How much does an answering service cost?
A live answering service costs about $250 to $1,725 a month for small business plans, which works out to roughly $3.45 to $5 per minute answered. An AI receptionist costs about $29 to $789 a month for 60 to 1,000 minutes, or well under a dollar a minute.
Answering service prices in 2026
We checked the published pricing pages of 12 answering services and AI receptionists; the table shows the date each one was last checked. It lists each plan's monthly price, what it includes, and the cost per minute, call or conversation when you use exactly what the plan includes. Every price links to the vendor's own page, so you can check it yourself.
| Service | Plan | Price a month | Cost per minute or call | Over the limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RubyLive answeringChecked Sep 25, 2026 | Starter50 minutes. Includes 24/7 coverage; no setup fees stated | $250 | $5 per minute | Not listed |
| RubyLive answeringChecked Sep 25, 2026 | Small Business100 minutes | $395 | $3.95 per minute | Not listed |
| RubyLive answeringChecked Sep 25, 2026 | Standard200 minutes | $720 | $3.60 per minute | Not listed |
| RubyLive answeringChecked Sep 25, 2026 | Growing Business500 minutes | $1,725 | $3.45 per minute | Not listed |
| Smith.aiLive answeringChecked Sep 25, 2026 | Starter (human receptionists)30 calls. Month to month; appointment booking is $1.50 per call and payment collection $1.00 per call extra | $300 | $10 per call | $11.50 per call over 30 |
| Smith.aiLive answeringChecked Sep 25, 2026 | Basic (human receptionists)90 calls | $810 | $9 per call | $10.50 per call over 90 |
| AnswerConnectLive answeringChecked Sep 24, 2026 | Entry100 minutes. Plus a CA$75 setup fee; calls rounded up to the minute | CA$325 | CA$3.25 per minute | CA$2.95 per minute |
| AnswerConnectLive answeringChecked Sep 24, 2026 | Growth300 minutes | CA$425 | CA$1.42 per minute | CA$2.75 per minute |
| ReceptionHQLive answeringChecked Sep 25, 2026 | MessageExpress (message taking)Calls by tier. Starting price; takes messages, does not book | $25 | Not listed | $1.99 per call |
| RingCentralAI receptionistChecked Sep 25, 2026 | AI Receptionist (standalone)100 minutes. 14-day free trial; $39 a month as an add-on to RingEX | $49 | $0.49 per minute | $0.50 per minute, billed in 30-second increments |
| JobberAI receptionistChecked Sep 25, 2026 | Receptionist add-on30 conversations. Added to a Jobber plan; included with unlimited use on Jobber Plus | $29 | $0.97 per conversation | $0.79 per conversation over 30 |
| RosieAI receptionistChecked Sep 25, 2026 | Professional250 minutes. Sends appointment links by text; calendar booking on higher plans | $49 | $0.20 per minute | Not listed |
| RosieAI receptionistChecked Sep 25, 2026 | Scale1,000 minutes | $149 | $0.15 per minute | Not listed |
| My AI Front DeskAI receptionistChecked Sep 25, 2026 | Business-in-a-Box200 voice minutes | $99 | $0.50 per minute | $0.25 per minute |
| GoodcallAI receptionistChecked Sep 26, 2026 | Starter100 unique customers, unlimited minutes. Priced per agent, by unique customers a month | $79 | Not listed | $0.50 per customer after 100 |
| GoodcallAI receptionistChecked Sep 26, 2026 | Growth250 unique customers, unlimited minutes | $129 | Not listed | $0.50 per customer after 250 |
| GoodcallAI receptionistChecked Sep 26, 2026 | Scale500 unique customers, unlimited minutes | $249 | Not listed | $0.50 per customer after 500 |
| UpfirstAI receptionistChecked Sep 26, 2026 | Starter30 calls. 14-day free trial | $24.95 | $0.83 per call | $1.50 per call over 30 |
| UpfirstAI receptionistChecked Sep 26, 2026 | Premium90 calls | $59.95 | $0.67 per call | $1 per call over 90 |
| UpfirstAI receptionistChecked Sep 26, 2026 | Pro300 calls | $159.95 | $0.53 per call | $0.75 per call over 300 |
| UpfirstAI receptionistChecked Sep 26, 2026 | Scale600 calls | $299 | $0.50 per call | $0.70 per call over 600 |
| DialzaraAI receptionistChecked Sep 26, 2026 | Business Lite60 minutes. 7-day free trial | $29 | $0.48 per minute | $0.48 per minute |
| DialzaraAI receptionistChecked Sep 26, 2026 | Business Pro220 minutes | $99 | $0.45 per minute | $0.45 per minute |
| DialzaraAI receptionistChecked Sep 26, 2026 | Business Plus500 minutes | $199 | $0.40 per minute | $0.40 per minute |
| DialzaraAI receptionistChecked Sep 26, 2026 | Business Elite1,000 minutes | $349 | $0.35 per minute | $0.35 per minute |
| SamedayAI receptionistChecked Sep 26, 2026 | Launch500 minutes. Up to 3 locations; overage and trial not stated | $449 | $0.90 per minute | Not listed |
| SamedayAI receptionistChecked Sep 26, 2026 | Scale1,000 minutes. Unlimited locations | $789 | $0.79 per minute | Not listed |
How answering services charge
Almost every service sells one of four pricing models, and the model matters as much as the headline price.
- Per minute: you buy a bundle of minutes a month and pay a per-minute rate for anything over. Check whether calls are rounded up to the next minute, because a 20-second call can bill as a full minute.
- Per call: you pay for each call answered, whatever its length. This suits short, simple calls and gets expensive when callers have questions.
- Flat monthly with a message-taking limit: the cheapest plans usually only take a message and pass it on. You still have to call the customer back.
- Credits: AI receptionists often sell a monthly balance that different actions draw from, such as answered minutes, texts and chats.
Hidden costs to check before you sign
The monthly price is rarely the whole bill. Before you choose a service, ask about each of these:
- Setup or activation fees. Some services charge one, some do not.
- Overage rates once you use your included minutes or calls, which can be much higher than the plan’s effective rate.
- Rounding: whether short calls are billed as a full minute.
- After-hours, weekend or holiday surcharges.
- Extra charges for appointment booking, call transfers, bilingual answering or custom scripts.
- Contract length and what it costs to cancel.
Live answering service vs AI receptionist: cost per month
On the plans above, live answering services work out to about $3.45 to $5 per included minute, and AI receptionists to about $0.15 to $0.90. The gap is large because a human agent is paid for their time, while an AI receptionist can answer many calls at once at the cost of computing.
A worked example: if your business needs about 300 answered minutes a month (roughly 100 calls of three minutes each, an assumption you should replace with your own numbers), live plans that include 300 minutes or more start in the hundreds of dollars a month. On Operator, 300 answered minutes costs $74 a month on Starter plus 2,500 top-up credits.
Price is not the only difference. A live agent handles unusual or emotional calls better, while an AI receptionist answers instantly, never puts callers on hold, and can do more than take a message.
What Operator costs
Operator is an AI receptionist that answers your calls, quotes from your own prices, books the job and takes the deposit. Plans start at $49 a month on Starter, which includes about 200 answered minutes, up to $299 a month on Scale with about 1,600 minutes. Extra time costs $0.25 a minute, there is no booking fee on any plan, and you can try it free for 14 days.