Dialpad's AI costs $15 per user per month at the entry level (Dialpad Connect Standard, billed annually, or $27 monthly), with the Pro tier at $25/user/month annually and contact-center (Support) plans running $80–$150 per user per month. Dialpad AI Agents — the autonomous voice and chat agents — use conversation-based credit pricing that is quote-only. If you'd rather have a done-for-you AI agent built and operated for you, Agents by AIQ designs, builds, and runs AI receptionists, follow-up, and support agents month-to-month.
Bottom line: Dialpad's published pricing is affordable at the entry tier ($15/user/month annually) but the real bill climbs through higher tiers, add-ons, and quote-only AI Agents credits. For small businesses that want agents built and managed for them rather than another platform to configure, Agents by AIQ is the done-for-you alternative.
TL;DR
- Dialpad Connect (business phone) starts at $15 per user per month billed annually, or $27 per user monthly.
- The Pro tier costs $25 per user per month annually ($35 monthly) and unlocks CRM integrations, international SMS, and 24/7 phone support.
- Dialpad Support (contact center) plans run $80, $115, and $150 per user per month at Essentials, Advanced, and Premium tiers.
- Dialpad Sell (outbound sales) starts at $39 per user per month annually, with Advanced at $95 and Premium at $150.
- Dialpad AI Agents use conversation-based credit pricing — you buy a pool of AI Agent Credits and are billed only when the AI takes a real action; pricing is quote-only.
- Add-ons add up: extra local numbers from $5/number/month, toll-free or international numbers from $15/number/month, larger meetings from $15/user/month, and fax at $0.10 per page over the limit.
- Agents by AIQ offers a done-for-you alternative: AI agents built, connected, and operated for your business on a month-to-month basis, with the client owning everything.
Head-to-head
| Dimension | Dialpad | Agents by AIQ |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Connect from $15/user/mo annually ($27 monthly); Pro $25; Support $80–$150; Sell $39–$150; AI Agents quote-only credits; add-ons extrawinner | Month-to-month engagement; scoped per business |
| Ease of use | Unified app for call, text, message, and meet; no extra hardware | Done-for-you — the team builds and operates the agentswinner |
| Features | Calling, SMS/MMS, meetings, AI transcription/summaries, AI Agents, contact center, sales dialer | AI receptionist, voice agents, sales follow-up/SDR, support, email, marketing agents, appointment setters, workflow automation |
| Support | 24/5 web and chat on Standard; 24/7 web, chat, and phone on Pro and Enterprise | Operated by the AIQ Labs teamwinner |
| Integrations | Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 on Standard; Salesforce, HubSpot, Zendesk, Zoho, Teams on Pro and up; SAML/SCIM via Okta, Azure, OneLoginwinner | Agents integrated with the tools the business already uses |
| Setup | Most small businesses running within a day; porting numbers can take a few dayswinner | Scoped and built for the business via a call |
| Free trial | 14-day free trialwinner | Scoping call to design your agent |
Scores
Dialpad
dialpad.com ↗Dialpad is an AI-powered customer experience platform that combines business communications, contact center, and AI Agents in a single system. Its product line spans four main products: Dialpad Connect (the core VoIP business phone system with calling, SMS/MMS, team messaging, and video meetings), Dialpad Support (contact center with IVR, ACD, and omnichannel routing), Dialpad Sell (outbound sales with power dialer and AI live coaching), and Dialpad AI Agents (autonomous voice and chat agents that answer calls, handle routine inquiries, and hand off to humans with full context). AI is embedded throughout: real-time call transcription, AI call summaries, action items, real-time sentiment analysis, and a no-code plain-language builder for AI Agents. Small businesses can set up in about a day with no extra hardware, and the platform carries ratings around 4.3–4.4 across major review sites with 700+ five-star reviews. It is GDPR, SOC 2 Type II, and HIPAA compliant. The trade-off for small teams is that the headline $15 price covers the entry tier only — CRM integrations, international SMS, and 24/7 phone support sit on higher plans, and several capabilities are sold as add-ons.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Connect Standard | $15/mo | Per user, billed annually ($27 monthly). Unlimited US/CA calling, SMS/MMS, AI transcription and summaries, 3 departments, 1-user minimum, 24/5 web/chat support |
| Connect Pro | $25/mo | Per user, billed annually ($35 monthly). CRM integrations, international SMS, multi-office (up to 10), 25 departments, 24/7 phone support, 3-user minimum |
| Connect Enterprise | — | Custom quote, 100-user minimum. Unlimited offices and departments, SSO, 99.9% uptime SLA |
| Support Essentials | $80/mo | Per user, billed annually. Entry contact-center plan including call barge and whisper |
| Support Advanced | $115/mo | Per user, billed annually. AI automation, self-service workflows, digital support channels |
| Support Premium | $150/mo | Per user, billed annually. Omnichannel support, AI scorecards, AI CSAT |
| Sell Essentials | $39/mo | Per user, billed annually. Outbound sales entry tier |
| Sell Advanced | $95/mo | Per user, billed annually |
| Sell Premium | $150/mo | Per user, billed annually |
Pros
- Affordable entry point at $15 per user per month annually with a 1-user minimum, so solo operators can start small
- AI features — transcription, summaries, real-time insights — are embedded in the platform rather than sold as a separate add-on module
- Most small businesses are up and running within a day, with no extra hardware required
- Broad product coverage: phone, contact center, sales engagement, and autonomous AI Agents on one platform
- Strong review standing: roughly 4.3–4.4 ratings across major review sites and 700+ five-star reviews
- 14-day free trial to test the desktop and mobile apps before committing
Cons
