How much does an answering service cost?
A human answering service costs $403 to $1,725 a month at 100 calls of 3 minutes (300 minutes), $969 to $2,100 at 250 calls and $1,929 to $3,800 at 500 calls, across the 6 services that publish a price. At 250 calls the lowest human total is $969 (MAP Communications); the lowest AI receptionist is $129 (Goodcall).
- 100 calls: $403 to $1,725 a month (6 services)
- 250 calls: $969 to $2,100 a month (4 services)
- 500 calls: $1,929 to $3,800 a month (4 services)
Run the calculator to price an AI receptionist at your own call volume.
Cost at 100, 250, 500 calls a month
| Provider | 100 calls | 250 calls | 500 calls | Billed per | Extra usage | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abby Connect | $1,380.00Growth | None published | None published | minute | Not applicable | Official pricing ↗ |
| MAP Communications | $403.00Enterprise | $969.00Premium | $1,929.00Premium | minute | $1.28 per extra minute | Official pricing ↗ |
| Moneypenny | $661.00200 minutes | $1,507.50500 minutes | $3,075.00500 minutes | minute | $2.09 per extra minute | Official pricing ↗ |
| PATLive | $479.00300 minutes | $1,206.50500 minutes | $2,344.001,000 minutes | minute | $1.79 per extra minute | Official pricing ↗ |
| Ruby | $1,725.00500 minutes | None published | None published | minute | Not applicable | Official pricing ↗ |
| Smith.ai (human receptionists) | $915.00Basic | $2,100.00Pro | $3,800.00Pro | call | $8.50 per extra call | Official pricing ↗ |
AI receptionist against a human service
Lowest published monthly total at 3 minutes per call. The AI figure is the lowest verified complete plan among 8 hosted providers; the human figure is the lowest published plan, adding extra usage where the rate is published.
| Calls a month | Lowest AI receptionist | Lowest human service | Difference | Human is |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | $69.95Upfirst, Premium | $403MAP Communications, Enterprise | $333.05 a month | 5.8 times the AI price |
| 250 | $129Goodcall, Growth | $969MAP Communications, Premium | $840 a month | 7.5 times the AI price |
| 500 | $129Goodcall, Growth | $1,929MAP Communications, Premium | $1,800 a month | 15 times the AI price |
AI range at the same volumes, lowest to highest: 100 calls $69.95 to $212.50; 250 calls $129 to $299; 500 calls $129 to $524. See the AI receptionist cost table for each provider.
Quote only
AnswerConnect, Davinci Virtual, Nexa publish no price on their own pricing pages, so none is shown. AnswerConnect: The plans page asks for a quote and publishes no price. Davinci Virtual: The pricing page showed no price when checked. Nexa: The page lists 100, 300 and 500 minute plans with no prices. Its FAQ mentions a setup fee without an amount.
Questions
How much does an answering service cost per month?
At 300 minutes a month (100 calls of 3 minutes), the lowest published total is $403 (MAP Communications, Enterprise) and the highest is $1,725 (Ruby, 500 minutes). Prices checked October 21, 2026.
How much does an answering service charge per minute?
Published extra-minute rates run from $1.28 to $2.99. Abby Connect, Ruby publish no extra-minute rate on some or all plans, so no overage total is calculated for them.
Is an AI receptionist cheaper than a human answering service?
On published prices, yes at every volume checked. 100 calls: MAP Communications $403 against Upfirst $69.95, a $333.05 gap; 250 calls: MAP Communications $969 against Goodcall $129, a $840 gap; 500 calls: MAP Communications $1,929 against Goodcall $129, a $1,800 gap. The AI figure is the lowest verified complete plan; the human figure is the lowest published plan or plan plus extra minutes.
Which answering services publish no price?
AnswerConnect, Davinci Virtual, Nexa publish no price on their pricing pages as of October 21, 2026. They are quote only and are not priced here.
What is not in these totals?
Tax, one-time setup fees where a provider charges one, add-ons such as scheduling or bilingual answering, and outbound calling or chat plans. Check the provider’s page for these.
What each price covers
- Abby Connect. Plans are measured in Abby Minutes. The page says overage is billed at your plan’s Abby Minute rate and lists no dollar amount. No setup fee. Enterprise is custom.
- MAP Communications. Plans are measured in minutes, with a per-additional-minute rate on each plan.
- Moneypenny. The People Answering plans. The page labels each price “Original price” and states no contract. Moneypenny’s AI answering plans are not included.
- PATLive. Live call answering plans. Larger plans are behind a “Show larger plans” control and are not included. Outbound and chat pricing are not included.
- Ruby. Virtual receptionist plans, billed monthly. The page lists no overage rate and states no activation, onboarding or setup fees. Chat plans are not included.
- Smith.ai (human receptionists). The human-first plans, billed per call. Enterprise is custom. Smith.ai’s AI-first plans are listed separately on the AI receptionist pages.
Prices checked against each provider’s own pricing page: Abby Connect · AnswerConnect · Davinci Virtual · MAP Communications · Moneypenny · Nexa · PATLive · Ruby · Smith.ai (human receptionists). Price index and CSV.