Answering service cost
Answering service pricing, without the sales call.
Answering services bill three ways: by the minute, by the call, or a flat monthly plan. The same 100 calls can cost $300 or $1,000 depending on which. The published prices of 12 services are on this page, and so is an AI Employee that answers for a flat plan. You can call it now.
How they charge
Three pricing models.
Per minute
$1.30 to $5.00
Most services. You pay for every minute the receptionist is on the line. Long calls cost more, and some round each call up to the next minute.
Per call
$10.00 to $11.50
A few services. One price per answered call, however long it runs. Good for intake calls, expensive for wrong numbers.
Flat plan
From $99 a month
AI services, including the AI Employee. A monthly plan with minutes included. The bill does not move when the phone gets busy.
Every number on this page comes from the vendor’s own pricing page, checked September 2026.
Cost by volume
What 50, 100, 300 and 600 calls a month cost.
| Per-minute service at $3.45 a minute | $1,035 |
|---|---|
| Per-minute service at $1.30 a minute | $390 |
| Per-call service at $10.00 | $1,000 |
| In-house receptionist | $4,110 |
| AI Employee, Scale plan | $299 |
Assumes 3 minutes a call.
The AI Employee answers two calls at once and at any hour, on every plan from Operator up.
Published prices
Twelve answering services, side by side.
| Service | Billing model | Entry plan | Overage | Hours | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AnswerConnect | Not published | Quote only | Quote only | 24/7 | answerconnect.com |
| PATLive | Per minute | $99 a month, 50 minutes | $2.29 a minute | 24/7, 365 days, nights and weekends included | patlive.com |
| Ruby | Per minute | $250 a month, 50 minutes | Not published | 24/7, weekends and holidays included | ruby.com |
| Smith.ai, human receptionists | Per call | $300 a month, 30 calls | $11.50 a call | 24/7, same price at any hour | smith.ai |
| Smith.ai, AI receptionist | Per call | Free for 25 calls; Pro $150 a month, 75 calls | $3.00 a call on Free, $2.50 on Pro | 24/7 | smith.ai |
| MAP Communications | Per minute | $179 a month, 125 minutes (or $49 a month with no minutes, then $1.37 a minute) | $1.30 a minute | 24/7 | mapcommunications.com |
| Specialty Answering Service | Per minute, billed to the second | $159 a month, 100 minutes (or $44 a month with no minutes, then $1.54 a minute) | $1.44 a minute | 24/7, no weekend or holiday fees | specialtyansweringservice.net |
| Posh | Per minute | $130 a month, 50 minutes (or $65 a month with no minutes, then $2.30 a minute) | $2.20 a minute | 24/7 | posh.com |
| AnswerForce | Not published | Quote only | Quote only | 24/7 | answerforce.com |
| Go Answer | Per minute | $175 a month, 100 minutes | $1.75 a minute | 24/7 | goanswer.io |
| Abby Connect | Per minute; AI minutes count as half | $165 a month, 50 minutes | At the plan's minute rate ($3.30 on Starter) | Hours you choose, 24/7 available, no weekend upcharge | abby.com |
| Moneypenny | Per minute | $165 a month, 50 minutes | $2.28 a minute | 24/7 | moneypenny.com |
| DelegateWorker | Flat monthly plan | Operator $99 a month, 190 minutes, phone, Zoom and web | Add minutes in bundles | 24/7 | Pricing |
How answering service pricing works
Minutes or calls
Find out which the service counts, and whether it rounds up.
The entry plan
The advertised price buys 50 to 125 minutes. Most businesses use more.
The overage
The rate after the plan runs out is where the bill grows. Ask for it in writing.
The hours
Some services answer weekdays only, or charge more for nights. Check before you sign.
Outsourced receptionist services
What you get for the money.
An outsourced receptionist
- Answers
- Under your name, from a call center
- Knows your business
- A script and a FAQ sheet
- Two calls at once
- Queue or voicemail
- The record
- A message by email
- The bill
- Grows with minutes
An AI Employee
- Answers
- Under your name, on your number
- Knows your business
- The questions and answers you give it, every time
- Two calls at once
- Both answered, in parallel
- The record
- Transcript and summary in HubSpot or Go High Level
- The bill
- A flat plan
The cheapest answering service is the one that never sends a caller to voicemail.
Pricing
Start with the plan built for a real front desk.
Operator
$99a month
- 190 minutes a month
- 2 parallel calls
- Phone, Zoom and web
- HubSpot and Go High Level connected
Scale
$299a month
- Everything in Operator
- 575 minutes a month
- 3 parallel calls
- Priority support
Want to hear your own AI Employee first? There is an $8 test plan.
Questions
Questions people ask
How much does an answering service cost per month?
Published entry plans run from about $44 to $300 a month, and 500-minute plans from about $550 to $1,725. Most bills land higher than the entry plan because of overage. An AI Employee on DelegateWorker starts at $99 a month for 190 minutes.
How much does an answering service cost per call?
Per-call services publish $10.00 to $11.50 a call. Per-minute services work out to $4 to $15 for a three-minute call. The AI Employee answers on a flat plan; a busy month costs the same as a quiet one until you need more minutes.
Do answering services charge per minute or per call?
Most charge per minute, a few per call, and AI services charge a flat monthly plan. The table on this page shows which model each service uses.
What is the cheapest answering service?
Among published plans, Specialty Answering Service at $44 a month plus $1.54 a minute and MAP Communications at $49 a month plus $1.37 a minute are the lowest entry prices, and PATLive at $99 a month for 50 minutes is the lowest with minutes included. For a business with real call volume, a flat AI plan is usually the lowest total bill.
Is an AI answering service as good as a human one?
For answering every call, asking your questions and booking the time, yes, and it does it at 2 a.m. Hard calls it hands to your team with the transcript.
What does the AI Employee cost?
Plans for a real front desk start at $99 a month. Minutes are included; add more in bundles when you need them.