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 | Behind a quote form | Behind a quote form | Not published |
| 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.
Abby Connect Pricing and the Abby Minute
Abby Connect runs $165 for 50 Abby Minutes to $1,380 for 500, and an AI minute uses half of one. The plans and the exchange rate, read September 2026.
After Hours Answering Service Cost
What after-hours phone cover costs: how vendors price evenings and weekends, and how to size a plan for out-of-hours calls. Plans from $49 a month.
AIRA Pricing: Per-Call Plans Explained
AIRA's AI receptionist runs $24.95 for 30 calls up to $299 for 600, with overage from $1.50 down to $0.70 a call. A 400-call salon month, September 2026.
Allo AI Receptionist Pricing, Per Agent
Allo's AI Receptionist is a $32-a-month add-on per agent, on top of a $32 to $100 phone seat. How the seat and agent bill stack, read September 2026.
AnswerConnect Pricing and Billing Rules
AnswerConnect puts its prices behind a quote form, but its help centre explains rounding, 30 free short calls and overage. Here is how the bill is built.
AnswerForce Pricing: How the Plans Work
AnswerForce shows plans only after you give a name, email, phone and company. What its minute plans cover and how to price 660 minutes, September 2026.
Answering Legal Pricing: Plans and Minutes
Answering Legal sells Solo, Essential and Growing plans of 100, 200 and 300 minutes, and its trial gives 400 minutes free. The plans, read September 2026.
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
Answering services charge 4 ways: per minute, per call, per unique caller or per location. See which one is cheapest for how your phone rings.
Arini Pricing for Dental AI Receptionists
Arini has no pricing page: arini.ai/pricing returns a 404 and every button books a demo. What drives a dental AI receptionist quote, September 2026.
Average Cost of an Answering Service
The average answering service costs around $300 to $400 a month, and the spread is 15x. See the full distribution and where your business sits.
Cheap Virtual Receptionist Options
The cheap end of the virtual receptionist market, what each low price buys, and 3 ways a cheap plan turns into an expensive month. Compare them here.
Dialzara Pricing: Minutes and Overage
Dialzara runs $29 for 60 minutes up to $349 for 1,000, with overage from $0.48 to $0.35 a minute. Add-ons and a 120-call month, read September 2026.
Echowin Pricing: Per-Minute Rates and Bundles
Echowin charges $0.20 a voice minute plus $10 a month per number, or $45 to $350 bundles. A real month priced out, read on echo.win in September 2026.
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.
Goodcall Pricing and the Unique Caller
Goodcall charges per agent and per unique caller: $79 for 100, $129 for 250, $249 for 500, then $0.50 each. How that meter works, read September 2026.
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 volume. Plans from $49 a 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.
LEX Reception Pricing: Behind a Form
LEX Reception shows its plans only after a four-field form, and robots.txt hides the page from search. What that means, and a $49 price to compare.
Live Answering Service Cost and Pricing
Live answering service pricing in 2026: $99 to $250 for a 50-minute plan, $1.89 to $3.95 a minute at 100 minutes, and the overage that sets your bill.
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.
MAP Communications Pricing and Plans
MAP Communications plans run $49 to $649 a month for 0 to 500 minutes, then $1.28 to $1.37 a minute. One real month priced out, read September 2026.
Moneypenny US Pricing: People vs AI Plans
Moneypenny's US page sells people answering by the minute and AI answering by the call, four bundles each. How both meters work, read September 2026.
My AI Front Desk Pricing Explained
My AI Front Desk, now sold as Frontdesk, costs $99 a month for 200 voice minutes, with extra minutes at 25 credits each. Read September 2026.
Nexa Receptionist Pricing: Plans and Minutes
Nexa lists three plans, Nexa 100, 300 and 500, by voice minutes and prints no prices. Here is what each includes and how its work time is billed.
