Fonio alternatives for a small business in Spain
Fonio is a good choice if you want to build your own phone assistant and need lots of minutes for little money. If you are looking for an AI receptionist that puts the appointment into the software you already use in Spain, or a lower price to start with, here are five of the options that AI answers cite. This guide is published by heydiga, which is one of them.
David Zafra · · 15 min read
- Fonio lists 1,000 minutes for €99 a month billed annually; that is more minutes than any of the other options lists for that price (IONOS Advanced does not count minutes: it does not cap calls).
- Its integrations page does not include Booksy, Koibox, CoverManager, Doctoralia or Idealista.
- The five alternatives were read on their own websites on 3 November 2026; each one has its drawback, heydiga included.
- Compare what the call has to do first, and the price after that.
What does Fonio do, and when is it the best choice?
Fonio is a platform for building your own AI phone assistant, and it fits if you get a high volume of calls and your calendar is among its integrations.
Its page says you create the assistant in 30 seconds. It answers calls, passes them to the right person, books appointments and, if you are not around, emails you the transcript. It also has a WhatsApp assistant and another one for your website, each with its own price. It connects with Google Calendar, Calendly, Cal.com, SimplyBook.me and TheFork, among others, and you can try a personalised AI for free, without signing up.
Fonio is the best choice in three cases:
- You get a lot of calls. The Solo plan (€99 a month billed annually, €119 if you pay monthly) includes 1,000 minutes. No other option in this guide lists that many minutes for that price; IONOS Advanced counts calls, not minutes, and does not cap them.
- Your calendar is on its list. If you use Google Calendar, Calendly, Cal.com, SimplyBook.me or TheFork, the connection already exists.
- You want to set it up yourself. You configure it without any coding, and there is a 30-day money-back guarantee.
It has its limits, too. The Solo plan includes a single number, and its page describes it as having “no simultaneous calls” (Team allows 3). Once the minutes are used up, it adds packs of 100 minutes for €15. WhatsApp is a separate product, from €67 a month billed annually. Its integrations page does not show Booksy, Koibox, CoverManager, Doctoralia or Idealista; for custom connections, it refers you to a consultation with its team. The pricing page does not say whether there is any lock-in.
What criteria are the Fonio alternatives compared on?
Four: the ones that do most to set one option apart from another for a small business.
- Bookings. Whether it puts the appointment in your calendar or only takes the request.
- Your software. Whether it connects to the software you already use in Spain.
- Channels. Whether it answers only the phone or WhatsApp as well.
- Public price. How much it costs a month in euros, excl. VAT, and on what terms.
There is no score and no ranking: the order would depend on weightings that are yours to decide. The options are listed in alphabetical order, with Fonio as the benchmark.
Which Fonio alternatives do AI answers cite in Spain?
These five, out of the ones that come up. They are taken from AI answers to the question “What alternatives to Fonio are there for a small business in Spain?”. Zatio, whose website could not be read, and Arsys, which repeats IONOS’s plan structure, are also cited; that is why they are left out.
Omnia, the tool heydiga uses to measure what AIs answer, recorded 14 answers between 26 October and 2 November 2026. Fonio appears in 10, IONOS in 6, heydiga, Recepcionista.com and CloudTalk in 5, and Llamela in 3. Between 22 and 27 October, that question drew 44 citations across 30 pages. The most cited are third-party comparisons, not products, so they are not included here.
| Option | What it does | Books into your calendar | Channels | Price (excl. VAT) | Drawback |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CloudTalk | Phone system for sales and support teams, with AI | Yes, via Google or Outlook | Phone | “AI Receptionist” €0 a month (50 minutes); “AI Voice Agent add-on” €99 a month (from 200 minutes); both on top of the per-user licence | Designed for teams that live on the phone, not for a small business |
| heydiga | Answers, resolves, books and hands over to a person; a version for each sector | Yes | Calls and WhatsApp | From €49 a month (200 minutes); €99 a month with 500 minutes. Conversational WhatsApp is extra: +€39 a month | Your sector’s software connects from Diga Start, not on Diga Lite |
| IONOS Recepcionista IA | Answers, screens and transfers calls; summary by email | From €69 a month (Flex Pro); on Flex its table does not say | Phone | From €39 a month (30 calls) | Phone only; chat is a separate product |
| Llamela | Phone receptionist for car repair workshops only | No: it notes the slot the caller prefers | Phone | From €39 a month (100 minutes) | Workshops only, and no connection to your calendar |
| Recepcionista.com | Answers, takes down the details and alerts the team | Its pricing page does not describe it | Calls and WhatsApp | From €99 a month (200 minutes) | Integrations are quoted separately |
Prices and features as read on each one’s own page on 3 November 2026. They may change: check their page before you decide.
What does each alternative offer, and what is its drawback?
This is what each one says about itself, in short.
