---
title: How Much Does an AI Receptionist Cost? (2026 Pricing Guide)
description: "AI receptionist pricing in 2026: published prices, how vendors bill, hidden costs, and how to compare the cost for your dental practice or med spa."
---

[Callura Insights | AI Voice Agents for Healthcare](https://www.blog.callura.io/callura-blog)

# [How Much Does an AI Receptionist Cost? (2026 Pricing Guide)](https://www.blog.callura.io/callura-blog/ai-receptionist-cost)

 Written by [Callura](https://www.blog.callura.io/callura-blog/author/callura) | Oct 5, 2026, 11:31:24 PM

Practice owners ask the same first question about AI phone answering: what does it cost? The honest answer is that published prices range widely, and the tools that matter most to dental practices and med spas often don’t publish theirs. This guide pulls together what vendors actually publish, explains how they bill, and shows how to compare the cost against what missed calls cost you.

**An AI receptionist costs anywhere from about $29 a month for a general small-business tool to more than $1,000 a month for some dental plans. Tools that book directly into a dental or med spa system usually cost more than message-taking tools, and many of them quote per practice based on call volume, locations, and integrations.**

*Prices below come from each company’s own website as of October 2026. They change often, so confirm them with each vendor.*

## Published prices at a glance

| Tool | How it bills | Published price | Worth knowing |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **Dialzara** | Flat monthly plan | From $29/mo | General small business; no PMS integration named |
| **Goodcall** | Per agent, per month | $79–$249/mo | General; dental PMS integration not confirmed |
| **Clara AI** | Flat tiers | $99–$749+/mo | Med spa; direct booking starts on the $500 plan |
| **Boulevard Beau** | Per location plus minutes | $125/mo per location for 200 minutes, then $0.60/min | Boulevard customers only |
| **Smith.ai (AI)** | Per call | $0 for 25 calls; $150/mo; $500+/mo | States it is not HIPAA-compliant |
| **IVAI** | Flat tiers plus integration fee | $219 / $589 / $759 per month | Medical; 1-year subscription |
| **Viva** | Flat tiers | $349 / $899 / $1,199 per month | Dental |
| **Third Voice** | Per practice | About $800/mo for a typical practice | Dental |
| **Ruby (human)** | Per minute | $250/mo for 50 minutes to $1,725/mo for 500 | Human receptionists; signs a BAA |
| **Callura, Arini, Adit, Weave AI, Zenoti, PatientNow, VoxHealth** | Quoted | Not published | Most dental and med spa tools that book into your system quote per practice |

For what each tool actually does, see our comparisons for [dental practices](https://www.blog.callura.io/callura-blog/best-ai-receptionist-tools-for-dental-practices-2026-comparison) and [med spas](https://www.blog.callura.io/callura-blog/best-ai-receptionist-for-med-spas-2026-comparison).

## The five ways AI receptionists bill

- **Per minute.** You pay for talk time. Predictable for low volume; it climbs quickly when calls run long.
- **Per call.** Every answered call counts, including wrong numbers and spam, so ask how those are handled.
- **Flat monthly tiers.** Easy to budget. Check which tier actually includes booking into your system.
- **Per location.** Common for multi-location groups and platform add-ons.
- **Quoted per practice.** Usually means the price depends on your call volume, number of locations, and integrations.

## What drives the price

- **Booking versus message-taking.** A tool that books, reschedules, and cancels in your PMS during the call does more work, and usually costs more, than one that takes a message.
- **Call volume and coverage.** Every call, overflow only, or after hours only.
- **Locations and providers.** Each location may need its own schedule rules and phone setup.
- **Integrations.** Direct PMS or booking-system connections take setup work; some vendors charge an integration fee.
- **Add-ons.** For example, [insurance eligibility verification during the call](https://www.blog.callura.io/en/ai-insurance-verification), deeper benefit details, or outbound follow-up.

