Certus AI vs Hostie vs Virnika vs VOICEplug
Certus AI is a voice AI phone agent for restaurants that answers calls, takes orders item by item, handles reservations and sends orders into the restaurant's POS. Hostie is an AI virtual concierge that answers a restaurant's phone calls, texts and emails. Virnika sells AI phone agents to restaurants. VOICEplug sells voice AI to restaurants. All four are listed under Voice AI & Phone Ordering. They differ in price, audience and countries covered.
Key differences
price
The only starting price published is Virnika's: USD 300 per location per month. Certus AI, Hostie and VOICEplug do not publish a starting price.
audience
The audiences they list differ. Listed for one product only, for example: Certus AI: Busy restaurants that miss phone orders; Hostie: Independent full-service restaurants; Virnika: Restaurants that miss phone orders at peak; VOICEplug: Pizzerias and pizza chains.
countries covered
Certus AI names 1 country, Hostie names 1 country, Virnika names 1 country and VOICEplug names 4 countries. 1 country appears in every list.
integrations
On integrations, Certus AI names 6 integrations, Hostie names 11 integrations, Virnika names 8 integrations and VOICEplug names 12 integrations. 2 partners appear in every list.
Side by side
| Field | Certus AI | Hostie | Virnika | VOICEplug |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Certus AI is a voice AI phone agent for restaurants that answers calls, takes orders item by item, handles reservations and sends orders into the restaurant's POS. | Hostie is an AI virtual concierge that answers a restaurant's phone calls, texts and emails. | Virnika sells AI phone agents to restaurants. | VOICEplug sells voice AI to restaurants. |
| Best for | Busy restaurants that miss phone orders; Toast, Square, Clover, SkyTab and Aloha users; Restaurants taking reservations on OpenTable | Independent full-service restaurants; Restaurant groups; Venues with private events | Restaurants that miss phone orders at peak; Pizza and takeout restaurants with heavy phone trade; Restaurants with a catering line; Operators who want to review staff phone calls | Pizzerias and pizza chains; Multi-location chains and QSR brands; Single restaurants that miss calls at peak; Restaurants taking phone reservations |
| Pricing model | Subscription per location | Quote only | Subscription per location | Quote only |
| Starting price | Not published | Not published | USD 300 per location per month | Not published |
| Free plan | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Free trial | Not published | Yes | Not published | Not published |
| Contract | Not published | Not published | None (month to month) | Not published |
| Platforms | Web | Web | Web | Web |
| Countries | United States | United States | United States | Australia, Europe, United Kingdom, United States |
| Languages | Not published | Not published | English, Spanish | Not published |
| Number of integrations | 6 | 11 | 8 | 12 |
| Certifications | PCI compliant | Not published | PCI compliant | Not published |
| Security practices | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Founded | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Headquarters | Not published | Not published | Chapel Hill, United States | Palo Alto, United States |
| Owner | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Last reviewed | 29 September 2026 | 29 September 2026 | 29 September 2026 | 29 September 2026 |
Integrations
Named by all four
- Square
- Toast
Named only by Certus AI
- Aloha NCR
- SkyTab
Named only by Hostie
- Perfect Venue
- Resy
- SevenRooms
- Stream
- Tock
- Tripleseat
- Yelp
Named only by Virnika
- Deliverect
- Oracle
Named only by VOICEplug
- Checkmate
- FoodTec
- InTouch
- Qu
- Speedline
Which to choose
Certus AI
Choose Certus AI if you fit its listed audience: Busy restaurants that miss phone orders; Toast, Square, Clover, SkyTab and Aloha users; Restaurants taking reservations on OpenTable.
Hostie
Choose Hostie if your business matches one of the audiences it is listed for: Independent full-service restaurants; Restaurant groups; Venues with private events.
Virnika
Choose Virnika if you are in one of these groups: Restaurants that miss phone orders at peak; Pizza and takeout restaurants with heavy phone trade; Restaurants with a catering line.
