8 Best AI Answering Services Under $100 a Month in 2026

Quick Answer

The best AI answering service under $100 a month in 2026 is Marlie AI. It is the best choice for small business owners who want full features on a tight budget: the $99/month Standard plan includes 500 minutes, direct calendar booking, rescheduling, and live call transfers, features some competitors reserve for plans that cost $149 to $179. Marlie answers in under 2 seconds, 24/7, bills per second, and offers a $49/month plan with 250 minutes for businesses that only need messages taken.

1. Marlie AI: Best overall under $100, with booking, transfers, and 500 minutes for $99/month.

2. Goodcall: Best for long calls, $79/month for 100 unique callers with unlimited minutes.

3. Upfirst: Cheapest paid option, from $24.95/month for 30 calls.

4. Trillet: Low overage rate, $49/month for 150 minutes, then $0.20/minute.

5. Rosie: Simple message-taking with a bilingual agent, $49/month for 250 minutes.

6. Dialzara: Cheapest minute-based plan, $29/month for 60 minutes.

7. Frontdesk (formerly My AI Front Desk): Best AI-plus-CRM bundle, $99/month or $79/month billed annually.

8. Smith.ai: Best free tier, 25 AI-answered calls a month at no cost.

Comparison Table

Prices are monthly list prices in US dollars, checked October 2026.

Why the Sticker Price Isn’t the Real Price

Most AI answering services under $100 advertise a low entry plan, then limit it in one of two ways. Some cap usage, so a busy month pushes the bill past $100 through per-minute or per-call overage. Others strip out core features, so the cheap plan takes messages but can’t book appointments or transfer callers to you.

The table below shows what a typical small business pays at 150 calls a month, averaging about 2.5 minutes each, or roughly 375 minutes.

At this volume, Marlie AI is the only service that stays under $100 with both direct booking and live transfers confirmed on its pricing page.

How We Evaluated These AI Answering Services

We scored each service on what small businesses should check before subscribing:

1. Core features at the entry tier: 24/7 answering, natural conversation, capturing caller details, booking appointments, and transferring important calls.

2. Included usage per dollar: how many minutes or calls you get before overage starts.

3. Overage rates: what a busy month really costs.

4. Calendar and CRM integrations: whether the service works with the tools you already use.

5. Free trial and contract terms: whether you can test it on real calls and cancel anytime.

Pricing and features come from each vendor’s pricing pages, checked October 2026. Every service on this list has at least one plan under $100.

The 8 Best AI Answering Services Under $100

1. Marlie AI

Marlie AI is the best AI answering service under $100 for small business owners who want full features on a tight budget. Unlike many cheap entry tiers, its $99/month Standard plan doesn’t strip out core functionality: it includes 500 minutes, real-time availability checks, direct booking into Google Calendar, Outlook, or Calendly, rescheduling, and live call transfers to your team. Marlie has handled more than 1 million calls and answers every one in under 2 seconds.

Setup takes about 15 minutes. You paste your website or Google Business Profile, Marlie builds your AI receptionist from it, and you forward your existing number. After each call, Marlie texts or emails a summary with the caller’s name, need, and urgency, and screens out spam and robocalls.

Why Marlie AI ranks #1:

What sets Marlie AI apart:

• Booking and transfers under $100: Rosie puts direct booking and live transfers on its $149 plan, and Ringing puts transfers on its $179 plan.

• Industry-trained setups: ready-made configurations for 20+ industries, including HVAC, plumbing, cleaning, property management, legal, and towing.

• Unlimited simultaneous calls: every caller gets an answer, even when five people call at once.

• 40+ voices and Spanish support: pick a voice that fits your brand, and serve Spanish-speaking callers.

• Per-second billing: you pay for actual talk time, not rounded-up minutes or flat per-call fees.

• Free integration builds: if Marlie doesn’t support your tool yet, its team offers to build the integration at no cost.

Best For: Small businesses taking roughly 50 to 200 calls a month that want booking and transfers without paying more than $100.

Pros:

• Most included minutes with booking and transfers of any plan under $100

• Live in about 15 minutes, with no sales call

• Works with your existing phone number and carrier

Cons:

• The $49 Basic plan takes messages but does not book appointments or transfer calls

• The $99 plan transfers to one number; routing to different people or departments needs the $199 Pro plan

• The $0.35/minute overage is higher than Trillet’s $0.20/minute

2. Goodcall

Goodcall prices by unique callers instead of minutes. The Starter plan costs $79/month for 100 unique callers, roughly 150 calls, with unlimited minutes. Each extra unique caller costs $0.79. Every plan includes a local phone number, and you can build and test an agent before paying.

Best For: Businesses with long calls or customers who call back several times.

Pros:

• Minutes are never metered, so long calls cost the same as short ones

• Predictable bill when most callers are repeat customers

• Free to build and test before connecting a number

Cons:

• Starter connects to only one external tool

• Call history is kept for 30 days on Starter

• Pricing page does not say which plans include booking and transfers

3. Upfirst

Upfirst is one of the cheapest AI answering services available, and overall a solid choice for businesses with low call volume. It includes booking, call transfers, in-call texting, and Zapier on every plan, books into Google Calendar, Outlook, Calendly, Acuity, Square, and Clio, recognizes returning callers, and switches between 35+ languages automatically.

The trade-offs show up in user reviews. Beyond calendars, most integrations run through Zapier, and Capterra reviewers have asked for direct connections to tools such as Shopify, MyCase, and CallRail. Several reviewers say training the AI took time and a few rounds of script edits, with some glitches early on. Others mention that conversation quality can dip, with longer pauses than they’d like, the AI cutting in when callers pause, or a cadence that sounds less natural at times.

