What answering the phone actually costs
Published prices in this market run from $29 a month to $1,900, and the number that decides your bill is usually the one the vendor left off the page.
These guides answer the price question with figures rather than a range and a shrug. Each one takes a real business, runs its call volume through every rate card we could read, and shows you the arithmetic. Where a vendor hides its pricing, the page says so and doesn't guess.
Every competitor number here was read on that vendor's own pricing page in September 2026. Never a third-party listicle, because prices in this market move and the second-hand ones are usually stale.
If you want one number quickly, start with what an answering service costs or virtual receptionist pricing. If you're checking one vendor's card, we've explained PATLive, Posh, Ruby, AnswerConnect and Nexa, who publishes no prices at all. Our own rate card is on the pricing page.
The published market, at a glance
Two tables to orient yourself before you read anything longer.
| Service | Entry plan | Higher tiers | Rate past the bundle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ruby | $250 / 50 min | $395 for 100, $720 for 200, $1,725 for 500 | Not published |
| PATLive | $99 / 50 min | $189 for 100, $349 for 200, $759 for 500 | $2.29/min falling to $1.79 |
| Posh | $65 / 0 min | $130 for 50, $215 for 100, $420 for 200 | $2.30/min falling to $2.10 |
| AnswerConnect | $350 / 200 min | $395 for 300, $575 for 400 | $2.50/min, then $1.85 |
| Abby Connect | $165 / 50 min | $329 for 100, $599 for 200, $1,380 for 500 | Not published |
Human answering services that publish a rate card, read September 2026. Nexa publishes plan names and minute counts with no prices at all.
| Service | What it counts | Entry plan | Rate past the bundle |
|---|---|---|---|
| GreetKeeper | Per answered call | $49 / 200 calls | $0.45, $0.35, $0.25 by tier |
| Rosie | Per minute | $49 / 250 min | Not published |
| Dialzara | Per minute | $29 / 60 min | $0.48/min falling to $0.35 |
| Goodcall | Per unique caller | $79 / 100 callers | $0.50 per extra caller |
| Smith.ai | Per call | $0 / 25 calls, then $3.00 | $2.00–$2.17 on the $150 plan |
| Slang.ai | Per location | $399 per location | No allowance published |
AI services, read September 2026. The billing unit differs more than the price does.
The guides
Grouped roughly by what you're trying to price: the market, a vertical, or one vendor's rate card.
After Hours Answering Service Cost
What after-hours phone cover costs: how vendors price evenings and weekends, why the per-call value is highest then, and how to size a plan for out-of-hours only.
AnswerConnect Pricing Explained
AnswerConnect's published plans: $350 for 200 minutes, $395 for 300, $575 for 400, with setup fees, minute rounding and the free short-interaction allowance.
Answering Service Cost
What an answering service costs in 2026: $65 to $1,725 a month for human services, $29 to $399 for AI, and the per-minute rates that decide your real bill.
Answering Service Cost Per Month
Monthly answering service costs worked through on real call volumes, from 50 calls to 1,000, with every published rate card applied to the same numbers.
Answering Service Pricing Models
The four ways answering services charge — per minute, per call, per unique caller, per location — and which one is cheapest for how your phone actually rings.
Average Cost of an Answering Service
The average answering service costs around $300 to $400 a month, but the median hides a 15x spread. Here is the distribution and where your business sits in it.
Cheap Virtual Receptionist Options
The genuinely cheap end of the virtual receptionist market, what each low price actually buys, and the three ways a cheap plan turns into an expensive month.
Flat Rate Answering Service
What a flat rate answering service really means, which vendors offer one, and why almost every flat monthly fee has a variable rate hiding behind it.
HVAC Answering Service Cost
What HVAC companies pay for phone cover, why a cold snap breaks a minute bundle, and how to size a plan for seasonal call volume instead of an average month.
Law Firm Answering Service Cost
What law firms pay for answering and intake: why legal calls cost more on every per-minute plan, and how intake length changes which billing model wins.
Low Cost Answering Service
Low-cost answering services that still do the job: what $29 to $99 buys, where the savings come from, and the trade you make at each price point.
Medical Answering Service Cost
What a medical answering service costs, why HIPAA changes the quote, and how to price after-hours triage coverage against your real call volume.
Nexa Pricing
Nexa does not publish prices. Here is exactly what their plans page shows, what to ask for in a quote, and what comparable published services charge.
PATLive Pricing Explained
PATLive's full published rate card: $99 for 50 minutes up to $6,899 for 5,000, with per-minute overage from $2.29 down to $1.49, read September 2026.
Phone Answering Service Cost
Phone answering service costs broken down by what you actually pay for: the base fee, the minutes, the rounding rule, the setup charge and the overage rate.
Posh Pricing Explained
Posh virtual receptionist pricing: seven tiers from $65 with no minutes included to $1,900 for 1,000, with per-minute rates from $2.30 down to $1.90.
Ruby Receptionist Pricing
Ruby's published plans: $250 for 50 minutes up to $1,725 for 500, plus chat and bundles. What their page states, and the one number it leaves out.
Telephone Answering Service Cost
Telephone answering service costs from $29 to $1,900 a month, what separates a call center from a receptionist service, and which one your calls need.
Virtual Receptionist Cost
What a virtual receptionist costs against hiring one: the real monthly numbers for both, and the volumes where each option stops making sense.
Virtual Receptionist Pricing
Virtual receptionist pricing compared: Posh from $65, PATLive from $99, Ruby from $250, Nexa quote-only. Per-minute rates, base fees and what they leave out.
Bring your own call log
Count last month's calls and their average length. Those two numbers decide every quote you'll be given.