VOICEplug
Choose VOICEplug if you fit its listed audience: Pizzerias and pizza chains; Multi-location chains and QSR brands; Single restaurants that miss calls at peak.
What we could not confirm
Certus AI
- Any price
- Contract term
- Founding year, headquarters, funding and investors
- Supported languages
- Security certifications
- Countries served
Hostie
- Any price
- Contract terms
- Funding amounts (about page names investors only)
- Founding year and headquarters
- Security certifications (features page mentions security but names none)
- Countries outside the US
Virnika
- Legal entity name, founding year and team size
- Countries beyond the United States
- Security certification details beyond the PCI claim
- Support hours and channels
- Whether the Penny page logo reading "Stream" is a separate integration (unclear, so not listed)
- Mobile apps (none listed)
VOICEplug
- Any price, contract term, or free trial (none published)
- Interface languages and which languages the AI speaks
- Security certifications
- Funding and team size
- Founders (site names a CEO, Jay Ruparel, but no founder list)
Sources
Facts on this page come from the pages below. Prices and features change, so confirm with each vendor before you buy.
Certus AI, reviewed 29 September 2026
- Homepage: features, POS list, customershttps://www.certus-ai.com/
- Setup, FAQ, supporthttps://www.certus-ai.com/how-it-works
- OpenTable reservationshttps://www.certus-ai.com/integrations/opentable
- Pricing modelhttps://www.certus-ai.com/blogs/ai-phone-system-costs-vs-hiring-a-host-in-2026
- Security article, CEO namehttps://www.certus-ai.com/blogs/ai-phone-ordering-security-and-pci-compliance
- Legal entityhttps://www.certus-ai.com/terms-of-use
Hostie, reviewed 29 September 2026
- Overview, customershttps://hostie.ai/
- Featureshttps://hostie.ai/features
- Planshttps://hostie.ai/pricing
- Integrationshttps://hostie.ai/integration
- Company, founders, investorshttps://hostie.ai/about-us
- FAQhttps://hostie.ai/faq
Virnika, reviewed 29 September 2026
- Homepage, agents, PCI claimhttps://www.virnika.ai/
- Penny features and POS logoshttps://www.virnika.ai/penny/
- Adam call analytics and $25 pricehttps://www.virnika.ai/adam/
- Cora catering agenthttps://www.virnika.ai/cora/
- Pricinghttps://www.virnika.ai/pricing/
- Contract, setup, POS answershttps://www.virnika.ai/faq/
- Founders and storyhttps://www.virnika.ai/about/
- News list and NC IDEA granthttps://www.virnika.ai/press/
- Olo and Deliverect integrationshttps://www.virnika.ai/press/virnika-adds-pos-integrations/
- Spanish ordering, Chapel Hill, US availabilityhttps://www.virnika.ai/press/virnika-launches-spanish-language-ordering/
- US Foods offer and customer nameshttps://virnika.ai/us-foods/
- Partner programmehttps://www.virnika.ai/partner/
- Billing termshttps://www.virnika.ai/terms/
VOICEplug, reviewed 29 September 2026
- Homepage and customer testimonialshttps://voiceplug.ai/
- Phone AI features and POS listhttps://voiceplug.ai/solutions/phone-ai/
- Drive-thruhttps://voiceplug.ai/solutions/drive-thru-ai/
- Kioskhttps://voiceplug.ai/solutions/kiosk-ai/
- PizzaVOICEhttps://voiceplug.ai/solutions/pizza-voice/
- Reservations and OpenTablehttps://voiceplug.ai/solutions/reservevoice/
- Company timeline, team, hardwarehttps://voiceplug.ai/about/
- Case studies and addresshttps://voiceplug.ai/success-stories-case-studies/
- Press: OpenTable, Qu, customershttps://voiceplug.ai/media-coverage/
- Contact and coveragehttps://voiceplug.ai/contact/