Virtual receptionist in Quebec: human or AI, and at what price

A virtual receptionist answers your business line from outside your office. In Quebec you have three kinds to choose from. This page explains the differences, the prices and what to check before you sign.

For years, "virtual receptionist" meant a person in a call centre answering in your company's name and billing you by the minute. Since 2024 it increasingly means an AI that answers, books and follows up on its own at a flat monthly price. Both exist in Quebec, and so do hybrids. The right choice depends on your call volume, your hours and, in Quebec more than anywhere, your language.

Gavion builds Gala, an AI receptionist made in Montréal that answers in Québécois French and English from $129 CAD a month. We sell one of the three options, so the comparison below names the others with their own published prices, and the sources are linked.

Three kinds of virtual receptionist

Human answering services. Receptionists in a call centre answer with your greeting, take a message or book an appointment, and bill per minute or per call. A real voice on every call, but the price climbs with volume, the included minutes are small and after-hours or bilingual coverage often costs extra.
AI receptionists. Software answers instantly, 24/7, handles several calls at once, books into your calendar and sends the confirmation text. Flat monthly plans with included minutes, and real emergencies are transferred to a person.
Hybrids. Some services let you mix the two, typically with human minutes costing more than AI minutes on the same plan.

What to check before you sign, in Quebec

French first, and the right French. Ask to hear the voice. Translated English or Parisian French sounds wrong to a customer in Trois-Rivières. Ask whether French and English are detected on the same line or need separate numbers.
Where the data lives. Call recordings and transcripts are personal information. Ask where they are stored and whether they are used to train models.
Canadian-dollar pricing and taxes. Several services sold in Quebec publish US-dollar prices. Compare in the same currency, before GST and QST.
Your number. You should be able to keep your business number or forward to a local one, with no porting fee.
Hours. "24/7" sometimes means "24/7 for a surcharge". Ask what an evening or a Sunday costs.
Booking in your tools. A message by email is not a booking. Look for live Google or Outlook calendar booking and a CRM record.
Emergencies. A no-heat call in January must reach a human fast. Ask how urgent calls are triaged and transferred.
Commitment. Month to month or annual, and what cancellation looks like.

What a virtual receptionist costs in Quebec

Published entry prices, read from each vendor's own site (dates on the comparison pages). Per-minute pricing looks cheap until you add the minutes: at Posh, 100 minutes a month comes to $295 CAD ($65 base plus $2.30 a minute).

Gala vs Smith.ai US virtual receptionist service offering human-staffed and AI-first answering. AI receptionist: a free tier of 25 calls a month, then $150 USD/month for about 2 to 3 calls a day. Human receptionists from $300 USD/month for 30 calls.
Gala vs Ruby US live virtual receptionist service with optional AI features. $250 USD/month for 50 receptionist minutes.
Gala vs Abby Connect US receptionist service that mixes human and AI answering on one plan. $165 USD/month for 50 Abby Minutes (one Abby Minute is 1 human minute or 2 AI minutes).
Gala vs Posh Canadian live virtual receptionist service billed by the minute. $65 CAD/month base with no included minutes, plus $2.30 CAD per receptionist minute.
Gala vs Voxify Montréal AI receptionist, bilingual French and English, with plans aimed at legal and real estate offices. $300 CAD/month (Standard); $500 CAD/month (Pro, for legal and real estate). No minute or call limits stated.
Gala vs Agent IA Vocal Quebec AI voice agent priced in US dollars, with a one-time setup fee. $199 USD/month for up to 60 minutes; $299 USD for 220 minutes; $399 USD for 500 minutes.
Gala vs Fulltime.ai Montréal-area AI receptionist for field-service companies, integrated with Jobber, Fergus and Progression. Not published. The pricing page leads to a demo request; the first two weeks are unlimited and free.
Gala vs Voxara Canadian AI receptionist built and managed for you, sold as flat monthly plans in Canadian dollars. Solo $49 CAD/month for 100 minutes and one service type; Starter $99 for 300 minutes; Growth $247 for 800; Pro $597 for 2,000.
Gala vs Polaris Voice Toronto AI phone answering service for Canadian businesses, with monthly plans and included minutes. Essentials $99/month for 150 included minutes; Professional $199 for 500; Executive $299 for 1,500. The pricing page names no currency; the company's own 2026 pricing guide states Canadian dollars.
Gala vs Metrili Canadian AI receptionist sold with an outbound caller and an admin copilot on one plan. Starter $149 CAD/month for 100 call minutes, 250 texts and one user seat; Growth $299 for 400 minutes and three seats; Enterprise $499 for 800 minutes and unlimited seats.
Gala vs Zenicall Québec City AI receptionist aimed at clinics, dental offices and pharmacies. Starter $200 CAD/month for 120 included minutes; Advanced $340 CAD/month for 240 minutes.
Gala vs Allesi AI receptionist named Clémentine, sold by a Montréal telecom to Québec small businesses beside its phone systems. Its FAQ says plans start at 99 $ a month, all included, with no hidden fees. The site names no currency, and no included minutes or call count is stated.
Gala vs Aria Montréal AI receptionist and web chat agent, sold in monthly plans sized by included voice minutes. Démarrage $59 CAD/month for up to 150 voice minutes; Pro $189 for up to 600; Premium $389 for up to 1,200; Entreprise is custom and annual.
Gala vs Captia Bromont AI receptionist sold with a visibility report that measures what AI answer engines say about your business. Essentiel 297 $/month for 300 included call minutes; Pro 597 $ for 600; Multi 997 $ for multiple locations, with no minute count. The plans page names no currency; the company's own llms.txt heads the same list "Forfaits (CAD)".
Gala vs Dialbox Canadian AI phone answering for service businesses, priced by the number of calls the AI handles each month. Core $129 CAD/month for 100 AI-handled calls; Pro $299 for 300; Max $699 for 900; Managed $999 with a custom call pool.
Gala vs Mihron AI Toronto AI voice receptionist for Canadian businesses, with a bilingual English and Canadian French agent. Starter $299 CAD/month for up to 150 calls answered (fair use: 200 minutes); Growth $499 CAD for up to 400 calls (fair use: 1,200 minutes); Enterprise custom, unlimited calls.
Gala vs Nexia Québec AI agency whose receptionist, Sofia, is sold beside its AI audit packages. Croissance 197 $ a month plus 499 $ installation, about 150 calls a month included; Pro 397 $ plus 699 $ installation, about 300 calls; Sur mesure on quote. The site names no currency.
Gala vs Noémie AI receptionist built for Québec small businesses, which answers, takes messages and handles appointments. Essentiel 79 $ a month, Pro 129 $, Premium 199 $. The plan cards write the figures without a currency; the page's own structured data prices all three in Canadian dollars. No included minutes or calls are stated.
Gala vs Synchro IA Brossard AI integration agency for Québec SMBs, whose phone offering is an AI receptionist with a Québécois voice. Not published. No price appears anywhere on the site, and no plan is listed.

