AI Receptionist vs Beside Phone
The short answer
- Beside Phone costs least: $29.99 a month for 100 calls and $29.99 for 500.
- AI Receptionist has the lowest advertised price, $14, but costs $57.75 at 100 calls.
- Pick AI Receptionist if you want a summary by text after each call.
- Pick Beside Phone if you want the lower bill.
 AI Receptionistsolo professionals and small businesses that miss calls while workingVisit site |  Beside Phonesolo trades and local teams who miss inbound calls while on the jobVisit site | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | ||
| At 100 calls a month | AI Receptionist$57.75 | Beside Phone$29.99Lowest |
| At 500 calls a month | AI Receptionist$261.50 | Beside Phone$29.99Lowest |
| Advertised from | AI Receptionist$14 a month | Beside Phone$29 a month |
| The advertised plan covers | AI ReceptionistThe $14 plan covers 30 of 100 calls.70 cost extra. | Beside PhoneThe $29 plan it advertises stops answering after 30 calls. |
| Bills | AI Receptionistper minute | Beside Phoneper call |
| Keeps answering past your allowance | AI ReceptionistPartlyCalls are not auto-upgraded or billed down | Beside PhoneYesOn Baseline the AI stops answering once 30 calls are used and callers drop to voicemail |
| Free trial or plan | AI ReceptionistPartlyA 7-day trial lets it answer your real line: you get 30 minutes of live calls | Beside PhonePartlyOnly the pricier Unlimited plan has a seven-day free trial on your real line |
| Month to month, cancel online | AI ReceptionistYesMonth-to-month with no contract, and you cancel yourself in the app without phoning anyone | Beside PhoneYesBaseline and Unlimited are month-to-month only and you cancel yourself in billing settings |
| On the call | ||
| Books appointments | AI ReceptionistPartlyIt books into the caller’s slot during the call | Beside PhoneYesWith a connected Google or Outlook calendar the Receptionist checks live availability |
| Transfers to a person | AI ReceptionistYesTransfers are warm by default: it texts you who is calling and why | Beside PhoneYesThe Receptionist transfers to a teammate or external number on rules you define |
| Human receptionists as backup | AI ReceptionistNoNo human agents sit behind the AI | Beside PhoneNoNo human answering service sits behind the AI |
| After-hours rules | AI ReceptionistPartlyAnswering is 24/7 on every plan including weekends and holidays | Beside PhoneYesIt answers around the clock by default and Business Hours sends daytime calls to your team |
| Urgent calls escalated | AI ReceptionistYesEmergency recognition is a documented behavior: the vendor says it triages urgent calls | Beside PhoneYesA Scenario rule can recognize emergency wording |
| Texts your callers | AI ReceptionistYesCallers can text the same number | Beside PhoneYesA Send a Text action texts the caller a link or confirmation during the call |
| Call summary by text | AI ReceptionistYesYou can get per-call alerts by SMS as well as email, with a daily SMS | Beside PhoneNoSummaries arrive in the app and, if enabled, by email to an address you set |
| Language, privacy and trying it | ||
| Languages | AI ReceptionistYes57 languages | Beside PhonePartly5 languages |
| HIPAA, with a signed BAA | AI ReceptionistNoNo BAA today on any plan: the vendor lists HIPAA compliance | Beside PhoneNot stated |
| Hear it before you buy | AI ReceptionistYesThree live demo receptionists are published with their phone numbers | Beside PhoneYesAnyone can phone a published demo number |
| What it connects to | ||
| Google Calendar | AI ReceptionistYesGoogle Calendar is the only calendar it books into, included from the $14 plan up | Beside PhoneYesGoogle Calendar and Outlook are booked into directly |
| Outlook | AI ReceptionistYesThe vendor says support for other calendar platforms is still to come | Beside PhoneYesGoogle Calendar and Outlook are booked into directly |
| Calendly | AI ReceptionistYesThe vendor says support for other calendar platforms is still to come | Beside PhoneYesCalendly is only textable as a link |
| Your trade’s software | AI ReceptionistNot stated | Beside PhoneNot stated |
| Keep your number | AI ReceptionistYesYou keep your existing line and forward it with carrier star codes, documented per carrier | Beside PhoneYesYou keep your carrier number and forward calls to the Beside line |
| In short | ||
| What it is | AI ReceptionistAI Receptionist is a 24/7 AI phone answering service for small businesses and solo operators. It greets callers, answers their questions from your own business information, books appointments, screens spam and sends you a summary of every call.All answers for AI Receptionist | Beside PhoneBeside Phone is a mobile and web business phone line whose AI receptionist answers inbound calls around the clock, captures caller details, qualifies leads and books appointments. Calls, texts, summaries and transcripts live in one shared team app.All answers for Beside Phone |
| Checked | AI ReceptionistOctober 14, 2026 | Beside PhoneOctober 14, 2026 |
Costs are for 100 or 500 calls a month of 2½ minutes each, on the cheapest public plan. How we price