Short answer: An AI receptionist is billed mostly by the minute. On pricing pages we read on 2 November 2026, a pay-as-you-go platform (Retell AI) came to about $0.18 a minute with a Canadian line and $0.25 with an Australian line. For 300 calls a month at 3 minutes each, that is roughly $164 a month in Canada and $227 in Australia, before setup. Ready-made plans we read cost $149 to $274 for the same 900 minutes. Before you buy, check recording consent, AI disclosure, handover to a person and where call data is stored.
We build AI voice agents, and the first thing owners want to know is the monthly bill. So on 2 November 2026 we read the pricing pages of five AI voice and receptionist products and the Twilio and Telnyx phone number prices for Canada and Australia, then worked out one realistic month.
What do you actually pay for with an AI receptionist?
Every AI receptionist bill has the same parts:
- Voice platform, per minute. Runs the call. Retell AI lists $0.055 a minute; Vapi charges $0.05 a minute for hosting.
- AI model, per minute. On Retell AI, from under a cent to over $0.30 a minute. GPT 5.4, one of the models Retell marks “Recommended”, is $0.080.
- Voice, per minute. Retell’s own voices are $0.015; ElevenLabs voices $0.04 to $0.10.
- Phone line, per minute. The carrier’s charge. This is where Canada and Australia differ most.
- Phone number, per month. $1 to $3 for a local number, more for toll-free.
- Setup. Script, calendar connection, testing.
Ready-made receptionist products bundle these into one monthly plan. Developer platforms bill each part. Telnyx labels its prices USD; the others show $ without naming a currency, so check at checkout.
How much does an AI receptionist cost per minute?
What three voice AI platforms publish:
| Platform | What the pricing page says (2 Nov 2026) |
|---|---|
| Retell AI | Pay as you go, “$0.07-$0.31/minute”. Twilio line: Canada $0.03/min, Australia $0.1/min. No charge for your own telephony. Numbers $2.00/month. 20 concurrent calls included. |
| Vapi | “$0.05/min Vapi hosting”, models “at cost”, carrier charged by the provider. One number included free; $29/month Core with 5 numbers. |
| Synthflow | No public price. “Synthflow is sold as an annual enterprise agreement” with “no free plan or trial and no rate by the minute”. |
Three details on Retell’s page matter. Calls are tracked “to the nearest second”. You are charged during silence and hold, because the speech-to-text engine “remains active and listening throughout”. And once a call is transferred to a person, “the AI voice agent fee stops”, and only the phone line keeps charging.
What does a Canadian or Australian phone number cost?
| Carrier | Canada | Australia |
|---|---|---|
| Twilio, local number | $1.15/month | $3.00/month |
| Twilio, toll-free number | $2.15/month | $20.00/month |
| Twilio, mobile number | not listed | $8.25/month |
| Twilio, receive a call on a local number | $0.0085/min | $0.0100/min |
| Telnyx, local number | from $1/month | from $2/month |
| Telnyx, toll-free number | from $1/month | from $10/month |
Sources: Twilio Canada, Twilio Australia (both “Pricing current as of August 2026”) and Telnyx with the country set to Canada, then Australia. You can usually forward your existing number to the AI number, so your website and Google profile stay the same.
What would 300 calls a month cost? Our arithmetic
Take a clinic, salon or trade business with 300 calls a month for the AI, at 3 minutes each: 900 minutes. This is our arithmetic from the prices above, not a vendor quote.
| Setup (900 minutes a month) | Per minute | Monthly total |
|---|---|---|
| Retell AI, Canada, Retell’s Twilio line + Retell number | $0.055 + $0.080 + $0.015 + $0.03 = $0.18 | $162 + $2 number = $164 |
| Retell AI, Australia, Retell’s Twilio line + Retell number | $0.055 + $0.080 + $0.015 + $0.10 = $0.25 | $225 + $2 number = $227 |
| Retell AI, Australia, your own Twilio number (custom telephony) | $0.15 to Retell + about $0.01 to Twilio | $135 + $9 + $3 number = about $147 |
| Vapi, hosting only | $0.05 + model and carrier costs | $45 + models + carrier |
| Rosie, Scale plan (1,000 minutes included) | bundled | $149 |
| My AI Front Desk, monthly plan (200 minutes included) | $0.25 per extra minute | $99 + 700 x $0.25 = $274 |
Notes. The Retell rows use GPT 5.4 and Retell’s own voices: $0.150 a minute before the phone line, the same figure Retell’s calculator showed with its default options. Retell lists numbers at $2.00 a month with no country breakdown. The “own number” row uses Twilio’s rate to receive a call on an Australian local number; your exact carrier charge depends on how the number connects. We did not total Vapi because its model costs depend on your providers. Rosie’s and My AI Front Desk’s pricing pages do not mention Canada or Australia, so confirm local numbers first.
Ready-made AI receptionist or build your own?
A ready-made plan suits you if
- You want it live this week.
- Your calls are simple: hours, prices, bookings, messages.
- Your minutes fit inside the bundle.
- It connects to your existing calendar.
Build on a platform if
✗ The plans offer no Canadian or Australian numbers.
