AI receptionist overage charges compared
What each vendor charges when a month runs past the plan, and what a busier month would do to the bill. Some charge per extra minute or call, some move you up a plan, and some don't publish what happens.
The numbers we used
| Calls a month | 200 Unverified |
|---|---|
| Average call length | 3 minutes Unverified |
| Calls outside business hours | 30% Unverified |
| Calls the AI answers | All calls |
| Prices as published | Read on each vendor's own pricing page on 2026-10-29 |
Then the same month with 25% more calls: 250 calls.
Unverified means these are example numbers we chose, not survey data. Use a month from your phone log for your own estimate.
Overage terms and the effect of a busier month
| Vendor | Billed | Over the limit, by plan | 200 calls | 250 calls | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goodcall | unique customers (one phone number, once per month); no minute metering | Starter: $0.79 per extra customer; Growth: $0.26 per extra customer; Scale: $0.15 per extra customer; Enterprise: volume pricing | $105.33Starter: 33 customers over the plan | $129Growth: within the plan | +$23.67 |
| Quo Sona (formerly OpenPhone) | per-user phone plan, plus Sona AI calls bought as credits (1 call = 100 credits) | Starter (per user): $1.00 per extra Sona call; Business (per user): $1.00 per extra Sona call; Scale (per user): $1.00 per extra Sona call; Sona credits Tier 2 (add-on): $0.75 per extra call; Sona credits Tier 3 (add-on): $0.65 per extra call; Sona credits Tier 4 (add-on): $0.55 per extra call; Sona credits Tier 5 (add-on): $0.45 per extra call | $118Starter + Sona Tier 4: within the plan; includes one $19 Starter seat | $118Starter + Sona Tier 4: within the plan; includes one $19 Starter seat | no change |
| Rosie | minutes (bucket); going over auto-upgrades you to the next plan | Professional: auto-upgrade to Scale ($149); Scale: auto-upgrade to Growth ($299); Growth: custom-volume plan (contact) | $149Scale: auto-upgraded from the $49 plan | $149Scale: auto-upgraded from the $49 plan | no change |
| Simple Phones | calls per month, hard cap per plan | Basic: none: over the cap, the number is released; Advanced: none: over the cap, the number is released; Premium: none: over the cap, the number is released | $149Advanced: plan sized to cover your calls (hard cap) | $149Advanced: plan sized to cover your calls (hard cap) | no change |
| Upfirst | per call (spam and calls under 15 seconds not billed) | Starter: $1.50 per call; Premium: $1.00 per call; Pro: $0.75 per call; Scale: $0.70 per call; Custom: volume pricing | $159.95Pro: within the plan | $159.95Pro: within the plan | no change |
| Jobber Receptionist | conversations (a call or a 24-hour text thread) | Receptionist add-on: $0.79 per conversation (or pause at the limit); Included on Jobber Plus: none | $163.30Receptionist add-on: 170 conversations over the plan; plus your Jobber plan | $202.80Receptionist add-on: 220 conversations over the plan; plus your Jobber plan | +$39.50 |
| My AI Front Desk (Frontdesk) | voice minutes, then credits ($0.01 each) | Business-in-a-Box: 25 credits/min = $0.25/min; 1,000 overage credits included monthly (~40 min); auto-reload $10 per 1,000 credits; Partner / Enterprise: as low as 7 credits/min | $189Business-in-a-Box: 360 min over at $0.25 | $226.50Business-in-a-Box: 510 min over at $0.25 | +$37.50 |
| NextPhone | flat monthly; unlimited inbound calls | Pro: none; Growth: none; Scale: none | $199Pro: flat price, unlimited calls | $199Pro: flat price, unlimited calls | no change |
| Dialzara | talk-time minutes (tracked to the second) | Business Lite: $0.48/min; Business Pro: $0.45/min; Business Plus: $0.40/min; Business Elite: $0.35/min; Done for You!: inquire | $242Business Plus: 100 minutes over the plan; includes $3 phone number | $302Business Plus: 250 minutes over the plan; includes $3 phone number | +$60 |
| RingCentral AI Receptionist (AIR) | minutes, rounded up to 30-second increments | Standalone: $0.50/min pay-as-you-go; bundles available; Add-on with RingEX: $0.50/min | $299Standalone: 500 minutes over the plan | $374Standalone: 650 minutes over the plan | +$75 |
| Smith.ai AI Receptionist | per call | Free: $3.00 per call; Pro (75 calls): $2.50 per extra call; Pro (150 calls): $2.30 per extra call; Pro or Enterprise (300 calls): $2.17 per extra call; Enterprise (500 calls): $2.10 per extra call | $385Pro (150 calls): 50 calls over the plan | $500Pro (150 calls): 100 calls over the plan | +$115 |
| OnCrew | minutes of answered calls; $0.99 per minute past the plan | Starter: $0.99 per extra minute; Pro: $0.99 per extra minute; Multi-Truck: $0.99 per extra minute | $448Multi-Truck: 100 minutes over the plan | $596.50Multi-Truck: 250 minutes over the plan | +$148.50 |
| Sameday AI | minutes ('starts at' pricing) | Launch: not published; Scale: not published; Enterprise: custom | from $789Scale: "starts at" price; overage not published | from $789Scale: "starts at" price; overage not published | no change |
| Abby Connect (human + AI) | Abby Minutes: 1 human minute = 1 Abby Minute; 1 AI minute = half an Abby Minute | Starter: about $3.28 per Abby Minute; Essential: about $3.29 per Abby Minute; Professional: about $3.00 per Abby Minute; Growth: about $2.76 per Abby Minute; Enterprise: contact | $898.50Professional: 100 minutes over the plan; all-AI answering (counts half) | $1,123.13Professional: 175 minutes over the plan; all-AI answering (counts half) | +$224.63 |
| Allo AI Receptionist | per agent per month (on top of a per-seat phone plan) | AI Receptionist add-on: not published; Solo seat (required plan): n/a | $60AI Receptionist add-on: usage limits not published | $60AI Receptionist add-on: usage limits not published | usage limits not published |
| CallRail Voice Assist | monthly base fee plus extra calls and texts past the plan; included amount not published | Voice Assist: billed extra; rate not published | $75Voice Assist: usage limits not published | $75Voice Assist: usage limits not published | usage limits not published |
| Avoca AI | not published | All plans: not published | n/aprice not published | n/aprice not published | not published |
| Housecall Pro CSR AI | not published | CSR AI: not published | n/aprice not published | n/aprice not published | not published |
| Ruby (live receptionists + AI) | receptionist minutes per month | 50 minutes: not published; 100 minutes: not published; 200 minutes: not published; 500 minutes: not published | n/aover 500 min: custom quote | n/aover 500 min: custom quote | not published |
Sorted by estimated bill at 200 calls, as on the calculator. "Over the limit" is each vendor's published wording; "not published" means we couldn't find it on a public page. The bill uses the cheapest plan for each month, so a busier month can switch plans.
These bills come from the same calculation as the calculator, using each vendor's published plans as of 2026-10-29. Taxes, phone-number fees (unless published) and add-ons aren't included. For Goodcall we assume 1.5 calls per unique customer, Goodcall's own ratio. Vendors are sorted by estimated bill alone.