AI SMS and texting agents compared
An AI SMS agent holds a two-way text conversation with your customers: it replies to a new lead in seconds, answers questions and can book the job by text. This page lists only vendors whose own site says their AI texts with customers.
Facts last checked
9 AI SMS agents side by side
Ordered by how many of these 5 checks each vendor meets with a published fact: Two-way AI texting, Books appointments, Publishes a price, Free trial or free plan, Website chat. Then vendors that publish a price, then A to Z.
- Dialzara5/5 checksReady-made product
- Starting price
Business Lite, 60 receptionist minutes/month, billed monthly; $0.48/minute over
- Free trial
On inbound voice plans.
- Two-way AI texting
Separate SMS agent, from $19/month.
- Books appointments
- Website chat
$39/month standalone or bundled free with voice plans.
- Integrations
Also lists CRM and calendar integration without naming specific products.
- Intercom5/5 checksReady-made product
- Starting price
- $29/seat/monthsource for starting price, checked Oct 3, 2026
Intercom Essential plan, $29 per seat/mo (the page offers annual and monthly billing). Fin is charged on top at $0.99 per outcome, an outcome being a resolved conversation or a completed workflow, charged once per conversation. Phone and SMS usage is billed separately.
- Free trial
No credit card required; unlimited Fin outcomes during the trial.
- Two-way AI texting
SMS is a pay-as-you-go channel on Intercom plans.
- Books appointments
The Fin Voice page shows booking an appointment as an example action.
- Website chat
Live chat is included on all Intercom plans.
- Integrations
- Salesforce, HubSpot, Freshworks, Zoho, Front, Gorgias, Dixa, Twilio, RingCentral, Aircallsource for integrations, checked Oct 3, 2026
Helpdesks from the Fin pricing page; phone systems (Twilio, RingCentral, Aircall and others) from the Fin Voice page.
- My AI Front Desk5/5 checksReady-made product
- Starting price
Business-in-a-Box billed annually ($99/month billed monthly); 200 voice minutes, 100 chatbot conversations and 400 SMS per month
- Free trial
- Two-way AI texting
400 SMS per month on Business-in-a-Box.
- Books appointments
- Website chat
100 chatbot conversations per month on Business-in-a-Box.
- Integrations
- Zapier, Yardi, RealPage, AppFolio, Entrata, Buildium, Shopify, WooCommerce, Klaviyosource for integrations, checked Oct 3, 2026
- Bland AI4/5 checksDeveloper platform
- Starting price
- $0.14/minutesource for starting price, checked Oct 3, 2026
Start plan: $0.14 per minute with no platform fee; the rate covers the language model, speech-to-text, text-to-speech and telephony. Transfers are $0.05 per transfer minute. The Build plan is $0.12/min plus a $299/month platform fee.
- Free trial
- Free credits on sign-upsource for free trial, checked Oct 3, 2026
Start plan sign-up includes two credits and an inbound number, no card required.
- Two-way AI texting
- Books appointments
Scheduling with Cal.com and Calendly.
- Website chat
- Integrations
- Salesforce, HubSpot, Zapier, Calendly, Cal.com, Slack, Make, Twiliosource for integrations, checked Oct 3, 2026
- Retell AI4/5 checksDeveloper platform
- Starting price
- $0.07/minutesource for starting price, checked Oct 3, 2026
Pay as you go, no monthly platform fee. Voice agents cost $0.07–$0.31 per minute depending on the model, voice and features; telephony ($0.015/min US), phone numbers ($2/month) and add-ons are priced separately. Chat agents from $0.002 per message.
- Free trial
- $10 free creditssource for free trial, checked Oct 3, 2026
- Two-way AI texting
SMS billed at $0.01 per message.
- Books appointments
- Website chat
Chat agents from $0.002 per message.
- Integrations
- HubSpot, Go High Level, Make, n8n, Twilio, Vonagesource for integrations, checked Oct 3, 2026
- Synthflow4/5 checksDeveloper platform
- Starting price
- From $30,000/yearsource for starting price, checked Oct 3, 2026
Sales-led pricing: Enterprise contracts start at $30,000 a year, scoped around call volume, concurrency, telephony, integrations, security and launch support. No self-serve plan prices are published.
- Free trial
- Free to buildsource for free trial, checked Oct 3, 2026
The site says you can build an agent for free from templates; paid pricing is quoted by sales.
- Two-way AI texting
SMS chat agents need your own Twilio account.
- Books appointments
Real-time booking, including Cal.com.
- Website chat
- Integrations
- Salesforce, HubSpot, Zapier, Cal.com, GoHighLevelsource for integrations, checked Oct 3, 2026
- Sameday AI3/5 checksReady-made product
- Starting price
Launch plan, starts at $449 per month with 500 minutes
- Free trial
- Not published
- Two-way AI texting
- Books appointments
- Website chat
- Not published
- Integrations
- ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro, FieldRoutes, AccuLynx, JobNimbus, MaidCentral, Service Fusion, Thumbtack, Google Local Services, Angisource for integrations, checked Oct 3, 2026
The integrations page also lists Jobber.
- Podium3/5 checksReady-made product
- Starting price
- Not published
Pricing is by sales quote; the AI Employee is an add-on to any plan.
- Free trial
- Not published
- Two-way AI texting
- Books appointments
- Website chat
Website chat conversations continue over text.
- Integrations
- HubSpot, Salesforce, Outlook, QuickBooks, Square, Mindbody, Dentrix, Nextech, DealerSocket, Shopifysource for integrations, checked Oct 3, 2026
- Hatch2/5 checksReady-made product
- Starting price
- Not published
Platform fee plus usage, annual plans paid monthly per location; amounts not published
- Free trial
- Not published
The pricing FAQ says no pilot or trial is published.
- Two-way AI texting
- Books appointments
- Website chat
- Not published
- Integrations
- ServiceTitan, AccuLynx, LeadPerfection, improveit 360, Yelp, Angi, Google LSA, Thumbtacksource for integrations, checked Oct 3, 2026
Where AI texting earns its keep
Texting works best where speed decides who gets the job: a web form or ad lead that expects a reply in minutes, a missed call that can be followed up by text, or a booking that is easier to confirm in writing. Look for an agent that can reach your calendar or job software; otherwise it can only promise a call back.
The rules for business texting
Business texting in the US runs on registered numbers (10DLC) and consent. A vendor that handles registration for you saves real setup time, and any agent you use must honour opt-outs such as STOP. If you work in healthcare, check for a Business Associate Agreement and keep patient details out of texts unless the vendor says its texting is covered.
Vocenya and texting
Vocenya does not offer a two-way AI texting agent today. Our AI receptionist answers calls and texts the owner a summary, so it is not listed here. If texting is what you need, the vendors below are the ones to compare. If phone calls are the bigger gap, see AI receptionists.
Guides for your industry or state
Questions
Is an AI SMS agent the same as missed-call text back?
Not quite. Missed-call text back sends one automatic text. An AI SMS agent keeps the conversation going: it answers questions, qualifies the lead and can book. Check each vendor’s page for which one it offers.
Do I need consent to text customers with AI?
US texting rules and carrier policies require consent for marketing texts and honouring opt-outs. Replying to a customer who texted you first is different from texting a purchased list. Ask the vendor how it handles consent and opt-outs, and get legal advice for campaigns.
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