AI Receptionist Pricing (2026): What It Actually Costs
Work out what you actually need, what it costs, and how providers compare when you look beyond the headline price.
Last updated: February 2026
Choosing an AI receptionist isn't just about finding the cheapest plan. Pricing varies widely depending on what the system actually does, whether it integrates with your software, and how much setup is handled for you. This guide walks you through how to work out what you need, what each type of solution costs, how the main providers compare at realistic call volumes, and what to watch out for when evaluating plans.
Answer
In short, an AI receptionist typically costs between £100 and £400 per month for most appointment-led businesses in the UK, with pricing based on call volume, the level of automation, and whether the provider sets it up for you or you do it yourself. US-based providers are included below for comparison.
But the full answer depends on your specific needs and business.
Note: We build Intavia. This page is written to help you understand pricing across the market, even if you don't choose us.
Before you compare AI receptionist prices: work out what you need
AI receptionist pricing only makes sense once you know what you're paying for. Pricing between vendors can be misleading: some providers offer a cheap starting price that doesn't include booking management, support, or integrations. Before looking at plans, work through three questions.
1. What should it actually do?
Not all AI receptionists handle the same tasks. The more it does, the more it typically costs, but the less work it creates for your team afterwards:
| Level | What it does | Typical cost | Admin after the call |
|---|---|---|---|
| Answer & message | Picks up, takes a message, emails or texts you the details | £25–£120/month | High: you call back, book manually, update systems |
| Answer & route | Answers FAQs, transfers urgent calls, and may capture lead info | £80–£200/month | Medium: some calls resolved, others need follow-up |
| End-to-end phone support | Answers calls, answers FAQs, books, reschedules, and cancels appointments during the call. Updates your systems automatically. Follows up. | £199–£400/month | Low: most calls are fully handled |
If you're comparing prices, make sure you're comparing at the same level. A £50/month message-taker and a £300/month end-to-end system aren't alternatives; they do different jobs.
2. What systems does it need to connect to?
This is the question most pricing pages skip. If the AI can't book directly into your software, someone still has to do it manually, and that has a cost from a time perspective.
Think about what software and tools your business runs on:
- Dental: Dentally, Software of Excellence, Exact
- Clinics & healthcare: Cliniko, PracticeHub, Pabau
- Hair & beauty: Fresha, Timely, Treatwell
- General: Calendly, Airtable, HubSpot, Salesforce
Some platforms offer direct integrations. Others connect via tools like Zapier (you build and maintain the automations yourself). Others don't integrate at all on lower-priced plans. This directly affects how much manual work remains.
3. Do it yourself or a done-for-you service?
AI receptionist platforms fall into two camps:
- DIY: You configure the AI yourself. Lower cost, but you own the setup and ongoing accuracy.
- Done for you: The provider handles onboarding, integrations, and management. Slightly higher cost, purpose-built for your business.
Think of it like building a website: you can use a website builder with a simple template and do it yourself, or have a professional build one around your business. With AI receptionists, the cost difference isn't as large, but you still get something that's purpose-fit rather than generic.
| Do it yourself | Done for you | |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | You sign up, write prompts, configure rules, build integrations | Provider runs workshops, configures everything around your business, tests before launch |
| Time to live | Days to weeks depending on your level of expertise, but typically with less customisation and personalisation | 2–6 weeks, with a higher level of customisation and personalisation (e.g. better handling of edge cases and more intricate conversations) |
| Integrations | DIY via Zapier, or limited/unavailable | Connected directly to your systems for you |
| Ongoing | You maintain and adjust, and if something goes wrong, it's on you to fix it | Provider adjusts as your business changes and ensures the highest quality responses |
| Cost | $29–$149/month (~£23–£120) | £199–£400/month |
| Risk | Misconfiguration is on you | Provider takes responsibility for accuracy and helps you get something you're 100% happy with |
| Best for | Simple call answering, message-taking | Businesses where calls directly affect bookings and revenue |
The price difference reflects the work involved. A done-for-you platform includes onboarding, integration setup, workflow configuration, testing, and ongoing management, not just the software itself.
AI receptionist cost by need
Once you know what you need, here's what to expect:
Just need simple calls answered and messages taken?
£25–£150/month with a DIY platform. You'll configure the AI yourself and handle follow-up manually. Good for low volume, simple needs, or after-hours coverage where you're happy to call back the next day.
Need end-to-end call handling with integrations?
£199–£400/month with a done-for-you platform. The AI books, reschedules, and cancels appointments during the call, syncs with your systems, and handles follow-ups. Onboarding and integration setup are typically included.
Somewhere in between?
If you need more than message-taking but not full end-to-end booking, either type of solution can work. It depends on how much you want to configure yourself.
How AI receptionist pricing works
Most platforms use one of three billing models.
