Guide
Answering service cost: what you'll actually pay each month
Direct answer
As of October 2026, a live answering service costs about $99 to $300 a month at the entry level and $700 to $2,100 a month for small businesses with steady call volume. Most charge per minute (PATLive, Ruby, Abby Connect, AnswerConnect) or per call (Smith.ai). AI answering services run from free to about $350 a month. Your real answering service cost depends on three numbers: calls per month, average call length, and how the vendor counts a minute or a call.
The three ways answering services charge
Per minute. You buy a monthly bundle of receptionist minutes and pay an overage rate past it. This is the most common model. It's fair if your calls are short, and expensive if callers like to talk.
Per call. You buy a bundle of calls. A 40-second call and a 6-minute call cost the same. It's easier to budget, and costly when most of your calls are quick questions.
Flat or usage-based (mostly AI). AI products tend to sell a monthly plan with a large minute allowance, or limits based on unique callers instead of minutes. A few charge per minute at rates well below human services.
Prices from vendor pages (as of October 2026)
Human answering services
| Service | Model | Entry | Mid | Upper | Overage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PATLive | Per minute | $99 / 50 min | $349 / 200 min | $1,499 / 1,000 min | $2.29 down to $1.69 a minute by plan. Pay-as-you-go is $49 plus $2.99 a minute |
| Ruby | Per minute | $250 / 50 min | $720 / 200 min | $1,725 / 500 min | Not published |
| Abby Connect | Per minute | $165 / 50 min | $599 / 200 min | $1,380 / 500 min | Billed at your plan's per-minute rate |
| Smith.ai | Per call | $300 / 30 calls | $810 / 90 calls | $2,100 / 300 calls | $11.50, $10.50, $8.50 a call by plan |
| AnswerConnect | Per minute | Not public | Not public | Not public | Pricing is behind a form |
AI answering services
| Service | Model | Entry | Higher tier | Overage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smith.ai AI receptionist | Per call | Free, 25 calls | $500 a month | $3.00 to $1.67 a call |
| Upfirst | Per call | $24.95 / 30 calls | $299 / 600 calls | $1.50 to $0.70 a call |
| Dialzara | Per minute | $29 / 60 min | $349 / 1,000 min | $0.48 to $0.35 a minute |
| Rosie | Minute bundle | $49 / 250 min | $299 / 2,000 min | Not listed |
| Goodcall | Unique callers | $79 / 100 callers per agent | $249 / 500 callers per agent | $0.50 per extra caller, minutes not billed |
Fees and fine print to check
The headline price is rarely the whole bill. Look for these:
- How a minute is measured. PATLive bills the first minute in full, then in 6-second steps. A 20-second hang-up costs a full minute. Ask every vendor about rounding.
- After-call work. AnswerConnect's FAQ says it counts the total time to handle the call, including after-call work like writing up the message. Two services with the same per-minute rate can bill different totals for the same call.
- Per-call add-ons. On Smith.ai's human plans, appointment booking is $1.50 a call, SMS or Slack notifications $0.50, recording and transcription $0.25, and a Spanish line $1.00, per its pricing page. Three add-ons can raise a $10.50 call past $12.
- Overage rates. These are usually higher than the per-minute rate inside your bundle. A plan that's a little too small can cost more than the next tier up.
- Taxes and fees. PATLive says its prices exclude taxes and fees.
- Setup and holiday charges. Ruby, Smith.ai, and Abby Connect say no setup fees. Ruby and PATLive say no extra charge for after-hours or holiday coverage, and Abby Connect says no weekend upcharge. Not every provider says this, so ask.
- Spam calls. Smith.ai doesn't charge for spam when your forwarded line passes Caller ID. Goodcall doesn't count robocalls toward caller limits. Ask whether robocalls count against your minutes.
- Contracts. Smith.ai and Abby Connect are month to month, and PATLive says you can cancel anytime. Read the cancellation notice terms before you sign.