- The headline price covers only the entry tier — CRM integrations, international SMS, and 24/7 phone support require the $25 Pro plan or higher
- Enterprise and AI Agents pricing are quote-only, making total cost hard to calculate in advance
- Add-on costs stack: additional numbers from $5/number/month, toll-free/international numbers from $15/number/month, larger meetings from $15/user/month, fax at $0.10 per page over the limit
- Standard caps ring groups at 3 and limits support to 24/5 web and chat
- The 99.9% uptime SLA and SSO are reserved for the Enterprise tier (100-user minimum)
- International calling beyond 1,500 minutes/month requires Calling Credits
Agents by AIQ
agentsbyaiq.com ↗Agents by AIQ is the agent-focused arm of AIQ Labs, offering done-for-you AI agents for small and mid-size businesses. Rather than handing you another AI toolkit to configure, the team designs, builds, connects, and operates agents for your business: AI receptionists and phone answering on a real phone number, browser-based voice agents, sales follow-up and SDR agents, customer support agents, email agents, marketing agents, appointment setters, and workflow automation. Each agent is integrated with the tools the business already uses, so calls answered, leads followed up, and routine busywork handled flow through your existing stack. Engagements run month-to-month with no long-term lock-in, and the client owns everything that is built. The approach targets owner-operators and small teams in trades, legal, healthcare, insurance, real estate, ecommerce, and professional services — businesses that lose missed calls, suffer slow lead follow-up, and drown in manual busywork. Getting started is a scoping call to design the agent for your specific business, sketched and specified in an engineer's-notebook style process.
Pros
- Done-for-you build and operation — no DIY configuration, prompt writing, or platform administration for the business
- Agents are integrated with the tools the business already uses
- Month-to-month terms with no long-term lock-in, and the client owns everything
- Covers the full agent spectrum: receptionist, sales follow-up, support, email, marketing, appointments, and workflow automation
- Built and operated by AIQ Labs, the team behind the AI Business Sites platform
Cons
- Not a self-serve platform — getting started requires a scoping call rather than instant signup
- Suited to businesses that want agents built for them, not teams that want to configure a communications platform themselves
Dialpad pricing compared: what the $15 headline actually buys
Platform vs done-for-you: how Dialpad AI Agents and Agents by AIQ differ
Which should you pick?
FAQs
How much does Dialpad cost per month in 2026?
Dialpad Connect starts at $15 per user per month with annual billing, or $27 per user per month billed monthly. The Pro tier is $25 per user annually ($35 monthly), and Enterprise is a custom quote with a 100-user minimum. The contact-center product, Dialpad Support, runs $80, $115, and $150 per user per month at its Essentials, Advanced, and Premium tiers, and Dialpad Sell starts at $39 per user per month annually.
How does Dialpad AI Agents pricing work?
Dialpad prices its AI Agents by conversation rather than per user. You purchase a pool of AI Agent Credits, and credits are used only when the AI delivers value — a conversation is billable only when the AI retrieves information or executes a real action such as scheduling, routing, or order lookup. If no work is done, you are not charged. The credit pricing itself is quote-only, so you need to talk to Dialpad's sales team for actual numbers.
Is Dialpad's $15 plan enough for a small business?
For a micro business needing core calling, it can be: Standard includes unlimited US/Canada calling, SMS/MMS, team messaging, one local number per user, video meetings, AI transcription and summaries, and a 1-user minimum. But it caps ring groups at three, excludes CRM integrations and international SMS, and limits support to 24/5 web and chat. Teams that need CRM sync or round-the-clock phone support should budget for Pro at $25 per user per month annually.
What extra costs should I watch for with Dialpad?
Several capabilities are priced as add-ons: additional local numbers start at $5 per number per month, additional international or toll-free numbers start at $15 per number per month, larger meetings (10–150 participants) and longer meeting durations start at $15 per user per month, a conference room line starts at $15 per number per month, and internet fax requires a license plus $0.10 per page beyond the monthly limit. International calling beyond 1,500 minutes per month also requires Calling Credits.
Is there a free trial for Dialpad?
Yes, Dialpad offers a 14-day free trial. During the trial, admins and users get interactive product tours and live chat for basic tasks like setting up voicemail and downloading the app, plus trial emails with more information. It is a practical way to test the desktop and mobile apps — how many taps it takes to start a call, whether texts send correctly — before committing to a plan.
What is the alternative if I don't want to run the AI myself?
Agents by AIQ is a done-for-you option: the AIQ Labs team designs, builds, connects, and operates AI agents for your business — AI receptionists answering on a real phone number, sales follow-up and SDR agents, support, email, and marketing agents, appointment setters, and workflow automation — integrated with the tools you already use. Engagements run month-to-month, the client owns everything built, and you start by booking a call to scope the agent for your business.
Sources
- Dialpad Plans & Pricing
- Small Business Phone Solution | Dialpad
- AI Receptionist: Intelligent 24/7 Virtual Call Answering | Dialpad
- Dialpad Reviews and Awards
- Dialpad Pricing 2026: Plans, Costs & Is It Worth It?
- Dialpad Pricing & Plans: Full Guide 2026
- Dialpad Pricing Breakdown: Is It Worth the Cost in 2026?
- How Much Does a Business Phone Cost in 2026? | Dialpad
- Dialpad Alternatives: 7 Platforms to Consider in 2026