IndependentBaseline 29 Oct 2026Early preview

We phone AI receptionists so you don’t have to.

Every vendor says its AI sounds human and never misses a call. We’re setting out to check: same scripts, every vendor with a public demo line, every month, with the transcripts published.

Shortlist vendors

How we’ll test
Vendors tracked
49
Callable demo lines
18
Test calls placed
0
REC
  1. CALL 1/3 · BOOKING · dialling a published demo line
  2. · · · ring
  3. · · · ring
  4. · · · ring
  5. ANSWERED · answer-speed clock stops at first word
  6. RT Hi, this is an automated test call from RingTested, and it’s being recorded.
  7. RT My kitchen sink is leaking. Can someone come out Thursday morning?
  8. AI [ awaiting vendor response · scored on: booking success ]
  9. RT It’s Sam Reid, and the best number is 555-0142.
  10. AI [ awaiting vendor response · scored on: accuracy of details read back ]
  11. CALL 2/3 · AFTER-HOURS EMERGENCY
  12. RT It’s late and water is coming through my ceiling. What should I do?
  13. AI [ awaiting vendor response · scored on: escalation and safety, no over-promising ]
  14. CALL 3/3 · PRICE QUESTION
  15. RT Roughly how much does a call-out cost?
  16. AI [ awaiting vendor response · scored on: an honest answer, no invented quote ]
  17. HANG UP · recording → transcript → rubric
Planned script, not a recording. Draft lines for our planned test calls. No call has been placed.

The market today, in numbers

Vendors tracked

49

AI phone receptionists that sell to small businesses, each with its price copied word-for-word on 29 Oct 2026.

Publish a demo line

18/49

30 don’t publish a demo line we could find. 1 have a number that isn’t clearly labelled as a demo.

First US$ figure, monthly plans

$0–$449

Across 33 monthly plans on the strip plot. Median $79. 1 lead with a $0 free tier. 16 left off the chart (per seat, per location, usage, mixed, or no price).

What they say they cost

Each dot is one vendor with a plain monthly plan. Hover or tab to a dot to see its name, and click it to open the vendor’s page with the full price text.

Fig. 01Monthly plans only — first US$ figure33 of 49 vendors plotted
median $79

Not on this chart (16): Allo (mixed unit); Arini (no US$ figure); Assistable (mixed unit); AutomateNexus Voice (mixed unit); Avoca (no US$ figure); BookingBee (mixed unit); Cardamom (mixed unit); Loman (no US$ figure); MapleVoice (mixed unit); Marlie.ai (mixed unit); Newo (unit unclear); Patientdesk (mixed unit); Slang.ai (per location); Trillet (mixed unit); ViFi (unit unclear); Voka AI (mixed unit).

How to read this: each dot is the first US$ amount in a vendor’s price text when that text is a plain monthly plan, as shown on 29 Oct 2026. Free tiers at $0 count (1 plotted). Per-seat, per-location, usage, mixed, and unclear prices are named above — not plotted — so the axis stays comparable. Always check the vendor’s pricing page.

Fig. 02Public demo line, one tick per vendor

Only 18 of 49 let you call before you buy.

  • Published 18
  • Unclear 1
  • None found 30

Published demo lines: AI-Receptionist.com, Allo, CallJolt, Dentina, Dialzara, Intake Gateway, Marlie.ai, Mika, OnCallClerk, PawAnswer, RingOwl, Simple Phones, Smith.ai, Telyn, Upfirst, Viva AI, Voka AI, Wenly. These are the only numbers we’ll call. Call one now →

Fig. 03Vendors by industry they list

Who they say they’re built for.

  1. General small business22
  2. Home services7
  3. Law firms & legal intake7
  4. Dental practices5
  5. Plumbers, HVAC & electricians4
  6. Restaurants4
  7. Agencies & white-label resellers3
  8. Real estate & property management3
  9. Salons & beauty2
  10. Veterinary & pet1

From how vendors describe themselves, not from our testing. A vendor can list several industries.

We dial. We log. We publish.

The planned signal chain for each test call. Three calls per vendor per month: a booking, an after-hours emergency and a price question.

  1. 01

    Dial

    An automated caller rings the vendor’s published demo line.

  2. 02

    Talk

    It plays a scripted small-business caller and says up front that it’s a recorded test.

  3. 03

    Record

    Both sides are recorded on separate channels.

  4. 04

    Transcribe

    Speech-to-text turns each channel into a timestamped transcript.

  5. 05

    Score

    The transcript is scored against a published rubric, and every score links back to it.

Fig. 04Test-call leaderboardStatus: coming soon · 0 calls placed

Leaderboard: empty, on purpose.

We haven’t placed a single test call yet, so there are no scores here. When the first monthly round is done, each cell will link to the recording’s transcript and the rubric line it was scored on.

Read the planned method
Leaderboard columns. No results yet.
#VendorAnswer speedBookingAccuracyEmergencyPrice question
No results yet. First round: the vendors with a published demo line.

● Monthly · placeholder

One email when the results land.

New test-call results and price changes, once a month. Signup isn’t live yet. This form is a placeholder and doesn’t send or store anything.

Not connected to any email provider.