Phonely AI: Pricing, Review and Alternatives (2026)
Phonely is an AI phone agent builder. You set up an agent from templates, workflows and prompts, give it a number, and it answers calls, takes texts and can book appointments.
The free plan is a fair way to try it. The bill gets harder to predict once calls run long, get transferred, or need to go outbound.
The quick answer: Phonely has a free plan with 100 minutes, Starter at $50 a month ($33 billed annually), Pro at $150 a month ($100 annually) and custom Enterprise pricing from 5¢ a minute. Overage runs 25¢ to 35¢ a minute, transferred calls keep billing at 2¢ a minute, and outbound calls and CRM integrations start on Pro. If you want a receptionist you set up by pasting one prompt into ChatGPT or Claude, that rings your team first, calls leads back and works your email and calendar too, Carly does all of it.
Prices from Phonely’s pricing page, checked October 21, 2026.
Phonely pricing
| Plan | Monthly | Billed annually | Minutes | Overage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | 100 | Upgrade required |
| Starter | $50 | $33/mo | 200 to 250 | $0.35/min |
| Pro | $150 | $100/mo | 650 to 750 | $0.30/min |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Custom | From $0.05/min |
The minute ranges aren’t a typo. Phonely’s plan cards list 200 and 650 minutes, while the comparison table on the same page lists 250 and 750. Phonely estimates about two minutes per call, so Starter covers roughly 100 calls and Pro roughly 300.
| Feature | Free | Starter | Pro | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outbound calls | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Branded caller ID | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Transcripts and AI analytics | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| CRM integrations | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Payments over the phone | No | No | No | Yes |
| HIPAA BAA | No | No | No | Yes |
| Phone numbers included | 1 | 3 | 5 | Custom |
Where Phonely falls short
- Per-minute billing punishes long calls. A five-minute call about a complicated job costs two and a half times what Phonely’s two-minute average assumes. A busy month past your allowance runs 30¢ to 35¢ a minute.
- Transfers keep the meter running. When Phonely hands a caller to a person, it can keep billing 2¢ a minute until the call ends, unless your setup uses SIP REFER transfers or Enterprise custom telephony.
- Calling leads back costs $150 a month. Outbound calls and branded caller ID aren’t on Free or Starter.
- CRM integrations start on Pro too. On Starter, your calls don’t flow into your CRM.
- You build it. Phonely is a builder with templates, custom workflows and prompts. Done-for-you agent buildout is the Enterprise plan.
- It’s a phone tool. Your inboxes, calendars and the rest of your follow-up still live somewhere else.
Why Carly is the better pick
Carly runs your business line on your rules, the same way on every call, and there’s nothing to build.
- Set up in one prompt. Paste Carly’s setup prompt into ChatGPT or Claude, describe how calls should go in plain English, and grab a number in the chat.
- Your team rings first. In business hours Carly rings your people and answers only if nobody picks up. After hours it answers right away.
- Calls leads back within about a minute of a form fill, then texts and emails if they don’t answer (how it works).
- Texts both ways from your number, plus a text back on every missed call.
- Routes like a real phone system, with ring groups and phone menus up to nine options.
- English and Spanish, chosen from how the caller talks.
- Does the rest of the job. The same Carly works your Gmail and Outlook inboxes and every calendar, and connects to thousands of apps, so a booked call lands on the right calendar and in your CRM.
- Steer it from your AI chat. Place calls, send texts and watch or steer a live call from ChatGPT or Claude (see how).
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/integrations (Advanced > API Keys > Create a new key, with Owner set to the team and all scopes selected) 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.Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/month. Get started.
Phonely vs Carly
| Phonely | Carly | |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | Build from templates, workflows and prompts | One prompt in ChatGPT or Claude |
| Pricing | $0 to $150/mo plus per-minute overage | Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/month |
| Outbound calls | Pro and up | Yes |
| Rings your team first | Transfers when the AI hands off | Team first, Carly if nobody answers |
| Texting | Paid plans | Two-way, plus missed-call text back |
| Email and calendar | No | Every Gmail and Outlook account |
| Run from ChatGPT or Claude | No | Yes |
Other Phonely alternatives
- Carly: answering, lead calls, texts, email and calendar in one assistant.
- Upfirst: billed per call instead of per minute. See Upfirst AI.
- Dialzara: minute bundles for small businesses. See Dialzara.
- Goodcall: billed by unique caller. See Goodcall.
- Synthflow: another build-your-own voice agent platform. See Synthflow alternatives.
More in best AI receptionist.
FAQ
How much does Phonely cost?
Free for 100 minutes, Starter $50 a month ($33 billed annually), Pro $150 a month ($100 billed annually), and Enterprise from 5¢ a minute. Overage is 35¢ a minute on Starter and 30¢ on Pro.
Is Phonely free?
The free plan includes 100 minutes a month and one number. Past that you have to upgrade, and outbound calling needs Pro.
Can Phonely make outbound calls?
Yes, on Pro and Enterprise. Carly calls new leads within about a minute of a form fill and follows up by text and email.
Is Phonely good for small businesses?
For simple inbound answering at low volume, it’s a reasonable start. If you want answering, lead callbacks, texting and your inbox and calendar handled by one assistant you set up from ChatGPT or Claude, Carly is the better fit.
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."
