Della Desk isn't an answering service — it's a whole front office: she answers, books, texts back, takes the order and payment on the call, and sends signed proposals, from $35 a month, 7 days free, no credit card. Beside runs on flat per-user: $29.99/user/mo (or $199.99/user/yr), unlimited calls & texts, 7-day trial.
"Della gets you paid on the call — not just invoiced after."
| Beside | Della Desk | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Personal AI phone app, per user | A business front desk, per business |
| Collects payment on the call | No — generates quotes/invoices to send | Yes — order taken, total texted, payment link sent |
| Team operations | Per-user lines; thin routing/transfer per reviewers | Live transfers by name/topic, DND, VIPs, on-call dispatch |
| Spam screening | Reviewer-reported gaps with unknown callers | Every plan; blocked calls burn zero minutes |
| Languages | Not a headline feature | 20 languages |
| Support | App-led; reviewers report no reachable human | 24/7 support chat + human callbacks (Office plan) |
| Price | $29.99/user/mo — genuinely cheaper | From $35/mo per business |
| Your monthly volume | Beside | Della Desk |
|---|---|---|
| 100 calls (~300 min) | $29.99/user (2 users ≈ $60) | $149 (Front Desk, dialed to 300 min) |
| they are cheaper — and priced per person for a personal phone app, not per business for a front desk that completes transactions | ||
| 200 calls (~600 min) | $29.99/user (2 users ≈ $60) | $239 (Front Desk, dialed to 600 min) |
| they are cheaper — and priced per person for a personal phone app, not per business for a front desk that completes transactions | ||
| 400 calls (~1,200 min) | $29.99/user (2 users ≈ $60) | $419 (Front Desk, dialed to 1,200 min) |
| they are cheaper — and priced per person for a personal phone app, not per business for a front desk that completes transactions | ||
Assumes a ~3-minute average call. Run your own numbers in the cost calculator. Della prices are assembled in advance: every plan includes 100 minutes, and extra minutes are always a flat 30¢ — dialed ahead, never auto-billed. At your limit, your own setting pauses the line or steps you up — and a one-time $50 top-up adds 100 minutes anytime.
Start 7 days free — no credit card →
Most owners searching for a Beside alternative want three things: every call answered, no per-minute anxiety, and a price that stays flat as they grow. That's the job Della was built for — a virtual receptionist who answers 24/7, books appointments, texts back missed calls, takes orders and payments, and sends proposals clients sign right from their phone, from $35 a month with every price public. The tables above are the honest comparison; the cost calculator runs your own numbers.
At entry, barely — $29.99/user against our $35 business plan — and a two-person team pays them ≈$60 while a business pays us once. The real difference is what you're buying: Beside optimizes one person's phone; Della Desk runs a business's front desk — orders taken and paid, calls transferred to the right teammate, urgent messages dispatched to the on-call list. Different products that happen to both answer calls.
Per their published materials (July 2026), Beside generates quotes and invoices you can send. Della Desk collects on the call: the order is taken in conversation and the customer gets a text with the exact total and your payment link before they hang up.
The app-store split tells the story (as of July 2026): 4.8★ on Apple, 2.5★ on Google Play, with reviewers reporting missed pickups from unknown callers and shrinking AI call limits. We'd rather you read their reviews AND ours than take our word.
Ask one question of any receptionist product: when a customer calls to spend money, does the money arrive? If the answer is an invoice, it's a phone app. If the answer is a paid order and a confirmation text, it's a front desk.
Della Desk is not affiliated with Beside. Information about Beside is based on publicly available sources as of 2026-07 and may have changed — always confirm current pricing on their site.