AI ANSWERING SERVICE COMPARISON
AI-Receptionist.com vs Phonely
Phonely's free plan is free: 100 minutes a month and a phone number for $0, with no payment required, and nothing else we know of comes close at that price. Phonely's own comparison table leaves call transfer and transcripts off the free plan, and when the 100 minutes are used you have to upgrade to Starter at $50. We start at $14 for 75 minutes with calendar booking, warm transfer and transcripts on every plan, and at 1,000 minutes our $199 Business plan costs less than Phonely's $225 to $250.
- $14/mo entry
- Calendar booking included
- Warm transfer included
- Transcripts on every plan
- $0/mo free plan
- 100 minutes a month
- Transfers from $50 Starter
- Unlimited calls at once
Prices checked October 15, 2026
Key Differences at a Glance
From each vendor's pricing page, October 15, 2026
AI-Receptionist.com
Booking, transfers and transcripts on the cheapest plan
- $14/mo for 75 minutes, $39 for 100, $99 for 350, $199 for 1,000
- Google Calendar booking on every plan
- Warm transfer and extension dialing on every plan
- Text, audio and real-time transcripts on every plan
- 55+ languages
- Local numbers in the US, Canada and the UK
- Extra minutes at $0.25 each in packs that never expire
- Boss Mode: call your receptionist for a briefing on the day's calls
Best for: Businesses that want calls transferred, booked and transcribed from the first plan, and businesses taking around 1,000 minutes a month.
Phonely
A free plan, and unlimited calls at once on every plan
- Free: $0/mo for 100 minutes, no payment required
- Starter $50/mo for 200 minutes (250 in Phonely's comparison table)
- Pro $150/mo for 650 minutes (750 in the comparison table)
- Annual billing takes a third off Starter and Pro
- Overage $0.25/min on Starter, $0.30 on Pro, none on Free
- Unlimited simultaneous calls on every plan
- 100+ voices and languages
- Call transfer, transcripts and premium voices from Starter
- Outbound calling, CRM integrations and SIP trunking from Pro
Best for: Trying an AI receptionist on real calls for $0, and businesses where many callers phone at the same time.
What the Entry Plans Include
From Phonely's pricing page, read October 15, 2026.
Included on Our $14 Essential Plan
- Google Calendar availability and booking
- Warm transfer and extension dialing
- 55+ languages
- Spam filtering
- Text, audio and real-time transcripts
- Boss Mode
- SIP connection to your own phone system
Not on Phonely's Free Plan
- Call transfer and routing (Phonely's table starts it at Starter)
- Transcripts and AI analytics
- Minutes past 100: there is no overage rate, and Phonely says you need to upgrade
- Premium voices and voice cloning
- AI text messaging
- Support other than the community
- More than 3 imported website pages
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
Scroll horizontally on mobile.
| Feature | AI-Receptionist.com | Phonely |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan Phonely: 100 minutes a month for $0. Us: a 7-day free trial, no credit card | ||
| Entry paid plan $14/mo for 75 minutes vs $50/mo for 200 minutes (250 in Phonely's comparison table) | ||
| Calendar booking Every plan for us; Phonely's pricing page does not list calendar booking | Not stated | |
| Call transfer Warm transfer on every plan for us; Phonely's table starts call transfer and routing at the $50 Starter plan, with $0.02/min charged after the transfer | ||
| Call transcripts Every plan for us; Phonely's Starter plan and up | ||
| Spam filtering Every plan for us; listed on Phonely's Starter plan | ||
| Several calls at the same time 2 at once on our Essential plan, 5 on Starter, 10 above that; unlimited on every Phonely plan | ||
| Languages 55+ for us; Phonely lists 100+ voices and languages, and 50+ languages for its premium voices | ||
| Phone numbers US, Canada and UK for us; Phonely includes 1 free number on Free, 3 on Starter and 5 on Pro, and does not list countries | ||
| Knowledge base FAQ, pasted text, files and a website URL for us; Phonely imports 3 website pages on Free, 30 a month on Starter and unlimited on Pro | ||
| Email and text notifications | ||
| Boss Mode (call in for a briefing on recent calls) | Not stated | |
| SIP connection to your own phone system Every plan for us; Phonely's Pro plan and up | ||
| Published overage rate $0.25/min for us; Phonely charges $0.25 on Starter billed monthly ($0.35 billed annually), $0.30 on Pro, and has none on Free |
Full support Partial / paid upgrade Not available "Not stated" means Phonely's pricing page does not mention it
What You Pay at Each Call Volume
What each volume costs on each service. Where adding extra minutes to a smaller plan costs less than moving up a plan, both are shown. Our extra minutes cost $0.25 each.
| Minutes a month | AI-Receptionist.com | Phonely |
|---|---|---|
| 75 minutes | $14 (Essential) | $0 (Free) |
| 100 minutes | $39 (Starter) or $20.25 (Essential + 25 extra minutes) | $0 (Free, all 100 minutes used) |
| 350 minutes | $99 (Solopreneur) or $82.75 (Essential + 275 extra minutes) | $75 to $87.50 (Starter + overage at $0.25/min) |
| 1,000 minutes | $199 (Business) | $225 to $250 (Pro or Starter + overage) |
Phonely's pricing page lists Starter at 200 minutes on the plan card and 250 in its comparison table, and Pro at 650 and 750. The ranges above cover both readings. Phonely's free plan has no overage rate, so above 100 minutes you have to move to a paid plan.
