7 Best Goodcall Alternatives in 2026
Goodcall’s pricing is clever: it bills per unique caller, so a long call costs the same as a short one. The problem people report is the billing itself. Its Trustpilot score is 2.5 out of 5, and recent reviewers describe charges that continued after they cancelled and emails that went unanswered.
The quick answer: Carly is the best Goodcall alternative for a business that wants every caller booked, with texts and email in the same place. It answers when your team can’t, books on your real calendars while the caller’s on the line, texts from your number and works from one team inbox. Copy one prompt into ChatGPT or Claude, grab a number, and you’re live. For a free test, Smith.ai covers 25 calls a month.
US list prices from each vendor’s own pricing page, checked October 30, 2026. Trustpilot scores read the same day.
Goodcall’s plans, for reference
| Plan | Monthly | Unique callers | Extra callers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $79 | 100 | 79¢ each |
| Growth | $129 | 500 | 26¢ each |
| Scale | $299 | 2,000 | 15¢ each |
More in Goodcall: pricing and reviews.
Goodcall alternatives compared
| Alternative | Books on your calendar | Charges by | Starting price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carly | Yes, round robin across your team | Plan | Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/mo |
| Smith.ai | Yes | Call | Free for 25 calls; Pro from $150 |
| Rosie | From $149 | Plan with minutes | $49/mo for 250 min |
| Dialzara | From $99 | Talk time | $29/mo for 60 min |
| My AI Front Desk | Yes | Plan with minutes | $99/mo for 200 min |
| Sameday | Into your field software | Minutes | $449/mo for 500 min |
| Ruby | Per your script | Minute (live people) | $250/mo for 50 min |
1. Carly
Carly follows your rules, the same way every time. Write down what to ask, who to book and when to hand off, and it does exactly that on every call.
- Answers your line, 24/7 or only when nobody picks up, in English or Spanish.
- Books during the call on your team’s real Google or Outlook calendars.
- Calls web leads back within about a minute, then texts and emails if they miss it.
- Two-way texts and WhatsApp from your number, plus a text back on every missed call.
- One team inbox. Every call, transcript, text and email on the customer’s timeline, in Carly’s CRM, HubSpot or Salesforce.
- Connects to your tools. Thousands of apps, so a call can create the job, the invoice or the Slack message.
- Works from ChatGPT or Claude. Tell your chat to build the agent or call a customer back (how it works).
After each call, follow-ups and review requests run as free Zapier-style workflows.
Carly business setup prompt
Paste this into ChatGPT, Claude or any AI. It walks you through the rest.
Help me connect Carly Teams so I can work with my organization's business texts, phone calls, voicemail and voice/text agents from this chat. I'll add it to you myself: tell me exactly what to click for the app you are, one step at a time, and wait for me to confirm before moving on. If a step doesn't match what I see, ask me what's on my screen. If you can do the setup yourself (Claude Code, Codex, Muse, Grok Bot), go ahead, and ask me for any key in your secure credential prompt, never in the chat. Don't tell me it's connected until list_phone_lines works, and if I have several teams, ask which to use. Before sending a text or making a call, confirm the team, recipient and message or task with me. The steps are below.
# Connect Carly Teams to an AI app
> Carly Teams works a team's business phone lines through the team's AI agents: business texts, phone calls, voicemail, the voice and text agents, and the team's CRM.
MCP server: https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp (streamable HTTP, OAuth)
## Setup
Carly Teams isn't in any plugin or connector directory yet, so it's added as a custom connection by URL.
1. Add Carly Teams:
- ChatGPT: open https://chatgpt.com/plugins, click Add, and choose Create MCP App (not Create plugin or Upload plugin archive). If Create MCP App isn't on the menu, turn on Developer mode first in Settings > Security and login. Name it "Carly Teams" with the description "Work with my team's business texts, calls, voicemail and voice/text agents," paste https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp as the server URL, choose OAuth, create it, and sign in. Then in the message box open the + menu, choose Developer mode, and pick Carly Teams. No plugin needs to be built, packaged or uploaded.
- Claude (claude.ai, Claude Desktop, or Cowork): Customize > Connectors > Add custom connector, name it Carly Teams, paste https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp, and sign in.
- Claude Code: `claude mcp add --transport http --scope user carly-teams https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp`, then /mcp, pick carly-teams, and authenticate.
- Codex: `codex mcp add carly-teams --url https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp`, then `codex mcp login carly-teams`.
- Cursor: add {"mcpServers": {"carly-teams": {"url": "https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp"}}} to ~/.cursor/mcp.json, then sign in to carly-teams from Customize.
- Muse: a custom connector to https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp with a Carly API key as its bearer token. The key comes from carlyassistant.com/account (API key under Carly Teams) and goes in Muse's connector settings, not in a chat message.
- Grok: grok.com/connectors > New Connector > Custom, paste https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp, and sign in.
- Grok Bot: a custom remote MCP server named carly-teams at https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp. Approve it and sign in.
- Perplexity: Plugins in the sidebar (or Customize > Connectors), then Add custom > Connector > Add MCP connector. Choose Remote, name it Carly Teams, paste https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp, pick OAuth, check the box and click Add, then click the Carly Teams card to sign in.