Worked monthly examples
These use list prices from the tables above and simple assumptions. Real bills will differ with rounding, add-ons, and taxes.
Example 1: 100 calls a month, averaging 2.5 minutes (250 minutes)
| Option | Math | Monthly cost |
|---|---|---|
| PATLive 200-minute plan | $349 + 50 extra min x $1.99 | about $449 |
| PATLive 300-minute plan | $479, minutes covered | $479 |
| Abby Connect 200-minute plan | $599 + 50 min at the plan rate (about $3.00) | about $749 |
| Smith.ai Basic (human) | $810 + 10 extra calls x $10.50 | $915 |
| Upfirst Premium (AI) | $59.95 + 10 extra calls x $1 | about $70 |
| Dialzara Business Pro (AI) | $99 + 30 extra min x $0.45 | about $113 |
Example 2: 300 calls a month, averaging 3 minutes (900 minutes)
| Option | Math | Monthly cost |
|---|---|---|
| PATLive 1,000-minute plan | $1,499, minutes covered | $1,499 |
| Smith.ai Pro (human) | $2,100, calls covered | $2,100 |
| Upfirst Pro (AI) | $159.95, calls covered | about $160 |
| Dialzara Business Elite (AI) | $349, minutes covered | $349 |
Two things fall out of the math. Picking the right tier matters, because overage can push a smaller plan past the next one. And AI answering is cheaper by an order of magnitude at these volumes. The question is whether your calls need a person, not whether AI costs less.
How to estimate your own answering service cost
- Pull last month's call log from your phone provider. Count inbound calls and total talk time.
- Divide talk time by calls to get your average call length.
- Add 15 to 30 seconds per call if the vendor counts after-call work or rounds up.
- Price that volume at two tiers for each vendor, including overage.
- Add the per-call add-ons you'd actually use.
If you don't have a call log, track calls for two normal weeks before you shop.
The usage-billed alternative
TeamShift prices differently from every service above. Its Support worker can answer your business line with an AI voice agent day, night, and weekends, and TeamShift's team sets it up for your business. It says it's AI at the start of every call, answers from the brief you write, and offers a callback when something isn't covered. Appointment requests, quotes, refunds, and payments are never done on the call. They come to you as requests to approve.
There's no per-minute or per-call plan. Creating a workspace is free, and work, including phone calls, is billed by usage at 3x its compute cost, quoted with a maximum before it starts, with daily and monthly spend caps. We don't publish a per-minute figure because cost depends on call length and what the call involves. See pricing for how quotes and caps work.
What you don't get: live transfer to a person, multiple languages, or calendar booking during the call. If those matter, a human service or an AI product like Smith.ai's or Upfirst that books on the call fits better. For a broader cost picture, see AI front desk cost vs hiring and receptionist salary.
FAQ
How much does an answering service cost per month?
As of October 2026, live answering services start at $99 a month for 50 minutes at PATLive and $250 to $300 a month at Ruby and Smith.ai. Small businesses with steady volume often pay $700 to $2,100 a month. AI services start from free to about $50.
Is per-minute or per-call billing cheaper?
Per-minute is usually cheaper when calls are short and per-call when calls run long. Work out your average call length from your phone log, then price both.
What hidden fees do answering services charge?
Watch for minute rounding, counting after-call work as billable time, overage rates above your bundle rate, per-call add-ons like booking or recording, and taxes and fees outside the list price.
How much does an AI answering service cost?
As of October 2026, Upfirst starts at $24.95 a month, Dialzara at $29, Rosie at $49, Goodcall at $79 per agent, and Smith.ai has a free 25-call tier. Higher tiers run about $150 to $500 a month.
What does TeamShift charge per minute for phone answering?
TeamShift has no per-minute price. Calls are billed by usage at 3x compute cost like all its work, with a quoted maximum before work starts and spend caps you set.