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AI receptionist for small business: what it is, what it costs and when it’s a good idea

The short answer

An AI receptionist is software that answers your business phone in a natural voice, asks what the caller needs and sends you the details. The cheapest plan from each of the five other companies here costs $24.95 to $79 a month if you set it up yourself. It pays off when the calls it catches are worth more than the plan. Some callers will hang up, so it helps to say what it is and keep it to taking details.

An AI receptionist can catch the calls you miss, and it can also annoy a caller who wanted you. Both are true. Here’s what one does on a real call, what the published plans cost, and how to tell whether it suits your business. CoveDesk is one of the six compared here, and we say where it falls short.

Updated November 5, 2026. CoveDesk is one of the services on this page; other companies’ prices and features are from their own websites, linked below. How we check our facts

What an AI receptionist does on a call

  1. It picks up in your business’s name, at any hour, using the details you gave it: your services, your area and your hours.
  2. It asks what the caller needs: name, number, address and what’s wrong.
  3. It answers simple questions you’ve given it answers to, such as your hours or the towns you cover.
  4. It hands off what it shouldn’t handle. Urgent calls can go through to your phone, on rules you set.
  5. It sends you the details by text or email, so you can call back when you’re free.

You’ll see the same thing sold under other names: virtual receptionist, voice assistant, AI answering service. A live receptionist service is different: a person answers, and it usually costs more per minute.

What an AI receptionist costs

The cheapest plan from each of the five other companies on this page costs $24.95 to $79 a month. That isn’t the whole cost. Three things change what you pay:

  • How use is counted. Rosie counts minutes, Upfirst counts calls and Goodcall counts callers, each phone number once a month. If your calls are short, paying by the minute usually works out cheaper. If they run long, paying by the call or the caller does.
  • What’s held back for bigger plans. Rosie lists call transfers on its $149/month plan, and Dialzara lists warm transfers from its $99/month plan.
  • Who does the setup. With most of these you set it up, test it and keep it up to date yourself. A service that does that for you charges more each month.

To see a month at your own volume, count the calls in your phone log and run them through the answering service cost calculator. The AI receptionist cost guide prices the same month at eight companies, and the full price table also covers live receptionist services.

AI receptionists for small business, compared

  1. Upfirst: best for the lowest entry price, with calendar booking and many languages. $24.95 a month for 30 calls, then $1.50 a call. Software, set up by you. Contract: Cancel any time. Trial: 14 days or 100 calls, no card.
  2. Rosie: best for the most minutes for the money among the plans billed by the minute, if you’ll set it up yourself. $49 a month for 250 minutes. Transfers from $149. Software, set up by you. Contract: Cancel any time. Trial: 7 days free.
  3. CoveDesk (that’s us): best for owners who want the setup, the script and the running done for them, with missed-call texts included. $249 a month for 250 minutes, then $0.35 a minute. No setup fee. Software voice assistant, set up and run by our team. Contract: Month to month, cancel any time. Trial: Free 7-day pilot with no card, answering within 48 hours of the setup call. 30-day money-back guarantee. It can’t book appointments or connect to Jobber yet.
  4. Goodcall: best for paying by the caller, not by the minute or the call. $79 a month for 100 unique customers. Spam doesn’t count. Software, set up by you. Contract: Not stated. Trial: Free demo; pay when you connect a number.
  5. Dialzara: best for a few short calls a month, on the lowest plan billed by the minute. $29 a month for 60 minutes, then $0.48 a minute. Warm transfers from $99. Software, set up by you. Contract: No contract, cancel any time. Trial: 7 days free.
  6. Jobber Receptionist: best for businesses that already run their jobs in Jobber. $29 a month for 30 conversations, on top of Jobber from $49 a month with no commitment. Software inside Jobber. Contract: Monthly, or a 12-month term. Trial: 14 days of Jobber, no card.

Prices as published on each company’s own site on November 5, 2026, before tax. The table below has the rest, and the sources are at the end of the page.

