AI receptionist cost and virtual receptionist pricing are hard to compare because vendors bill in different units. One charges by the minute, another by the call, another by the customer, and some fold the receptionist into a software plan. This guide lines the models up using prices read from vendor pricing pages in October 2026, shows how to turn any quote into a cost per call, and lists what to ask before you sign. It is about money only. For the human-versus-AI question, read AI receptionist vs answering service.
Four ways phone answering is priced
Per minute
You buy a monthly bundle of minutes. Ruby sells human virtual receptionist plans this way: 50 minutes for $250, 100 for $395, 200 for $720 and 500 for $1,725, as of October 2026 (Ruby pricing).
Spread over every minute used, that is $5.00 a minute at the smallest bundle and $3.45 at the largest, as of October 2026 (Ruby pricing). Ruby's page does not state an overage rate, so ask what happens past the bundle.
Per call
You buy an allowance of calls and pay a rate for each extra one. Smith.ai's human receptionist plans cost $300 a month for 30 calls, $810 for 90 and $2,100 for 300, as of October 2026 (Smith.ai pricing).
Extra calls cost $11.50, $10.50 and $8.50 each on those three plans, so ten calls over the smallest plan adds $115, as of October 2026 (Smith.ai pricing).
Smith.ai's AI receptionist is $0 a month for 25 calls, then $3.00 a call, as of October 2026 (Smith.ai AI receptionist pricing).
Per customer
Goodcall's Starter plan is $79 a month for 100 unique customers, then 79 cents for each extra one, as of October 2026 (Goodcall pricing). Its page says it does not meter minutes, and its largest listed plan, Scale, is $299 a month for 2,000 unique customers, as of October 2026 (Goodcall pricing). A repeat caller in one month counts once, per that page.
Flat, inside a plan
Some software sells the receptionist as part of a bigger product. Jobber's AI receptionist is a $29 a month add-on on top of its field service plans, and its Plus plan lists the receptionist as a feature, as of October 2026 (Jobber pricing).
Fasite's AI receptionist is part of the one Fasite Pro plan, with the website and job tools. See current pricing. Some vendors give no price at all: AnswerConnect's pricing page shows a quote form and no dollar amount, as of October 2026 (AnswerConnect pricing).
What drives the bill
- Who answers. At Smith.ai, the AI receptionist is $3.00 a call after 25 free calls, while the smallest human plan works out to $10 a call when all 30 are used, as of October 2026 (Smith.ai AI pricing, Smith.ai human pricing).
- The unit. Minutes punish long calls. Calls punish many short ones. Customers punish a wide caller base. Match the unit to your call pattern.
- The allowance and what follows it. Overage rate, forced upgrade or a pause all change the bill.
- When it answers. Smith.ai says calls at 2 pm and 2 am cost the same (Smith.ai pricing), so ask whether nights cost extra.
- What counts. Smith.ai says you are not charged for spam or unsolicited sales calls, and Goodcall says spam and wrong numbers do not count (Goodcall pricing).
- Extras. Smith.ai lists add-ons such as call transfers and bilingual answering on its pricing page.
Turn any quote into a cost per call
Pull last month's phone log. Count the calls you could not answer, or would want answered, and the minutes they took. Then divide the monthly price by that call count. To set your log beside outside figures, see home service statistics on phone response. A cheap plan with a small allowance can cost more per call than a pricier plan that fits your volume.
Run the same check on each vendor with your own numbers. If your volume is lumpy, run it for your busiest month too, not an average one.
Cap or overage: the trade-off
Fasite includes 500 minutes of receptionist time each month. After that it pauses until the next billing month, with no overage bill. While it is paused, calls to the receptionist number ring the phone number you add in your portal. With none added, callers may not get through.
A pause means no surprise invoice, but a busy month can hit the limit. An overage model keeps answering and bills the difference. Neither is better in general. Decide which risk you would rather carry, and set your own number in the portal if you choose the cap.
Questions to ask any vendor
- What do you bill by: minutes, calls, customers, or a flat fee?
- What counts as billable? Spam, wrong numbers, hang-ups, transfers?
- What happens past the allowance: an overage rate, a forced upgrade, or a pause?
- Do nights and weekends cost extra?
- Is the number new, or can I keep mine? Is there a porting fee?
- Does it book on my calendar, or only take a message?
- Does it transfer calls, and what does a transfer cost?
- What are the setup fees, the contract length, and how do I cancel?
How much does an answering service cost?
What an answering service charges depends on the plan, because human services bill by the minute or by the call. Among the human plans priced in this guide, the answering service price runs from $250 a month for 50 minutes at Ruby (Ruby pricing) to $2,100 a month for 300 calls at Smith.ai (Smith.ai pricing), as of October 2026.
