Software ratings › AI receptionist and business phone · Facts checked October 23, 2026 · 6 products scored
On our rubric, MapleReceptionist scores highest for a small Canadian business because it publishes Canadian data hosting, CAD pricing and French on every tier. Quo and Smith.ai follow, with strong setup and support but no CAD billing published. Ruby is the premium option for live human answering.
Disclosure: Joel & Nanz Inc. builds and sells MapleReceptionist.
It is scored with the same rubric as everyone else and ranked by that score, including the criteria where it loses.
No vendor paid to be listed, scored or ranked here.
How this comes up in client work
AI receptionists are our most requested build. The usual brief: a clinic, a trades business or a property manager missing calls after hours, often in a bilingual market. Before we build a custom voice agent we check whether an off-the-shelf receptionist already covers the brief.
We score the plan a small office would buy for one main line. Note the trade-off the scores cannot show: a human receptionist service handles unusual calls better than any AI, and costs several times more per minute. For high-stakes calls we often recommend a hybrid.
Scores at a glance
0 to 5 per criterion, equally weighted. Read the rubric for what each number means. Ranked by overall score.
1.MapleReceptionistOur product
Joel & Nanz Inc. · Canada · maplereceptionist.com
· Overall 4.5 / 5
Best for: Canadian offices and trades that miss calls and want a bilingual AI receptionist on a Canadian number, without a contract.
Pricing
- Solo: $25 CAD per month (50 inbound minutes, 25 SMS, 1 Canadian number)
- Starter: $60 CAD per month (200 minutes, 100 SMS)
- Business: $99 CAD per month (600 minutes, 500 SMS, up to 2 numbers, calendar booking)
- Team-Pro: $199 CAD per month (2,000 minutes, up to 5 numbers)
Prices in CAD, plus HST or applicable sales taxes. From the vendor's pricing page, checked 2026-10-23. Prices change; confirm before you buy.
Why it scored what it did
- 5/5Price: $25 CAD/month entry tier with a Canadian number; no setup fee.
- 5/5Canadian data: Pricing page states data is hosted 100% in Canada, recordings included.
- 5/5CAD and sales tax: CAD pricing with HST calculated by province at checkout.
- 5/5French: Answers calls in English and French on every tier at no extra cost.
- 4/5Setup effort: Self-serve setup on a new number; porting an existing number takes the carrier's time.
- 3/5Support: Published response targets from 48h (Solo) to 4h (Team-Pro); no phone support listed.
Where it wins: Bilingual EN/FR on every tier, a Canadian phone number included, no setup fee, and month-to-month from $25 CAD.
Where it falls short: An AI receptionist, not a team of human receptionists; Solo caps at 50 minutes and 5 calls a day; full PBX features are a separate product.
Community signal (separate from our score):
0 up · 0 down
2.Quo (formerly OpenPhone)
Quo · www.quo.com
· Overall 2.3 / 5
Best for: Small teams that want a shared business phone app with an AI agent, and can pay in USD.
Pricing
- Starter: $15 USD per user/month billed annually (US$28 billed monthly)
- Business: $23 USD per user/month billed annually (US$33 monthly; live chat support)
- Scale: $35 USD per user/month billed annually (US$47 monthly)
Prices in USD as listed by the vendor, plus applicable taxes. From the vendor's pricing page, checked 2026-10-23. Prices change; confirm before you buy.
Why it scored what it did
- 2/5Price: US$15-28/user/month, USD only.
- 0/5Canadian data: Not stated on the pages we read.
- 1/5CAD and sales tax: 'All prices in USD'.
- 3/5French: AI agent supports English, Spanish and French, but cannot switch language mid-call.
- 4/5Setup effort: Free number porting; a one-time US carrier registration fee applies for messaging.
- 4/5Support: Live chat on Business; inbound phone support on Scale; email tickets on Starter.
Where it wins: AI agent that answers calls in French (Sona), on a low per-user plan with free porting.
Where it falls short: USD-only pricing, and Sona cannot switch between English and French mid-call.
Community signal (separate from our score):
0 up · 0 down
3.Smith.ai
Smith.ai · smith.ai
· Overall 2.3 / 5
Best for: Businesses that want an AI receptionist that can hand off to live North America-based receptionists.
Pricing
- AI Receptionist Free: $0 (currency not labelled on the vendor page) per month (25 calls; $3 per extra call)
- AI Receptionist Pro: $150 (currency not labelled on the vendor page) per month (75 calls)
- Virtual Receptionists Starter: $300 (currency not labelled on the vendor page) per month (30 calls, human-staffed)
Prices as listed on the vendor's Canadian page, plus applicable taxes. From the vendor's pricing page, checked 2026-10-23. Prices change; confirm before you buy.
Why it scored what it did
- 4/5Price: Free AI plan for 25 calls; paid AI from $150/month; currency not labelled.
