Answering service cost per month, at four real volumes
Rather than a range, here's the same question asked four times at four volumes, with every published rate card applied to identical numbers. Fifty calls a month, 100, 300 and 1,000, each averaging three minutes, which is the figure most businesses land near.
At 50 calls, the monthly cost runs from $49 to $479. At 1,000 calls it runs from $349 to well past $4,000, and several vendors stop publishing before they get there. The gap widens with volume because per-minute rates fall slowly and call counts rise quickly.
Find your row, read across, and you have your monthly number for every vendor that publishes one.
Monthly cost at 50 calls (150 minutes)
| Service | Plan used | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| GreetKeeper | Starter, 200 calls | $49 |
| Dialzara | $99 plan, 220 min | $99 |
| PATLive | $189 plan, 100 min, +50 at $2.09 | $293.50 |
| Posh | Elegant $215, 100 min, +50 at $2.15 | $322.50 |
| AnswerConnect | Growth $395, 300 min | $395 |
| Ruby | Professional $395, 100 min | $395 plus unpublished overage |
Monthly cost at 300 calls (900 minutes)
| Service | Plan used | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| GreetKeeper | Professional, 750 calls | $149 |
| Dialzara | Elite $349, 1,000 min | $349 |
| PATLive | $1,499 plan, 1,000 min | $1,499 |
| Posh | Exclusive $1,900, 1,000 min | $1,900 |
| AnswerConnect | Past the published tiers | Quote only |
| Ruby | Past the $1,725 top tier | Quote only |
Every plan read on the vendor's own pricing page, September 2026. Where a volume exceeds the published tiers, the page says so rather than extrapolating.
What changes your monthly number
- The three-minute assumption. If your calls run five minutes, every per-minute row above rises by about two thirds and the per-call rows don't move.
- Which tier you land on. Buying the plan just under your volume and paying overage is sometimes cheaper than the tier above, and sometimes much worse.
- Whether the month is typical. A single campaign or a cold snap can double a month, and that's exactly when an unpublished overage rate hurts.
- Setup fees in month one. AnswerConnect adds $49.99 on two of its three plans.
- Annual billing. Rosie and we both take two months off for paying yearly, which changes the monthly figure by about 17 percent.
Worked example
An HVAC company's calls are seasonal: 120 a month in spring, 380 in the first week of a cold snap plus 200 across the rest of that month.
Spring on GreetKeeper Starter
120 calls, inside 200. $49.
The cold snap month, 580 calls
Professional at $149 covers 750, so still $149. On Starter it would have been $49 + 380 × $0.45 = $220.
The same cold snap on PATLive at three minutes a call
1,740 minutes. The $2,899 plan covers 2,000. $2,899 for that month.
On Ruby, 1,740 minutes is more than three times the top published tier. No public figure exists for it.
If your business is seasonal, an unpublished overage rate will cost you more than anyone else, because your expensive month is the one you couldn't price in advance. Size your plan for the spike rather than the average. It's the cheaper mistake to make.
Where our own price sits
Our monthly cost is $49, $149 or $349, plus $0.45, $0.35 or $0.25 for each call past the allowance. Nothing stops working when you go over; the calls keep getting answered and the rate is the one printed on the pricing page.
Unused calls don't roll over, so the right plan is the one that fits your busy month rather than your average one.
| Plan | Monthly | Calls included | After that |
|---|---|---|---|
| StarterFor a single location taking calls one line at a time. | $49 | 200 | $0.45 per call |
| ProfessionalBooking, routing and transfers included, not an add-on. | $149 | 750 | $0.35 per call |
| ScaleFor busy phones and longer opening hours. | $349 | 2,000 | $0.25 per call |
Before you act on any of this
Every competitor figure on this page was read on that vendor's own pricing page in September 2026. Prices change. Check before you buy.
Questions people ask
How much should I budget per month for 100 calls?
Between $49 and $759 on published prices, depending entirely on whether you're buying calls or minutes and whether a person answers. At three minutes a call you're using 300 minutes, which puts you on a mid-tier plan at every per-minute vendor here.
Is it cheaper to buy the bigger plan or pay overage?
Do the crossover sum yourself. Our Starter is $49 plus $0.45; Professional is $149 for 750. They cross at about 422 calls, so below that your cheaper option is Starter plus overage. Every vendor has a crossover point and most won't work it out for you.
Do prices drop with annual billing?
At some vendors. Rosie and we both give you two months free on annual, which is roughly 17 percent off your year. Goodcall publishes annual prices of $66, $108 and $208 against monthly $79, $129 and $249.
What happens in a month I go way over?
On our plans your calls keep being answered and you pay the printed rate. On Ruby, Rosie, Abby Connect or Slang.ai you find out what your busy month cost when the invoice arrives, because none of them publishes the rate.
Price your busy month, not your average one
The average month is fine on any plan here. The busy one is what separates them.