How much does an AI receptionist cost?

The three ways it is priced

• Per minute: you pay for the time the receptionist is on the phone. Good if most calls are short, because a 40-second "are you open Saturday?" costs almost nothing.
• Per call: every answered call counts the same, however long it runs. Good if calls are long and detailed, and easy to predict.
• A monthly plan with an allowance: a set number of minutes or calls each month for a fixed price, often with a lower rate per minute than pay as you go.

Some plans add a charge for each phone number, for texting, or for extra receptionists. Read what happens when you go over the allowance: some plans keep answering and charge more, others stop.

What published plans cost today

These are the prices on each company's own pricing page, checked on 1 October 2026. Rosie and Smith.ai show US dollars; Aroha shows New Zealand dollars. Prices change, so check again before you decide.

• Rosie: $49 a month for 250 minutes, $149 for 1,000 minutes and $299 for 2,000 minutes, with a 7-day free trial.
• Smith.ai AI receptionist: a free tier with 25 calls a month and $3 for each call after that; Pro from $150 a month for 75 to 300 calls, with extra calls at $2 each; Enterprise from $500 a month.
• Aroha: free to build and test in your browser; Essentials NZ$79.99 a month with 150 plan minutes and one number; Growth NZ$179.99 with 450 plan minutes; Pro NZ$349.99 with 1,200 plan minutes; or pay as you go at NZ$0.59 a minute answered plus NZ$5 a month for a number. Prices exclude GST and there is no contract. See Aroha's pricing.

Work out your own number

You need two figures, and your phone bill or call log has both: how many calls you get in a month, and how long they last on average.

Multiply them. A plumber who gets 120 calls a month that last three minutes each needs about 360 minutes. On a per-minute plan that is the number to compare. On a per-call plan, 120 is the number.

Then add the calls you miss today, not just the ones you answer. The point of a receptionist is to pick up the ones that currently ring out, so your real volume is higher than what you handle now. Our guide to what a missed call costs a trade business shows how to count them.

What to check besides the price

• Does it book into your real calendar while the caller is on the line, or only take a message?
• What happens with an urgent job: does it reach you, and how?
• Can you keep your number and forward only the calls you miss? See keep your number or get a new one.
• Does it text the caller and you a summary, so nothing is lost?
• What happens when you run out of minutes or calls?

A cheaper plan that only takes messages can cost more in lost jobs than a dearer one that books them. Our list of questions to ask before you choose goes through the rest.

A worked example

Take the plumber with 120 calls of three minutes: about 360 minutes a month. On Aroha, Essentials (150 minutes) would be too small; Growth (450 minutes, NZ$179.99) covers it with room for busy weeks; pay as you go would be about NZ$212 plus NZ$5 for the number. Growth is the better buy once you are past roughly 300 minutes a month.

If the same business mostly got quick calls of under a minute, pay as you go would win. That is why the length of your calls matters as much as how many there are.

Questions

Is an AI receptionist cheaper than a human one?

Usually, by a long way. A part-time receptionist costs a wage for set hours; an AI receptionist answers every hour of every day for a monthly fee or a per-minute rate. It will not replace a person who does other work in your office, but for answering and booking calls it costs a fraction.

Do I pay for calls it cannot handle?

On a per-minute plan you pay for the time it is on the phone, including calls it passes to you. On a per-call plan every answered call counts. Check whether spam calls are screened out before they count.

Can I try it before paying?

With Aroha you can build a receptionist and ring it in your browser free. You only pay when you want it answering a real phone number. See pricing.