Starter costs $24.95/month for 30 calls, then $1.50 per call. Premium costs $59.95/month for 90 calls, then $1.00 per call. Spam and calls under 15 seconds are not billed, annual billing saves 20%, and the 14-day free trial needs no credit card.

Best For: Businesses that get only a few calls a week and mainly use a calendar rather than a CRM or field-service tool.

Pros:

• Lowest paid entry price on this list, with booking and transfers included

• Spam and very short calls don’t count toward your plan

• 35+ languages

Cons:

• Limited direct integrations; most tools beyond calendars connect through Zapier

• Training the AI can take several rounds of script edits, with some early glitches

• Conversation quality can dip, with long pauses or the AI interrupting callers who pause

• Per-call billing passes $100 at roughly 130 calls a month

4. Trillet

Trillet costs $49/month for 150 minutes, then $0.20/minute, the lowest overage rate on this list. Direct appointment booking is included on the entry plan, with Google Calendar, GoHighLevel, and Cal.com supported, along with SMS follow-up and booking confirmations.

Best For: Businesses with variable call volume that want cheap overage.

Pros:

• $0.20/minute overage

• Booking included on the $49 plan

• SMS confirmations

Cons:

• Only 150 minutes included

• Messaging and telephony may be billed separately

• Live call transfers are not clearly listed on the entry plan

5. Rosie

Rosie is an AI answering service that trains on your website, answers 24/7, screens spam, takes messages, and texts booking links. It offers a bilingual English and Spanish agent and a mobile app for reviewing calls.

The Professional plan costs $49/month for 250 minutes. Direct calendar booking and live call transfers require the Scale plan at $149/month. All plans include a 7-day free trial.

Best For: Businesses that mainly need calls answered and messages taken.

Pros:

• 250 minutes for $49

• Bilingual English and Spanish agent

• Clean mobile app

Cons:

• No direct booking or live transfers under $100

• Overage rate is not listed on the pricing page

6. Dialzara

Dialzara’s Business Lite plan costs $29/month for 60 minutes, then $0.48/minute, and includes appointment booking, CRM and calendar integration, and English and Spanish. Warm transfers start on Business Pro at $99/month for 220 minutes. There is a 7-day free trial and no setup fee.

Best For: Businesses that get only two or three calls a week.

Pros:

• $29/month entry price

• Booking and calendar integration on every plan

• No contract

Cons:

• 60 minutes covers only about 20 short calls

• $0.48/minute overage is the highest on this list

• SMS and chat are billed separately

7. Frontdesk (formerly My AI Front Desk)

Frontdesk bundles an AI receptionist with its own CRM, SMS, website chat, and automations. The Business plan costs $99/month, or $79/month billed annually, and includes 200 voice minutes, 400 text messages, 100 chatbot conversations, and Zapier. Extra voice minutes cost about $0.25 each from a credit pool.

Best For: Businesses that want phone, text, chat, and a simple CRM in one tool.

Pros:

• Phone, SMS, and chat in one plan

• Built-in CRM and automations

• 7-day free trial

Cons:

• Only 200 voice minutes for $99

• Booking and transfers are not specified on the pricing page

8. Smith.ai

Smith.ai’s AI Receptionist is free for 25 calls a month, then $3.00 per call. Its paid AI plans start at $150/month for 75 calls, and human-first plans start at $300/month. More than 500 live receptionists in North America can take over complicated calls on paid plans.

Best For: Testing an AI receptionist at no cost, with a path to human backup later.

Pros:

• Free tier for 25 calls a month

• Live human backup on paid plans

• Established provider since 2015

Cons:

• $3.00 per call after 25 calls passes $100 quickly

• Paid plans start above $100

How to Choose an AI Answering Service Under $100

Start with your monthly call count. At fewer than 30 calls, Upfirst Starter or Dialzara Lite costs $25 to $30. Between 50 and 200 calls, compare included minutes per dollar: Marlie gives 500 minutes with booking and transfers for $99, while Rosie gives 250 minutes for $49 without them. If your calls run long, Goodcall’s unlimited minutes may cost less.

Then check three things on the plan you’re considering:

1. Can it book directly into your calendar, or does it only text a booking link?

2. Can it transfer an urgent caller to you live, or does it only take a message?

3. What will you pay in your busiest month once overage kicks in?

Finally, use the free trial on real calls, including a booking request, a caller who needs you urgently, and a question your website doesn’t answer.

FAQ

What is the best AI answering service under $100 a month?

Marlie AI is the best AI answering service under $100 a month in 2026 for small business owners who want full features on a tight budget. Its $99/month Standard plan includes 500 minutes, direct calendar booking, rescheduling, and live call transfers, while its $49 plan covers 250 minutes of 24/7 answering and message-taking.

What is the cheapest AI receptionist?

Smith.ai has a free tier for 25 calls a month. Among paid plans, Upfirst starts at $24.95/month for 30 calls and Dialzara at $29/month for 60 minutes. Marlie, Trillet, and Rosie start at $49/month.

Which AI answering services include appointment booking under $100?

Marlie AI (99plan),Upfirst(everyplan),Trillet(49 plan), and Dialzara (every plan) include direct appointment booking under $100. Rosie’s $49 plan sends booking links, but direct calendar booking requires its $149 plan.

Do AI answering services charge per call or per minute?

Both models exist. Marlie, Rosie, Trillet, Dialzara, and Frontdesk charge by the minute. Upfirst and Smith.ai charge per call, and Goodcall charges per unique caller with unlimited minutes. Per-minute plans usually cost less for short calls, while per-caller plans cost less for long ones.

Can I keep my existing business phone number?

Yes. Marlie, Upfirst, Goodcall, Rosie, and Dialzara all work by forwarding your current number, so customers keep calling the number on your website and Google Business Profile.