Alternatives to Marlie AI

Marlie AI ranks #6 on the Top 11 RingCentral vs Nextiva vs Upfirst: 11 Best AI Receptionists for Small Business 2026. Below: the higher-ranked alternatives we’d steer you to instead, by use case.

Verified . No paid placement — see methodology.

  1. #1RingCentral AI Receptionist (AIR)

    8.9 / 9.4

    Names its calendars and CRMs, works with any phone system, and prints the whole bill. From $49 a month.

    Best for: Owners who want booking and CRM logging without changing phone provider · Pricing: $ (standalone from $49 a month with 100 minutes, or $39 a month on top of RingEX Core at $30; $0.50 a minute after that; 14 day trial) · www.ringcentral.com/ai-receptionist.html

  2. #2Nextiva XBert AI Receptionist

    8.6 / 9.4

    The longest named connection list here, split into live and on request. $99 for 100 conversations.

    Best for: Service businesses that want calls, texts and chat on one $99 meter · Pricing: $$ ($99 a month for 100 conversations across voice, text or chat, then $0.99 each; 30 day money back guarantee) · www.nextiva.com/products/ai-receptionist

  3. #3Upfirst

    8.4 / 9.4

    Books into six named calendars, bills per call, and starts at $24.95. No named CRM.

    Best for: Small offices that want booking into Acuity, Square or Clio from $24.95 · Pricing: $ ($24.95 a month for 30 calls up to $299 for 600, or 20 percent less annually; 14 day trial with no card) · upfirst.ai/solutions/ai-receptionist

  4. #4Allo

    8.1 / 9.4

    Native booking and CRM write back for $32 an agent, on a phone system that is still young.

    Best for: Small teams replacing their phone system and wanting native CRM write back · Pricing: $ (AI Receptionist $32 a month per agent on top of an Allo seat, Business seats $32 a month billed yearly or $45 monthly; 7 day trial) · withallo.com/product/ai-receptionist

  5. #5Smith.ai AI Receptionist

    8 / 9.4

    AI first with human receptionists behind it, native Clio, HubSpot and Salesforce, and 25 free calls.

    Best for: Professional firms that want AI with human receptionists behind it · Pricing: $$ (free for 25 calls a month, then $3 a call; Pro $150 a month at $2 a call; Enterprise $500 a month) · smith.ai/ai-receptionist

See the full ranked list: RingCentral vs Nextiva vs Upfirst: 11 Best AI Receptionists for Small Business 2026. Or compare any two: side-by-side.