Upfirst vs Beside Phone
The short answer
- Beside Phone costs least: $29.99 a month for 100 calls and $29.99 for 500.
- Upfirst has the lowest advertised price, $24.95, but costs Not priced yet at 100 calls.
- Pick Upfirst if you want a summary by text after each call.
 Upfirstsmall businesses whose phone goes unanswered while the owner is out on the jobVisit site |  Beside Phonesolo trades and local teams who miss inbound calls while on the jobVisit site | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | ||
| At 100 calls a month | UpfirstNot priced yet | Beside Phone$29.99Lowest |
| At 500 calls a month | UpfirstNot priced yet | Beside Phone$29.99Lowest |
| Advertised from | Upfirst$24.95 a month | Beside Phone$29 a month |
| The advertised plan covers | UpfirstNot counted | Beside PhoneThe $29 plan it advertises stops answering after 30 calls. |
| Bills | Upfirst | Beside Phoneper call |
| Keeps answering past your allowance | UpfirstYesCalls past the allowance keep being answered | Beside PhoneYesOn Baseline the AI stops answering once 30 calls are used and callers drop to voicemail |
| Free trial or plan | UpfirstPartlyYou can put it on your real line before paying, but only for the fourteen-day trial | Beside PhonePartlyOnly the pricier Unlimited plan has a seven-day free trial on your real line |
| Month to month, cancel online | UpfirstYesMonth to month with cancellation, upgrade or downgrade at any time and no call required | Beside PhoneYesBaseline and Unlimited are month-to-month only and you cancel yourself in billing settings |
| On the call | ||
| Books appointments | UpfirstYesIt checks the connected calendar during the call, offers open times | Beside PhoneYesWith a connected Google or Outlook calendar the Receptionist checks live availability |
| Transfers to a person | UpfirstYesRule-based transfers to a person, department or extension, and warm transfers brief you on | Beside PhoneYesThe Receptionist transfers to a teammate or external number on rules you define |
| Human receptionists as backup | UpfirstNoUpfirst supplies no human agents for calls | Beside PhoneNoNo human answering service sits behind the AI |
| After-hours rules | UpfirstYesCoverage is a choice per account: all calls, overflow only, or after hours only | Beside PhoneYesIt answers around the clock by default and Business Hours sends daytime calls to your team |
| Urgent calls escalated | UpfirstYesEmergencies are recognized from what the caller describes and handled by your own rules | Beside PhoneYesA Scenario rule can recognize emergency wording |
| Texts your callers | UpfirstPartlyIt can text the caller mid-call on every plan with no extra charge | Beside PhoneYesA Send a Text action texts the caller a link or confirmation during the call |
| Call summary by text | UpfirstYesA summary of the key details goes out by text or email the moment the call ends | Beside PhoneNoSummaries arrive in the app and, if enabled, by email to an address you set |
| Language, privacy and trying it | ||
| Languages | UpfirstYes35+ languages | Beside PhonePartly5 languages |
| HIPAA, with a signed BAA | UpfirstPartlyA Business Associate Agreement is listed only in the Custom tier's feature set | Beside PhoneNot stated |
| Hear it before you buy | UpfirstYesA public number answered by its own AI receptionist is published on the site | Beside PhoneYesAnyone can phone a published demo number |
| What it connects to | ||
| Google Calendar | UpfirstYesGoogle Calendar, Outlook, Calendly, Acuity, Square | Beside PhoneYesGoogle Calendar and Outlook are booked into directly |
| Outlook | UpfirstYesGoogle Calendar, Outlook, Calendly, Acuity, Square | Beside PhoneYesGoogle Calendar and Outlook are booked into directly |
| Calendly | UpfirstYesGoogle Calendar, Outlook, Calendly, Acuity, Square | Beside PhoneYesCalendly is only textable as a link |
| Your trade’s software | UpfirstPartlyField service tools such as ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro | Beside PhoneNot stated |
| Keep your number | UpfirstYesEvery plan includes an Upfirst number and you keep your existing line | Beside PhoneYesYou keep your carrier number and forward calls to the Beside line |
| In short | ||
| What it is | UpfirstUpfirst is an AI receptionist that answers a small business's phone around the clock, answers caller questions from the owner's own information, books appointments and transfers urgent callers. Plans are sold by monthly call allowance and set up self-serve from the business website.All answers for Upfirst | 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 | UpfirstOctober 16, 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