AI Receptionist Pricing: What Providers Charge in 2026

Every call your business misses is a customer who might call the next name on their list. After hours, during the lunch rush, or when your one receptionist is already on another line, those calls go to voicemail, and most people never leave one.

An AI receptionist fixes that by answering every call, day or night. But once you start shopping, the pricing gets confusing fast. Some providers hide their price behind a sales call. Others advertise a low monthly rate and then pile on per-call fees, per-minute overages, and surcharges you only notice on the invoice.

This guide lays out what the major providers actually charge in 2026, in plain terms, so you can compare apples to apples. Then we show you how CallSprout prices Sage, our AI voice agent, and why billing by the second matters.

The quote-only crowd

Some of the biggest names in business phones do not publish an AI receptionist price at all. To get a number, you have to talk to sales, sit through a demo, and often sign a contract.

Per their published pricing as of August 2026:

• RingCentral publishes no AI receptionist price. Quote only.
• Dialpad publishes no AI receptionist price. Quote only.
• 8x8 publishes no AI receptionist price. Quote only.
• GoTo Connect publishes no AI receptionist price. Quote only.

Quote-only pricing is a warning sign for a small business. It usually means the real cost depends on seat counts, tiers, and add-ons, and it usually comes wrapped in an annual contract. If you cannot see the price on the page, budgeting is guesswork.

The per-conversation and per-minute models

Other providers do publish numbers, but the structure varies wildly. Some charge per conversation, some per minute, and some bolt the AI on as an extra line item.

Per their published pricing as of August 2026:

| Provider | Published pricing | |---|---| | Nextiva AI Receptionist | $99/mo including 100 interactions, then $0.99 each | | Ooma AI Receptionist | From $49.99 per license for 100 minutes | | Zoom | $0.30/min, or prepaid minute bundles |

Watch the structure here, not just the headline. Nextiva's plan includes a bundle of interactions and then bills per conversation after that, and a per-conversation fee means a 20-second call and a 5-minute call cost the same. Ooma and Zoom both sell minute bundles, so your effective rate depends on how close you land to the bundle you bought.

Ooma's entry tier includes 100 minutes. Once you pass it, you are into a higher tier. And in every case above, the AI is an add-on stacked on top of your base phone bill, not something included.

The reseller and answering-service models

Some AI receptionist offers are really a repackaged answering service, or a live team with AI on top. That can work, but the layered fees get steep.

Per their published pricing as of August 2026:

• Grasshopper partners with Smith.ai on a virtual receptionist that starts at $95/mo, billed separately from your Grasshopper plan.
• Smith.ai adds $3.00 per call when a live agent takes over from the AI.
• Ruby's published plans run from $250/mo at 50 minutes up to $1,725/mo at 500 minutes.
• Dialzara overage runs $0.35 to $0.48/min depending on tier.
• Rosie sells tiered minute bundles (250, 1,000, and 2,000) and moves your account up to the next tier when you exceed them.
• Simple Phones prices by call volume rather than minutes, starting at $97/mo for 100 calls, and releases your phone numbers if you exceed your tier or cancel.

That last one deserves a pause. Losing your number because you outgrew a tier is the opposite of what an AI receptionist is supposed to do for a growing business. And a tier that quietly bumps you up, as Rosie's does, is more predictable but still means your bill moves without you touching anything. For a broader look at how these models compare, see our guide to AI receptionist vs answering service.

Every figure above comes from the provider's own public pricing or support pages, checked in August 2026. Vendors change their pricing often, so confirm the current number on their site before you decide.

What all these models have in common

Strip away the branding and most AI receptionist pricing falls into one of a few traps:

• Hidden totals. Quote-only pricing means you cannot budget until you are on a sales call.
• Add-on stacking. The AI is extra, layered on top of a base plan, so your real cost is two or three line items.
• Per-call and per-conversation fees. When the meter counts conversations instead of time, a 20-second call costs the same as a long one, so you pay for time you never used. Ask any provider that bills per minute whether it rounds partial minutes up, because that is where the same problem hides.
• Bundles and caps that punish growth. Prepaid minute or call bundles mean a busy month either bumps you to a higher tier or, with some providers, costs you your number.
• Contracts. Many of these prices assume an annual commitment.

If you want to dig into the real drivers behind these numbers, our breakdown of how much an AI receptionist costs walks through them in detail.

How CallSprout prices Sage

CallSprout takes the opposite approach on all three counts.

• AI is included, not a costly add-on. Sage comes with your plan. You are not stacking a receptionist fee on top of a phone bill.
• One transparent plan, no contract. You see the price on the page, and you are not locked into a year.
• Billed by the second. Sage costs $0.39 per minute after the first 30 seconds of each call are free, and there are no minute caps. A quick 20-second call costs nothing. A slightly-over-a-minute call bills for the exact seconds used, not a rounded-up minute.

Because billing is by the second, you never pay for time you did not use, and there is no cap that turns your number off or drops you into surprise overage rates. Every call gets answered, and you pay for exactly what happens. You can see the full details on our pricing page.

Sage does the real work too. It answers 24/7, captures the caller's details, routes the call based on what you set up, and can book appointments straight into your calendar. Learn more about how the AI voice agent fits into your phone system.

The bottom line

When you compare AI receptionist pricing, look past the headline monthly rate. Ask three questions: Is the AI included or an add-on? Is there a contract? And how exactly does the meter run, per conversation, per rounded minute, or by the second with no caps?

Ask those three questions and the field narrows quickly.

With CallSprout, Sage answers every call around the clock, the AI is included, there is no contract, and you are billed by the second with the first 30 seconds of each call free. Want to hear it for yourself? See our pricing or contact us to set up a live callback from Sage and listen to how it handles a real call to your business.