ConverseNow vs Hostie vs SoundHound for Restaurants vs VOICEplug
ConverseNow is voice AI for restaurants that takes orders by phone, at the drive-thru and by text, and offers an API to add AI ordering to apps and kiosks. Hostie is an AI virtual concierge that answers a restaurant's phone calls, texts and emails. SoundHound for Restaurants is the restaurant offering of SoundHound AI's OASYS voice AI platform. VOICEplug sells voice AI to restaurants. All four are listed under Voice AI & Phone Ordering. They differ in audience and integrations.
Key differences
audience
The audiences they list differ. Listed for one product only, for example: ConverseNow: Pizza and quick-service chains with heavy phone orders; Hostie: Independent full-service restaurants; SoundHound for Restaurants: Large quick-service and franchise chains; VOICEplug: Pizzerias and pizza chains.
integrations
The integration lists differ. ConverseNow names 9 integrations, Hostie names 11 integrations, SoundHound for Restaurants names 4 integrations and VOICEplug names 12 integrations. 1 partner appears in every list.
Side by side
| Field | ConverseNow | Hostie | SoundHound for Restaurants | VOICEplug |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | ConverseNow is voice AI for restaurants that takes orders by phone, at the drive-thru and by text, and offers an API to add AI ordering to apps and kiosks. | Hostie is an AI virtual concierge that answers a restaurant's phone calls, texts and emails. | SoundHound for Restaurants is the restaurant offering of SoundHound AI's OASYS voice AI platform. | VOICEplug sells voice AI to restaurants. |
| Best for | Pizza and quick-service chains with heavy phone orders; Drive-thru operators; Brands with their own app or kiosks | Independent full-service restaurants; Restaurant groups; Venues with private events | Large quick-service and franchise chains; Restaurants that miss phone orders at peak times | Pizzerias and pizza chains; Multi-location chains and QSR brands; Single restaurants that miss calls at peak; Restaurants taking phone reservations |
| Pricing model | Quote only | Quote only | Quote only | Quote only |
| Starting price | Not published | Not published | Not published | 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 | Not published | Not published |
| Platforms | Not published | Web | Web | Web |
| Countries | United States | United States | Not published | Australia, Europe, United Kingdom, United States |
| Languages | English, Spanish | Not published | English, Spanish | Not published |
| Number of integrations | 9 | 11 | 4 | 12 |
| Certifications | Not published | Not published | GDPR, SOC 2 | Not published |
| Security practices | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Founded | 2018 | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Headquarters | Austin, United States | Not published | Santa Clara, United States | Palo Alto, United States |
| Owner | Not published | Not published | SoundHound AI | Not published |
| Last reviewed | 29 September 2026 | 29 September 2026 | 29 September 2026 | 29 September 2026 |
Integrations
Named by all four
- Olo
Named only by ConverseNow
- NCR Aloha
- Fiserv
- Focus
- PAR
- Brink POS
- Xpient
Named only by Hostie
- Perfect Venue
- Resy
- SevenRooms
- Stream
- Tock
- Tripleseat
- Yelp
Named only by SoundHound for Restaurants
- Oracle
Named only by VOICEplug
- Clover
- FoodTec
- InTouch
- NCR
- Revel
- Speedline
Which to choose
ConverseNow
Choose ConverseNow if you fit its listed audience: Pizza and quick-service chains with heavy phone orders; Drive-thru operators; Brands with their own app or kiosks.
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.
SoundHound for Restaurants
Choose SoundHound for Restaurants if you are in one of these groups: Large quick-service and franchise chains; Restaurants that miss phone orders at peak times.
VOICEplug
Choose VOICEplug if you are in one of these groups: Pizzerias and pizza chains; Multi-location chains and QSR brands; Single restaurants that miss calls at peak.
What we could not confirm
ConverseNow
- Any price, contract term or free trial
- Funding amounts; the About page lists investors without tying them to funding rounds (2048 Ventures, Bridge Investments, Clutch, Craft Ventures, Enlightened Hospitality, Knoll Ventures, Live Oak Ventures, Moneta Ventures, Tensility)
- Security certifications and data hosting
- Which languages besides English and Spanish are supported
- Countries outside the United States
- Number of employees
- Ownership of ValyantAI beyond the vendor's statement that it acquired the company in 2024
- Performance claims (95% order accuracy, over 90% accuracy on drive-thru, 95% non-intervention) are the vendor's own and were not verified
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
SoundHound for Restaurants
- Any price or contract term
- Full POS integration list and which systems each channel supports
- Countries where restaurant products are sold
- Founding year, funding and headcount
- Which specific certifications (SOC 2 or ISO) are held; the trust center gives a summary only
- Vendor performance figures (11% revenue lift, 85% faster service) are unverified claims
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)
Go further
Sources
Facts on this page come from the pages below. Prices and features change, so confirm with each vendor before you buy.
ConverseNow, reviewed 29 September 2026
- Homepage: positioning, customer and integration logoshttps://conversenow.ai/
- Product lines and demo callshttps://conversenow.ai/products.html
- Founders, timeline, investors, addresshttps://conversenow.ai/about.html
- Platform updates and performance claimshttps://conversenow.ai/insights.html
- Terms for restaurantshttps://conversenow.ai/terms-and-conditions.html
- Legal entityhttps://conversenow.ai/privacy-policy.html
- Page discoveryhttps://conversenow.ai/sitemap.xml
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
SoundHound for Restaurants, reviewed 29 September 2026
- Restaurant offering, customers, FAQhttps://www.soundhound.com/industries/restaurants
- Drive-thruhttps://www.soundhound.com/use-cases/drive-thru
- Text ordering and POS nameshttps://www.soundhound.com/resource/from-text-to-pickup-new-text-to-order-feature-for-restaurants
- Smart Answeringhttps://www.soundhound.com/resource/restaurant-franchise-smart-answering
- Customer storyhttps://www.soundhound.com/resource/five-guys-ai-voice-assistant-processes-184-000-phone-orders-with-upsell
- Compliancehttps://www.soundhound.com/trust-center
- Founderhttps://www.soundhound.com/about
- Legal entity and addresshttps://www.soundhound.com/terms-of-service
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/