Virtual receptionist pricing splits into two different bands, depending on whether a person or software is answering.
Human virtual receptionist services range from $250–$2,000+ per month. For example, Ruby charges $250 a month for 50 minutes up to $1,725 for 500 minutes. That works out to be several times what an AI answering service charges. AI receptionists range from $25–$300+ per month. For example, Quo includes 10 free Sona calls a month on every plan, then charges $25 for around 40 calls up to $199 for 600 calls.
In this article, we’ll cover the virtual receptionist cost of two options — AI- and human-powered — plus other things to consider when adding a virtual receptionist to your business.
How much does a virtual receptionist cost? AI vs human options
Here’s a quick overview of what providers charge for both live receptionist and AI receptionists:
| Provider | Pricing model | Starting cost | Included | Effective price per minute/call |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ruby live answering | Bundled minutes | $250/mo | 50 mins | $5.00/min |
| Posh live answering | Base + per minute | $65/mo | 0 min | $2.30/min plus base |
| ReceptionHQ live answering | Base + per call | $25/mo | 0 calls | $1.99/call plus base |
| Smith.ai AI answering | Bundled calls | $150/mo | 75 calls | $2.00/call |
| Quo Sona AI answering | Bundled calls | $25/mo | ~40 calls | ~$0.63/call |
| Abby Connect AI answering | Bundled minutes | $165/mo | 100 mins | $1.65/min |
Human-powered voice receptionists cost anywhere from $250–$2,000+ per month.
With most providers, the more bundled minutes or calls you purchase, the better the price. For example, Ruby’s highest tier plan, $1,725 per month for 500 minutes, works out to be $3.45 per minute vs $5.00 per minute on the entry plan.
Some offer both AI and live receptionists at different price points. Take Smith.ai for example. It offers live virtual receptionists who can handle calls and qualify leads. Pricing starts at $300 for 30 calls and goes up to $2,100 for 300 calls per month. Keep in mind overage charges — each live-answered call over the allocated 30 costs $11.50 per call with Smith.ai.
Dive deeper with our roundup of the best AI phone answering services.
What AI receptionists cost
AI-powered voice receptionists cost between $25-$300+ per month.
The cost of an AI voice receptionist depends on how many calls or call minutes you need. Plus, whether you want additional features like call transfers and sending appointment links.
Let’s say you want an AI voice agent to answer calls 24/7. The agent needs to answer questions about your business and take messages. You also want the agent to capture a call transcript and use AI to analyze phone calls. With an AI agent like Sona from Quo, formerly OpenPhone, you get flexible pricing that can scale with your call volume.
Sona is available for free with every Quo plan for your first 10 calls. After that, you can choose from multiple pricing tiers, starting at $25 per month for ~40 calls. This is an add-on fee to your Quo subscription, which starts at $15 per user per month.
| Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Tier 3 | Tier 4 | Tier 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sona tiers | Free | $25 per month | $49 per month | $99 per month | $199 per month |
| Included credits | 1,000 credits/10 calls | 4,000 credits/40 calls | 10,000 credits/100 calls | 25,000 credits/250 calls | 60,000 credits/600 calls |
| Overage rate per call | $1.00 | $0.75 | $0.65 | $0.55 | $0.45 |
In contrast, look at a standalone voice agent like Abby Connect. The service can handle incoming calls, route calls to team members, and schedule appointments. It offers live receptionist minutes and AI minutes — but you get twice as many AI receptionist minutes for the same monthly price. You’ll pay $165 for 50 live-answered minutes or 100 AI-answered minutes. Abby Connect doesn’t list overage fees on its website.
Every AI automated receptionist includes an allowance and charges past it, so work out your monthly call volume before comparing entry prices. The cost you end up paying may be more than the entry plan.
Why virtual receptionists cost more than AI answering services
If you’ve been comparing quotes, you’ve probably noticed that answering service pages quote around $1 per minute while virtual receptionist providers quote $3–$5 per minute. Both are accurate. They’re selling different services.
An answering service is priced for high volume message taking and lead capture. A virtual receptionist is priced for front-desk workflow, and the service usually covers more than the call itself. Posh defines receptionist minutes as time spent on the phone with your callers or time spent completing an activity for your account. This means scheduling, follow-up, and message routing are all billable.
That’s not a hidden fee. It’s the product. But it explains why a virtual receptionist quote looks so much more expensive per minute, and why comparing the two on rate alone can be confusing.
