An answering service costs anywhere from under $100 to over $1,500 a month, and the spread comes mostly from how the bill is built, not from how good the service is. Providers charge by the minute, by the call or in a monthly bundle. The same 60 calls of two minutes each can cost $120, $645 or $720 depending on which structure you land in. Below are the three structures, what the headline price leaves out, and the arithmetic at 20, 60 and 150 calls a month using the prices two providers publish.

Prices change often. The figures here are as published on each provider's site, October 2026. Read the current page before you decide, and ask what counts as a minute or a call.

The three ways answering services charge

  • Per minute. You pay for talk time. It suits low volume and short calls, because a missed-call message of 40 seconds costs 40 seconds. Per-minute rates on provider pages commonly sit somewhere around $0.75 to $1.50 a minute. I use $1.00 below as a round number for the arithmetic; it is not a quote from any provider.
  • Per call. A flat price per call handled, often inside a monthly bundle with a set number of calls and a higher price for each call over. Smith.ai publishes this model: Starter at $300 a month for 30 calls ($11.50 per extra call), Basic at $810 for 90 calls ($10.50 per extra) and Pro at $2,100 for 300 calls ($8.50 per extra), with no setup fee, as published on its site, October 2026.
  • Monthly bundle of minutes. Ruby publishes this model: 50 minutes for $250 a month, 100 for $395, 200 for $720 and 500 for $1,725, as published on its site, October 2026. Its page says there are no hidden fees for activation, onboarding or setup, and does not list an overage rate for the smaller plans on that page.

What is left out of the headline price

  • Overage. Calls or minutes above the bundle, sometimes at a higher rate. If a page doesn't show it, ask.
  • What counts as a minute or call. Is a 15-second hang-up a call? Does the minute clock run while a caller waits to be transferred to you?
  • Setup, activation or minimum monthly fees. Some charge, some don't.
  • Add-ons: appointment booking, payment taking, outbound calls, text delivery, bilingual coverage, after-hours surcharges.
  • Contract length and cancellation terms.

The headline is the cheapest version of the service. Before comparing, write down your own call count and average length for the last three months; most phone systems or carrier bills show it.

20 calls a month

At two minutes a call, that is 40 minutes. A small shop with an occasional after-hours call is here.

  • Per minute at an illustrative $1.00: 40 x $1.00 = $40, though many per-minute services set a monthly minimum above that.
  • Per call bundle (Smith.ai Starter): $300 for up to 30 calls. You use 20 and pay $300.
  • Minute bundle (Ruby 50 minutes): $250. 40 minutes fits under 50.

At low volume the structure matters a lot. The bundles cost 6 to 8 times the per-minute figure, because the bundle price assumes you'll use more.

60 calls a month

That's 120 minutes. This is a typical small contractor, clinic or law office.

  • Per minute at $1.00: 120 x $1.00 = $120 (before any minimum).
  • Per call: Starter plus overage = $300 + 30 extra calls x $11.50 = $300 + $345 = $645. Basic at $810 covers 90 calls, so Starter with overage is cheaper here.
  • Minute bundle: 120 minutes does not fit in Ruby's 100-minute plan without overage, so the 200-minute plan at $720 is the one that covers it.

$120, $645 and $720 for the same 60 calls. Per-minute is the cheapest at this volume if the rate is true and the calls are short. The bundles buy things per-minute services may not include, such as a fixed number of staff-handled calls or a larger service scope, so compare what each does on the call, not only the bill.

150 calls a month

300 minutes. A busy practice or a multi-crew trade business.

  • Per minute at $1.00: $300.
  • Per call: Starter would be $300 + 120 x $11.50 = $1,680. Basic: $810 + 60 x $10.50 = $810 + $630 = $1,440. Pro at $2,100 covers 300 calls but costs more. Cheapest of the three: $1,440.
  • Minute bundle: 300 minutes needs the 500-minute plan at $1,725, since the 200-minute plan is too small.

At this volume the bundles shift from pricey to normal, and the question changes from "which is cheapest" to "how many of these calls could be handled without a person at all."

How AI answering is priced differently

An AI layer is usually priced by the minute or as a plan with an allowance of minutes, not per call. Rocketship answers calls on plans that also find buyers and follow up. Launch is $24.99 a month plus minutes at $0.30 a minute ($15 for 50) or $0.25 a minute ($50 for 200), Frontier is $79 with the same packs, and Mission Control is $1,499 with 1,600 minutes and 10 phone numbers included. It answers the number you already have through call forwarding; a dedicated line on Launch or Frontier is $5 a month.

Run the same arithmetic: 20 calls at two minutes is 40 minutes, which needs Frontier ($79). 60 calls is 120 minutes, which is Frontier's 80 plus a $15 top-up of 50 minutes. 150 calls is 300 minutes, which is a few top-ups or a conversation about Mission Control ($1,499 a month, 1,600 minutes), a plan built for much heavier use than one small business. An AI and a live person are different services: an AI handles routine questions, bookings and message-taking; a live agent can use judgment on an unusual call. Which you need depends on your calls. For the longer comparison, read answering service versus virtual receptionist and the AI receptionist cost answer.

Questions to ask before you sign

  1. What exactly counts as a minute, or a call?
  2. What is the price above the bundle, and is there a cap?
  3. Is there a setup fee, a minimum or a contract term?
  4. How are messages delivered, and how fast for urgent ones?
  5. Can I see a recording or transcript of a handled call?
  6. What happens if I need to cancel mid-month?

If you want to weigh this against hiring someone, what a receptionist actually costs has that math, the AI break-even on a phone bill works through the break-even, and answering service alternatives lists other ways to cover calls. Two pages in this series go deeper on the mechanics: how an answering service works and covering a cell phone number.

A missed call is a lost lead only if nobody follows up. Rocketship answers the phone so no lead is missed, and also finds the buyers, emails them from your own Gmail, follows up, and books the meeting on its own. Plans that get you customers start at $24.99 a month (Launch), and both Launch and Frontier start with a 7-day free trial, card required. Answering your existing number works on Launch, with call minutes bought as you go ($15 for 50), and a dedicated line is $5 a month.