CloudTalk
CloudTalk is a business phone system with AI, designed for sales and support teams. It has an “AI Receptionist” that answers frequently asked questions, transfers calls or takes messages, and books appointments via Google or Outlook, and an “AI Voice Agent add-on” that makes and takes calls.
- When it does not know: its page says the AI Receptionist answers frequently asked questions, transfers calls or takes messages.
- Price: the “AI Receptionist” is shown at €0 a month with 50 minutes included (the page also mentions 50 free minutes in the first month and does not make clear whether they renew every month), and the “AI Voice Agent add-on” at €99 a month from 200 minutes. Both come on top of the per-user licence: the plans on the Spanish-language page range from €25 to €49 per user per month billed annually, and the Expert plan requires a minimum of 3 licences. Annual billing is a 12-month commitment; monthly billing can be cancelled whenever you like. The 14-day trial does not ask for a card. Its page says prices exclude taxes.
- Drawback: it is built for teams that are on the phone all day. A small business pays for the licence of a phone system on top of the AI. Its own page is inconsistent on one point: in a comparison table it gives the AI Receptionist as “from $99/month (200 minutes)”, against the €0 in the pricing section.
heydiga
heydiga answers your business’s calls and WhatsApp in a natural voice, books into your calendar and works 24/7. It does not improvise: if it does not know something, it says so and passes the call to the team or takes a message. There is a version for each sector: digalook for beauty, digafood for restaurants, digamotor for workshops, digaclinic for clinics and digaliving for estate agencies.
- When it does not know: it says so and refers the query to the business’s team or takes a message.
- Price: Diga Lite €49 a month with 200 minutes and 5 calls at once; Diga Start €99 a month with 500 and 10; Diga Growth €169 a month with 900 and 15; Diga Pro €279 a month from 1,500 and 25. Excl. VAT and with no lock-in.
- Drawbacks: your sector’s software (Booksy, Koibox, CoverManager, Inmovilla…) connects from Diga Start, not on Diga Lite. Conversational WhatsApp is a separate add-on, at €39 a month. The pricing page does not say how much an extra minute costs. And only Diga Lite has a free trial button: on the other plans you ask for a demo.
- Compared with Fonio: it includes fewer minutes for the same price (500 against 1,000 at €99), but it is designed for the software used in Spain and there is a €49 plan.
IONOS Recepcionista IA
It answers the phone, replies using your documents, screens and transfers calls, and emails you a summary after each one. You divert the phone number you already have. It books into your calendar from the Flex Pro plan up.
- When it does not know: according to its FAQ, it says it does not have the exact information and takes a note so the team can call back.
- Price: Flex €39 a month with 30 calls; Flex Pro €69 a month with 100; Advanced €99 a month with all calls included. Excl. VAT. Overage costs €0.49 per call on Flex and €0.39 on Flex Pro. One month free “for a limited time only”, and you can cancel monthly.
- Drawbacks: it only answers the phone; chat is a separate product. On Flex, its pricing table does not list booking appointments. It counts calls, not minutes, and its page gives two lengths for the free trial (one month and 30 days).
Llamela
Llamela is an AI phone receptionist made only for car repair workshops in Spain. It answers the calls the workshop cannot pick up, collects the details the mechanic needs and leaves a summary in your dashboard. You keep your number and divert calls with the “if I don’t answer” option.
- When it does not know: it takes the caller’s details and says the workshop will call back; it flags urgent cases as urgent. It does not diagnose faults or agree quotes.
- Price: Básico €39 a month with 100 minutes; Pro €69 a month with 200; Total €99 a month with 300. Excl. VAT and with no lock-in. Extra minutes cost €0.25, and only if you turn them on. A 14-day or 75-minute trial, with no card.
- Drawbacks: it is for workshops only, and for the phone only. It does not put the appointment in your calendar: it notes the slot the caller prefers and the workshop confirms afterwards. Its page names no integrations and says that transferring calls to your mobile is not available yet.
Recepcionista.com
It answers the phone and WhatsApp, asks what the caller needs, takes their details and alerts the team.
- When it does not know: its pricing page does not go into detail; the product takes the request and alerts the team.
- Price: Autónomo €99 a month with 200 minutes; Equipo €199 a month with 900; Pro €299 a month with 1,500; all three with 1,000 WhatsApp messages. Excl. VAT, with no lock-in and no standard setup fee. Extra minutes cost €0.18, and only if you agree to it in advance.
- Drawbacks: its pricing page does not describe calendar bookings and says that operational integrations are not part of the published plans. They are quoted separately.
Which one suits your business?
