Upfirst alternatives

Last updated: 15 October 2026. Upfirst is a budget, per-call AI receptionist for many industries, with paid plans from $24.95/mo. This page compares it with seven peers from AI Front Desk List (180 vendors as of today) for buyers weighing budget plans, trials and trades fit. Figures come from our vendor records checked 2026-10-15. No invented ratings, and directory order is not for sale.

Who Upfirst is for

Upfirst is an AI answering service and virtual receptionist priced per call, with 24/7, overflow-only or after-hours modes. Our listing tags it for home services, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, real estate, law firms, property management, restaurants, salons and general small business.

Published plans: Starter $24.95/mo (30 calls, $1.50/extra); Premium $59.95/mo (90 calls, $1/extra); Pro $159.95/mo (300 calls, $0.75/extra); Scale $299/mo (600 calls, $0.70/extra); save 20% annually. Features include warm transfers, scheduling, in-call texting, 35+ languages and returning-caller memory. Integrations: Google Calendar, Outlook, Clio, Acuity, Calendly, Square and Zapier. Trial: Free trial, 14 days. Upfirst invites you to hear its AI at (833) 564-4778.

Why people look for Upfirst alternatives

From our snapshot:

1. Small Starter bundle. 30 calls suits a pilot, but a busy line reaches per-call overage quickly.
2. Trades emergencies. OnCrew adds emergency triage and on-call tech alerts that Upfirst does not list.
3. A different entry price. KaiCalls starts at $10/mo and Voka AI at $19/mo, against $24.95/mo for Upfirst.
4. Minutes instead of calls. Some owners would rather budget talk time than call count.

Upfirst at a glance

Upfirst alternatives compared

The alternatives, one by one

Rosie

Steps up from 30 calls to 250 minutes for $49/mo, with English and Spanish on every call. Calendar booking and live or warm transfers start on the Scale plan. Rosie listing.

Marlie

$49/mo for 250 minutes, then per-minute overage, with calendar booking from the Standard plan. Trial: Free trial, 14 days. Marlie listing.

Dialzara

$29/mo for 60 minutes, then per-minute overage. Warm transfers start on Business Pro; our record does not say which plan includes calendar booking. Dialzara listing.

Voka AI

Published plans: PAYG $19/mo ($0.45/min); Light $49/mo (100 min, then $0.35); Flex $89/mo (300 min, then $0.25); Value $149/mo (600 min, then $0.18); Commit $229/mo (1,200 min, then $0.18). Scheduling add-ons $9.99 to $19.99/mo; SMS add-ons $14.99/$24.99. Free for 14 days or 100 minutes, with no credit card. The connector list includes Square Appointments, Acuity, Calendly, Zapier, Make and n8n. Voka AI listing.

KaiCalls

Published plans: Kai Backup $10/mo (~20 answered calls); Kai Line $79/mo (~170 calls); Kai Office $349/mo (~800 calls, 1 number + 3 office lines); $2 for first week then plan price; extra lines $15/mo ($29/mo on Office); optional DNI from $50/mo. The paid first week means it is not a free trial. It names ServiceTitan, Jobber, Housecall Pro and GoHighLevel integrations. KaiCalls listing.

OnCrew

For HVAC, plumbing, electrical and roofing. Published plans: Starter $49/mo (100 calls); Pro $149/mo (400 calls); Multi-Truck $349/mo (1,000 calls); $0.99 per extra call. It adds emergency triage with your rules and texts to the on-call tech. Trial: Free trial, 14 days, no card required, plus a 30-day money-back guarantee. OnCrew listing.

PhoneMachine.ai

New in our catalog this month and also call-based. Published plans: Starter $49/mo (75 answered calls, 100 SMS, 2 users); Growing $99/mo (200 calls, 300 SMS, 5 users); Pro custom (power dialer, campaigns). Extra calls $0.50 each; extra SMS $0.03/segment; carrier fees at cost. Google Calendar booking and a shared inbox are listed. No trial is stated, but the vendor invites you to call its AI before signing up. PhoneMachine.ai listing.

When to stay with Upfirst

Stay if you want a low per-call start ($24.95/mo) with a 14-day free trial, a public demo line, Clio support for light legal use and a wide set of modes and languages. Re-price overage once you know your monthly call count.

FAQ

Is Upfirst the cheapest AI receptionist?

Upfirst starts at $24.95/mo. KaiCalls starts at $10/mo and Voka AI at $19/mo; of the three, KaiCalls has the lowest paid start in our data. Free plans exist elsewhere, such as Smith.ai and Phonely.

Does the Upfirst trial need a credit card?

Our data lists a 14-day free trial but does not record card terms. Confirm on Upfirst's signup page before you start.

Upfirst or OnCrew for HVAC?

Both bill per call. OnCrew starts at $49/mo for 100 calls and adds emergency triage; Upfirst starts at $24.95/mo for 30 calls, with wider industry tags. Compare both on our HVAC page.

Which alternative has the lowest overage per call?

Compare the per-extra-call rates in each published plan list. PhoneMachine.ai: Starter $49/mo (75 answered calls, 100 SMS, 2 users); Growing $99/mo (200 calls, 300 SMS, 5 users); Pro custom (power dialer, campaigns). Extra calls $0.50 each; extra SMS $0.03/segment; carrier fees at cost. OnCrew: Starter $49/mo (100 calls); Pro $149/mo (400 calls); Multi-Truck $349/mo (1,000 calls); $0.99 per extra call. Upfirst: Starter $24.95/mo (30 calls, $1.50/extra); Premium $59.95/mo (90 calls, $1/extra); Pro $159.95/mo (300 calls, $0.75/extra); Scale $299/mo (600 calls, $0.70/extra); save 20% annually.

Is this a paid ranking?

No. Picks are editorial. Rankings and picks are never sold. Paid placements are always labelled Sponsored. See our methodology and Advertise.

Related pages

• Upfirst vendor page
• AI receptionist for home services, HVAC, small businesses
• AI receptionist cost guide and free trial guide
• Methodology and submit a correction

Disclosure

Snapshot dated 2026-10-15. Confirm prices on each vendor's site before you buy. AI Front Desk List is independent and is not affiliated with Upfirst or any vendor named here.