aiReceptionist vs Quo
Quo (formerly OpenPhone) is a business phone system priced per user, whose AI agent Sona answers when your team cannot; aiReceptionist is the receptionist itself, priced per minute, answering every call first.
This is not quite a like-for-like: Quo sells the phone system and includes an AI agent, while aiReceptionist sells the AI receptionist and includes the telephony. The tables below keep the two bases separate rather than pretending they match.
Example call
Incoming call
New caller
(757) 555-0134
Outerbanks HVAC line
Sent to voicemail. That is the call you lose.
- Thank you for calling Outerbanks HVAC. This is Eryn, an AI receptionist.
- I can help with scheduling service, questions about your heating or cooling system, or an existing appointment.
- How can I help you today?
- Hi. My AC stopped cooling this morning. Can someone come out today?
- I can help with that. Are you a new or an existing customer?
- New. I found you online.
- Welcome. May I have your name and the best number to reach you?
- Dana Reyes. 757-555-0134.
- Thanks, Dana. What is the address for the visit?
- 412 Bay Street, Chesapeake.
- Got it. Is this urgent, or is later this week fine?
- Urgent. It is 88 degrees in the house. Any time after 2 today works.
- Understood. The diagnostic visit is $89. I will send your details to the service team now, and they will confirm the window with you.
- Can I talk to a person before I hang up?
- Of course. Transferring you to the team now.
- Transferred to a person. The human desk is the backup on every call.
- Message sent to your inbox
- Transcript and recording saved
Answered by aiReceptionist. It says it is an AI at the start of every call.
At a glance
| Row | aiReceptionist | Quo |
|---|---|---|
| What you buy | An AI receptionist with telephony included | A shared business phone and inbox for your team, with the Sona AI agent included |
| When the AI answers | Every call, first | Sona answers “whenever you’re unavailable”, after hours, or at points you set in the call flow |
| How you are billed | Monthly plan with included minutes; overage per minute | Per user per month, plus AI automation credits (1 call = 100 credits) |
| Entry price | $99/Month for 200 minutes (DIY: Self-Service) | Starter “$19 Per user/per month”; 1,000 free automation credits a month |
| Human backup | Transfers to your own people are included; a partner human desk is on the roadmap | Your own team, on the same phone system; Sona transfers to a teammate or department |
Capabilities, side by side
The aiReceptionist column reads from the same feature list as our pricing page, so it cannot say anything that page does not.
| Row | aiReceptionist | Quo |
|---|---|---|
| Answers the phone | Included on every plan | Sona answers when your team does not, on every plan |
| Books appointments during the call | Included on every plan | Sends a scheduling link by text mid-call; booking on the call not stated on their site |
| Transfers calls to your team | Included on every plan | Sona transfers to a teammate or department; call transfers listed on Business and Scale |
| Text messages | Included on every plan | Calling and messaging to US and Canadian numbers on every plan; Sona can “Send a text mid-call” |
| Summary after every call | Included on every plan | “AI call summaries and transcripts” on Business and Scale |
| Recording of the call | Included on every plan | “Auto call recording” on Business and Scale |
| Sentiment on each call | Included on every plan | Not stated on their site; “AI call tags” on Scale |
| Zapier and app integrations | Included on every plan | Zapier, Make, Slack and webhooks; HubSpot and Salesforce on Business and Scale |
| Languages | Not published on our pricing page | “Sona supports English, Spanish, and French” and “cannot detect or switch between languages mid-call” |
| Phone numbers | One dedicated number included on DIY | “One new or ported phone number (local or toll-free) per user” |
| Team seats | Included on SMB and Enterprise | Every plan is per user; group calling and phone menus on Business and Scale |
| Works outside the phone system | Forward any number to it | “Sona is built to be used in Quo only” |
Pricing, like for like
aiReceptionist is priced per minute with telephony included. Quo is priced per user per month for the phone system, and Sona’s usage is metered in automation credits on top. The two are listed as published and not converted.
| Row | aiReceptionist | Quo |
|---|---|---|
| Billing unit | Minutes | Users per month, plus automation credits for Sona |
| Plans | $99/Month (200 minutes), $350/Month (500 minutes) or $1,000/Month (1,500 minutes) | Starter “$19 Per user/per month”, Business “$33 Per user/per month”, Scale “$47 Per user/per month” |
| Annual option | Not offered | Starter $15, Business $23, Scale $35 per user per month billed annually |
| AI usage | Included in the plan minutes | “1,000 free automation credits included”; “1 Call = 100 credits”; credit tiers $25/mo (4,000), $49/mo (10,000), $99/mo (25,000), $199/mo (60,000) |
| Per-call cost of the AI | Per minute, at the plan rate | Sona page: from “$1.00” down to “$0.45” per call depending on plan |
| Free trial | Free trial on every plan | “Try Quo risk-free for 7 days” |
| Contract | No long-term contract | Monthly or annual billing; “Cancel anytime” |
When Quo is the better choice
Quo is the better choice when what you actually need is a business phone system, shared numbers, a team inbox for calls and texts, call recording, phone menus and CRM integrations, and an AI that only covers the calls your people miss. If your team already answers most calls and you want Sona as the after-hours and overflow net, per-user pricing from $19 with 1,000 free credits a month is a very small step to take.
It is also the right choice if you are already on OpenPhone and happy with it, or if you have French-speaking callers: Sona publishes English, Spanish and French, and we do not publish a language list. Where Quo is not the fit is the business that wants the AI to answer first on every call, or that does not want a per-user phone system at all.
What switching actually involves
- Decide whether you are leaving Quo’s phone system or only Sona. If your team keeps Quo for calling and texting, you can forward unanswered or after-hours calls to aiReceptionist and keep everything else.
- If you are leaving entirely, ask Quo about porting the numbers it issued before you cancel any seats.
- Export call history, transcripts and contacts from Quo.
- Recreate Sona’s knowledge base and its transfer rules as answers and routing in the aiReceptionist portal.
- Reconnect HubSpot, Salesforce or Zapier through aiReceptionist’s integrations, then run both during the free trial.
Questions people ask
- Is Quo the same as OpenPhone?
- Yes. Quo’s site describes it as “formerly OpenPhone”: a shared business phone and inbox for teams, with an AI agent called Sona included on every plan.
- What does Sona do?
- According to Quo’s Sona page it greets callers, answers questions from a knowledge base you set up, captures messages and leads, transfers calls to a teammate or department, and can send a text mid-call. It answers when your team is unavailable and works only inside Quo.
- How is Sona priced?
- Every Quo plan includes 1,000 automation credits a month, with one call costing 100 credits; extra credits are sold in tiers from $25/mo for 4,000 to $199/mo for 60,000. The Sona page quotes per-call rates from $1.00 down to $0.45 by plan. aiReceptionist meters by the minute within the plan allowance.
- How does Quo pricing compare with aiReceptionist?
- Quo is $19, $33 or $47 per user per month billed monthly, or $15, $23 and $35 billed annually, plus credits for Sona. aiReceptionist is $99/Month for 200 minutes, $350/Month for 500 and $1,000/Month for 1,500, with telephony included.
- Can I use aiReceptionist with Quo?
- Yes. Forward calls from your Quo number to aiReceptionist all the time, or only when unanswered or after hours, and keep Quo for your team’s calling and texting.
Try aiReceptionist on your own calls
The free trial includes everything in the plan you choose. Run it alongside what you have today.