Virtual receptionist cost, against the alternative
If you're asking this, you're probably really asking whether a virtual receptionist beats employing someone. The published services run from $65 a month to $1,900, and your answer depends on where your own call volume puts you in that range.
They're different purchases, and it helps to say so before you compare the numbers. An employee costs you the same whatever your phone does, covers the hours you contracted, and does other work between calls. A virtual receptionist costs you a variable amount, covers whatever hours you buy, and does nothing else. Below a few hundred minutes a month the service is obviously cheaper for you. Past a thousand staffed minutes, your arithmetic starts to close.
We won't publish a savings figure. Wage costs vary by market and by what else the person would do, and any single number we quoted would be marketing rather than arithmetic.
What each option actually covers
| Virtual receptionist service | An employee | |
|---|---|---|
| Hours covered | Whatever you buy, up to 24/7 | Their contracted hours |
| Cost shape | Base plus usage, or per call | Fixed, regardless of call volume |
| Evenings and weekends | Included on the same rate card | Overtime or a second hire |
| Other work between calls | None | Yes, and that's often the real value |
| Cost at 100 minutes | $189 to $395 published | Unchanged |
| Cost at 2,000 minutes | $2,899 at PATLive | Unchanged, if the hours fit |
Service figures from published rate cards, September 2026. Employment costs vary too much by market for us to quote.
Where the crossover sits
- Total minutes, which is the only variable that moves a service's bill and doesn't move a salary at all.
- Coverage hours. A service quoting 24/7 from one rate card is covering evenings and weekends an employee would be paid overtime for.
- Whether the person would do other work. A receptionist who also handles invoicing and stock is not being compared fairly against a phone service.
- Absence. Holiday, sickness and lunch are covered by a service and not by one employee.
- Peaks. Two calls at once is the case an employee handles by putting one on hold.
Worked example
A physiotherapy clinic open 9 to 6 takes 260 calls a month, averaging two and a half minutes, so 650 minutes. About 60 of those calls arrive after 6pm or at weekends.
Full cover on PATLive
650 minutes needs the $1,499 plan covering 1,000. $1,499.
Full cover on Posh
the $975 Lavish plan covers 500, then 150 at $1.95. $1,267.50.
After-hours only, 60 calls at two and a half minutes on PATLive
150 minutes, the $349 plan. $349, with the clinic answering its own daytime calls.
GreetKeeper
260 answered calls, so Starter's 200 plus 60 at $0.45. $49 + $27 = $76.
Their cheapest sensible option isn't the cheapest plan, it's deciding which calls they want to answer themselves. Buying after-hours cover alone cuts the staffed quote by more than three quarters. That decision will move your bill further than any vendor you pick.
Where our own price sits
$49 for 200 answered calls, $149 for 750, $349 for 2,000, with $0.45, $0.35 and $0.25 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.
| 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
Is a virtual receptionist cheaper than hiring?
Below a few hundred minutes a month, clearly. Past a thousand staffed minutes it narrows, and by then you're comparing a $2,899 plan against a wage. Do that on your own figures, including what else your hire would be doing.
What's the cheapest way to cover just the calls I'm missing?
Forward only the hours you're not answering yourself. The physiotherapy example above cuts a $1,499 quote to $349 by buying after-hours cover alone, and every vendor here prices you from the same card either way.
Do virtual receptionists handle two calls at once?
Ours does. GreetKeeper answers calls that arrive together at the same time, so neither caller queues, though we publish no maximum. A staffed service handles it by putting one of your callers on hold, which is an answer of a sort.
How much does a virtual receptionist cost for a one-person business?
At the volumes you'd generate, usually the entry tier: $29 at Dialzara, $49 at Rosie or here, $99 at PATLive for 50 staffed minutes. What decides it for you is booking and whether a person answers, not the price.
Decide which hours you're buying
Full cover or just the ones you're missing. That choice moves the bill more than the vendor does.