- 0/5Canadian data: Not stated on the pages we read.
- 0/5CAD and sales tax: Prices show '$' with no currency stated.
- 1/5French: Only bilingual add-on listed is a Spanish line; no French option.
- 5/5Setup effort: No setup fees; free number or free porting; month-to-month.
- 4/5Support: Pro AI plan lists live phone, email and chat support.
Where it wins: AI-first with human backup: AI calls can escalate to live North America-based receptionists, and there is a free 25-call tier.
Where it falls short: No French answering option listed (Spanish only), which matters for NB/QC callers; currency not stated.
Community signal (separate from our score):
0 up · 0 down
4.Dialpad
Dialpad · www.dialpad.com
· Overall 2.2 / 5
Best for: Teams that want a low-cost cloud phone system and will talk to sales about AI agents.
Pricing
- Standard: $20 CAD per user/month, billed annually (C$35 billed monthly)
- Pro: $30 CAD per user/month, billed annually (C$40 billed monthly; 24/7 support)
- AI Agents: Contact vendor (through sales)
Prices in CAD, plus HST or applicable sales taxes. From the vendor's pricing page, checked 2026-10-23. Prices change; confirm before you buy.
Why it scored what it did
- 3/5Price: C$20/user/month annual for the phone system; AI agent pricing not published.
- 0/5Canadian data: Not stated on the pages we read.
- 4/5CAD and sales tax: CAD currency option on the pricing page.
- 0/5French: French answering not stated on the pages we read.
- 3/5Setup effort: Phone system is self-serve; AI agents go through sales.
- 3/5Support: 24/7 customer support listed on Pro.
Where it wins: Low entry price with CAD pricing available (Standard CA$20/user/mo annual).
Where it falls short: AI receptionist/agent capability is custom-priced via sales, so a small business cannot see its cost up front.
Community signal (separate from our score):
0 up · 0 down
5.RingCentral RingEX
RingCentral · www.ringcentral.com
· Overall 2.0 / 5
Best for: Businesses that need a full multi-user phone system with an AI receptionist on top.
Pricing
- Core: $30 CAD per user/month, paid annually (C$40 paid monthly)
- Advanced: $35 CAD per user/month, paid annually (C$45 paid monthly)
- AI Receptionist add-on: $55 CAD starting price (billing unit not stated on the page)
Prices in CAD, plus HST or applicable sales taxes. From the vendor's pricing page, checked 2026-10-23. Prices change; confirm before you buy.
Why it scored what it did
- 2/5Price: C$30/user/month plus an AI add-on from $55: well over C$150 a month for five users.
- 0/5Canadian data: Not stated on the pages we read.
- 4/5CAD and sales tax: Canadian pricing in CAD; other taxes and fees (e.g. 911) may apply.
- 2/5French: French version of the website; the AI receptionist supports 'multiple languages' but French is not named.
- 4/5Setup effort: AI receptionist trains from your website and FAQs; the phone system itself is a per-user rollout.
- 0/5Support: Support channels not stated on the pages we read.
Where it wins: Published CAD pricing on a Canadian page (Core CA$30/user/mo annual) and a French-language Canadian site.
Where it falls short: AI Receptionist is an extra add-on (from $55) on top of per-user plans, and add-on billing basis is not stated on the pricing card.
Community signal (separate from our score):
0 up · 0 down
6.Ruby
Ruby · www.ruby.com
· Overall 1.8 / 5
Best for: Businesses that want live human receptionists on every call and can pay a premium per minute.
Pricing
- 50 minutes: $250 (currency not labelled on the vendor page) per month
- 100 minutes: $395 (currency not labelled on the vendor page) per month
- 200 minutes: $720 (currency not labelled on the vendor page) per month
Prices as listed on the vendor's Canadian page, plus applicable taxes. From the vendor's pricing page, checked 2026-10-23. Prices change; confirm before you buy.
Why it scored what it did
- 1/5Price: From $250/month for 50 minutes; currency not labelled.
- 0/5Canadian data: Not stated on the pages we read.
- 0/5CAD and sales tax: Prices show '$' with no currency stated.
- 1/5French: Bilingual service is English and Spanish; French not mentioned.
- 5/5Setup effort: No activation, onboarding or setup fees.
- 4/5Support: Customer team by help centre or toll-free phone.
Where it wins: Live human receptionists 24/7 with all features included, and the FAQ says Canada is served.
Where it falls short: Minute-based pricing starts at $250/mo for 50 minutes, and bilingual service is Spanish, not French.
Community signal (separate from our score):
0 up · 0 down
Suggest a company we missed
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Our editorial pick
This page shows the scoring. For the short version, what we recommend and why, read our ai receptionist and business phone recommendation on joelnanz.com.
Sources
Every price and claim above comes from the vendor's own website. Pages read on the date shown.
Spotted something out of date? Use the suggestion form above or contact us, and we will re-check it.