never miss another call
Your phone answers itself. Then it books the job.
The HoundBell AI Receptionist picks up when you can’t, finds a real opening on your calendar, books it, creates the lead with a call summary, and texts the caller a confirmation. Every call, or only the ones you miss.
All inside the system that already runs your business.
Two recorded demo calls, about a minute each, and a live line you can call yourself.
Free during your 14-day trial. Then a 30-minute test drive on any paid plan. No card for the trial.
set up by lunch
Live in three steps.
Tell it about your business
A five-minute wizard in Settings. It already knows your services and prices from your services list. You add your hours, service area, a few FAQs, and pick a greeting style.
Approve what it knows
You see everything it will say before it takes a single call. Edit a price in Settings and the next call uses the new one.
Pick when it answers
Every call, or only the ones you miss. Your phone rings first in missed-call mode. Usually live within one business day.
The whole job, not a message.
- Answers in your business name with the greeting you chose.
- Answers questions about your services, prices, hours, and service area from what you approved.
- Checks your real calendar and offers openings that are actually open.
- Books the appointment on your calendar.
- Creates the lead in HoundBell with the caller’s name, number, and a summary of the call.
- Texts the caller a confirmation from your business number.
Four rules it does not break.
It will never: invent a price
If a price is not in your services list or your pricing notes, it says you will confirm and takes a message.
It will never: promise a person
It never claims to be human, and it never says someone will call back at a time you did not set.
It will never: text without consent
The caller is asked before any text goes out. If they say no, nothing is sent.
It will never: argue
If a caller is upset or the request is outside what you told it, it takes a message and hands the call to you.
only when it is talking
Priced by the minute, and only when it is talking.
Add it to any HoundBell plan. Minutes count only while the receptionist is on a call.
| Plan | Price | Minutes a month | Calls it typically covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Receptionist | $57 a month | 150 | typically 30 to 50 calls |
| Receptionist Pro | $147 a month | 450 | typically 90 to 150 calls |
| Receptionist Max | $297 a month | 950 | typically 190 to 315 calls |
$0.35 a minute past your allowance. Unused minutes do not roll over. Most receptionist calls run three to five minutes; the call ranges assume that.
Free during your 14-day HoundBell trial. Every paying account also gets one free test drive: 30 minutes over 14 days, started from Billing, no plan required. Hear it take real calls before you pay for one.
inside the system, not bolted on
A receptionist inside your CRM.
Plenty of services will answer your phone and hand you a transcript. HoundBell’s receptionist finishes the job: it books the opening, writes the summary on the client’s card, and texts the confirmation while the caller is still on the line.
Jobber AI Receptionist
$29 a month for 30 conversations, then $0.79 each
Pays per conversation, whatever it was worth. A two-minute wrong number costs the same as a five-minute estimate, and thirty conversations is a quiet month for a busy business. HoundBell bills by the minute, and the receptionist works your whole business, not just the schedule.
Smith.ai
$150 a month for 75 calls; from $500 for 300
Integrates with your CRM. HoundBell is the CRM. HoundBell Pro is $147 for 450 minutes, roughly 90 to 112 calls. The booking, the call summary, and the confirmation text land on the client’s card with no connector in the middle.
Goodcall
$79 to $249 a month with unlimited minutes
Unlimited minutes are not the product. The booked job on your calendar, the lead with the summary, and the text that went out while the caller was still on the line: that is what you are buying. Minutes were never the expensive part.
Bland and other voice APIs
$0.14 a minute for raw infrastructure
A kit, not a receptionist. You build the prompts, the calendar logic, the lead creation, the texting, and the error handling yourself. HoundBell is the finished outcome, which is why an included minute costs more than a raw one.
If a cheaper number is all you need, buy the cheaper number. If you need the call to turn into a job without anyone touching it, that is what this is.
And your field crew’s logins are free, always.
Prices from each vendor’s public pricing page on September 22, 2026. Plans change; check the current page before quoting. HoundBell is not affiliated with the companies mentioned.
got questions?
Questions owners ask.
What happens when it cannot answer a question?
It says so, plainly, and offers to take a message so you can call back. It never guesses. The message lands on the lead in HoundBell with the call summary, and you get it in your Daily Brief the next morning if you have not already seen it.
How does it know my prices?
From your services list in HoundBell. The same prices that run your booking page, your forms, and your quotes. Set a price once and the receptionist quotes it. If a service has no price, it says you will confirm.
Can I keep answering the phone myself?
Yes. Missed-call mode is the default for most owners. Your phone rings first. The receptionist takes the call only when nobody picks up. Switch to every call any time from Settings.
What does the caller hear first?
Your business name and the greeting you chose in the wizard. Something like “Thanks for calling [Your Company], how can I help?” You hear a live preview before you approve it.
Can I turn it off?
Yes, from Settings, with one switch. Your number goes straight back to ringing you. Cancel the plan from Billing any time; it runs to the end of the month you paid for.
Hear it take a call.
Call the demo line and ask for a quote. Then watch the booking land on the calendar. Two minutes, no signup.
14 days free on every HoundBell plan, receptionist included. No card.