Traditional human answering services cost $235 to $293+ per month for a small bundle of minutes or calls, which works out at roughly $4.70 to $5.60 per minute. AI answering services cost $30 to $100 per month flat, with no per-minute fees. Hiring a receptionist costs £2,000+ a month and covers office hours only.
Based on published entry plans from Ruby, Smith.ai, AnswerConnect, Rosie, and Clara · March 2026
What each option costs
Option
Typical price
Billing model
Watch out for
AI receptionist
$30 to $100/month flat
Flat monthly subscription
Some cap minutes: Rosie's $49 plan caps at 250 minutes/month
Human answering service
$235 to $293+/month
Per minute or per call, bundled
Overage fees when you outgrow the bundle
Virtual receptionist service
$235+/month for 50 minutes
Minute bundles
After-hours coverage often costs extra
Hiring a receptionist
£2,000+/month
Salary plus employment costs
Covers office hours only
Voicemail (doing nothing)
Free upfront
Paid in lost jobs
Fewer than 3% of missed callers leave a message (Invoca)
Human-service figures are published US entry plans (March 2026): Ruby $235/month for 50 minutes, AnswerConnect $279/month for 50 minutes, Smith.ai $293/month for 30 calls. Prices change; check each provider for current rates.
The per-call maths most price pages avoid
Headline plan prices hide the unit cost. Divide the published entry plans by what they include and the picture changes: Ruby's $235 plan buys 50 receptionist minutes, which is $4.70 per minute. AnswerConnect's $279 for 50 minutes is $5.58 per minute. Smith.ai's $293 for 30 calls is $9.77 per call. A busy season with double the calls roughly doubles those bills through overage rates.
Flat-price AI receptionists invert that: the more calls you get, the less each one costs. Clara starts at £29.99/month with no per-minute or per-call fees, and answers 24/7 including weekends and holidays at the same price. See Clara's pricing or the side-by-side provider comparisons.
And the option that looks free is the dearest: research by Invoca puts the average small business missed call rate at about 25%, with fewer than 3% of missed callers leaving a voicemail. For a trade business, one saved job a month usually pays for the whole service.
Traditional human answering services typically cost $235 to $293+ per month for a modest bundle of minutes or calls: Ruby's published entry plan is $235/month for 50 receptionist minutes, AnswerConnect's is $279/month for 50 minutes, and Smith.ai's is $293/month for 30 calls (all March 2026 pricing). AI answering services run far cheaper, typically $30 to $100 per month flat.
How much does an answering service cost per call or per minute?
Worked out from published entry plans, human services land between roughly $4.70 and $5.60 per minute (Ruby $235/50 minutes, AnswerConnect $279/50 minutes) or around $9.80 per call (Smith.ai $293/30 calls). AI receptionists like Clara charge a flat monthly price with no per-minute or per-call fees, so the effective per-call cost falls the more calls you get.
How much does a 24-hour answering service cost?
With human services, round-the-clock coverage is where bills climb: after-hours and weekend answering often carries premium rates or requires a larger plan. AI receptionists answer 24/7 by default at no extra cost, because software does not keep office hours. Clara includes evenings, weekends, and holidays in its flat price.
Are AI answering services cheaper than human ones?
Substantially. Clara starts at £29.99/month, roughly a quarter to a fifth of the entry price of the big human services, and the gap widens with volume because there are no per-minute charges. The trade-off is that a human service puts a person on the line, though they typically read from a script and take a message rather than knowing your trade.
What hidden costs should I look for in an answering service contract?
Four recur: overage rates once you exceed your minute or call bundle, per-call surcharges for after-hours coverage, setup or onboarding fees, and billing in rounded-up minute increments. Ask for the effective per-call cost at your real monthly volume, not the headline plan price.
What does missing calls cost compared to paying for an answering service?
Research by Invoca puts the average small business missed call rate at about 25%, and fewer than 3% of missed callers leave a voicemail. For a trade business where a single job is worth hundreds, one saved call a month typically covers the cost of an AI answering service on its own.
Reviewed by Adam Stevens, Co-founder, Clara · Last reviewed11 July 2026
