| Option | Typical published price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Entry AI receptionist plans | About $25 to $29 a month, with tight caps on calls or minutes | The AI Agent Report |
| Most small-business AI plans | About $79 to $249 a month | The AI Agent Report |
| AI plus human backup | About $250 to $800 a month | The AI Agent Report |
| Enterprise or compliance-heavy setups | Often $1,000 a month or more | The AI Agent Report |
| Live answering services | Typically $1.30 to $4 per minute; many plans start around $100 a month plus about $2 per extra minute | Forbes Advisor |
| In-house receptionist | Median pay $18.27 an hour, or $38,010 a year (May 2025), before taxes and benefits | BLS |
Prices change often and every provider packages things differently. Treat these as ballpark ranges, not quotes. Last checked October 29, 2026.
How AI receptionists are billed
- Flat monthly: one price for a set number of calls or minutes. Easy to budget, but check what happens when you go over.
- Per minute: you pay for talk time. Cheap in a slow month, expensive in a storm or a heat wave.
- Per call: every answered call costs the same, short or long. Spam and wrong numbers can count.
- Per unique caller: you pay once per person, no matter how often they call back.
- Pay-as-you-go developer platforms: roughly $0.13 to $0.40 a minute all-in, according to The AI Agent Report, but you build and maintain the setup yourself.
Costs that don’t show up on the pricing page
- Setup or onboarding fees, especially when someone else builds the call scripts for you.
- Overage charges once you pass the plan’s minutes or calls.
- Call transfers to you or your team, sometimes billed as extra minutes.
- Texting: business texting has to be registered with the carriers, and some providers charge for registration or per message.
- Annual prepay to get the advertised monthly price.
- Spam and robocalls that count against your minutes or calls.
How to estimate what you’d pay
Start with two numbers: how many calls you get a month and how long they usually last. Say you get 300 calls a month at about 3 minutes each. That’s 900 minutes. At the $1.30 to $4 per minute that Forbes Advisor lists for live answering services, those minutes alone would run about $1,170 to $3,600 a month. Compare that with flat monthly AI pricing, and remember to ask what each option does with the call: take a message, or book the job.
A full-time receptionist is a different kind of comparison. The BLS puts median receptionist pay at $38,010 a year as of May 2025, before payroll taxes and benefits, and one person can only take one call at a time during their shift.
Is an AI receptionist worth it?
Compare the monthly cost with what missed calls cost you now. If one recovered job a month covers the bill, the math usually works. Our missed-call calculator lets you plug in your own numbers. If you run Google Local Services Ads, also note that Google’s help page on how leads work says a missed call during business hours can be charged as a lead when the caller stays on the line for more than 20 seconds.
What does Blu Collar Technology charge?
We don’t list prices on this page. What you pay depends on your call volume and which services you use, such as the AI receptionist, missed-call text back, and booking and reminders. We go over it in plain English on a quick 15-minute call, before you commit to anything. Comparing options first? Read AI receptionist vs answering service.
Questions to ask before you sign up
- What exactly counts as a minute or a call, and do spam calls count?
- What happens when I go over my plan?
- Are there setup, texting, or transfer fees?
- Is there a contract or annual prepay?
- Does it tell callers it’s an AI?
Want to hear one before you decide? Call (754) 291-5273. Our own AI receptionist answers, tells you up front that it’s an AI, answers your questions, and can book a quick 15-minute call with us. Or use the contact form.
Related
Questions people ask
How much does an AI receptionist cost per month?
Published 2026 guides put most small-business plans at about $79 to $249 a month, with capped entry plans around $25 to $29 and AI-plus-human plans around $250 to $800.
Is an AI receptionist cheaper than an answering service?
Often, at higher call volumes. Live answering services typically bill $1.30 to $4 per minute, according to Forbes Advisor, while many AI plans are flat monthly.
Are there hidden fees?
Sometimes. Ask about setup fees, overages, call transfers, texting charges, annual prepay, and whether spam calls count against your plan.
What does Blu Collar Technology charge?
We go over pricing on a quick 15-minute call, once we know your call volume and what you need. We don't publish prices on this page.