For most small businesses that mainly need calls answered, Upfirst is the best My AI Front Desk alternative: $24.95 a month for 30 calls with booking, warm transfers, 35+ languages and a 14 day trial Upfirst pricing ↗. Rosie gives the most minutes for the money at $49 for 250 Rosie pricing ↗, and Smith.ai is the best free option with 25 calls a month Smith.ai AI pricing ↗.
- Cheaper phone answering with bookingUpfirstStarts at $24.95/month for 30 calls, or $20 billed yearly [5]
- Most minutes for the moneyRosieStarts at $49/month for 250 minutes [7]
- Long calls, repeat callers and HIPAAGoodcallStarts at $79/month for 100 unique customers [9]
- Free plan and live human backupSmith.aiFree for 25 calls; paid from $150/month for 75 calls [11]
Why people look for alternatives to My AI Front Desk
My AI Front Desk has one self serve plan, Business in a Box, at $99 a month or $79 billed yearly, with 200 voice minutes and a 7 day free trial but no free plan My AI Front Desk pricing ↗. Usage beyond the allowance runs on credits, with a voice minute costing 25 credits, or $0.25 My AI Front Desk pricing ↗. The plan includes 2 editor seats and keeps the last 200 logs My AI Front Desk pricing ↗. If you only need phones answered, you may be paying for SMS, chatbot, email and outbound features you will not use My AI Front Desk pricing ↗ My AI Front Desk features ↗. Its single Capterra UK review gives it 2 out of 5 and describes a misleading sales process, complicated Zapier setup and a HubSpot connection that did not work as the reviewer expected, though its G2 rating is 4.8 out of 5 from 14 reviews Capterra UK review ↗ G2 My AI Front Desk ↗. People look elsewhere for a cheaper phone only plan, simpler billing, a free start or a live human backup.
The best My AI Front Desk alternatives
- 1Starts at $24.95/month for 30 calls, or $20 billed yearly [5]
Upfirst
Cheaper phone answering with booking
Upfirst starts at $24.95 a month for 30 calls and includes booking, warm transfers, in call texting, spam blocking, Zapier and 35+ languages on every plan Upfirst pricing ↗. It books into Google Calendar, Outlook, Calendly, Acuity, Square and Clio, and Capterra reviewers rate it 5.0 out of 5 from 13 reviews Upfirst features ↗ Capterra Upfirst ↗.
- 2Starts at $49/month for 250 minutes [7]
Rosie
Most minutes for the money
Rosie's Professional plan is $49 a month for 250 minutes, and it trains itself from your website and Google Business Profile Rosie pricing ↗ Rosie features ↗. Every plan includes English and Spanish, iOS and Android apps and a free website chat widget, but calendar booking and transfers start on the $149 plan Rosie pricing ↗.
- 3Starts at $79/month for 100 unique customers [9]
Goodcall
Long calls, repeat callers and HIPAA
Goodcall bills per unique customer with no per minute charges, from $79 a month for 100 customers, and lets you build and test a demo agent before paying Goodcall pricing ↗. It books on your calendar, transfers with a backup, syncs to HighLevel and says it is HIPAA and SOC 2 compliant Goodcall features ↗.
- 4Free for 25 calls; paid from $150/month for 75 calls [11]
Smith.ai
Free plan and live human backup
Smith.ai's AI Receptionist has a $0 plan for 25 real calls a month with AI scheduling, lead qualification and native integrations such as Clio and Zapier Smith.ai AI pricing ↗. It also integrates with Salesforce and HubSpot, and can pass hard calls to 500+ North America based receptionists as a per call add on Smith.ai AI features ↗.
- 5Starts at $29/month for 60 minutes [13]
Dialzara
Low cost calls plus text and chat
Dialzara starts at $29 a month for 60 minutes with booking, lead qualification, call routing and English and Spanish Dialzara pricing ↗. Its AI SMS agent is free with any voice plan and its website chatbot is free for the first 100 sessions a month, so it covers some of the same channels for less Dialzara pricing ↗.
- 6Starts at $250/month for 50 minutes [14]
Ruby
Real human receptionists
Ruby's live receptionists handle scheduling, payment collection, lead intake and 24/7 Spanish and bilingual calls, with AI transcripts included at no extra cost Ruby pricing ↗. Ruby lists HIPAA compliant services Ruby pricing ↗.
At a glance
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upfirst | Cheaper phone answering with booking | Starts at $24.95/month for 30 calls, or $20 billed yearly [5] | No |
| Rosie | Most minutes for the money | Starts at $49/month for 250 minutes [7] | No |
| Goodcall | Long calls, repeat callers and HIPAA | Starts at $79/month for 100 unique customers [9] | No |
| Smith.ai | Free plan and live human backup | Free for 25 calls; paid from $150/month for 75 calls [11] | Yes |
| Dialzara | Low cost calls plus text and chat | Starts at $29/month for 60 minutes [13] | No |
| Ruby | Real human receptionists | Starts at $250/month for 50 minutes [14] | No |
Prices checked Oct 9, 2026. See the full price index.
How to choose a My AI Front Desk alternative
First decide whether you need more than phone calls. My AI Front Desk is built to handle voice, SMS, WhatsApp, email and chat with one AI and to make outbound calls My AI Front Desk features ↗. If you use those channels, the closest lower cost match is Dialzara, which adds a free SMS agent and a website chatbot to its voice plans Dialzara pricing ↗. If you only need phones answered, a phone focused tool like Upfirst or Rosie will usually cost less Upfirst pricing ↗ Rosie pricing ↗.
