Best AI receptionist for small business (2027)

This shortlist is for an owner running a business of 1 to 20 staff who wants calls answered without a long sales process. It covers all 112 vendors tagged for small businesses in our directory and ranks them on what an owner can check before buying: the published monthly price, a free trial without a card, no contract, and setup you can do yourself. Each quick pick is chosen by a fixed rule applied to our records, never by opinion, and there is no overall winner. Prices, trials and terms come from the catalog at build time. Picks are never paid, and sponsorship does not change them.

How we picked

Every rule below runs on the vendor records in our directory. Vendors marked outbound only and vendors that have not launched are not picks. Contract, setup fee, setup and phone number claims count only where the vendor's own pricing, features, description or trial note say so; a missing claim reads "Not stated", which is not the same as "not offered". Prices count only where the record itself prints a US-dollar monthly start.

• Lowest monthly price. Lowest published US-dollar monthly start among all eligible small business vendors; ties go A to Z.
• Longest free trial without a card. A free trial or free plan with no card required. Longest stated trial wins; ties go to the lower published US-dollar monthly start, then A to Z.
• No contract and no setup fee. The record's pricing, features or trial note says there is no contract (or month to month, cancel anytime or no lock-in) and no setup fee, and it publishes a US-dollar monthly start. Lowest start wins; ties go A to Z.
• Set it up yourself and keep your number. A feature (or, when no feature says so, the description) claims self-serve setup (self-serve, setup in minutes, live in minutes or the same day), and one says you keep your existing number or it works with any phone system. Lowest published US-dollar monthly start wins, then A to Z.
• Unlimited calls on every plan. The pricing or a feature says calls, minutes or answering are unlimited on every plan, and the record publishes a US-dollar monthly start. Lowest start wins; ties go A to Z.
• Built for solo owners and small teams. Practice size names solo owners, sole traders, owner-operators or owner-run businesses and does not reach multi-location, multi-site, multi-store, multi-property, franchise, enterprise, chain, group, agency, call centre or DSO customers, and the record publishes a US-dollar monthly start. Lowest start wins; ties go A to Z.

These are vendor claims, not call-quality ratings. Read our methodology.

Quick picks for small businesses (rule-based, not paid)

Every small business vendor, by published price

All 112 vendors tagged for small businesses, ordered by published US-dollar monthly start, low to high, then every record without one A to Z. Prices are as published. A record with no price reads "Quote only" or "Not published". Setup or training fees and per-minute usage charges in the record sit next to the start. A price in another currency names its currency, and a US-dollar price that is not a single comparable monthly start (a free plan, per-user or usage-based pricing, or calls billed at a rate the vendor does not publish) says why; both are left out of the US-dollar figures below. The contract and setup columns quote the vendor's own words; where the record does not say, they read "Not stated", which is not the same as "not offered". The same vendors, with filters and sources, are on the full small business AI receptionist list.

Setting it up yourself: what to check on the trial

In our records, 6 small business vendors claim self-serve setup in their features or description: AI-Receptionist.com ("Self-serve AI receptionist with plans from $14/mo, 55+ languages, spam filtering, Google Calendar booking, and boss-mode style owner controls"), Reception.ai ("Website scan setup in minutes"), AptaBook ("Most businesses live in under 10 minutes (phone goes live after number setup)"), Trillet ("AI receptionist with 5-minute setup"), CallMelo ("Keep your current number; goes live in about 10 minutes") and DeskCaller ("Self-serve onboarding, can be live the same day"). 9 say they work with your existing number or any phone system: Voksha ("Answers in under 200 ms on existing number"), Zoom Virtual Agent Receptionist ("Works with existing phone systems (standalone)"), AptaBook ("Keeps your existing number: forward your phone line to your AptaBook number"), RingCentral AI Receptionist ("Works with any phone system"), Goodcall ("Local number included or forward existing number"), CallMelo ("Keep your current number; goes live in about 10 minutes"), Frontivo.io ("Keep your existing number"), Nevermiss ("Keep your existing number") and Sarah by Osborne Digitals ("Keeps your existing number: missed calls divert to your AI receptionist"). Most others give you a new number or forward calls from yours, so ask which before you start.

On the trial, forward your main line for an afternoon and call it yourself from a mobile. Check four things: how long it takes to go live without a sales call, whether it answers your top five questions from your website or an FAQ you paste in, what lands in your inbox or text messages after each call, and how a caller reaches you when the AI cannot help. Then read the cancellation terms before the trial ends, because some trials roll into a paid plan.

Price bands in our data

Of the 112 small business vendors, 74 publish a comparable US-dollar monthly starting price. The median paid start among them is $59/month. The cheapest five: Automaticall ($9.99/mo), fone.me ($9.99/mo), KaiCalls ($10/mo), RingOwl ($10/mo) and AI-Receptionist.com ($14/mo). Entry plans differ a lot in minutes, calls and features, so compare what each one includes, and check the overage rate if you get busy weeks.