✗ It must read your own booking, job or patient system.
✗ Bundle overage costs more than paying per minute.
✗ You need control over where recordings are stored.
Can an AI receptionist record calls in Canada?
Most AI receptionists record and transcribe calls. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada updated its guidance on recording customer calls on 8 October 2026. Under PIPEDA, it says the organization “must inform the customer that they are recording a call, clearly state the purpose of the recording and obtain consent”. If the caller continues knowing the call is recorded and why, consent is usually implied. If recording is not integral to the service, callers must be offered alternatives, such as continuing without recording. The page also says businesses that contract out call handling “must ensure that these third parties also follow the rules”, which covers an AI vendor answering on your behalf.
Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec have their own private-sector privacy laws that the OPC says are substantially similar to PIPEDA, and some provinces have separate health information laws, which matters for clinics. This is not legal advice; check your province’s law.
What are the rules for an AI receptionist in Australia?
The OAIC’s guidance on AI products says businesses should update their privacy policies and make sure “any public facing AI tools (such as chatbots) are clearly identified as such” to customers. An AI receptionist is one. The guidance also asks for due diligence, including who will have access to the personal information, and says this should not be a “set and forget” approach. It lists cross-border disclosures (APP 8) among the obligations, so ask where your vendor stores recordings.
Does the Privacy Act cover you? The OAIC says most small businesses with an annual turnover of $3 million or less are not covered, but health service providers are covered regardless of turnover. For recording, the OAIC notes that state and territory surveillance and monitoring laws also cover surveillance devices, and these differ by state. This is not legal advice.
What should you check before buying an AI receptionist?
Our checklist when we set up a voice agent:
- Disclosure. The first sentence says it is an AI assistant and that the call is recorded, and why.
- Handover to a person. “Talk to someone” works at any point. Test what happens when nobody picks up.
- After-hours booking. It books into your real calendar and texts the caller a confirmation.
- Data location. Get in writing where recordings and transcripts are stored, for how long, and how to delete them.
- Local numbers. A Canadian or Australian number, or a forward from your existing one.
- Billing details. Are hold time, voicemail and transfers billed? What do extra minutes cost?
- Twenty test calls. Accents, background noise, a wrong date, an angry tone, before it goes live.
If your business also makes outbound calls in India, the rules there are different; we covered them in AI calling agent for business in India.
When is an AI receptionist not worth it?
- You get very few calls. If you miss two calls a week, forwarding to your mobile may be enough.
- Most calls need judgement. Legal intake, clinical questions or quotes that need a site visit. Callers may hang up on a message-taker.
- Your booking system has no way in. Without calendar access the AI only takes messages, which a cheaper answering service can do.
- Nobody will review the calls. Someone must read transcripts for the first weeks and fix wrong answers.
How we can help
We build AI voice agents on platforms like the ones above: script, calendar connection, handover rules, disclosure greeting and test calls. If a ready-made plan is enough for your volume, we will say so. In Canada, see our Toronto page or call +1 437-563-8080. In Australia, see our Australian page or message us on WhatsApp on 0494 866 992. Anywhere else, book a free 30-minute call or call our Fatehabad office on +91 70151 78387.
Common questions
How much does an AI receptionist cost per month?
It depends on minutes. For 900 minutes a month (300 calls of 3 minutes), our arithmetic on Retell AI’s prices of 2 November 2026 gives about $164 in Canada and $227 in Australia. Ready-made plans we read cost $149 to $274 for the same minutes.
Why does an AI receptionist cost more in Australia than in Canada?
Mostly the phone line. Retell AI lists its Twilio line at $0.03 a minute for Canada and $0.1 a minute for Australia. Twilio lists a local number at $1.15 a month in Canada and $3.00 in Australia.
Is an AI receptionist cheaper than a human receptionist?
It depends on your volume. You pay only for connected minutes, and our 900-minute example came to about $147 to $274 a month. But it does not greet walk-ins or calm upset callers well. We suggest using it for after-hours and overflow calls and keeping a person for the rest.
Do I have to tell callers they are talking to an AI?
In Australia, the OAIC says public facing AI tools such as chatbots should be clearly identified as such to customers. The Canadian OPC page we read covers recording, not AI. We think the first sentence should say it is an AI assistant in both countries.
Can an AI receptionist record calls in Canada?
Yes, with care. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada says an organization must tell the customer it is recording, clearly state the purpose and obtain consent. Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec have their own privacy laws. This is not legal advice.
Does the Privacy Act apply to my small business in Australia?
The OAIC says most small businesses with a turnover of $3 million or less are not covered, but health service providers are covered regardless of turnover. State and territory laws can also apply to recording. This is not legal advice.
Prices read on 2 November 2026: Retell AI; Vapi; Synthflow; Rosie; My AI Front Desk; Twilio Canada; Twilio Australia; Telnyx numbers. Prices change often. The 900-minute totals are our arithmetic, not vendor quotes. Rules read on 2 November 2026: OPC, Recording of Customer Telephone Calls; OPC, Provincial laws that may apply instead of PIPEDA; OAIC, AI products guidance; OAIC, Small business; OAIC, Security cameras. This article is general information, not legal advice.