Per-minute: The most common. A monthly plan includes a set number of minutes, with overage charges beyond. The key thing to understand: minutes aren't calls. If your average call is 3 minutes, a 300-minute plan gives you roughly 100 calls. A 750-minute plan gives you roughly 250.
Per-call: Less common for AI platforms, more typical with human services. Each call costs the same regardless of duration. Predictable per call, but costs add up if volume increases, and you'll be paying the same amount for short, low-value calls or instant hang-ups.
Flat-rate: A fixed monthly fee for unlimited calls (or a high cap). Less common, and "unlimited" usually comes with fair-use terms, with many automated actions or additional requirements at an additional cost.
When comparing plans, convert everything to a cost-per-call estimate based on your expected volume. That's the only way to compare per-minute and per-call plans fairly.
AI receptionist pricing comparison: what providers actually charge
Here's what each provider actually costs for a business handling 150 calls per month (averaging 2 minutes each, 300 minutes total). All prices verified as of February 2026.
| Provider | Service type | Plan & cost | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intavia | Done for you | Starter, £199/month | White-glove onboarding. Direct integrations (Dentally, Cliniko, Calendly, and others) set up for you. Ongoing adjustments included. All features on every plan. GDPR-compliant data handling. |
| Smith.ai AI | Do it yourself | Medium Volume, $270/month (~£216) | Self-service setup. Calendly scheduling + CRM logging included. No direct booking system integrations. You configure and maintain. |
| My AI Front Desk | Do it yourself | Growth, $149/month (~£119) | Self-service setup. Limited integrations. Full system connections require custom enterprise pricing. You configure and maintain. |
| Dialzara | Do it yourself | Pro + overage, ~$137/month (~£110) | Self-service setup. Integrations via Zapier/Make only. You build and maintain automations yourself. |
How to read this table: Starting prices are often for entry-level plans with limited features or minutes. The costs above reflect the plan each provider would need at this volume. Overage charges, integration availability, and setup approach vary so check the details for whichever providers you're comparing.
- Intavia: All features on every plan. The only variable is minutes. Done-for-you onboarding, ongoing management, and GDPR-compliant data handling included. See full pricing.
- Dialzara: The $29 starting price covers message-taking only. Booking-capable plans start at $99. Cost above includes overage for this volume.
- My AI Front Desk: The $99 Starter has limited minutes and no integrations. The $149 Growth plan covers this volume. Direct system connections require a custom plan.
- Smith.ai: CRM integrations and Calendly scheduling on all plans. Per-call pricing, so costs scale with volume.
Is an AI receptionist worth it? How to think about ROI
The plan price is the easy number. The harder question is: what's the cost of not having it?
Missed calls are missed revenue. If your average booking is worth £80 and you miss just 5 calls a week that would have converted, that's roughly £20,000 a year. Most appointment-based businesses miss 20–40% of inbound calls during busy periods. To see what this costs your business specifically, use the cost calculator.
Admin time has a cost. If your team spends 2 hours a day on call-related admin (taking messages, returning calls, updating systems), that's 40+ hours a month. At £15/hour, that's £600/month in labour. A system that completes tasks during the call reduces or eliminates that.
After-hours calls are real opportunities. Around 80% of callers who reach voicemail hang up without leaving a message. An AI receptionist that answers at 8pm or on Saturday captures calls that otherwise go to a competitor.
The breakeven is straightforward: if it recovers even a few bookings per month that would have been missed, it pays for itself.
Calculate what missed calls cost you
Estimate lost revenue based on your call volume and booking value.
What to watch out for with pricing
- Overage rates. Low base prices can spike with overage. A plan that covers 60 minutes sounds cheap until you use 300.
- Feature gating. Integrations, call transfers, and scheduling may only be available on higher-priced plans. Check what's included at the tier you'd actually use.
- "Integration" can mean different things. Direct connection to your booking system vs Zapier automation vs no integration at all. The word "integrates" on a features page doesn't always mean what you'd expect.
- Rollover minutes. Most plans don't roll unused minutes into the next month. If you're consistently under your plan, you may be overpaying.
- Contract terms. Most AI platforms are month-to-month. Some human services require 3–12 month commitments.
Note: At Intavia, we learn about your business and needs during onboarding, then run a pilot period after launch. If your actual usage doesn't match the initial estimate, we switch you onto the most efficient plan.
For comparison: human services
A look at the typical costs and limitations of non-AI alternatives for handling calls and admin.
- Answering services (human, message-taking): £150–£600/month in the UK depending on volume. Admin still lands on your team. See AI receptionist vs call answering service.
- Virtual receptionists (human, trained): £200–£900+/month. More capable, but significantly more expensive at volume. See AI receptionist vs virtual receptionist.
- In-house receptionist: £2,500–£3,500/month fully loaded (salary, NI, pension, benefits). Handles everything, but only during working hours, one call at a time, with holidays and sick days.