Leaderboard › Best by use case
18 tools · vendor-sourced · checked 2026-10-21
AI receptionists with a free trial or free plan
18 of the 34 tools we track mention a free trial or a free plan on their own sites. The free-trial text is quoted exactly as we recorded it, so read the conditions: some trials need a card, apply only to certain plans, or cap minutes.
Included when the vendor's trial text mentions a "free trial", an "N-day trial" or a "free plan". Tools offering only free credits, a free demo or a free build tier are listed separately below. Tools with no trial or no trial info are left out.
| Tool | Free trial (quoted) | Pricing (as published) | Booking | Warm transfer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dialzara AI receptionist (SMB) |
“7-day free trial” | Business Lite $29/mo (60 min, $0.48/min overage); Pro $99/mo (220 min, $0.45); Plus $199/mo (500 min, $0.40); Elite $349/mo (1,000 min,… | yes | yes |
| Frontdesk (My AI Front Desk) AI receptionist (SMB) |
“7-day free trial (pricing page says no permanent free plan)” | Business-in-a-Box $99/mo ($79/mo annual) includes 200 voice minutes + chat/SMS/CRM. Partner/Enterprise custom. | yes | yes |
| Marlie AI AI receptionist (SMB) |
“14-day free trial” | Basic $49/mo (250 min, then $0.35/min); Standard $99/mo (500 min, $0.35); Pro $199/mo (1,000 min, $0.30); Premium $399/mo (2,000 min,… | yes | partial |
| NextPhone AI receptionist (SMB) |
“7-day free trial” | Pro $199/mo; Growth $299/mo; Scale $599/mo. Unlimited inbound calls; no per-minute or overage fees. 7-day Pro trial. | yes | yes |
| Phonely AI receptionist (SMB) |
“Free plan: 100 minutes/mo + free phone number” | Free $0 (100 min/mo, ~50 calls); Starter $50/mo (200 min, ~100 calls); Professional $150/mo (650 min, ~300 calls); Enterprise as low as… | yes | — |
| Reception AI (ElevenLabs) AI receptionist (SMB) |
“14-day free trial (30 phone min)” | Free trial $0 (14 days, 30 phone min); Basic $29/mo (75 min, $0.45/min overage); Plus $79/mo (275 min, $0.38/min); Premium $199/mo (1,000… | yes | partial |
| Rosie AI receptionist (SMB) |
“7-day free trial” | Professional $49/mo (250 min); Scale $149/mo (1,000 min); Growth $299/mo (2,000 min). 7-day free trial. | partial | yes |
| Simple Phones AI receptionist (SMB) |
“14-day free trial” | From $97/mo for 100 calls/mo; no commitment. Higher tiers not itemized on the page. | yes | — |
| Smith.ai AI Receptionist AI receptionist (SMB) |
“Free plan: $0/mo with 25 calls/mo” | Free: $0/mo with 25 calls/mo ($3.00/call after). Pro: $150/mo for 75 calls ($2.00/call included rate; volume tiers to 150/300). Enterprise:… | yes | yes |
| Trillet AI Receptionist AI receptionist (SMB) |
“28-day money-back guarantee (receptionist); 7-day free trial on agency plans” | AI Receptionist $49/mo flat (150 min, then $0.20/min; SMS $0.02 each). Agency white-label from $99/mo. Enterprise custom. | yes | — |
| Upfirst AI receptionist (SMB) |
“14-day free trial, no credit card required” | Starter $24.95/mo (30 calls, $1.50 overage); Premium $59.95/mo (90 calls, $1 overage); Pro $159.95/mo (300 calls, $0.75); Scale $299/mo… | yes | yes |
| Beside Phone AI Receptionist Phone system / software add-on |
“Unlimited plan: 7-day trial (payment method required). Baseline: no trial” | Web plans: Baseline $29/mo per business (30 AI Receptionist calls/mo); Unlimited $99/mo (unlimited AI Receptionist calls). Extra lines… | yes | yes |
| Housecall Pro CSR AI Phone system / software add-on |
“Housecall Pro free trial” | Not published | yes | — |
| Jobber Receptionist Phone system / software add-on |
“Jobber free trial, no credit card required” | Add-on to a Jobber subscription; add-on dollar price not shown on the pricing page during research. | yes | — |
| Nextiva XBert Phone system / software add-on |
“14-day free trial; 30-day money-back guarantee” | $99/month per 100 interactions, then $0.99 per interaction. Standalone or add-on. 30-day money-back guarantee. | yes | yes |
| Quo Sona (formerly OpenPhone) Phone system / software add-on |
“7-day Sona trial for eligible paid Quo workspaces; 1,000 free automation credits on every Quo plan” | 1,000 free automation credits (~10 calls) on every Quo plan. Paid tiers: $0 / $25 / $49 / $99 / $199 per month for 10 / 40 / 100 / 250 /… | partial | yes |
| RingCentral AI Receptionist Phone system / software add-on |
“14-day free trial (standalone or RingEX add-on)” | Standalone from $49/mo (100 min included); add-on to RingEX from $39/mo + $30/mo RingEX Core (100 min included). Overage $0.50/min, billed… | yes | yes |
| Abby (Abby Connect) Human or hybrid |
“7-day free trial; 30-day money-back guarantee; no setup fee” | Starter $164/mo (50 Abby Minutes); Essential $329/mo (100); Professional $599/mo (200); Growth $1,380/mo (500); Enterprise on request. 1… | yes | yes |
Free credits, demos or free build tiers (7)
Not a classic trial, but you can try something without paying first. Quoted as published.
| Tool | What's free (quoted) |
|---|---|
| Dial Milo AI receptionist (SMB) | “$1 free credit on signup” |
| Goodcall AI receptionist (SMB) | “No classic trial; free demo agent, pay only when you connect a number” |
| Newo.ai AI receptionist (SMB) | “50 free units, no payment method needed” |
| Bland AI Developer / enterprise platform | “2 free credits + an inbound number; no card required” |
| Retell AI Developer / enterprise platform | “$10 in free credits” |
| Synthflow Developer / enterprise platform | “Free to build agents; pay-as-you-go once launched (per homepage FAQ)” |
| Vapi Developer / enterprise platform | “$5 free credits” |
How we pick
Order: by tool type (AI receptionists for SMBs first, then phone-system add-ons, industry-specific tools, human or hybrid services, and developer platforms), then alphabetically by name. This is not a ranking or a score; we have not published call-test results yet.
Every value comes from the vendor's own website (see each tool page for source URLs, last checked 2026-10-21). A dash or "Not published" means we could not confirm it there. Pricing changes, so verify on the vendor site. Full methodology.