## Costs that aren’t on the pricing page

- Setup or integration fees, and how long setup takes.
- Overage rates once you pass included minutes or calls.
- Annual contracts versus month-to-month.
- Whether a BAA costs extra. For patient calls, you need one. Here is [what a BAA covers and which AI receptionists sign one](https://www.blog.callura.io/callura-blog/are-ai-receptionists-hipaa-compliant).
- Your team’s time: who writes the scripts, tests the booking rules, and handles changes.

## How to compare the cost

An AI receptionist is easier to judge against what it replaces than against other software.

- **Staff time.** The median wage for receptionists in the US was $18.27 an hour in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, before benefits, training, and coverage for breaks, lunch, and after hours.
- **Answering services.** Human services commonly bill by the minute, and most take a message instead of booking. See [AI receptionist vs. answering service](https://www.blog.callura.io/callura-blog/ai-receptionist-vs-answering-service).
- **Missed calls.** The biggest cost is often the patient who reaches voicemail and books elsewhere.

**Illustrative example:** if an AI virtual assistant books 3 new patients a month who would otherwise have reached voicemail, and each new patient is worth $1,000 in first-year revenue to your practice, that is $3,000 a month in new revenue. Use your own numbers: your missed-call count, the share that are new patients, and your average new-patient value. These are planning assumptions, not a guarantee. Our [speed-to-lead guide](https://www.blog.callura.io/callura-blog/cms-blog/speed-to-lead) walks through the math in more detail. For a full dental version with break-even and lifetime value, see our [dental AI receptionist ROI guide](https://www.blog.callura.io/callura-blog/ai-receptionist-roi-dental-practices).

## How Callura prices

Callura is an AI virtual assistant for dental practices and med spas, built on each practice’s own workflows, services, and FAQs. It answers calls 24/7, books, reschedules, and cancels in your PMS during the call, verifies insurance eligibility, sends SMS confirmations, and transfers callers to your team by your rules. Pricing is quoted per practice based on call volume, locations, and integrations. There is no hardware to buy, setup takes under one week with less than two hours of your team’s time, and Callura signs BAAs. Before you commit, we build a free demo trained on your services so you can hear it on your own call types.

**First Booking Guarantee:** we don’t send a second bill until Callura books your first after-hours appointment.

Callura works with more than 50 clinics and generates over $1M a year for Slim Dental, the largest dental practice in Manhattan. Results vary by practice.

## Questions to ask every vendor about price

1. What is the total monthly cost for our call volume and number of locations?
2. Is booking into our PMS included in that price, or only on a higher tier?
3. Are there setup, integration, or overage fees?
4. Is it month-to-month or an annual contract?
5. Is a BAA included?

## Frequently asked questions

### How much does an AI receptionist cost per month?

Published prices range from about $29 a month for general small-business tools to more than $1,000 a month for some dental plans. Many dental and med spa tools that book into your system quote per practice.

### Is an AI receptionist cheaper than an answering service?

Often, especially at higher call volumes, because human services usually bill by the minute. The bigger difference is the outcome: an AI receptionist that books into your PMS turns the call into an appointment, while most answering services take a message.

### Are there setup fees?

Some vendors charge setup or integration fees and some don’t. Ask for the total first-year cost, including setup, before you compare monthly prices.

### Does Callura publish its pricing?

No. Callura quotes each practice based on call volume, locations, and integrations after a short call, and builds a free demo on your services before you commit.

## Get a quote for your practice

Bring your monthly call volume and the systems you use. We will walk you through pricing and build a demo on your services.

[**Talk to a Founder**](https://cal.com/callura/15minutes?utm_source=callura_blog&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ai_receptionist_cost)

## About Callura

Callura builds AI virtual assistants for dental practices, med spas, and other healthcare practices, trained on each practice’s workflows, services, and FAQs. They answer calls 24/7, book appointments in your PMS, verify insurance eligibility, and send SMS confirmations. [Follow Callura on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/110243957/).

[View full post](https://www.blog.callura.io/callura-blog/ai-receptionist-cost)

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