My AI Front Desk, which now calls itself Frontdesk, sells an AI receptionist as one bundle: phone answering, a website chatbot, texting and outbound calls for $99 a month. If you’d use all of that, it’s a lot in one box. If you mainly want your phone answered and jobs booked, you may be paying for parts you won’t touch, and the calendar connection takes more setup than some alternatives.
Here’s what Frontdesk includes, the reasons people shop around, and the alternatives sorted by what you actually need. Prices come from each vendor’s own pricing page, checked on 22 October 2026. We make Ansdale, one of the alternatives, and we’ve tried to be fair to the others.
What does My AI Front Desk cost and include?
Frontdesk’s main plan, Business-in-a-Box, is $99 a month, or $79 a month billed annually. It includes:
- 200 voice minutes
- 100 chatbot conversations
- 400 texts
- 20 outbound calls a day
Extra minutes cost $0.25 each, drawn first from a monthly pool of 1,000 credits that expires each month, then from auto-reload at $10 per 1,000 credits. There’s a 7-day free trial and no contract. It covers nights, weekends and holidays, and calendars connect through Zapier. Partner and enterprise plans are custom priced, and white-label starts at $500 a month.
Why do people look for an alternative?
- One plan, one price. If you get 30 calls a month, $99 is more than you need, and there’s no smaller tier to drop to.
- Calendar booking through Zapier. It works, but it’s another account and another connection to set up and keep running, compared with services that connect to Google Calendar directly.
- Credits take some working out. Minutes, chat conversations and texts each have allowances, and overage runs through a credit pool. It’s cheap per minute, but harder to predict than a single number.
To be fair, the overage rate is one of the lowest anywhere at $0.25 a minute, and if you’d genuinely use the chatbot and texting, the bundle is good value.
The alternatives, by what you need
You want a cheaper starting point
Upfirst starts at $24.95 a month for 30 calls, with booking on every plan and a 14-day free trial. Dialzara starts at $29 for 60 minutes, though calendar sync only arrives on its $99 plan. We compared Dialzara and its alternatives in more detail.
You want native calendar booking
Upfirst connects directly to Google, Outlook, Calendly, Acuity, Square and Clio on every plan. Smith.ai’s AI receptionist includes scheduling from its free 25-call plan up, then $150 a month for 75 calls. Ansdale, ours, books into its own calendar with two-way Google Calendar sync on every plan, from $49 a month for 100 minutes.
You want lots of minutes
Rosie includes 250 minutes for $49 and 1,000 for $149. The $49 plan texts callers a booking link; calendar booking starts at $149. If you go over, Rosie moves you up a plan rather than charging per minute. Our Rosie review covers the details.
You get mostly repeat callers
Goodcall charges by unique customer, one phone number counted once a month, from $79 for 100 customers. Minutes and calls aren’t metered and spam doesn’t count. That suits businesses whose regulars call often; new leads each count as a customer.
You run a trade or home service business
This is what we built Ansdale for. It answers your existing number, books estimates and service calls during the call, and sends urgent calls, like a burst pipe or no heat, to you or your on-call tech under rules you write. Plans are $49, $99 or $199 a month for 100, 250 or 500 minutes, and extra minutes are billed per minute. It doesn’t include a website chatbot bundle like Frontdesk does, and it doesn’t connect natively to field service software such as Jobber or ServiceTitan.
Side by side
| Service | Starts at | Included | Calendar booking | Free trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| My AI Front Desk | $99/mo ($79 annual) | 200 minutes, chatbot, texts | Through Zapier | 7 days |
| Upfirst | $24.95/mo | 30 calls | Native, all plans | 14 days |
| Dialzara | $29/mo | 60 minutes | From $99 plan | 7 days |
| Rosie | $49/mo | 250 minutes | From $149 plan | 7 days |
| Ansdale (ours) | $49/mo | 100 minutes | All plans, two-way Google Calendar sync | 7 days |
| Goodcall | $79/mo | 100 unique customers | Not clearly stated | Free demo agent |
| Smith.ai AI receptionist | Free, then $150/mo | 25 calls, then 75 | All plans | Free plan |
Before you switch, price your last month and your busiest month on each option you’re considering. Our flat rate answering service guide walks through how to do that across different billing models.
Questions people ask
How much does My AI Front Desk cost?
On 22 October 2026 its Business-in-a-Box plan was $99 a month, or $79 a month billed annually, with 200 voice minutes, 100 chatbot conversations, 400 texts and 20 outbound calls a day. Extra minutes cost $0.25.
Is My AI Front Desk the same as Frontdesk?
Yes. The site at myaifrontdesk.com now brands the product as Frontdesk.
Does My AI Front Desk book appointments?
Yes, but calendars connect through Zapier rather than a direct integration, so expect some setup.
What is a cheaper alternative to My AI Front Desk?
Upfirst starts at $24.95 a month for 30 calls with native booking, Dialzara at $29 for 60 minutes, and Rosie and Ansdale, which is ours, at $49 a month.
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