How much does an answering service cost? Human and AI services by the month

How much does an answering service cost? Human and AI starting prices

A human answering service costs from $250 a month for 50 minutes at Ruby or $300 a month for 30 calls at Smith.ai. Paid AI plans start at $24.95 a month on Upfirst. All prices are billed monthly, as read on October 23, 2026.

My AI Front Desk answers calls for $99 a month, billed monthly, with 200 voice minutes on Business-in-a-Box, its one self-serve plan, where Smith.ai's human Starter plan is $300 for 30 calls. AI receptionist cost prices the AI services in more detail.

Human answering services: minutes or calls

Ruby bills receptionist minutes: $250 a month for 50, $395 for 100, $720 for 200 and $1,725 for 500. Minutes are billed in 60-second steps, calls are rounded up and hold time counts. Extra minutes cost the plan's rate, which Ruby does not print.

Smith.ai bills calls: $300 a month for 30, $810 for 90 and $2,100 for 300, with calls over the plan billed at $11.50, $10.50 and $8.50. Smith.ai is month to month and takes 10% off a 12-month subscription, with no figure printed.

AnswerConnect sells a live answering service and shows prices after a registration form, so its price is by quote on the vendor's page. Smith.ai states a 30-day money-back guarantee on its plans, overage excluded. Ruby states a money-back guarantee for first-time users within 21 days of purchase or before usage passes 500 minutes, whichever comes first.

AI answering services: plans and overage

An AI answering service costs from $24.95 a month. Upfirst Starter adds $1.50 for each call past 30. Dialzara Business Lite adds $0.48 a minute past 60. Rosie Professional moves an account that runs over to its next plan, $149 a month for 1,000 minutes. Goodcall Starter adds 79 cents for each unique customer past 100; a unique customer is one phone number, once a month. Smith.ai's AI plan costs $0 for 25 calls, then $3.00 a call.

My AI Front Desk is $99 a month billed monthly, or $79 a month billed annually, for 200 voice minutes, the minutes the AI spends on calls. A minute past 200 draws 25 credits ($0.25) from a monthly pool of 1,000 credits, about 40 more minutes, and auto-reload adds 1,000 credits for $10.

Virtual receptionist cost and after-hours rates

A virtual receptionist is a remote person, so the cost is the human-service price above. Smith.ai prices a call at 2 pm and a call at 2 am the same. Ruby says 24/7 coverage has no extra charge in itself, but more hours can mean more minutes used. Smith.ai's After Hours Only preset puts AI on after-hours calls and live agents on daytime calls, from $3.70 a call.

Fees beyond the monthly plan

• Smith.ai add-ons: booking appointments $1.50 a call, text and email follow-up $0.50, call recording and transcription $0.25, an extra transfer destination $15.00 a month and business caller ID $10.00 a month. Smith.ai says it has no setup fees.
• Ruby says it charges no activation, onboarding or setup fees, and has no long-term contract.
• My AI Front Desk's terms add tax to the subscription fee where it applies. Its pricing page button says "Start 7-day free trial"; under terms section 12, usage fees still apply during it, and continuing starts the subscription on the payment method you provided.

Pick Ruby or Smith.ai for a person on every call. Ruby receptionist alternatives lists other human services, and AI receptionist vs human receptionist sets one against the other.