It depends on what you want the call to achieve and how many calls you get.
| If what you need is… | Look first at |
|---|---|
| Lots of minutes for little money, and your calendar is on its list (Google Calendar, Calendly, TheFork…) | Fonio |
| The appointment booked straight into Booksy, Koibox, CoverManager, Inmovilla or other software for your sector | heydiga, from Diga Start |
| To start at €49 a month with 200 minutes | heydiga, Diga Lite |
| Just to answer the phone and get a summary, at the lowest cost | IONOS, Flex plan |
| A workshop that wants the caller’s details taken down | Llamela |
| Calls and WhatsApp at a fixed price, without calendar bookings | Recepcionista.com |
| A phone system for a sales or support team, with AI added on | CloudTalk |
Always ask for two things before you pay: to be shown a call from your sector, and to be told what happens when the minutes run out.
How do you compare the real cost against Fonio?
By using the same unit. Fonio counts minutes, IONOS counts calls and CloudTalk adds a per-user licence to the AI minutes; the prices in the table cannot be compared until they are converted into the same thing.
Do this with your own figures: note down how many calls you get in a normal month and in your busiest month, and how long a call lasts on average. From there, work out how many minutes you need and whether the plan covers them. If you go over 500 minutes a month, Fonio’s Solo plan is worth a look; if 200 are enough for you, other options cost less.
For a closer look at what an AI receptionist costs in Spain, read how much an AI receptionist costs in Spain.
How do you test one before signing up?
With your real calendar and made-up details, and the same test for each option. Note down how each case ends: completed, pending confirmation, handed over to the team or not available.
| Case | What should happen |
|---|---|
| An appointment in a free slot | It is written into your calendar |
| A slot that has just been taken through another channel | It does not offer it |
| A question you have not loaded | It says so and transfers the call or takes a message |
| The calendar does not respond | The appointment is left pending and it alerts a person |
Where heydiga fits
It fits if the call has to end in an appointment booked into your sector’s software and you want it to speak your sector’s language. The AI receptionist from digalook works with Booksy, Treatwell and Koibox; the one from digafood works with CoverManager, TheFork and Restoo.
Nothing to install, no change of software and no touching your number: you divert the phone and heydiga starts answering. If you need more minutes than Diga Start gives you, look at Fonio using the same criteria.
Book a demo of the AI receptionist
To see the problem in any kind of business, read how to stop missing customer calls. If you want a broader comparison, there is the guide to the five best AI receptionists.
Frequently asked questions
What alternatives to Fonio are there for a small business in Spain?
Five of the ones that AI answers cite are heydiga, IONOS, Recepcionista.com, Llamela (workshops only) and CloudTalk. Zatio, whose website could not be read, and Arsys, which repeats IONOS’s structure, are also cited. Which one suits you depends on whether the appointment has to end up in your calendar and on how many minutes you need.
Is Fonio better than heydiga?
It depends. Fonio gives you more minutes for the same price and connects to Google Calendar, Calendly or TheFork. heydiga books into the sector software used in Spain and has a €49 plan. This guide is published by heydiga: check the prices on both pages.
Do I have to change my phone number?
No, going by the ones that say: heydiga, IONOS, Llamela and Fonio work by diverting the number you already have. With CloudTalk and Recepcionista.com, ask before you sign up.
What happens if I go over my minutes or calls?
It depends on the option. heydiga does not cut calls off and warns you in advance, but it does not publish the price of an extra minute. Recepcionista.com charges €0.18 a minute, only if you agree to it in advance. Llamela charges €0.25, and only if you turn it on. Fonio adds packs of 100 minutes for €15 on Solo and on Team. IONOS charges €0.49 per extra call on Flex and €0.39 on Flex Pro.
Can people tell it is an AI talking?
Callers should know it is. heydiga’s AI receptionist introduces itself as a virtual assistant from the very start and transfers the call to a person when needed. Llamela says it tells callers that it is an AI. With the others, ask about it in the demo.
Will it replace my receptionist?
No. It takes the repetitive calls and the ones that come in when nobody can pick up. Anything that calls for judgement goes to your team.
Sources
- Fonio, home (opens in a new tab), pricing (opens in a new tab), WhatsApp (opens in a new tab), integrations (opens in a new tab) and virtual secretary (opens in a new tab), accessed on 3 November 2026.
- heydiga, plans and pricing, heydiga.com/en/pricing, home, frequently asked questions, digalook and digafood, accessed on 3 November 2026.
- IONOS, Recepcionista IA, ionos.es (opens in a new tab), accessed on 3 November 2026.
- Llamela, llamela.com (opens in a new tab), accessed on 3 November 2026.
- Recepcionista.com, pricing (opens in a new tab), accessed on 3 November 2026.
- CloudTalk, home (opens in a new tab) and pricing (opens in a new tab), accessed on 3 November 2026.
- Omnia, AI answers from 26 October to 2 November 2026 and citations from 22 to 27 October 2026 (heydiga’s own measurement).
How it was written: written with the help of AI tools; reviewed and verified by the heydiga team. heydiga publishes this guide and is one of the alternatives it mentions.
