That's about 3 calls a day.
Compared like for like (an AI that answers, books appointments and transfers calls), FAST RESPONSE AI is the lowest at $56 to $72, and it's the only one that is also your business phone for calling and texting. Tools tagged “+ your phone line” are answering layers: calls forward to them from a line you already pay for, so their price leaves out your phone bill. That's why the cheapest, like Rosie and Dialzara, don't really compare.
Assumptions: one user, 100 AI-handled calls averaging 2 minutes (200 minutes), monthly billing, cheapest plan that includes booking and call transfers. Not listed: My AI Front Desk, because its pricing page doesn't say whether call transfers are included. Who comes out ahead depends on call length: short calls (like spam) favor per-minute pricing; long calls favor per-call or per-caller pricing (Quo, Goodcall, Smith.ai).
| Product | 100 calls with booking + transfers | Plan needed | Books appointments | Transfers calls | Calling and texting in the same app |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fast Response AI | $56 to $72 | Starter $29 + AI minutes | Yes | Yes, warm transfer, and your team can take over live | Yes |
| GoodcallAnswering layer, needs your phone line | $79 | Starter $79 (1 team member) | Yes (Google Calendar) | Yes | No |
| Quo + Sona | $82 | Business plan (transfers) + $49 Sona pack; $72 annual | No, texts a scheduling link | Yes | Yes |
| Jobber ReceptionistAnswering layer, needs your phone line | ~$84 + Jobber | Add-on $29 + overage, plus a Jobber plan | Yes, into Jobber | Yes | No |
| RingCentral AI Receptionist | $99 + phone plan | Standalone $49 + $0.50/min after 100 | Yes | Yes, warm transfer | Only with a RingEX plan |
| DialzaraAnswering layer, needs your phone line | $99 | 220-minute plan | Yes | Yes, warm transfer | No (SMS is $19/mo extra) |
| RosieAnswering layer, needs your phone line | $149 | Scale plan (booking and transfers start here) | Yes | Yes | No |
| Smith.ai AIAnswering layer, needs your phone line | ~$200 to $225 | Pro + per-call overage | Not confirmed | Yes, plus paid live-agent backup | No |
| Ruby (humans) | $720 | 200 human minutes | Yes, by a person | Yes | No |
| Smith.ai (humans) | $915 | Basic, 90 calls + overage | Yes, by a person | Yes | No |
Most AI receptionists sit on top of the phone line you already pay for: calls forward to them, and they answer. That means two bills, two apps, and no easy way for your team to step in.
And they only see the calls the AI answers. Calls and texts your team handles on your own line aren't recorded, summarized or logged anywhere, so you have zero visibility into them.
Your business number, team calling, texting and the AI in one app. Only FAST RESPONSE AI, Quo and RingCentral (with a RingEX plan) work this way on this list.
Calls your team takes and calls the AI takes land in the same history. With FAST RESPONSE AI, every call, human or AI, is recorded, summarized and in one inbox.
“When the AI is on a call, can someone on my team listen in and take over?”
In our research, FAST RESPONSE AI was the only one that says yes. Others can only transfer the call.
Each name links to the page we priced it from.
| Product | Best for | Strongest edge | Watch out for | Reviews (G2) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fast Response AI | Small teams that want a phone they can pick up + AI in one app | Live listen, whisper and take over of AI calls; warm transfers; unlimited users on Pro; books into Google or Outlook calendars; text automations triggered by calendar, contact, call or text events (Pro and up); MCP connector for Claude and ChatGPT | Extra numbers cost $39; 1,000 voice minutes on Pro | 5.0 (2) |
| Quo + Sona | Teams that call and text a lot, light AI use | Unlimited calling, $5 numbers, internal threads, @mentions and tasks; MCP connector for Claude and ChatGPT | Per-user pricing; AI billed per call ($0.45 to $1.00) | 4.7 (3,422 reviews) |
| RingCentral AI Receptionist | Existing RingCentral customers | 10+ languages with auto-detect; Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho; Claude and ChatGPT connectors (RingEX) | $0.50 per minute after 100, billed in 30-second steps | 4.4 (43) |
| Smith.ai | Law firms, high-value leads | AI with live human backup; legal intake tools | Per-call pricing adds up fast | 4.8 (135, all products) |
| Ruby | Businesses that want a person every time | Trusted human receptionists, bilingual | From $250 for 50 minutes | 3.8 (12) |
| Rosie | Answering only, on top of a phone line you already have | Most minutes per dollar | Booking and transfers start at $149; no verified reviews | Not found |
| Goodcall | Businesses with long calls | Priced per caller, so call length doesn't matter | 1 team member on the entry plan; very few reviews | 3.5 (1) |
| My AI Front Desk | Multichannel on a budget | Free plan; voice, SMS, chat and forms bundled; 20+ languages | Transfer and monitoring not shown on pricing | 4.8 (15) |
| Dialzara | Answering only, on top of a phone line you already have | $29 entry, free number porting | SMS is $19/mo extra; overage up to $0.48/min | Not found |
| Jobber Receptionist | Field service businesses on Jobber | Books jobs natively in Jobber | Needs a Jobber plan; 30 conversations included, then $0.79 per call | Not found |
We'd rather you pick the right tool than churn in a month. Look elsewhere if:
With booking and call transfers included, $56 to $225 a month for about 100 calls. Human receptionist services run $250 to $915 for the same volume.
Per-minute is cheaper when calls are short, such as quick questions or spam. Per-call is cheaper when calls run 4 minutes or longer.
Most do. Smith.ai filters known spam; per-minute plans make short spam calls cost cents instead of dollars.
Yes with most. Answering layers forward from your existing line; phone systems like Fast Response AI and Quo can port your number in.
No. Answering layers only see the calls forwarded to them. Calls and texts your team handles on your own phone line aren't recorded, summarized or logged there, so you have no visibility into them. A phone system with AI built in, like Fast Response AI, keeps every call and text, human or AI, in one inbox.
With Fast Response AI, yes: listen in, whisper to the AI or take over, or have the AI warm-transfer the call. Others can transfer the call, but not let you step into it while the AI is talking.
Fast Response AI has built-in text automations (Pro and up) that run on calendar events, contact changes, calls or incoming texts, such as a reminder before an appointment. The AI or your team books meetings straight into your Google or Outlook calendar. Quo and RingCentral offer auto-replies or workflows triggered by missed calls and incoming texts, but not by calendar events or contact changes. Several answering services rely on Zapier or a connected CRM for follow-ups, and Quo's AI texts a scheduling link instead of booking.
Fast Response AI, Quo and RingCentral offer MCP connectors, so an AI assistant can read your calls and texts and send messages for you.
Rosie and Dialzara are often listed for solo owners, but they don't really compare: they are answering services on top of the phone line you already pay for, with no business number, calling or texting of their own, and booking and transfers cost extra. Fast Response AI starts at $29, the same as Dialzara's entry plan, and that includes your business phone and the AI in one app.