Do I pay for spam calls on an answering service?
- The short answer
- Whether you pay for spam calls depends on how the service counts. Per-minute plans bill the minutes a robocall uses, and per-call plans count it unless they screen it out. On GreetKeeper you don't pay for spam. Robocalls and spam calls are dropped before the greeting and never count toward your plan's 200, 750 or 2,000 calls.
The longer answer
Every billing unit treats a robocall differently. Take a per-minute plan, like Dialzara's $29 for 60 minutes or Rosie's $49 for 250 minutes. A recorded message that plays for a minute uses a minute of your bundle.
On a per-call plan, the question is whether the vendor screens before it counts. A plan that counts every answer spends one of your calls on each robocall.
Unique-caller pricing has its own twist. Spam arrives from a spread of different numbers, and each new number looks like a new customer. Goodcall charges $0.50 for each unique customer past the allowance, as of September 2026.
How much this matters depends on how public your number is. A number printed on your website, your van and a dozen directory listings gets found by dialers far faster than one you give only to customers. If your line is public, the spam rule in the contract matters more to you than the headline price.
Spam also costs you time. Every junk call a service passes along as a message is a callback someone on your team makes for nothing.
What to ask a vendor about spam billing
Does a robocall count toward my allowance? Ask for the answer in writing, next to the plan price.
What happens to a silent call, where nobody speaks? Silent calls are a common robocall pattern, so the answer tells you how the screening works.
Do screened calls show up in my call log? You want to see what was dropped, so a real caller never disappears without a trace.
How are very short calls billed? A pocket dial or a hang-up during the greeting shouldn't cost the same as a booking.
How GreetKeeper handles it
GreetKeeper screens out robocalls and spam calls before the greeting plays. Silent or robotic callers are dropped, and those screened calls never count toward your plan.
Very short calls don't count either. What's left in your allowance are real people, answered and billed once per call however long they talk.
Past the allowance, a real call costs $0.45 on Starter, $0.35 on Professional and $0.25 on Scale. Try it on your own line with the 14-day free trial, with every feature on and no card needed.
Spam call billing questions
Do robocalls count as answered calls on GreetKeeper?
No. GreetKeeper drops silent or robotic callers before the greeting, and screened calls never count toward your plan. You're billed for real callers only.
Why do answering services charge for spam calls?
Because the plan counts every call or minute that reaches it. Unless the service screens before counting, a robocall uses your bundle like any caller. Ask each vendor how its count treats spam.
Can spam calls push me into overage?
Not on GreetKeeper. Screened calls never count toward the allowance, so they can't move you past it. Overage starts only after 200, 750 or 2,000 real calls, depending on your plan.
Hear it take one of your calls
Two minutes, your own scenario, no card.