Hostie vs Kea vs Virnika vs VOICEplug

Hostie is an AI virtual concierge that answers a restaurant's phone calls, texts and emails. Kea is a voice AI for restaurant phone lines. Virnika sells AI phone agents to restaurants. VOICEplug sells voice AI to restaurants. All four are listed under Voice AI & Phone Ordering. The main differences are in price, audience and countries covered.

Key differences

  • price

    Virnika publishes a starting price of USD 300 per location per month. Hostie, Kea and VOICEplug do not publish a starting price.

  • audience

    The audiences they list differ. Listed for one product only, for example: Hostie: Independent full-service restaurants; Kea: Pizzerias and takeout-heavy restaurants; Virnika: Restaurants that miss phone orders at peak; VOICEplug: Pizzerias and pizza chains.

  • countries covered

    Hostie names 1 country, Kea names 1 country, Virnika names 1 country and VOICEplug names 4 countries. 1 country appears in every list.

  • integrations

    Hostie names 11 integrations, Kea names 5 integrations, Virnika names 8 integrations and VOICEplug names 12 integrations. 3 partners appear in every list.

Side by side

Hostie vs Kea vs Virnika vs VOICEplug: side-by-side comparison from published vendor information
FieldHostieKeaVirnikaVOICEplug
What it isHostie is an AI virtual concierge that answers a restaurant's phone calls, texts and emails.Kea is a voice AI for restaurant phone lines.Virnika sells AI phone agents to restaurants.VOICEplug sells voice AI to restaurants.
Best forIndependent full-service restaurants; Restaurant groups; Venues with private eventsPizzerias and takeout-heavy restaurants; Restaurants on Toast, Square, Clover or Olo; Busy kitchens short of phone staffRestaurants 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 callsPizzerias and pizza chains; Multi-location chains and QSR brands; Single restaurants that miss calls at peak; Restaurants taking phone reservations
Pricing modelQuote onlyQuote onlySubscription per locationQuote only
Starting priceNot publishedNot publishedUSD 300 per location per monthNot published
Free planNot publishedNot publishedNot publishedNot published
Free trialYesNot publishedNot publishedNot published
ContractNot publishedNot publishedNone (month to month)Not published
PlatformsWebWebWebWeb
CountriesUnited StatesUnited StatesUnited StatesAustralia, Europe, United Kingdom, United States
LanguagesNot publishedNot publishedEnglish, SpanishNot published
Number of integrations115812
CertificationsNot publishedNot publishedPCI compliantNot published
Security practicesNot publishedNot publishedNot publishedNot published
FoundedNot publishedNot publishedNot publishedNot published
HeadquartersNot publishedNot publishedChapel Hill, United StatesPalo Alto, United States
OwnerNot publishedNot publishedNot publishedNot published
Last reviewed29 September 202629 September 202629 September 202629 September 2026

Integrations

Named by all four

  • Olo
  • Square
  • Toast

Named only by Hostie

  • Perfect Venue
  • Resy
  • SevenRooms
  • Stream
  • Tock
  • Tripleseat
  • Yelp

Named only by Kea

  • Thanx

Named only by Virnika

  • Deliverect
  • Oracle

Named only by VOICEplug

  • Checkmate
  • FoodTec
  • InTouch
  • Qu
  • Speedline

Which to choose

Hostie

Choose Hostie if you are in one of these groups: Independent full-service restaurants; Restaurant groups; Venues with private events.

Kea

Choose Kea if your business matches one of the audiences it is listed for: Pizzerias and takeout-heavy restaurants; Restaurants on Toast, Square, Clover or Olo; Busy kitchens short of phone staff.

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 your business matches one of the audiences it is listed for: Pizzerias and pizza chains; Multi-location chains and QSR brands; Single restaurants that miss calls at peak.

What we could not confirm

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

Kea

  • Price
  • Contract term
  • Full POS integration list
  • Company details: legal entity, HQ, founding year, founders, funding, employees
  • Security certifications
  • Languages the AI supports
  • Countries beyond 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)

Go further

Hostie profileKea profileVirnika profileVOICEplug profile

Other comparisons with these products

Sources

Facts on this page come from the pages below. Prices and features change, so confirm with each vendor before you buy.

Hostie, reviewed 29 September 2026

  1. Overview, customershttps://hostie.ai/
  2. Featureshttps://hostie.ai/features
  3. Planshttps://hostie.ai/pricing
  4. Integrationshttps://hostie.ai/integration
  5. Company, founders, investorshttps://hostie.ai/about-us
  6. FAQhttps://hostie.ai/faq

Kea, reviewed 29 September 2026

  1. Homepage: features, pricing statement, POS, customershttps://kea.ai
  2. Support docs indexhttps://support.kea.ai/
  3. Toast connection guidehttps://support.kea.ai/point-of-sale-connections/toast
  4. Olo connection guidehttps://support.kea.ai/point-of-sale-connections/olo

Virnika, reviewed 29 September 2026

  1. Homepage, agents, PCI claimhttps://www.virnika.ai/
  2. Penny features and POS logoshttps://www.virnika.ai/penny/
  3. Adam call analytics and $25 pricehttps://www.virnika.ai/adam/
  4. Cora catering agenthttps://www.virnika.ai/cora/
  5. Pricinghttps://www.virnika.ai/pricing/
  6. Contract, setup, POS answershttps://www.virnika.ai/faq/
  7. Founders and storyhttps://www.virnika.ai/about/
  8. News list and NC IDEA granthttps://www.virnika.ai/press/
  9. Olo and Deliverect integrationshttps://www.virnika.ai/press/virnika-adds-pos-integrations/
  10. Spanish ordering, Chapel Hill, US availabilityhttps://www.virnika.ai/press/virnika-launches-spanish-language-ordering/
  11. US Foods offer and customer nameshttps://virnika.ai/us-foods/
  12. Partner programmehttps://www.virnika.ai/partner/
  13. Billing termshttps://www.virnika.ai/terms/

VOICEplug, reviewed 29 September 2026

  1. Homepage and customer testimonialshttps://voiceplug.ai/
  2. Phone AI features and POS listhttps://voiceplug.ai/solutions/phone-ai/
  3. Drive-thruhttps://voiceplug.ai/solutions/drive-thru-ai/
  4. Kioskhttps://voiceplug.ai/solutions/kiosk-ai/
  5. PizzaVOICEhttps://voiceplug.ai/solutions/pizza-voice/
  6. Reservations and OpenTablehttps://voiceplug.ai/solutions/reservevoice/
  7. Company timeline, team, hardwarehttps://voiceplug.ai/about/
  8. Case studies and addresshttps://voiceplug.ai/success-stories-case-studies/
  9. Press: OpenTable, Qu, customershttps://voiceplug.ai/media-coverage/
  10. Contact and coveragehttps://voiceplug.ai/contact/