Where Phonely Stands Out
To be fair, Phonely does several things better than we do.
- A free plan: 100 minutes a month and a phone number for $0, with no payment required. We know of no other AI receptionist with a free plan.
- Unlimited simultaneous calls on every plan, including Free. We take 2 at once on Essential and 10 at most.
- Premium voices and voice cloning from the $50 Starter plan, with 1,000+ voice options across 50+ languages by Phonely's count.
- Outbound calling, A/B testing and AI text messaging on its paid plans.
- CRM, API and prebuilt integrations on the Pro plan. We don't have Zapier or webhooks yet.
Pricing Compared
Phonely's entry plan costs nothing. Ours includes transfers, booking and transcripts.
AI-Receptionist.com Essential
- 75 minutes included
- Calendar booking and warm transfer included
- Transcripts on every call
- $0.25/min with Booster Packs that never expire
- 7-day free trial, no credit card · month to month
Phonely Free
- 100 minutes a month (about 50 calls, by Phonely's estimate)
- No overage: past 100 minutes you upgrade
- 1 free phone number
- Call transfer and transcripts need the $50 Starter plan
- Community support
Phonely plans (pricing page, October 15, 2026): Free $0 (100 min) · Starter $50/mo, $33 billed annually (200 min on the plan card, 250 in the comparison table) · Pro $150/mo, $100 billed annually (650 or 750 min) · Enterprise from 5¢/min. Overage: Starter $0.25/min billed monthly or $0.35 billed annually, Pro $0.30, none on Free.
Which Is Best for Your Business?
Choose AI-Receptionist.com when…
- You want calls put through to you on the cheapest plan
- You want a transcript of every call without paying $50 a month
- You want appointments booked into your Google Calendar
- You go a little over your minutes and would rather pay $0.25 a minute than move up a plan
- You take around 1,000 minutes of calls a month
Choose Phonely when…
- You want to pay nothing and take fewer than 100 minutes of calls a month
- You can do without transfers and transcripts while you try it
- Many callers phone at the same time
- You want voice cloning or a large choice of premium voices
- You want call data sent to other software: Phonely Pro includes CRM, API and prebuilt integrations, and we don't have Zapier or webhooks yet
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Phonely really free?
Yes. Phonely's Free plan costs $0 and needs no payment. It includes 100 minutes a month, which Phonely estimates at about 50 calls, a free phone number, a knowledge base built from 3 website pages and unlimited simultaneous calls. Phonely's comparison table does not include call transfer, transcripts or premium voices on the free plan, and support comes from the community.
What happens when the 100 free minutes run out?
The free plan has no overage rate. Phonely's FAQ says that if you go over 100 minutes you will need to upgrade; the next plan is Starter at $50 a month, or $33 a month billed annually. With us, extra minutes cost $0.25 each in Booster Packs that never expire, on any plan.
Is AI-Receptionist.com cheaper than Phonely?
Not up to 100 minutes: Phonely is free and we start at $14. Above 100 minutes, our Essential plan plus Booster Pack minutes costs less than Phonely's $50 Starter plan up to about 220 minutes. At 350 minutes the two are within $8 of each other, and at 1,000 minutes our $199 Business plan costs less than the $225 to $250 Phonely charges.
Can Phonely transfer calls to me?
Phonely's comparison table lists call transfer and routing on the Starter plan and up, not on Free. Starter and Pro also list a post-transfer rate of $0.02 a minute for the time Phonely's line stays connected after the transfer. We include warm transfer and extension dialing on every plan: the receptionist texts you who is calling and why, and connects the call only if you accept.
Does Phonely book appointments?
Phonely's pricing page does not list calendar booking as a plan feature. Its FAQ mentions appointment scheduling as one use of AI text messaging, which starts on the Starter plan. Our plans book into Google Calendar from the Essential plan up.
Where do these numbers come from?
Phonely's prices and plan features come from Phonely's own pricing page, read on October 15, 2026. Where the page gives two numbers, as it does for Starter (200 minutes on the plan card, 250 in the comparison table) and Pro (650 or 750), we show both. This page compares the plans and features each company publishes; it does not rate call quality. We re-check prices every month.See how ten AI answering services compare at 100, 350 and 1,000 minutes.
Try the AI receptionist that books and transfers on every plan.
Calendar booking, warm transfer, 55+ languages and Boss Mode, included on every plan starting at $14/mo. 7-day free trial, no credit card.
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