On this page
Live answering services with published prices
Most answering services ask you to call for a quote. These four publish their plans, so you can compare them directly. Prices are per month, read from each company's pricing page on October 22, 2026.
| Service | Billed by | Entry plan | 100 min | 200 min | 500 min | Overage | Trial and contract | HIPAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PATLive | Per minute | $99 for 50 min (or $49 + $2.99/min) | $189 | $349 | $759 | $1.49 to $2.99 a minute | 14-day free trial; no contracts | Not stated on pricing page |
| Abby Connect | Per Abby Minute | $164 for 50 min | $329 | $599 | $1,380 | At your plan's Abby Minute rate | Free trial; month-to-month; no setup fee | HIPAA options (human only) |
| Ruby | Per minute | $250 for 50 min | $395 | $720 | $1,725 | Not published | No activation or setup fees | Lists HIPAA-compliant services |
| Smith.ai Virtual Receptionists | Per call | $300 for 30 calls | n/a (per call) | n/a | n/a | $8.50 to $11.50 a call | 30-day money-back guarantee; month-to-month | Not stated on pricing page |
Cost at 50, 150 and 500 calls a month
Using each service's cheapest plan for the volume, with a 3-minute average call. Ruby and Abby Connect publish no overage rate in dollars, so when a volume is past their largest plan we show "No published plan".
| Human answering service | 50 calls (150 min) | 150 calls (450 min) | 500 calls (1,500 min) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smith.ai Virtual Receptionists | $530 Starter: $300 + 20 extra calls x $11.50. | $1,440 Basic: $810 + 60 extra calls x $10.50. | $3,800 Pro: $2,100 + 200 extra calls x $8.50. |
| Ruby | $720 200-minute plan: $720, which includes 200 minutes (you use 150). | $1,725 500-minute plan: $1,725, which includes 500 minutes (you use 450). | No published plan |
| PATLive | $293.50 100-minute plan: $189 + 50 extra minutes x $2.09. | $759 500-minute plan: $759, which includes 500 minutes (you use 450). | $2,344 1,000-minute plan: $1,499 + 500 extra minutes x $1.69. |
| Abby Connect | $599 Professional: $599, which includes 200 minutes (you use 150). | $1,380 Growth: $1,380, which includes 500 minutes (you use 450). | No published plan |
| Cheapest AI receptionist (for comparison) | $49 Rosie | $118.50 Goodcall | $129 Goodcall |
What a minute of answering costs
Dividing each plan's price by its included minutes shows how far apart live and AI answering are. Smith.ai's human service bills per call instead ($10 a call on its $300 Starter plan).
What each live service includes
PATLive
Every plan lists US-based receptionists, 24/7 human answering, apps and integrations, call recordings and reporting, call screening and transfers, message taking, lead collection, appointment scheduling, emergency dispatch, event registrations, new client intake, and sales and ordering support. PATLive notes "Plus government taxes and fees. No PATLive fees." An optional free phone system includes one number and 1,000 automated minutes a month. Plans run up to 5,000 minutes ($6,899).
Abby Connect
A dedicated US-based receptionist team, a portal and app, call and text follow-up through its AbbyGO app, white-glove onboarding, 1,000+ integrations, encrypted call recordings, custom answering hours including 24/7 with no weekend surcharge, and English and Spanish. AI answering uses one Abby Minute per two minutes, so the same plan covers twice as much AI time. Abby says you can move up a plan at any time with "no penalty and no waiting period".
Ruby
Ruby says "The only difference between our plans? The number of receptionist minutes and chats." Features include 24/7 live answering, Spanish and bilingual call handling, scheduling, outbound call assistance, payment collection, lead qualification and intake, and HIPAA-compliant services. Optional AI features are included "at no extra cost". Ruby also sells live chat plans from $143 a month for 10 chats.
Smith.ai Virtual Receptionists
Billed per call: $300 for 30 calls, $810 for 90 and $2,100 for 300, with a 30-day money-back guarantee and 10% off for 12 months. Spam and unsolicited sales calls are not billed when your forwarded lines pass caller ID. Many tasks are priced per call:
| Smith.ai human receptionist add-on | Price |
|---|---|
| Book appointments | $1.50 per call |
| Call recording and transcription | $0.25 per call |
| Dedicated Spanish line | $1.00 per call |
| Accept payments | $1.00 per call |
| Conflict checks | $0.50 per call |
| Text and email follow-up | $0.50 per call |
| Complex call routing | $1.50 per call |
| Extended intake (six more questions) | $1.50 per call |
| Additional CRM (first is free) | $0.50 per call |
| Additional transfer destination | $15.00 per month |
| Lead qualification, 5-question intake, 24/7 staffing | Included |
AI answering services
AI answering services cost a fraction of live ones, and several, such as Rosie and RingCentral AIR, answer multiple calls at once. These are the self-serve options with published prices; see the full AI receptionist comparison for all ten.
