How much does an answering service cost? Compare with your calls

It is the plan fee plus anything over the plan, and the plan counts either minutes or calls.

Monthly cost = plan fee + (minutes or calls over the plan × overage rate)

Ruby sells plans by the minute. Smith.ai sells its live receptionists by the call. The calculator picks the cheapest plan for your volume on each.

Example: a plan with 200 minutes for 700 dollars and 2 dollars a minute over. 150 calls of 3 minutes is 450 minutes, so the month costs 700 + 250 × 2 = 1,200 dollars.

Most AI receptionists charge a monthly fee that includes some calls, then a rate for each call past that.

Monthly cost = plan fee + (calls over the plan × rate per extra call)

Smith.ai’s AI receptionist bills by the call, so the bill depends on how many calls come in. Its larger plans include more calls at a lower rate.

Example: a plan with 75 calls for 150 dollars and 2.50 dollars per extra call. At 100 calls the month costs 150 + 25 × 2.50 = 212.50 dollars.

You pay for the calls that come in outside your hours, so start from your after-hours share.

After-hours calls = calls a month × after-hours share

Smith.ai says a call at 2 am costs the same as one at 2 pm. Pick “After-hours calls only” in step 1 to price just those calls.

Example: 30% of 150 calls is 45 after-hours calls. At 10.50 dollars a call on a plan with no included calls, that is 472.50 dollars a month.

A hire is a fixed monthly cost for the hours they work, plus payroll taxes.

Hire a month = hours a week × 52 ÷ 12 × hourly wage × (1 + payroll load)

• Wage: the median receptionist made 18.27 dollars an hour in May 2025 (Bureau of Labor Statistics).
• Federal taxes: 6.2% Social Security and 1.45% Medicare from you as the employer (IRS Publication 15).
• Federal unemployment: 0.6% of the first 7,000 dollars a year, after the full state credit.
• State unemployment and workers comp: your own rates. State rules vary.

Example: 20 hours a week at 18.27 dollars is 1,583 dollars a month in wages and about 1,708 dollars with federal taxes. For the full cost of an employee, use the labor burden calculator.

Divide the monthly cost by the jobs those calls turn into.

Cost per booked job = monthly cost ÷ (calls answered × share that book)

Example: 1,200 dollars a month ÷ (150 calls × 25%) = 32 dollars per booked job.

The break-even volume is the number of calls a month where a service’s bill passes the hire’s fixed cost. Our field guide on missed calls and quote follow-up for home services covers what to do with the calls once they are answered.