Guides · Updated 2026-10-14

Best AI receptionist and call-answering tools for small businesses (2026)

If you run a small business, a missed call is often a missed job. An AI receptionist answers the phone when you can't. It greets the caller, answers common questions, takes a message or books an appointment, and sends you a summary. This guide compares tools that publish their prices, explains what to look for, and covers the catches.

All prices below were checked on the providers' own pages on 14 October 2026, unless we say otherwise. Most of these companies are American and price in US dollars. We note where a UK option exists.

What an AI receptionist actually does

Most tools work the same way. You forward your existing number, or calls you miss, to a number the service gives you. You then teach the AI about your business: opening hours, services, prices you're happy to quote, and what to do with different kinds of caller. When a call comes in, the AI talks to the caller, and you get a text or email with a summary, and often a recording and transcript.

Things that vary a lot between tools:

• How you're billed. Some charge per minute, some per call, and one charges per unique customer. This matters more than the headline price.
• Booking. Some can put appointments straight into your calendar; cheaper plans often only send a booking link.
• Transfers. Whether the AI can pass a caller to you or a colleague, and how.
• Human backup. A few services can hand over to a real receptionist.
• UK numbers. Several US tools let you forward calls to them, but check whether they give you a UK number and what calls from the UK cost before you commit.

The tools

Smith.ai AI Receptionist: best free starting point

Smith.ai has a free plan with 25 calls a month, then $3.00 per call. Its Pro plan is $150 a month, which works out at $2.00 per call on the 75-call tier, and adds onboarding and live support. Its selling point is human backup: complex calls can be passed to a live receptionist based in North America. The free plan includes 24/7 answering, recordings, transcripts, summaries and calendar booking through tools such as Calendly. (Smith.ai pricing)

Good for: trying an AI receptionist properly before spending anything.

Watch out for: per-call billing gets expensive if you get a lot of short calls. Smith.ai says known spam numbers are filtered out and don't count.

Upfirst: cheapest paid entry point

Upfirst's Starter plan is $24.95 a month for 30 calls ($20 a month if paid yearly), then $1.50 per extra call. Premium is $59.95 for 90 calls. All plans include 24/7 answering, call summaries, transfers, calendar booking with Google, Outlook, Calendly and others, and spam blocking. Upfirst says it doesn't bill for spam or for calls under 15 seconds. There's a 14-day free trial. (Upfirst pricing)

Good for: sole traders who get a handful of calls a day.

Watch out for: support hours are US Eastern time, which is afternoon and evening in the UK.

Rosie: most minutes for the money at entry level

Rosie's Professional plan is $49 a month for 250 minutes, and Scale is $149 for 1,000 minutes. The cheaper plan sends booking links by text; booking straight into your calendar, and live call transfers, start on Scale. All plans include call summaries, recordings, iOS and Android apps, and a Zapier connection. There's a 7-day free trial. (Rosie pricing)

Good for: businesses with longer calls, such as trades quoting for jobs.

Watch out for: Rosie's page talks about picking an area code and answering in English and Spanish, so it is clearly built for the US market. Confirm UK number support with them first.

Goodcall: billed per customer, not per minute

Goodcall's Starter plan is $79 a month for 100 unique customers, then 79¢ for each extra customer. A caller who rings five times in a month counts once, and Goodcall says spam and wrong numbers don't count. There are no per-minute charges. Every plan includes a local number, or you can forward your own. You can build and test a demo agent free before connecting a number. (Goodcall pricing)

Good for: businesses whose regular customers ring back often, or whose calls run long.

Frontdesk (My AI Front Desk): an all-in-one front office

Frontdesk's Business-in-a-Box plan is $99 a month, or $79 a month billed yearly. It includes 200 voice minutes plus web chat, two-way text, a simple CRM (customer record system) and automations. (Frontdesk pricing)

Good for: businesses that want phone, chat and text handled in one place.

Watch out for: you're paying for features you may not use if you only need the phone answered.

Moneypenny: the UK option with human receptionists

Moneypenny is a long-established UK answering company. Its AI Receptionist page lists a price from £25 a month but says pricing is built around your needs, and the next step is to talk to them. It doesn't publish a call or minute allowance. Its human answering service is priced by quote. (Moneypenny AI Receptionist)

Good for: firms that want a UK company, a UK contract and the option of real people.

Watch out for: you need a sales conversation before you know the real cost.

Other UK-based options

Published comparisons from UK providers list several UK-built services with entry prices from roughly £10 to £99 a month. These include IONOS and Fasthosts from £39, and RingCentral's AIR add-on from £32 (Ringmere's comparison, which is a vendor's own list). We haven't checked each of those prices ourselves, so treat them as a starting list and confirm on each provider's site.

How to choose

1. Count your calls. Look at last month's call log. How many calls did you get, and how long were they? That tells you whether per-call, per-minute or per-customer billing is cheaper for you.
2. Decide on the main job. Is it taking messages, booking appointments, or sorting real enquiries from time-wasters? Pay only for what you need.
3. Start with missed calls only. Most tools let you forward just the calls you don't answer, or calls out of hours. It's a low-risk way to start.
4. Test it as a customer. Ring it yourself, ask an awkward question, and see what you get sent.
5. Check data handling. Calls are recorded and transcribed, so you need to tell callers and handle that data properly. The UK's Information Commissioner's Office has guidance on AI and data protection.

Our take

If you've never tried one, start with Smith.ai's free plan or a trial from Upfirst or Rosie, and point only your missed calls at it for two weeks. If you want a UK company with people available, get a quote from Moneypenny. Whatever you pick, keep a human route for anything urgent.

Want more practical tool comparisons like this? Our free daily email covers one useful AI tool each weekday. See also Free AI tools every small business should try and 15 ChatGPT prompts for small business admin.

FAQ

How much does an AI receptionist cost?

Published entry prices we checked run from $0 (Smith.ai's free plan, 25 calls a month) to $99 a month (Frontdesk). The UK's Moneypenny lists an AI receptionist from £25 a month, priced to your needs.

Can an AI receptionist book appointments?

Yes, many can. Some book straight into Google or Outlook calendars, such as Upfirst on all plans and Rosie on its Scale plan. Cheaper plans may only text the caller a booking link.

Can I keep my business phone number?

Usually, yes. Most services let you forward your existing number, or just your missed calls, to them. Upfirst and Goodcall both say you can keep your number by forwarding.

Will callers know they're talking to AI?

Tools vary, and it's good practice to be upfront. A short greeting that says calls are answered by an assistant and may be recorded keeps you honest and helps with UK data protection.