How much does an AI receptionist cost?
By James Evans · Updated July 2026
The short answer
For a small business in 2026, a capable AI receptionist costs $200 to $700 a month, flat. Mine runs $349 a month for voice, $499 for voice plus website chat, and $649 for voice, chat, and SMS together, each with 500 voice minutes included and a one-time launch package of $497 to $997 that covers setup and your first month.
For comparison: human answering services typically bill $0.75 to $2.00 per minute and land between $135 and $450 a month before overage fees. A full-time in-house receptionist costs roughly $3,000 to $4,000 a month for 40 hours a week of coverage.
The whole market in one table
Prices below are typical published ranges as of mid-2026. The billing model matters more than the sticker: per-minute plans look cheap until a busy month, and overage minutes commonly bill at 2 to 3 times the base rate.
| Option | Typical cost | Billing model | Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI receptionist (small-business grade) | $200 to $700/mo | Flat monthly, minutes bundled | 24/7, every call answered in parallel |
| Budget AI answering bots | $25 to $100/mo | Flat monthly | 24/7, but usually message-taking only, little real booking |
| Human answering service | $135 to $450/mo plus overages | $0.75 to $2.00 per minute, overages at 2 to 3x | Hours depend on plan, calls queue at peak |
| Virtual receptionist plans | Roughly $245/mo for 50 minutes at well-known providers | Per-minute bundles | Business hours by default, after-hours costs extra |
| In-house receptionist | $3,000 to $4,000/mo loaded | Payroll | About 40 of the week's 168 hours, one call at a time |
My pricing, on the page
I publish prices because quote-only pricing in this market usually means per-minute math someone hopes you will not do. Every tier is bilingual English and Spanish, answers 24/7, books directly into your calendar or field software, and includes my weekly review of calls that did not go perfectly.
| Tier | Monthly | Launch package | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Voice | $349/mo | $497 one-time, includes first month | 500 voice minutes, dedicated local number, 24/7 answering, booking, voicemail triage |
| Voice + Chat | $499/mo | $747 one-time, includes first month | Everything in Voice plus a branded website chat widget, unlimited chats, one receptionist across both |
| Signature | $649/mo | $997 one-time, includes first month | Voice, chat, and SMS: 500 voice minutes, 500 texts, confirmations and reminders, priority weekly tuning |
No long-term contract, cancel anytime, and an annual option where you pay for 10 months and get 12. Full details on the Receptionist pricing page.
What actually drives the price
Four things separate a $25 bot from a $650 receptionist, and they are worth paying for in this order:
Booking depth. Taking a message is cheap. Checking real availability and booking into Jobber, Housecall Pro, Open Dental, or Boulevard on the call is what turns a ring into revenue.
Channels. Voice only, or voice plus website chat plus two-way SMS handled by the same receptionist with the same training.
Languages. Bilingual should be default, not an add-on. In most Texas markets an English-only line simply misses part of the market.
Tuning. The receptionist is as good as the human reviewing its calls. Ask any provider who reads the transcripts and how often. If the answer is nobody, keep looking.
The hidden fees to ask about
Whatever provider you talk to, ask these five questions before signing: Is there a setup or activation fee, and what does it include? What do overage minutes cost? Are holidays or after-hours billed at a premium? Is there a per-call fee for transferring to my team? Is there a charge every time I change the script? In the answering service world, each of those is commonly an extra line item.
My answer to all five: launch package covers setup and the first month, overage voice minutes are billed transparently, no holiday or after-hours premiums, no transfer fees, and script changes are part of the weekly tuning.
Is it worth it? Run your own numbers
The wage only makes sense against what missed calls already cost you. For most trades, one recovered job a month covers the receptionist. My missed revenue calculator takes your average ticket, call volume, and miss rate, and shows the annual number in about 60 seconds. Then call one of the nine live demo agents and judge the quality yourself before spending anything.
Want the exact number for your business?
15-min call. I'll walk your call volume and tell you straight which tier fits, or whether you need one at all. No pitch.
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