's own pricing page on 2026-10-12 (Rosie, Goodcall, Smith.ai AI Receptionist and its human-staffed plan, Dialzara, My AI Front Desk). Where a page did not state 24/7 answering or whether a number is included, the table says so instead of guessing.
- Base44's price, plan gate and the trusted-caller limit come from base44.com/pricing and from our own Superagent chat on the same day.
- Cost per answered call is our arithmetic at a stated 3-minute average call; it is not a vendor figure.
- DoitWithAI is a Base44 affiliate and earns a commission on upgrades. Base44 does not review these pages.
Sources
- Rosie pricing: https://heyrosie.com/pricing (checked 2026-10-12)
- Goodcall pricing: https://www.goodcall.com/pricing (checked 2026-10-12)
- Smith.ai AI Receptionist pricing and call-answering (human) pricing: https://smith.ai/pricing (checked 2026-10-12)
- Dialzara pricing: https://dialzara.com/pricing (checked 2026-10-12)
- My AI Front Desk pricing: https://www.myaifrontdesk.com/pricing (checked 2026-10-12)
- Base44 pricing page and our own Superagent phone-channel test: https://base44.com/pricing (checked 2026-10-12)
Related Base44 guides
Build the receptionist before you buy the number.
Base44 is free to build and test, no card. If it answers the way you want, Builder is $40 a month billed annually with the number included.
Start free on Base44Affiliate disclosure: DoitWithAi earns a commission when you upgrade to a paid plan. See /disclosures for details.