Next, match billing to your calls. Upfirst and Smith.ai bill per call, Rosie and Dialzara per minute and Goodcall per unique customer Upfirst pricing ↗ Smith.ai AI pricing ↗ Rosie pricing ↗ Dialzara pricing ↗ Goodcall pricing ↗. Long calls favor per call or per customer pricing. Short, frequent calls favor minutes.
Then check the things that are easy to miss: languages, compliance and human help. Upfirst lists 35+ languages, more than My AI Front Desk's 20+ Upfirst pricing ↗ My AI Front Desk pricing ↗. Goodcall says it is HIPAA compliant, and Upfirst offers BAAs only on Custom plans Goodcall features ↗ Upfirst pricing ↗. Only Smith.ai and Ruby put trained humans on your calls Smith.ai AI features ↗ Ruby pricing ↗.
- Best overall for phone calls: Upfirst
- Most minutes for the money: Rosie
- Long calls or HIPAA: Goodcall
- Best free plan: Smith.ai
- Calls plus texts and chat on a budget: Dialzara
- Human receptionists: Ruby
What $99 a month buys elsewhere
My AI Front Desk's $99 covers 200 voice minutes plus 400 SMS, 100 chatbot conversations, 300 form submissions and 20 outbound calls a day My AI Front Desk pricing ↗.
For similar money, Upfirst Premium at $59.95 handles 90 calls, and Pro at $159.95 handles 300 Upfirst pricing ↗. Rosie's $49 plan gives 250 minutes, and its $149 plan 1,000 minutes with booking and transfers Rosie pricing ↗. Goodcall's $79 Starter covers 100 unique customers, about 150 calls, and its $129 Growth plan 500 customers Goodcall pricing ↗. Dialzara's $99 Business Pro covers 220 minutes Dialzara pricing ↗. Smith.ai's $150 Pro covers 75 calls Smith.ai AI pricing ↗.
In plain terms, phone only tools give you more calls for the same money, while My AI Front Desk gives you more channels. Price the plan on your real call log, not on the headline number.
Free and low risk ways to try
Smith.ai is the only option here with an ongoing free plan: 25 real calls a month, with extra calls at $3.00 Smith.ai AI pricing ↗. Goodcall lets you build a demo agent, test it and hear it answer for free, and charges only when you connect a number Goodcall pricing ↗.
For trials, Upfirst gives 14 days with no credit card Upfirst pricing ↗, while Rosie, Dialzara and My AI Front Desk each give 7 days Rosie pricing ↗ Dialzara pricing ↗ My AI Front Desk pricing ↗. Use the trial on after hours or missed calls first, read every summary and test any integration you plan to rely on.
Switching from My AI Front Desk
Most of these tools work by forwarding your existing number, so callers see no change. Upfirst lets you forward all calls, only missed calls or only after hours calls Upfirst features ↗, and Goodcall includes a local number on every plan or lets you forward your own Goodcall pricing ↗.
Before you cancel, export your contacts from My AI Front Desk's built in CRM and save the knowledge base text you wrote My AI Front Desk features ↗ My AI Front Desk pricing ↗. If you use its texting, chat or outbound calls, line up a replacement for each channel first, since most phone focused alternatives do not cover all of them.
How we picked
We looked for AI receptionists a small business could use instead of My AI Front Desk, focusing on entry price, billing unit, booking and transfers, languages, HIPAA, free options and human backup. We used each vendor's pricing and product pages plus G2 and Capterra listings, all checked October 10, 2026 My AI Front Desk pricing ↗ My AI Front Desk features ↗ G2 My AI Front Desk ↗ Capterra UK review ↗ Upfirst pricing ↗ Rosie pricing ↗ Goodcall pricing ↗ Smith.ai AI pricing ↗ Dialzara pricing ↗ Ruby pricing ↗ Capterra Upfirst ↗. We have not tested these tools hands on for this page yet. Hands on testing is in progress; we'll update this page with results.
Questions people ask
What is the best alternative to My AI Front Desk?
Upfirst, if you mainly need calls answered and booked. It starts at $24.95 a month with booking, transfers and 35+ languages on every plan Upfirst pricing ↗.
Is there a free alternative to My AI Front Desk?
Yes. Smith.ai's AI Receptionist has a free plan with 25 real calls a month Smith.ai AI pricing ↗.
Does My AI Front Desk have a free plan?
No free plan is listed. It offers a 7 day free trial with no credit card, then $99 a month or $79 billed yearly My AI Front Desk pricing ↗.
Which alternative also handles texts and website chat?
Dialzara includes its AI SMS agent free with any voice plan and its website chatbot free for 100 sessions a month Dialzara pricing ↗. Rosie includes a free website chat widget Rosie pricing ↗.
Which alternative is HIPAA compliant?
Goodcall says it is HIPAA and SOC 2 compliant Goodcall features ↗. Ruby lists HIPAA compliant services Ruby pricing ↗, and Upfirst offers BAAs on Custom plans Upfirst pricing ↗.
How much does My AI Front Desk charge for extra minutes?
A voice minute costs 25 credits, and credits are $0.01 each, so about $0.25 a minute My AI Front Desk pricing ↗.
Where this comes from
Checked Oct 9, 2026. Vendor pages describe their own products; independent sources add outside views. We have not tested these tools hands on yet.
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