| AI answering service | Entry plan | 50 calls | 150 calls | 500 calls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smith.ai | Free $0 | $75 | $270 | $800 |
| Upfirst | Starter $24.95 | $54.95 | $119.95 | $299 |
| Rosie | Professional $49 | $49 | $149 | $299 |
| Goodcall | Starter $79 | $79 | $118.50 | $129 |
| NextPhone | Pro $199 | $199 | $199 | $199 |
| Dialzara | Business Lite $29 | $72.20 | $199 | $524 |
| My AI Front Desk | Business-in-a-Box $99 | $99 | $161.50 | $424 |
How the billing units differ
- Minutes (PATLive, Ruby, most AI plans): the clock runs on every call, so long calls and chatty callers cost more. Ask how minutes are rounded; RingCentral AIR, for example, bills in 30-second increments.
- Abby Minutes: one per minute of human answering, one per two minutes of AI answering.
- Calls (Smith.ai, Upfirst): a call is a call, whatever its length. Check what is excluded: Smith.ai does not bill spam on its human plans, and Upfirst does not bill calls under 15 seconds.
- Unique callers (Goodcall): one number counts once a month however often it calls.
- Flat (NextPhone): unlimited calls for $199, $299 or $599.
Live or AI: which to choose
| Your situation | Choose | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Most calls are bookings, hours, prices or messages | AI | Routine calls are what AI handles well, at a fraction of the price. |
| Callers are often upset, confused or in a crisis | Live | Judgment and empathy matter more than cost per minute. |
| You need HIPAA coverage on a standard plan | Live, or an AI plan with a BAA | Ruby and Abby (human) list HIPAA options; among AI, My AI Front Desk and Goodcall Scale publish BAA availability. |
| Over 300 calls a month on a tight budget | AI | 500 calls cost $199 on NextPhone versus $2,344 at PATLive. |
| You want a person on new-client calls only | Hybrid | Smith.ai's hybrid presets send chosen calls to live agents and the rest to AI. |
What to ask before you sign
- How is usage counted? Rounding, minimum call length, and whether spam, wrong numbers and hang-ups are billed.
- What does overage cost? Ruby and Abby do not publish it in dollars; Rosie does not publish it for AI minutes.
- Which tasks cost extra? Smith.ai prices booking, recording and payments per call; others include them.
- Is there a contract or notice period? Smith.ai's AI service needs 30 days' notice; PATLive and NextPhone say no contracts.
- Will they sign a BAA? Essential for any medical, dental or therapy practice.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average cost for an answering service?
Among live answering services that publish prices, 100 minutes a month costs $189 (PATLive), $329 (Abby Connect) or $395 (Ruby), an average of about $304. Entry plans start at $99 for 50 minutes (PATLive), and Smith.ai's human receptionists start at $300 for 30 calls.
What is the cheapest answering service?
For live answering, PATLive: $49 a month plus $2.99 a minute, or $99 for 50 minutes. For AI answering, Smith.ai has a free plan for 25 calls a month and Upfirst starts at $24.95 for 30 calls.
Is there a free answering service?
Smith.ai's AI receptionist has a permanent free plan for 25 calls a month. PATLive offers a 14-day free trial and Abby Connect a free trial on every plan, but neither has a free plan.
Do answering services charge setup fees?
Not the ones we checked: Ruby says there are no activation, onboarding or setup fees, Abby Connect lists no setup fee, and PATLive lists no service setup fee (its optional phone system has a one-time $50 fee only if you add business texting).
Does 24/7 answering cost extra?
Not at these services. Abby Connect says 24/7 has no weekend surcharge, Smith.ai says calls at 2 pm and 2 am cost the same, and PATLive lists 24/7 answering on every plan.
Are answering services HIPAA compliant?
Some offer it: Ruby lists HIPAA-compliant services and Abby Connect offers HIPAA options for human answering. For AI answering services, look for a signed BAA (My AI Front Desk, Goodcall on Scale, Upfirst on Custom).
Is per-minute or per-call billing better?
Per call is better when calls run long; per minute is better for short calls. Smith.ai's human service at $10 a call matches a per-minute service at about $3.33 a minute on 3-minute calls.
How much does an AI answering service cost?
From free (Smith.ai, 25 calls) to $599 a month (NextPhone Scale, unlimited). At 150 calls a month most cost between $118.50 and $270.