A call answering service has no single average price worth quoting, because the unit changes the bill more than the headline price does. Work out your own cost per call from last month's phone log, as above, and compare plans on that.
When a human service is worth the higher price
If your callers are anxious or elderly, your calls are complicated, or you need a live handoff to an on-call person, a human service earns its rate. The trade guides cover this for plumbers, HVAC and contractors.
Where Fasite fits
Fasite folds the receptionist into one plan with a done-for-you website, a lead Inbox, estimates, scheduling and invoices; see website with an AI receptionist for how that bundle compares with other setups, and AI receptionist for home service businesses for which calls to hand it. The first subscription has a 30-day free trial that needs no card. There is no contract, and you can cancel any time.
It is the wrong fit if you only want a stand-alone answering service, since you would pay for a platform you will not use. It is also wrong if you need live transfers or must keep your current number. Fasite's receptionist answers its own new number, does not transfer calls, and does not text callers. If you already use field service software with its own add-on, price that first; Jobber, Housecall Pro and ServiceTitan AI receptionists lines those add-ons up.
Frequently asked questions
How much does an AI receptionist cost?
It depends on the unit. As of October 2026, Smith.ai's AI receptionist is $0 for 25 calls and then $3.00 a call (Smith.ai AI receptionist pricing), Goodcall's Starter plan is $79 a month (Goodcall pricing), and Jobber's add-on is $29 a month (Jobber pricing).
How much does a virtual receptionist cost?
Virtual receptionist cost depends on whether a person or an AI answers. Among the plans priced in this guide it runs from $0 a month for 25 AI-answered calls to $2,100 a month for 300 calls answered by people, as of October 2026 (Smith.ai AI receptionist pricing, Smith.ai human pricing).
What is virtual receptionist pricing based on?
Vendors bill by the minute, by the call, by the unique customer, or as a flat add-on inside a software plan. Ask which unit applies, because it changes the bill more than the headline price. Virtual receptionist plans also differ in what happens past the allowance: an overage rate, a forced upgrade or a pause.
Is an AI receptionist cheaper than a human answering service?
At one vendor, yes per call: Smith.ai's AI plan is $3.00 a call after the free 25, while its smallest human plan is $300 for 30 calls, as of October 2026 (Smith.ai AI pricing, Smith.ai human pricing). A human can do things software cannot, so compare what you get too.
What is the cheapest AI receptionist?
The cheapest AI receptionist depends on how many calls you get, because the plans bill in different units. As of October 2026, Smith.ai's AI plan is $0 a month for 25 calls and then $3.00 a call (Smith.ai AI receptionist pricing), Goodcall's Starter plan is $79 a month (Goodcall pricing), and Jobber's add-on is $29 a month on top of its field service plans (Jobber pricing). Divide each price by the calls you need answered, as in the cost-per-call steps above. Fasite's receptionist comes with the website and job tools in a $199-a-month plan, so if all you want is phone answering, price a stand-alone plan first.
How much does it cost to hire an answering service?
You do not hire anyone to use an AI receptionist: Fasite's is part of a $199-a-month plan that also includes the website and job tools. The human answering service plans priced in this guide run from $250 to $2,100 a month, as of October 2026 (Ruby pricing, Smith.ai pricing).
What happens when I use up my minutes or calls?
It depends on the vendor. Smith.ai bills per extra call. Fasite pauses the receptionist until the next billing month, with no overage bill, and paused calls ring the phone you add in your portal.
Are there hidden costs?
Ask about setup fees, add-ons, contract length and overage, using the question list above. Get the answers in writing before you sign.
How much does Smith.ai cost per month?
Smith.ai's virtual receptionist plans staffed by people cost $300 a month for 30 calls, $810 for 90 and $2,100 for 300, and its AI receptionist is $0 a month for 25 calls and then $3.00 a call, as of October 2026 (Smith.ai pricing, Smith.ai AI receptionist pricing).
How much does Ruby's virtual receptionist cost?
Ruby's virtual receptionist plans, staffed by people, cost $250 a month for 50 minutes, $395 for 100, $720 for 200 and $1,725 for 500, as of October 2026 (Ruby pricing). Ruby's page states no overage rate, so ask what happens past the bundle.
How much does Goodcall's AI receptionist cost?
Goodcall's Starter plan is $79 a month for 100 unique customers, then 79 cents for each extra one, and its largest listed plan, Scale, is $299 a month for 2,000 unique customers, as of October 2026 (Goodcall pricing). Its page says it does not meter minutes.