Three products people confuse
- Human virtual receptionist. A person answers in your name, usually billed per call or per minute, every month.
- Answering service. Same monthly meter, thinner job: take a message, maybe a callback list. The calendar often does not move.
- AI receptionist. Software answers, and — if it is any good for a salon — writes the live calendar and texts the booking. Pricing models vary. Bukkii is one-time plus usage, not a monthly plan.
If you only wanted a definition of the AI version, start with how do AI receptionists work. This page is the bill.
Live human virtual receptionist pricing
Copied from vendor pages on September 1, 2026. Not Bukkii prices.
| Vendor (live page) | Published plan | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Smith.ai receptionist | Starter $300/month | 30 calls; 1 free transfer destination; overage $11.50/call |
| Smith.ai receptionist | Basic $810/month | 90 calls; 2 transfers; overage $10.50/call |
| Smith.ai receptionist | Pro $2,100/month | 300 calls; 10 transfers; overage $8.50/call |
| Smith.ai add-on | $1.50 per call | “Book appointments” add-on on the same pricing page |
| Ruby virtual receptionist | $250/month | 50 receptionist minutes |
| Ruby | $395/month | 100 minutes |
| Ruby | $720/month | 200 minutes |
| Ruby | $1,725/month | 500 minutes |
Smith also publishes a separate AI receptionist price list (Free $0/mo for 25 calls, then Pro from $150/mo). That hybrid monthly model is unpacked on Smith AI pricing for salons. Phone-stack AI with its own monthly meter: RingCentral AI Receptionist.
Answering-service range (typical market, not a quote)
Where a vendor does not publish a salon-specific number, treat the bill as a typical market range: many small-business answering services still land around $75–$400/month at low volume, then climb with minutes, after-hours, and bilingual add-ons. That band is market context. It is not Bukkii's price and it is not a promise that any one vendor bills inside it.
The leak for a salon is the same at every point on that range: if the service takes a message instead of writing gel/dip/fill/acrylic on a live calendar, you paid for a notepad.
What the meter hides
- Booking is often extra. Smith's live page lists appointment booking at $1.50 per call on the human plans.
- Overage is the real bill. 30 included calls at $300 looks cheap until a Saturday promo week.
- Minutes are not calls. Ruby's $250 plan is 50 minutes. A five-minute fill inquiry is 10% of the month.
- POS is a separate product. None of these replace Vagaro, Booksy, Setmore, Mangomint, or SimplePOS. Keep checkout. Do not “switch POS” to fix the phone.
Bukkii AIVA: $200 one-time, then usage
From bukkii.ai/pricing (September 1, 2026):
- $200 one-time for AI Receptionist. No monthly plan fee. No contract. Unlimited staff.
- Includes dedicated number, AIVA training, calendar setup, forwarding, 100 voice minutes, 1,500 SMS.
- Pay-as-you-go after that: $0.35/min voice, $0.035 per SMS.
- Optional packs, copied from that page, never expire: SMS 500 credits $17.50, 2,000 credits $64, 5,000 credits $140, 10,000 credits $250; voice 100 minutes $35, 250 minutes $80, 500 minutes $140, 1,000 minutes $249.
- No free trial. Live in about five minutes. Register: identity.bukkii.ai/register.
That is the whole comparison for a shop that wants the line covered while someone is in a set: monthly human meter vs one-time AI that books. Built for US nail salons, not a law-firm intake queue.
FAQ
What is a typical virtual receptionist cost for a small shop?
On live vendor pages checked September 1, 2026: Smith.ai human receptionist Starter is $300/month for 30 calls; Ruby virtual receptionist plans start at $250/month for 50 minutes. Typical market answering services often land in the low-to-mid hundreds per month depending on minutes or calls — that range is market context, not a Bukkii price. Bukkii AIVA is $200 one-time, not monthly.
What is virtual receptionist pricing vs an answering service?
Virtual receptionist pricing is usually a monthly bucket of calls or minutes plus overages and add-ons (booking, extra transfers). An answering service is the same meter with a thinner script — messages, not a live calendar write. AI receptionist pricing can be monthly per call, monthly per minute, or a one-time setup plus usage, which is the Bukkii model.
Does Bukkii charge a monthly plan for the AI receptionist?
No. AI Receptionist is $200 one-time. No monthly plan fee, no contract, unlimited staff. Included: 100 voice minutes and 1,500 SMS. Extra usage is $0.35/min voice and $0.035/SMS. Packs never expire. There is no free trial.
Can I keep my salon POS if I switch the phone layer?
Yes. AIVA sits next to Vagaro, Booksy, Setmore, Mangomint, or SimplePOS. We do not ask you to switch POS and we do not claim a native Vagaro webhook.