Upfirst in Brief
Upfirst is an AI answering service that bills per call rather than per minute. It is simple to understand and includes a lot on every plan: 24/7 answering, call recordings and transcripts, warm transfers, appointment scheduling with Google, Outlook, Clio, Acuity, Calendly, and Square, texting links during a call, spam blocking, Zapier, and support for more than 35 languages.
Plans as listed on Upfirst's pricing page on October 12, 2026:
| Plan | Monthly | Billed annually | Calls included | Each extra call |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $24.95 | $20 a month | 30 | $1.50 |
| Premium | $59.95 | $48 a month | 90 | $1.00 |
| Pro | $159.95 | $128 a month | 300 | $0.75 |
| Scale | $299 | $240 a month | 600 | $0.70 |
Calls under 15 seconds, calls where the caller never speaks, and spam calls are not billed. There is a 14-day free trial and no contract. Confirm current prices before deciding.
What Upfirst Does Well
- Fair counting. Pocket dials, hang-ups, and spam do not eat into your plan.
- Long calls cost the same as short ones, which suits intake and booking.
- Broad calendar support on every plan, including Clio for law firms.
- Many languages without upgrading.
Why People Look at Alternatives
- Lots of short calls. If many calls are quick questions about hours or directions, paying $0.70 to $1.50 per call can cost more than per-minute or per-customer plans.
- HIPAA. Upfirst lists business associate agreements only on its Custom plan, so smaller clinics may look elsewhere.
- Live backup. Upfirst's plans are built around its AI receptionist. If you want trained people to take some calls, a hybrid service fits better.
- Deeper integrations. Beyond its calendar list, CRM connections run through Zapier, with custom integration support on the Pro and Scale plans.
- More agents. Each additional agent costs $9.95 a month.
Alternatives at a Glance
| Alternative | How it bills | Entry price | How it differs from Upfirst |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dialzara | Per minute | $29 for 60 minutes | Cheaper for short calls; booking and Spanish on every plan |
| Rosie | Per minute | $49 for 250 minutes | Big minute allowances; booking from $149 |
| Goodcall | Per unique customer | $79 for 100 customers | Repeat calls and long calls cost nothing extra |
| Smith.ai | Per call | Free for 25 calls, then from $150 | Adds live agents |
| Frontdesk | Plan plus credits | $99, or $79 billed annually | Chat, text, and email included |
| Custom AI receptionist | Build plus usage | Quoted per project | HIPAA setups and deep integrations |
The Alternatives
Dialzara
Dialzara bills per minute, from $29 for 60 minutes up to $349 for 1,000, with booking, routing, and Spanish on every plan and a team member helping with setup. When calls are short, paying by the minute costs less than paying for each call; when calls run long, Upfirst usually wins. Dialzara has a 7-day trial.
Rosie
Rosie gives large minute allowances: $49 for 250 minutes, $149 for 1,000, and $299 for 2,000, with booking and warm transfers from the $149 plan. For a business with a few hundred short calls, Rosie's $149 plan is a predictable alternative.
Goodcall
Goodcall bills by unique customer and never meters minutes. $79 covers 100 different callers a month, then $0.79 each, and $129 covers 500. It beats per-call pricing when the same people call repeatedly, because their second and third calls cost nothing.
Smith.ai
Smith.ai also bills per call, so the model will feel familiar, but it adds live agents. Its free plan covers 25 calls, paid AI plans start at $150 a month at about $2 per call, and hybrid plans with people start at $2.50 per call. It costs more than Upfirst; the reason to pay is human backup.
Frontdesk
Frontdesk costs $99 a month, or $79 billed annually, for 200 voice minutes plus web chat, text messages, and email drafts, with extra voice minutes bought as credits. It fits businesses that want every channel answered from one place.
A Custom AI Receptionist
A custom build makes sense when you need HIPAA controls and a business associate agreement designed around your systems, a direct integration with your practice management or field service software, or call rules a product cannot follow. Builds with integrations typically cost $5,000 to $15,000, plus usage. See our HIPAA-compliant AI receptionist guide and AI receptionist service.
Worked Example: Short Calls vs Long Calls
A business gets 300 calls a month from about 220 different callers and needs booking. First assume calls are short, about 1 minute each (300 minutes); then assume they average 5 minutes (1,500 minutes).
| Service | 1-minute calls | 5-minute calls | How we priced it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upfirst | $159.95 | $159.95 | Pro covers 300 calls |
| Goodcall | $129 | $129 | Growth covers 500 customers |
| Dialzara | $135 | $524 | Short: Pro $99 + 80 x $0.45. Long: Elite $349 + 500 x $0.35 |
| Rosie | $149 | $299 | Booking needs the $149 plan; 1,500 minutes needs the $299 plan |
| Smith.ai | About $500 | About $500 | AI plan at about $1.67 a call for 300 calls, approximate |
With short calls, Upfirst is not the cheapest: Goodcall, Dialzara, and Rosie all cost less. With long calls, the per-minute plans jump while Upfirst and Goodcall stay flat. Know your average call length before you choose.
How to Choose
- Find your average call length and the share of very short calls in last month's log.
- Count distinct callers, which is what Goodcall charges for.
- Price your volume on one per-call, one per-minute, and one per-customer service.
- If you handle patient information, ask each vendor which plan includes a business associate agreement.
- Test during the trials with your real call types.
Our AI receptionist pricing comparison prices eight services for a 150-call month.
Official documentation
Platform capabilities and implementation details can change. These official references help readers verify the guidance in this article.
- Upfirst pricing from Upfirst
- Dialzara pricing from Dialzara
- Rosie pricing from Rosie
- Goodcall pricing from Goodcall
- AI receptionist pricing from Smith.ai
- Frontdesk pricing from Frontdesk