AI receptionist comparison
AI receptionists compared: Orateur, Rosie, My AI Front Desk and Smith.ai
All four answer your business line around the clock, take messages and help callers book. What you pay depends mostly on how many minutes or calls you receive, and each one counts them differently.
Quick verdict
Our assessment: for a small business with light to moderate call volume, Orateur and Rosie are the lowest-cost starting points, from £49 and $49 a month respectively. Orateur includes calendar booking and a phone number on every plan; Rosie's entry plan sends booking links by text instead, but its Scale plan includes 1,000 minutes, the most at its price. My AI Front Desk bundles web chat, two-way SMS and a simple CRM with the phone agent. Smith.ai charges per call rather than per minute and adds onboarding and live support; it suits firms that want hands-on setup and integrations such as Clio.
We compared the official pricing pages on 1 November 2026. This is source-based research, not a hands-on product test. Orateur's page showed prices in pounds; the others are in US dollars. We have not converted currencies.
Plans side by side
| Service | Entry plan | Mid plan | Higher plan | Extra usage | Trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orateur | Creator £49: about 240 minutes, 1 user | Pro £99: about 540 minutes, 2 users | Scale £199: about 1,140 minutes, 5 users | £0.24 to £0.20 per minute | 100 free minutes |
| Rosie | Professional $49: 250 minutes; sends booking links by text | Scale $149: 1,000 minutes; books on your calendar | Growth $299: 2,000 minutes | Not stated on the page | 7 days |
| My AI Front Desk | Business-in-a-Box $99 a month, or $79 a month billed yearly: 200 voice minutes, web chat, 400 SMS, CRM, 2 editor seats | $0.25 per minute (25 credits) | 7 days | ||
| Smith.ai AI Receptionist | Free $0: 25 calls, then $3.00 per call | Pro $150: 75 calls, then $2.50 per call | Enterprise $500: 300 calls, then $2.17 per call | Per call, not per minute | Free plan |
Sources: Orateur pricing, Rosie pricing, My AI Front Desk pricing and Smith.ai AI Receptionist pricing. Orateur and Rosie both offer yearly billing with two months free. Smith.ai lists larger Pro and Enterprise call tiers without their monthly fee.
What a month costs at your call volume
| Minutes of calls a month | Orateur | Rosie | My AI Front Desk | Smith.ai |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 200 (about 67 calls) | £49 (Creator) | $49 (Professional) | $99 | $126 (Free plan plus 42 extra calls) |
| 500 (about 167 calls) | £99 (Pro) | $149 (Scale) | $174 ($99 plus 300 extra minutes) | $380 (Pro plus 92 extra calls) |
| 1,000 (about 333 calls) | £199 (Scale) | $149 (Scale) | $299 ($99 plus 800 extra minutes) | $572 (Enterprise plus 33 extra calls) |
Rosie's overage rate is not published, so its figures assume you stay within the plan's minutes. If your calls are shorter or longer than 3 minutes on average, Smith.ai's cost changes accordingly.
How to choose
- Measure your calls first. Your phone provider's call log shows monthly inbound minutes and average call length; that decides the plan for every service here.
- Decide whether it must book appointments itself. If yes, check the plan includes direct calendar booking, not just a link sent by text.
- List what callers ask most. Test those questions during the trial, including what happens when the AI cannot answer.
- Check your number. Ask whether you can keep or forward your existing number and what happens to a number they issue if you cancel.
- Check disclosure rules. Some places require callers to be told they are speaking to an AI or being recorded.
Questions to ask every vendor
- How are minutes or calls counted, and what does each extra one cost?
- Which calendars and business tools does it connect to on our plan?
- Which languages and accents does it handle well for our callers?
- Where are recordings and transcripts stored, for how long, and can we delete them?
Links to Rosie, My AI Front Desk and Smith.ai on this page are ordinary source links and do not earn us a commission. Orateur's affiliate relationship did not change the prices or the verdict above, which names Rosie as cheaper at 1,000 minutes a month.
Research sources
Prices and limits were checked on the official pages linked above on 1 November 2026. This is not a hands-on product test or a report of customer results. See our Orateur profile, business phone guide, methodology and affiliate disclosure. Want help choosing or setting one up? See our selection and setup services.