- Anything else: a remote MCP server (streamable HTTP) named carly-teams at https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp. It signs in with OAuth.
Sign in with the Carly account that belongs to the organization.
2. Once it's added, the Carly Teams tools show up in the chat, including list_phone_lines. If they don't, turn Carly Teams on for the chat or start a new chat.
3. To check it worked, call list_phone_lines: it returns the teams and phone lines the account can reach. A team with no phone line yet can get one with find_numbers (optionally by area code) and get_number, which may return a checkout link to finish.
4. Something to try first: "Review our missed calls and voicemail and help me reply to customers." Carly Teams also reads and answers business texts, has the team's agent make calls, and edits the voice and text agents. Texts and calls go out at once from the agent's number and can't be taken back. Team permissions apply.
## Email, calendars and workflows
Email, calendars, files, booking pages and workflows are the regular Carly connector, added separately. It's listed in ChatGPT's plugin directory (https://chatgpt.com/plugins/plugin_asdk_app_6a67a26316b88191860222f918d4ec54) and Claude's connector directory (https://claude.ai/directory/carly), and connects anywhere else at https://carlyassistant.com/mcp/. Its setup is https://carlyassistant.com/mcp.txt.- Best for: businesses that want answering, booking, texts and email in one place.
- Pricing: Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/month. Get started.
2. Smith.ai
Smith.ai’s AI Receptionist qualifies callers and books them, with live receptionists on a separate plan.
- Best for: testing an AI receptionist free.
- Pricing: free for 25 calls a month, then $3 a call. Pro from $150 for 75 calls.
- Limitations: per-call billing punishes busy months. See Smith.ai alternatives.
3. Rosie
Rosie answers 24/7 in English or Spanish, filters spam and texts you a summary.
- Best for: solo owners who want messages taken.
- Pricing: $49 a month for 250 minutes, $149 for 1,000, $299 for 2,000.
- Limitations: booking on your calendar starts at $149. See Rosie AI alternatives.
4. Dialzara
Dialzara has the cheapest entry on this list and strong reviews, at 4.2 on Trustpilot.
- Best for: very low call volume.
- Pricing: $29 a month for 60 minutes; $99 for 220.
- Limitations: calendar sync and warm transfers start at $99. See Dialzara alternatives.
5. My AI Front Desk
Now called Frontdesk AI, it bundles calls, texts, chat and a CRM into one plan.
- Best for: businesses with no CRM yet.
- Pricing: $99 a month, or $79 billed annually, for 200 voice minutes.
- Limitations: 3.3 on Trustpilot, with complaints about support and trial charges. See My AI Front Desk alternatives.
6. Sameday
Sameday is a home-services specialist that books into ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro and Jobber.
- Best for: trades shops that have outgrown a general answering tool.
- Pricing: $449 a month for 500 minutes; $789 for 1,000.
- Limitations: several times Goodcall’s price, and it starts with a demo. See Sameday AI alternatives.
7. Ruby
Ruby’s live receptionists are for when a person has to answer.
- Best for: firms where the first impression has to be human.
- Pricing: $250 for 50 minutes up to $1,725 for 500.
- Limitations: about $5 a minute at the entry level. See Ruby alternatives.
How to pick
- Want every caller booked, with one inbox for the team? Go with Carly.
- Know your callers. If most are repeat customers, Goodcall’s model is good. If most are new, minutes or calls may be cheaper.
- Test the cancel path. Before you pay anyone, find out how you stop paying, and get it in writing.
- Want a human? Ruby, at a much higher price.
For the full field, see best AI receptionist for small business.
FAQ
What is the best alternative to Goodcall?
Carly, for businesses that want callers booked on a real calendar, plus texts and email in one inbox. Smith.ai is the best free way to try an AI receptionist.
Is Goodcall legit?
Goodcall is a real company that began inside Google in 2017. Its Trustpilot score is 2.5 out of 5, and recent complaints focus on billing after cancellation, so check your statement if you leave.
Is there a cheaper alternative to Goodcall?
Dialzara starts at $29 a month and Rosie at $49, and Smith.ai’s AI is free for 25 calls. Carly: Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/month.
Goodcall vs Rosie: which is better?
Goodcall bills by unique caller, Rosie by minutes. Goodcall suits many repeat callers and long calls; Rosie suits short calls and owners who mostly want messages.
Can I keep my phone number if I switch?
Yes. With Carly you can forward your existing number, for every call or just the ones you miss.
Ready to automate your busywork?
Carly schedules, researches, and briefs you—so you can focus on what matters.
See what people say
"Before Carly, I relied on a Calendly link, but the whole process felt impersonal and not very professional. Carly changed that by handling all the back-and-forth, so I'm no longer stuck in endless email threads trying to line up schedules.
Now Carly reaches out to candidates, shares my real-time availability, lets them pick a slot, then sends a Zoom link and drops it straight into my calendar. She sends reminders to both of us before each call, which has significantly reduced no-shows and last-minute confusion.
On top of scheduling, Carly acts like a full executive assistant, sending me my schedule the night before so I can prepare for each call. It reminds me of the old x.ai assistant, but Carly is noticeably smarter, faster, and better suited to my healthcare recruitment business."
