What a virtual assistant costs to answer your phones
A virtual assistant answering your phones costs their hourly rate times the hours you need covered. Weekday cover from 9 to 6 is about 195 hours a month, and round-the-clock cover is about 730. You pay for those hours whether the phone rings or not, so the question to ask is how many of them are spent on calls.
Two other ways to buy phone cover charge for the calls instead. A live answering service bills minutes: $99 for 50 at PATLive, $250 for 50 at Ruby, read on their own pages in September 2026. GreetKeeper, an AI receptionist, bills answered calls: $49 a month for 200, then $0.45 a call.
Many businesses use both. The assistant keeps the inbox, the calendar and the paperwork, and GreetKeeper takes the phone at every hour.
Three ways to get your phone answered
| Virtual assistant | Live answering service | GreetKeeper | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you pay for | Hours of their time | Minutes on your calls | Answered calls |
| Weekday 9 to 6 cover | About 195 hours a month | Minutes used, 24/7 on the same card | Every call, at any hour |
| Two calls at once | One waits | Handled by the service's team | Both answered at the same time |
| Other work between calls | Yes: email, calendar, admin | No | No |
| Entry price | Their hourly rate × your hours | $99 for 50 minutes (PATLive) | $49 for 200 calls |
| After a call | What they write down | A message by email or app | Transcript and short summary of every call |
Answering-service prices read on patlive.com, September 2026. Hours assume 9 hours a day, 5 days a week, 4.33 weeks a month; round-the-clock cover is 24 × 365 ÷ 12 ≈ 730 hours.
What decides the cost of phone cover by a virtual assistant
- Hours bought, not calls taken. A quiet Tuesday costs the same as a busy Monday.
- Time zone and shift. Evenings and weekends are extra hours, and often a second person.
- Two calls at once. One assistant answers one call, so the second waits or goes to voicemail.
- Breaks and holidays. When your assistant is off, someone else has to cover the phone.
- The other work. An assistant who also runs your inbox and calendar is worth more than their phone time alone.
Worked example
A physiotherapy clinic open 9 to 6 takes 260 calls a month at about two and a half minutes each. That's 650 minutes, and about 60 of those calls come after 6pm or at weekends.
Virtual assistant on clinic hours
about 195 paid hours a month. The 200 daytime calls take about 8 hours of that. The 60 evening and weekend calls aren't covered.
Live answering, full cover on PATLive
650 minutes needs the $759 plan for 500, then 150 at $1.79. $759 + $268.50 = $1,027.50.
Live answering, after hours only
60 calls at 2.5 minutes is 150 minutes, on PATLive's $349 plan for 200. $349.
GreetKeeper, every call at every hour
Starter's 200 plus 60 at $0.45. $49 + $27 = $76.
An assistant hired for the phone spends about 4% of their paid hours on it at this clinic. Give the calls to GreetKeeper for $76, and the assistant's hours go to the work only a person at the desk can do.
Where our own price sits
GreetKeeper is $49 for 200 answered calls, $149 for 750 and $349 for 2,000, with $0.45, $0.35 and $0.25 a call after. No setup fee and no separate after-hours rate.
GreetKeeper answers every inbound call at any hour, captures the caller's name, number and reason for calling, and books into your calendar. Every call arrives as a transcript and a short summary, which your assistant can pick up in the morning.
| 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 |
Pairing a virtual assistant with GreetKeeper
Give the phone to GreetKeeper and the follow-up to your assistant. They start each day from the call summaries.
Set transfer rules so a caller who asks for a person reaches your assistant during their hours.
Point GreetKeeper at your website for a first draft of its answers, then have your assistant correct it.
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 does a virtual assistant cost to answer phones?
Their hourly rate times the hours you need covered. Weekday cover from 9 to 6 is about 195 hours a month, and 24/7 cover is about 730. You pay for every hour, whether the phone rings or not.
Is a virtual assistant cheaper than an answering service?
For phone cover alone, it depends on how many of their hours go to calls. At 260 calls a month of 2.5 minutes, calls take about 11 hours. A live service bills only those minutes, from $99 for 50, and GreetKeeper bills the 260 calls for $76.
Can a virtual assistant answer two calls at once?
One person takes one call at a time, so the second caller waits or reaches voicemail. GreetKeeper answers calls that arrive together at the same time. Your own phone line's channel count is the usual ceiling.
Can GreetKeeper work alongside my virtual assistant?
Yes. Forward your calls to GreetKeeper and set a transfer rule that sends callers who ask for a person to your assistant. Every call arrives as a transcript and summary, so your assistant follows up with the full picture.
Give the phone to GreetKeeper
Keep your assistant's hours for the work that needs a person. Every plan starts with a 14-day free trial.