NextPhone Pricing: Flat-Rate Plans
NextPhone charges a flat $199 a month on Pro, from $299 on Growth and from $599 on Scale, with unlimited calls and no overage. What each tier adds, 2026.
PATLive Pricing: Plans and Per-Minute Rates
PATLive pricing runs from $49 pay as you go at $2.99 a minute to $6,899 for 5,000 minutes at $1.49 over. See all 11 tiers and a real month priced out.
Phone Answering Service Cost
Phone answering costs broken into 5 parts: the base fee, the minutes, the rounding rule, the setup charge and the overage rate. Price your own line.
Physician and Medical Answering Service Cost
A physician answering service costs $99 to $250 a month for 50 minutes on published cards. Here is what a doctor's office spends at 300 calls a month.
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.
Receptionist Salary vs AI Receptionist Cost
The median US receptionist earns $38,010 a year, or $18.27 an hour (BLS). Here's what the hire costs you as an employer, set against a $49 AI plan.
Ring Savvy Pricing: Plans From $132.50
Ring Savvy sells live answering in minute bundles: 50 for $132.50, 100 for $240 and 500 for $1,075 a month. What each plan covers, plus a worked month.
RingCentral AI Receptionist Pricing
RingCentral AI Receptionist is $49 a month standalone or $39 as a RingEX add-on, each with 100 minutes, then $0.50 a minute. Read September 2026.
Rondah Pricing for Dental Offices and DSOs
Rondah prints no price: rondah.ai/pricing is a 404 and quotes come from a demo. How a DSO can size the bill across its practices, September 2026.
Rosie AI Pricing: Plans and Minutes
Rosie costs $49 for 250 minutes, $149 for 1,000 and $299 for 2,000, and calendar booking starts on the $149 plan. Every tier, read September 2026.
Ruby Receptionist Pricing, Plans and Overage
Ruby's receptionist plans run $250 for 50 minutes to $1,725 for 500, billed in 60-second increments with no overage rate printed. The full card, Sept 2026.
Slang.ai Pricing: Per-Location Plans
Slang.ai starts at $399 a month per location, Premium at $599, with no call allowance printed. What a restaurant group pays, read September 2026.
Smith.ai Pricing Explained (2026)
Smith.ai's AI receptionist runs $0 for 25 calls to $800 for 500, and its human plans $300 to $2,100. Every tier and overage rate, read September 2026.
Specialty Answering Service Pricing
Specialty Answering Service runs $44 to $10,599 a month on eight minute plans, with extra minutes at $1.09 to $1.54. Every rate, read September 2026.
Synthflow Pricing: Enterprise From $30,000
Synthflow's pricing page lists one plan: Enterprise, from $30,000 a year, scoped per contract. What that covers and what a small business pays instead.
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.
Upfirst Pricing: Plans and Overage
Upfirst runs $24.95 for 30 calls to $299 for 600, with extra calls at $0.70 to $1.50. Every tier, the annual rate and a worked month, read September 2026.
Vapi Pricing for an AI Receptionist
Vapi charges $0.05 a minute to host a voice agent, plus model, voice and phone costs. What 1,000 minutes really adds up to, read September 2026.
Virtual Assistant to Answer Phones: Cost
A virtual assistant who answers phones bills by the hour, about 195 hours a month for weekday cover. Compare that with $49 for 200 AI-answered calls.
Virtual Receptionist Pricing
Virtual receptionist pricing compared: Posh from $65, PATLive from $99, Ruby from $250, Nexa quote-only. See per-minute rates and base fees.
VoiceNation Pricing Now: The Redirect
voicenation.com/pricing now 301-redirects to Moneypenny's US pricing page. What that means for your quote and your plan, checked 24 September 2026.
Weave Pricing: What From $199 Covers
Weave publishes one figure, plans from $199 a month, and quotes Pro, Elite and Ultimate. Where its AI Receptionist fits in that, read September 2026.
Bring your own call log
Count last month's calls and their average length. Those two numbers decide every quote you'll be given.