Which agent phone plans can answer incoming calls?

Inbound answering is not on every agent phone plan. This comparison covers which tiers include it, how many numbers you get, and where a one-call plan fits.

Cole BakerNovember 4, 20265 min read

If you give an AI agent a phone number, sooner or later somebody will ring it back. By AI agent we mean an assistant such as ChatGPT or Claude that does tasks for you. Answering calls that come in (inbound, in phone-industry terms) is not on every plan that sells numbers for agents.

Bland sells the Agent Phone Plan, which gives your AI assistant one US local number for calls and texts. Your agent can take calls on its number. First connect your assistant to your Bland account using its setup guide on the AI phone number plan page. Some apps let you sign in with Bland; others need an API key.

Bland comes first below because we sell it. ClawCall and AgentLine also support incoming calls, with different prices and allowances.

Does your agent's number answer calls on Bland's plan?#

Yes, your agent can take calls on its number. You can configure the number's instructions and attach a saved Bland voice agent to it. That voice agent is the software that speaks with callers. Bland's published setup does not establish which voice agent or instructions a brand-new plan number uses by default, so check your incoming-call setup before giving the number to anyone.

Our plan costs $9.99 for the first month, once per account owner, then $19.99 a month. Calls and texts to US and Canada numbers have no per-minute or per-text charge within the plan's limits. Your account has allowances of 20 calls an hour, 50 calls a day and 1,000 minutes a day, counting incoming and outgoing minutes together.

Your account takes one call at a time, so anyone who rings while your agent is already on a call hears a busy message. Incoming and outgoing minutes are added to the daily total when each call ends. Once that total reaches 1,000 minutes, Bland rejects new outgoing calls and incoming callers hear a busy message until midnight UTC resets the allowance.

The docs do not establish whether incoming calls count toward the 20-call hourly and 50-call daily limits, or what incoming callers hear when either call-count limit is exhausted. Confirm those details before relying on incoming calls. Setup and other rules are on AI agent inbound calls.

You can try it for free. That try covers outbound calls only, from a shared Bland number: no dedicated number, no texting, no incoming calls.

For developers: which MCP tools change how your number answers?#

Your agent reaches Bland through MCP (Model Context Protocol), a standard way for an AI app to use outside tools. The update_inbound_number tool changes the prompt and settings on your number. The attach_agent_numbers tool attaches a saved Bland agent, which is a reusable prompt kept in your Bland account, to the number.

Which other plans answer calls?#

ClawCall runs an AI that makes phone calls for you or your agent. Its cheapest tier, Unlimited, places calls from numbers shared between customers, and Unlimited Reserve gives you a number of your own. Only the top tier, Unlimited Reserve Plus, also has ClawCall's AI answer calls on that number.

AgentLine sells phone numbers for AI agents. Its software is open source, meaning anyone can download the code, and the company also runs it for you on three monthly plans. Every one of those plans answers calls as well as making them, and the bigger ones add more numbers and more minutes, with minutes beyond your plan at $0.12 each.

ClawCall's incoming-call support depends on the tier you buy. The free options from Bland and ClawCall do not take incoming calls.

Bland's paid plan, all three AgentLine plans and ClawCall Reserve Plus support incoming calls, while Bland's free try and ClawCall's other listed options do not

The plans differ most on price and minutes. AgentLine's minutes are an allowance inside each plan, while ClawCall and Bland don't charge by the minute.

Bland Agent Phone Plan: Price a month: $9.99 for the first month once per account owner, then $19.99; Phone numbers: 1; Minutes in the plan: Up to 1,000 minutes a day with no per-minute charge
AgentLine Individual: Price a month: $20; Phone numbers: 1; Minutes in the plan: 100
AgentLine Scale: Price a month: $50; Phone numbers: 3; Minutes in the plan: 200
AgentLine Startup: Price a month: $200; Phone numbers: 12; Minutes in the plan: 1,000
ClawCall Unlimited Reserve Plus: Price a month: $18.99; Phone numbers: 1; Minutes in the plan: No per-minute charge
ClawCall Unlimited Reserve: Price a month: $14.99; Phone numbers: 1; Minutes in the plan: No per-minute charge
ClawCall Unlimited: Price a month: $8.99; Phone numbers: Shared; Minutes in the plan: No per-minute charge

When would you pick ClawCall or AgentLine instead?#

The number count and the lowest monthly price may matter more than having texts included.

If you want several numbers on one account, AgentLine fits better, since Scale has 3 and Startup has 12. Bland's Agent Phone Plan includes one number and directs users needing more numbers to Build. Build is our bigger plan for more calls at once, and it is on our pricing page.
If your agent only needs to make calls for now, ClawCall's Unlimited tier costs $8.99 a month, and you can move to Unlimited Reserve Plus later when you want calls answered.

If one number and one call at a time fit your needs, configure incoming calls first. To add texting from that number, read how to give your AI agent a number that can send texts.

FAQ#

Where do I read Bland's inbound rules?#

On AI agent inbound calls, including what a caller hears when your agent is busy.

Does every ClawCall plan include inbound answering?#

No, only Unlimited Reserve Plus at $18.99 a month.

Does AgentLine support more than one phone number per account?#

Yes. Scale has 3 numbers and Startup has 12, while Bland's Agent Phone Plan has one.