Telephone Answering Service Prices

Most answering services bill you in one of three ways. Understanding the difference matters because the same monthly activity can produce very different bills under each model.

Per-minute plans charge for the actual time an agent or system spends on your calls. This is usually the fairest model if your calls vary in length, but it makes bills harder to predict. Per-call plans charge a fixed amount each time a call is answered, whether it lasts thirty seconds or ten minutes, which is simple but can get expensive if your callers like to talk. Flat-rate plans include a set block of minutes or calls each month for one price, with an overage rate beyond that.

AllDayDesk, the service on this site, uses the flat-rate model: each plan includes a monthly block of answered minutes, and time beyond the block is billed at a lower per-minute overage rate. Plan details and current prices are shown on the pricing section of this site rather than in this guide, so you always see up-to-date numbers.

• Per-minute: you pay only for talk time, so light months cost less
• Per-call: one fixed charge per answered call, easy to predict per call but not per month
• Flat rate: one monthly price with included minutes or calls, plus a set overage rate
• AI receptionist plans are billed by included minutes rather than per-agent labor

Published starting prices give you a rough anchor, though your real bill depends on usage. Ruby, a human virtual receptionist company, advertises plans starting at $245 per month as of October 2026. Smith.ai prices its human virtual receptionist service per call, with the cost depending on which features you select. AnswerConnect offers 24/7 live answering by people but does not publish a price on its service page, so you have to request a quote. These are starting points from each company's own site, not a complete comparison, since included minutes, overage rates, hours of coverage and contract terms all change the real cost.

AI receptionist pricing works differently from human-staffed pricing. Smith.ai, for example, sells its AI receptionist as a separate product from its human service, and does not publish a price on its AI receptionist page, so you have to request a quote. When you compare an AI plan to a human plan, check whether the AI plan includes the features you actually need, such as message taking and appointment booking.

• Ruby: human virtual receptionists, plans advertised from $245 per month
• Smith.ai: human receptionists priced per call, quote-based
• AnswerConnect: 24/7 human answering, price by quote only
• Smith.ai sells its AI receptionist as a separate product line from its human service

The advertised price is rarely the whole price. Before you sign up, ask what happens in these situations, because each one can add to your monthly bill:

Also ask about the setup itself. Some services charge an onboarding or account-setup fee, and some require a contract term to get the advertised rate. A month-to-month plan at a slightly higher rate is often the safer way to test a service before committing.

• Overage rates: what you pay per minute or per call once you exceed your included amount
• Minimum commitments: some plans require a monthly minimum spend even if your usage is lower
• Holidays and after-hours: some providers bill nights, weekends and holidays at a higher rate
• Setup or onboarding fees: one-time charges to build your account and script
• Contract terms: discounts that only apply if you sign a longer agreement

Two quotes that look similar on paper can cost very different amounts in practice. Use this checklist to put every offer on the same footing:

First, estimate your monthly usage. Look at your phone records and add up your total answered call minutes for a typical month. Then convert every quote to a cost at that usage level: for a per-minute plan, multiply your minutes by the rate; for a flat plan, take the base price and add overages if you expect to exceed the included block. Second, confirm what is included. Some plans include message taking only, while others include appointment booking, call transfers or custom scripts. Third, check coverage hours, and ask each provider how their price changes between 24/7 coverage and business-hours-only service.

Finally, compare like with like. A human receptionist plan and an AI receptionist plan are different products at different price points, and both can be the right choice depending on your budget and how your callers respond. The honest comparison is total monthly cost at your real call volume for the feature set you need.

• Pull three months of call logs and calculate your average answered minutes
• Convert every quote to a monthly cost at that volume
• List which features each price includes: messages, booking, transfers, custom scripts
• Check overage rates, minimums and contract terms before signing
• Ask how coverage hours affect the price

AllDayDesk is an AI receptionist that answers your business calls around the clock using the business information you save. Because there are no human agents, plans are flat-rate with included minutes and a set per-minute overage rate, so your base cost is predictable each month. Current plan prices are displayed on this site's pricing page, separate from this guide.

Setup is straightforward: you choose your business or enter its website, AllDayDesk checks the details it found, you hear a personalized sample of how your receptionist will sound, and then you choose how to connect your phone. You keep your existing public number by forwarding calls to AllDayDesk, and the forwarding steps depend on your phone carrier. The sample call is a demonstration only and does not create a real booking.

Once your receptionist is live, calls, transcripts, summaries and any booked appointments appear in your dashboard. New appointments go on the built-in AllDayDesk calendar by default once you have configured your services and availability, and you can optionally connect Google Calendar in Settings after authorizing your account. When your receptionist does not know an answer, a price or an available time, it takes a message instead of guessing. If you want a call handed to you directly, transfers work once you have set a destination and rules, though pickup is not guaranteed.

• Flat monthly plans with included minutes and a per-minute overage rate
• Setup: pick your business, review details, hear a sample, choose phone setup
• Keep your existing number by forwarding calls; steps vary by carrier
• Calls, transcripts, summaries and bookings are visible in the dashboard
• Built-in calendar by default; optional Google Calendar connection in Settings

The cheapest plan is not always the best value, and the most expensive is not automatically the safest. Match the price to three things: your call volume, the hours you need covered, and what should happen on each call. A solo contractor who misses a handful of calls a week may be fine with a small AI plan. A firm that needs detailed intake from every caller may prefer a human-staffed service, trading a different price point for that capability. If you are unsure, start with a lower tier at your estimated volume, watch your first invoice for overages, and adjust from there.

Also remember that an answering service is not a full employee. In-house receptionists handle visitors and office tasks beyond the phone, so compare scope, not just cost, when you weigh a service against hiring.

• Match the plan to your real call volume, not your busiest day
• Decide which hours need coverage before comparing 24/7 plans
• Decide what each call should produce: a message, a booking or a transfer
• Start small, review your first invoice, then scale up or down