AI receptionists compared: price, setup, booking, contract, trial and languages, as published on November 5, 2026
ServicePublished priceWho answersBooks intoContractFree trialLanguages
UpfirstPricing page: Upfirst (opens in a new tab)$24.95 a month for 30 calls, then $1.50 a call.Software, set up by youGoogle Calendar, Outlook, Calendly, Acuity, Square.Cancel any time.14 days or 100 calls, no card.35+ languages.
RosiePricing page: Rosie (opens in a new tab)$49 a month for 250 minutes. Transfers from $149.Software, set up by youBooking links by text; your calendar from $149.Cancel any time.7 days free.English and Spanish.
CoveDeskCoveDesk pricing$249 a month for 250 minutes, then $0.35 a minute. No setup fee.Software voice assistant, set up and run by our teamTakes the details and texts them to you to call back. No calendar booking yet.Month to month, cancel any time.Free 7-day pilot with no card, answering within 48 hours of the setup call. 30-day money-back guarantee.English, plus Spanish at no extra cost if you turn it on: it greets in English, then switches when the caller speaks Spanish.
GoodcallPricing page: Goodcall (opens in a new tab)$79 a month for 100 unique customers. Spam doesn’t count.Software, set up by youA booking step; no calendar named.Not stated.Free demo; pay when you connect a number.Not stated.
DialzaraPricing page: Dialzara (opens in a new tab)$29 a month for 60 minutes, then $0.48 a minute. Warm transfers from $99.Software, set up by youGoogle and Outlook calendars, from $99.No contract, cancel any time.7 days free.10, including Spanish.
Jobber ReceptionistPricing page: Jobber Receptionist (opens in a new tab)$29 a month for 30 conversations, on top of Jobber from $49 a month with no commitment.Software inside JobberYour Jobber schedule.Monthly, or a 12-month term.14 days of Jobber, no card.Not stated.

A $49 app costs less than CoveDesk. Here’s why. With an app, you set it up and keep it right. Our team sets CoveDesk up, writes your script, runs it and makes a test call with you before it goes live. Questions go to people: talk to us.

What CoveDesk doesn’t do yet. No calendar booking yet. Job software integrations: none yet. Nobody else is tried if the person on call misses an urgent call. Everything CoveDesk’s phone answering includes, with its limits.

Will callers hang up on it?

Some will. It’s a fair worry: a caller who wanted a person and gets a stiff, scripted answer may call the next company. How it’s set up makes a big difference. What helps:

  • Say what it is at the start. A short, honest notice is better than a caller working it out halfway through.
  • Keep it to taking details. Name, number, address and the problem. It shouldn’t guess a price or promise a time.
  • Give urgent calls a way to a person. No heat, a burst pipe, a locked-out customer: those ring through.
  • Start with the calls you’d miss anyway. After hours, or only when you don’t pick up. The alternative there is voicemail, and some callers hang up instead of leaving one.
  • Listen before you buy. If the company has a demo line, call it. Then make a test call to your own setup before it goes live.

When it’s a good idea, and when it isn’t

It tends to suit you when:

  • You miss calls because you’re with a customer or on a job.
  • After-hours calls go to voicemail today.
  • Most callers want a quote, a booking or a callback, not advice.

It’s a poor fit when:

What to ask before you sign

  1. Who sets it up, and who fixes it when your hours or services change?
  2. How is use counted, and do spam and very short calls count?
  3. What happens to an urgent call if the first person doesn’t pick up?
  4. What does it tell callers about how the call is handled?
  5. Can I try it first, and can I leave month to month?
  6. Do I keep my number? You usually do: calls are forwarded, and you can turn that off.

Common questions

How much does an AI receptionist cost?
Between $24.95 to $79 a month for the cheapest plan from each of the five other companies on this page, if you set it up yourself. After that it depends on how the company counts use: by the minute, the call or the caller. Our own prices are on the pricing page.
Is an AI receptionist worth it?
It pays off when the calls it catches are worth more than the plan costs. Work out what one missed call is worth to you, then compare a month of missed calls with the plan’s price. The missed call calculator does the math. If your callers are happy to leave a voicemail, you may not need one.
How does an AI receptionist work?
You forward your business number to it, for all calls or only the ones you don’t pick up. It answers in your business’s name, asks what the caller needs and sends you the details. You keep your number, and you can turn forwarding off at any time.
What is the best AI receptionist for small business?
It depends on what you need. Of the options here, Upfirst has the lowest entry price, Rosie gives the most minutes for the money among the plans billed by the minute, and Jobber Receptionist suits a business already on Jobber. CoveDesk suits owners who want it set up and run for them.
Can an AI receptionist answer my business phone?
Yes. You forward your number to an AI receptionist and it picks up in your business’s name at any hour, takes the caller’s name, number and what they need, and sends you the details. Most can answer simple questions you’ve given them answers to and put urgent calls through to you. It works best when it sticks to taking details and leaves prices and advice to you.
Is CoveDesk an AI receptionist?
Yes, that’s the common name for it. We usually call ours a front desk: a trained voice assistant that our team sets up, writes the script for and runs. Callers hear a short notice at the start of the call about how it’s handled.
Is CoveDesk a live receptionist service?
No. People set it up and run it, but a trained voice assistant answers the calls. Urgent calls are put through to you or whoever you have on call. If a person on every call matters most to you, look at the live receptionist services.
Are these prices current?
Each one was read on the company’s own pricing page on November 5, 2026, and the links are under Sources. Check the company’s site before you buy, because prices change.

Sources

What this page says about other companies comes from their own websites, read on November 5, 2026:

Prices and terms change, so check each company’s website before you buy. Company names are the trademarks of their owners and are used only to identify their services; none of them is affiliated with or endorses CoveDesk. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we’ll fix it.

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