For reference, a full-time human receptionist in Québec costs about $3,033 a month in wages alone at the median hourly rate published by Job Bank, Government of Canada, for business hours only. Gala's entry plan is $129 CAD a month with 250 minutes included, 24/7. The full breakdown is on the cost page.

How Gala works as a virtual receptionist

Answers every call, text and email, 24/7, in Québécois French and English, detected automatically.
Qualifies the caller with your questions, then books directly into your Google or Outlook calendar.
Screens spam and robocalls, transfers real emergencies to your on-call line.
Sends the confirmation and reminder by text or email, and logs the call in a basic CRM.
Flat plans from $129 to $439 CAD a month, 250 to 1,000 minutes included, $0 setup, overage $0.37 to $0.33 a minute.
Call data stored in Canada, on a Québec-based application server, never sold and never used to train third-party models.

How long does setup take?

Most of the delay isn't technical: it's building and validating your knowledge base — services, prices, service areas, emergency rules, what Gala is allowed to say. We assemble it from your website, your listings and public registries, then you validate it line by line. Connecting the phone line itself is quick.

Can I keep my current business phone number?

Yes. Gala works with your existing number through simple call forwarding, so customers keep calling the number they already know. We set this up with you during onboarding.

Can an AI receptionist actually book appointments?

Yes. Gala qualifies the call, checks availability and books the appointment straight into your calendar with no callback from you. It accounts for your service areas, the typical duration of each job type and who's available, and can coordinate several crew calendars rather than just one.

Montréal, Québec, Laval, Gatineau, Sherbrooke: the same service everywhere

A virtual receptionist does not need to be down the street. Gala serves businesses across Quebec and the rest of Canada from Montréal, with local numbers where you want them and the same French on the North Shore as on the South Shore. Plumbers, HVAC contractors, electricians, landscapers, garages, clinics and offices use the same plans.

Frequently asked questions

Is a virtual receptionist the same as an answering service?

Mostly. An answering service takes messages; a virtual receptionist usually also books appointments and transfers calls. Both were human services billed by the minute; AI receptionists now cover the same job at a flat monthly price.

Does the vendor have to be in Quebec?

No. What matters is where the recordings and transcripts live and whether they are used to train models, wherever the vendor is based. Gala stores call data in Canada, on a Québec-based application server.

Can it answer in French and English on one number?

With Gala, yes: the language is detected on the call and the caller is answered in it. Some services need a dedicated line or charge extra for a second language.

How much does it cost to try?

Gala's entry plan is $129 CAD a month with no setup fee, and you can change tiers at any time. Book a demo to hear the voice on your own scenarios first.

Hear Gala answer in French and English, on your own scenarios. Book a demo · See pricing

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Contact: contact@gavion.ai · +1 (514) 534-1298 · +1 (855) 505-0607 (toll-free) · Québec, Canada · Service across Canada in English and French.