Hidden fees & fine print in AI receptionist pricing
The headline price is rarely the whole story. Here are the gotchas we found on vendor pricing pages, grouped by type.
Setup, number & compliance fees
- Goodcall: Bills per unique caller, not minutes; spam/wrong numbers excluded; 30-day call history on Starter (source, 2026-10-15)
- Dialzara: Phone number extra ($3/mo local, $5 toll-free); at zero minutes calls go to voicemail; no warm transfer/calendar on Lite (source, 2026-10-15)
- Allo (AI Receptionist add-on): Receptionist is an add-on requiring a paid phone plan; $24 one-time A2P 10DLC fee; pricing 'early and can change' (source, 2026-10-15)
- AgentZap: $499 one-time setup fee on every plan; highest overage seen (source, 2026-10-15)
- Quo (OpenPhone) Sona: Sona usage via credit tiers ($25-$199/mo); $19.50 TCR fee + $1.50-3/mo messaging fee (source, 2026-10-15)
- Retell AI: Billing during silence/hold; phone numbers $2/mo (source, 2026-10-15)
- SaaSyVoice: Extra phone numbers $5/mo; trial ends at 14 days or 15 minutes; no BAAs (don't use for PHI) (source, 2026-10-27)
Usage caps & what happens when you run out
- Smith.ai AI Receptionist: Spam counts toward quota except auto-filtered known spammers (10% removal allowance); 30 days' notice to cancel; per-call billing (source, 2026-10-15)
- My AI Front Desk (Frontdesk): Auto-reload enabled; outbound calls hard-capped at 20/day (source, 2026-10-15)
- Dialzara: Phone number extra ($3/mo local, $5 toll-free); at zero minutes calls go to voicemail; no warm transfer/calendar on Lite (source, 2026-10-15)
- AI-Receptionist.com: When minutes run out receptionist STOPS answering new calls unless booster minutes; US/Canada only (source, 2026-10-15)
- Newo.ai: Calls >3 min bill in 3-min increments; units don't roll over; one plan = one location (source, 2026-10-15)
- Callin.io: Unused minutes roll over 30 days (source, 2026-10-15)
- Bland AI: Warm transfers/scheduling only on Enterprise; 100 calls/day cap on Start (source, 2026-10-15)
- Jobholler: Quick-book self-scheduling only on Pro ($399); voicemail transcripts & review requests from Core ($149); launch release said 3-day trial, pricing page says 7-day (source, 2026-10-27)
Billing quirks (spam, rounding, increments)
- Goodcall: Bills per unique caller, not minutes; spam/wrong numbers excluded; 30-day call history on Starter (source, 2026-10-15)
- Smith.ai AI Receptionist: Spam counts toward quota except auto-filtered known spammers (10% removal allowance); 30 days' notice to cancel; per-call billing (source, 2026-10-15)
- Upfirst: Spam and <15s calls not billed; extra agents $9.95/mo (source, 2026-10-15)
- Phonely: Post-transfer minutes may be billed (source, 2026-10-15)
- Newo.ai: Calls >3 min bill in 3-min increments; units don't roll over; one plan = one location (source, 2026-10-15)
- CallRail Voice Assist: Details of Voice Assist minutes not on pricing page; calls rounded up to the minute (source, 2026-10-15)
- Retell AI: Billing during silence/hold; phone numbers $2/mo (source, 2026-10-15)
Features locked to higher tiers or add-ons
- Rosie: Calendar booking & live transfers only from $149 Scale; overage rate not published on page (source, 2026-10-15)
- Dialzara: Phone number extra ($3/mo local, $5 toll-free); at zero minutes calls go to voicemail; no warm transfer/calendar on Lite (source, 2026-10-15)
- AI-Receptionist.com: When minutes run out receptionist STOPS answering new calls unless booster minutes; US/Canada only (source, 2026-10-15)
- Allo (AI Receptionist add-on): Receptionist is an add-on requiring a paid phone plan; $24 one-time A2P 10DLC fee; pricing 'early and can change' (source, 2026-10-15)
- NextPhone: Flat-rate unlimited; 2-way SMS only on Scale ($599) (source, 2026-10-15)
- Trillet AI Receptionist: Inbound only, no CRM integration, cannot be resold (source, 2026-10-15)
- Jobber Receptionist: Add-on to Jobber subscription; 1-year commitment options (source, 2026-10-15)
- Marlie AI: Basic has no call transfer, 1 action/call (source, 2026-10-15)
- Housecall Pro CSR AI: CSR AI listed as add-on; price not shown on pricing page; HCP from $59/mo (source, 2026-10-15)
- Bland AI: Warm transfers/scheduling only on Enterprise; 100 calls/day cap on Start (source, 2026-10-15)
- Synthflow: No SMB plan listed (source, 2026-10-15)
- Nextiva XBert AI Receptionist: Price not published; annual pricing requires 12-month term (source, 2026-10-15)
- Jobholler: Quick-book self-scheduling only on Pro ($399); voicemail transcripts & review requests from Core ($149); launch release said 3-day trial, pricing page says 7-day (source, 2026-10-27)
- Perceny (Percy): Percy requires Business plan + $50/mo Two-Way Messaging add-on (included on Elite $399.99/location); not on Entry ($99.99); AI usage is usage-based (source, 2026-10-27)
- 800.com AI Agents: Pricing page blocked our fetch, so prices come from the 2026-10-07 press release; press release says card charged on day 8, AI page says no card required; booking & CRM sync on AI Grow ($149, $124 annual); 30-day money-back guarantee (source, 2026-10-27)
- SaaSyVoice: Extra phone numbers $5/mo; trial ends at 14 days or 15 minutes; no BAAs (don't use for PHI) (source, 2026-10-27)
Published overage rates
- Goodcall: $0.79/extra unique customer (Starter)
- Smith.ai AI Receptionist: $3.00/call Free; $2.50/call Pro-75
- My AI Front Desk (Frontdesk): $0.25/min (25 credits) from 1,000-credit monthly pool, then $10/1,000-credit auto-reload
- Dialzara: $0.48/min Lite
- AI-Receptionist.com: $0.25/min booster packs (never expire)
- Upfirst: $1.50/call (Starter)
- Trillet AI Receptionist: $0.20/min
- AgentZap: $0.85/min
- Phonely: $0.25-$0.35/min (varies by plan/billing)
- Quo (OpenPhone) Sona: $1.00/call Tier1 down to $0.45 Tier5
- Newo.ai: $1.75/unit PAYG; $1.50/unit
- Marlie AI: $0.35/min
- Callin.io: $0.14/min
- Aircall AI Voice Agents: $0.49/min PAYG; bundles 500/$175
- Bland AI: $0.14/min
- Perceny (Percy): AI usage billed from messaging credits ($1/credit), no cap
- SaaSyVoice: No per-minute overage; minute packs 50 min/$30, 150/$80, 400/$200