Cheapest AI receptionist for handyman businesses
At the example numbers below, the lowest estimated monthly bill is from Goodcall (Starter plan), $79 a month. The table ranks every vendor with a public price for this usage; vendors with the same bill share a rank.
The numbers we used
| Calls a month | 125 Unverified |
|---|---|
| Average call length | 3 minutes Unverified |
| Calls outside business hours | 20% Unverified |
| Calls the AI answers | All calls |
| Prices as published | Read on each vendor's own pricing page on 2026-10-30 |
Unverified means these are example numbers we chose, not survey data. Use a month from your phone log for your own estimate.
Where these starting numbers come from
- Calls a month: 125, the middle of the 70 to 180 a month that SubCall's contractor call volume benchmarks list for handyman teams of 2 to 5 people Reported.
- After hours: 20%. SubCall gives no after-hours figure for handyman work; we used the middle of its 15 to 25% for general contracting, the closest trade it lists Unverified.
- Call length: 3 minutes, rounded from the 2.9-minute average for home services calls in CallRail's study of 100 million calls (August 2020) Reported.
- SubCall sells an AI receptionist and says its ranges are aggregated from public marketing benchmarks and trade association reporting, not measured averages.
Estimated monthly bill, lowest first
| Rank | Vendor | Estimated monthly bill | Lowest starting price (full cost) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Goodcall | $79Starter: within the plan | $79 |
| 2 | Quo Sona (formerly OpenPhone) | $84.25Starter + Sona Tier 3: 25 calls over the plan; $19/mo required Starter seat + $49/mo Sona Tier 3 credits | $19 |
| 3 | Upfirst | $94.95Premium: 35 calls over the plan | $24.95 |
| 4 | My AI Front Desk (Frontdesk) | $132.75Business-in-a-Box: 135 min over at $0.25 | $99 |
| 5 | Rosie | $149Scale: auto-upgraded from the $49 plan | $49 |
| 5 | Simple Phones | $149Advanced: plan sized to cover your calls (hard cap) | $49 |
| 7 | Jobber Receptionist | $153.05Core + Receptionist add-on: 95 conversations over the plan; $49/mo required Jobber Core plan + $29/mo Receptionist add-on | $78 |
| 8 | Dialzara | $171.75Business Pro: 155 minutes over the plan; includes $3/mo required phone number | $32 |
| 9 | RingCentral AI Receptionist (AIR) | $186.50Standalone: 275 minutes over the plan | $49 |
| 10 | NextPhone | $199Pro: flat price, unlimited calls | $199 |
| 11 | Smith.ai AI Receptionist | $270Pro (150 calls): within the plan | $150 |
| 12 | OnCrew | $322.25Pro: 175 minutes over the plan | $49 |
| 13 | Sameday AI | from $449Launch: "starts at" price; overage not published | $449 |
| 14 | Abby Connect (human + AI) | $599Professional: within the plan; all-AI answering (counts half) | $164 |
| 15 | Ruby (live receptionists + AI) | $1,725500 minutes: plan sized to cover your minutes; overage not published | $250 |
Price known, usage limits not published
- Allo AI Receptionist: $60 (Solo seat + AI Receptionist add-on: usage limits not published; $15/mo required Solo seat + $45/mo AI Receptionist add-on)
- CallRail Voice Assist: $75 (Voice Assist: usage limits not published; standalone, no CallRail plan required)
No public price for this usage
- Avoca AI: n/a (price not published)
- Housecall Pro CSR AI: n/a (CSR AI price not published; needs a Housecall Pro plan from $79/mo)
We list these separately instead of guessing what they would charge.
These bills come from the same calculation as the calculator, using each vendor's published plans as of 2026-10-30. Each bill includes any plan, seat or phone number the vendor requires before you can add call answering. Taxes, one-time fees and optional extras aren't included. For Goodcall we assume 1.5 calls per unique customer, Goodcall's own ratio. Vendors are sorted by estimated bill alone.
If your volume is different
The cheapest plan can change with volume. Same call length and after-hours share, half and double the calls:
| Calls a month | Lowest estimated bill | Calculator |
|---|---|---|
| 62 | Rosie and Simple Phones, tied at $49 a month | Check in the calculator |
| 125 | Goodcall (Starter plan), $79 a month | Check in the calculator |
| 250 | Quo Sona (formerly OpenPhone) (Starter + Sona Tier 4 plan), $118 a month | Check in the calculator |
Change the numbers in the handyman calculator