Prices in other currencies stay in their own currency and are left out of the US-dollar figures: Agentfabriek (Starter €249/mo + one-time setup €2,499; priced in EUR), Alayic (From GBP 89.99/mo (about $119 USD per vendor FAQ) with inclusive minutes (Professional cites 450 free minutes); priced in GBP), Bridge Voice (Starter £30/mo (250 minutes, voice calls only, no SMS); priced in GBP), CallEez (Beginner £19/mo (50 minutes, 20 texts, 1 AI receptionist); priced in GBP), Callrix (Other industries: Try Me A$49/mo (75 min), Starter A$249/mo (500 min), Scale A$599/mo (1,335 min); priced in AUD), CloudTalk AI Receptionist (AI Receptionist add-on from $99/mo (200 min; USD per the English page copy); priced in USD and EUR), DeskCaller (Starter GBP 48/mo (120 min, about 40 calls); priced in GBP), Estera (Voice plans: Lite EUR 49/mo (150 min); priced in EUR), HeyDiga (Diga Lite €49/mo (200 min); priced in EUR), IONOS AI Receptionist (£39/mo excl. VAT (30 calls included, then £0.49/call, 1 forwarding); priced in GBP), Johnni AI (Pay As You Go A$49/mo monthly or A$44/mo paid annually (60 min, then A$0.50/min); priced in AUD), Lyngo AI (Starter A$139/mo + GST (45 calls, then A$3/call, 20 SMS then A$0.10 each); priced in AUD), Phone Phoebe (Basic £39/mo; priced in GBP), Ringroo (Starter A$19.95/mo (10 calls, then A$1.50/call); priced in AUD), Sarah by Osborne Digitals (AI Receptionist A$199/mo + A$149 one-off setup (200 min, then A$0.60/min); priced in AUD), Sayora (£49/mo flat, no VAT added, no setup fee, no contract; priced in GBP), Solwees (Per location: Solo €99/mo (AI assistant answers calls using call-minute packs bought separately); priced in EUR), VoiceFleet (Starter €99/mo (500 min, no automatic overage, extra-minute packs available); priced in EUR) and Waboom AI (AI receptionist: NZ$130/mo platform fee (excl. GST) plus prepaid call credit, starting with NZ$500 of credit at NZ$0.95/min and dropping to as low as NZ$0.77/min with larger credit loads; priced in NZD and AUD). To estimate a monthly bill for your own call volume, use the cost calculator. For the full market picture, read the AI receptionist pricing report and the cost guide.

How this differs from the main shortlist

The best AI receptionist shortlist picks across every vendor and every job, including multi-location teams. This page keeps to the small business tag and ranks on price, trial and setup terms, so its picks are different. If your business is in a trade or a practice, the industry guides go further: see the industry lists and the free trial guide. Weighing software against a person on the phone? Read AI receptionist vs human receptionist.

FAQ

What is the best AI receptionist for a small business?

It depends on the job, so this page has no single winner. By our published rules the picks are Automaticall (lowest monthly price), Balaay (longest free trial without a card), OnCallClerk (no contract and no setup fee), AptaBook (set it up yourself and keep your number), Jodie (Hey Jodie) (unlimited calls on every plan) and KaiCalls (built for solo owners and small teams). Each rule is listed above, and each pick should still take a test call with your own questions before you choose.

How much does an AI receptionist cost for a small business?

Among the 74 small-business-tagged vendors with a comparable US-dollar monthly start, the median paid start is $59/month. The cheapest five: Automaticall ($9.99/mo), fone.me ($9.99/mo), KaiCalls ($10/mo), RingOwl ($10/mo) and AI-Receptionist.com ($14/mo). Some vendors bill per call or per minute on top of the plan, so check the price column above and try the cost calculator.

Which AI receptionists for small business have a free trial with no card?

38 small-business-tagged vendors list a free trial or free plan with no card required. The cheapest five with a published US-dollar start: Automaticall ($9.99/mo), RingOwl ($10/mo), AI-Receptionist.com ($14/mo), AskSiya ($29/mo) and Balaay ($29/mo). Trial terms for every vendor are in the table above, and the free trial guide has more.

Can I get an AI receptionist without a contract?

45 small business records say there is no contract, or that plans run month to month or can be cancelled anytime. The cheapest five with a published US-dollar start: Automaticall ($9.99/mo), RingOwl ($10/mo), Voksha ($14/mo), Balaay ($29/mo) and OnCallClerk ($29/mo). For every other vendor the record does not say, so ask about the notice period and any annual commitment before you sign up.

Can I keep my existing business number?

9 small business records say they work with your existing number or any phone system: Voksha ("Answers in under 200 ms on existing number"), Zoom Virtual Agent Receptionist ("Works with existing phone systems (standalone)"), AptaBook ("Keeps your existing number: forward your phone line to your AptaBook number"), RingCentral AI Receptionist ("Works with any phone system"), Goodcall ("Local number included or forward existing number"), CallMelo ("Keep your current number; goes live in about 10 minutes"), Frontivo.io ("Keep your existing number"), Nevermiss ("Keep your existing number") and Sarah by Osborne Digitals ("Keeps your existing number: missed calls divert to your AI receptionist"). Many others answer calls you forward to a number they give you, which also keeps your published number, so ask each vendor how forwarding works with your phone provider.

Related

• AI receptionist for small businesses and the best AI receptionist shortlist
• AI receptionist cost, the cost calculator, free trials and the pricing report
• AI receptionist vs human receptionist

Picks are rule-based and never sold. Vendor facts are claims from each vendor's own record, with sources on its vendor page. Read our methodology before you buy.