Factors that influence the cost of virtual receptionists
Many virtual receptionist providers offer different tiers with per-minute or per-call pricing. You should expect to pay more if you want additional features too. Here are the factors that influence their costs:
- Overages: With monthly subscriptions, your plan will allow a certain number of calls or minutes. If you go over what your plan allows, you’ll pay overage fees, which can vary widely by provider.
- Off-call minutes: Time spent on your account while not on a call is billable at most live receptionist providers.
- The 28-day billing cycle: Some vendors bill every four weeks, creating 13 invoices a year rather than 12.
- Multilingual support: If you need calls answered in multiple languages.
- Appointment booking: If several calls are for appointments, you may need a service that can handle these requests.
- Integrations: Some providers require a higher-tier plan to access integrations to other tools.
- Call transferring: Some virtual receptionist services may only answer calls but not transfer them. If you need call transfers, that might be an upgrade.
- Spam detection: Virtual receptionists can screen calls and reduce the time spent on junk calls.
- IT setup: Some AI receptionists need a developer to integrate these products into your system. Tools like Voiceflow and Bland AI, for example, have a steeper learning curve.
For more on how pricing works, read our guide to answering service costs.
Pro tip: If your business phone system offers an automated phone menu (IVR), it can route callers to the right person or team. This saves time, makes call handling more efficient, and will reduce the number of calls your virtual receptionist needs to answer.
Avoid common pitfalls with virtual receptionists
Missed calls are bad, but poor call handling can be worse. Customers may have a negative experience with the virtual receptionist or hang up before finishing the call. This damages your reputation (and may lead to negative reviews).
While some virtual receptionist services claim they can prequalify leads, if this is done incorrectly, it can lead to lost sales opportunities.
The cost of mishandled calls is more than a dollar amount. It affects how people perceive your company and can decrease customer satisfaction. You want your virtual receptionist to reflect your brand, set the right expectations with customers, and keep calls moving in the right direction by following a call flow.
Consider hidden fees with virtual receptionist services
In addition to the factors above that can impact the base cost of your plan, some providers may charge extra setup fees.
Some services require long contracts (or only offer discounts with annual plans). You don’t want to get locked into a subscription if the virtual receptionist doesn’t work out. On top of that, some companies charge hefty early termination fees if you cancel.
Look for virtual receptionist services that prioritize transparent pricing, like Quo. Our per-call monthly subscriptions give you better cost predictability — with no surprise usage fees.
Here’s what one customer said:
“Prior to adopting Sona, we struggled with consistently capturing after-hours communications, resulting in missed opportunities. We now have absolute assurance that every incoming call is handled promptly.”
— Jon Christensen, Co-founder, Bidmii
Verdict: Which kind of virtual receptionist do you need?
Once you estimate your monthly call volume and types of calls, it should be clear whether you need an AI or live virtual receptionist.
If your calls are often complex and need a person, a bundled-minute plan from a human-first provider is an honest value at $3–$5 dollars a minute. You should budget minutes for the off-call time too.
If your calls are routine, AI answering does the same job for a fraction of it. If you already pay for a business phone system, check whether an AI agent is included before buying a second service. Quo includes 10 Sona calls a month on every plan, which is enough to work out whether the model fits before spending anything.
Try Quo and Sona today with a free seven-day trial.
FAQs
Yes, a virtual receptionist often pays for itself by making sure you never miss a call. For example, if one job is worth $100 and the service costs $100 a month, it only takes one saved call a month to break even — everything after that is profit.
AI-powered virtual receptionists are typically more affordable than human receptionists. For example, Quo offers an AI agent, Sona, starting at $25 for 40 calls per month. While Smith.ai’s live virtual receptionists start at $300 for 30 calls per month.
Yes, AI and live virtual receptionists are significantly cheaper than hiring an employee to answer phones. The average annual pay for a virtual receptionist in the US is $37,057 a year or $3,088 a month. Compare this to paying $25 per month for an AI answering service or $250 per month for a live answering service.
Dig deeper in our comparison of AI vs human receptionists.
Virtual receptionist services generally bill on a per-minute or per-call basis. Many services offer monthly subscriptions or packages with set rates for a certain number of calls or minutes.
After going past the allocated number of calls or minutes on your receptionist plan, one of two things can happen. If overages are disabled, your receptionist will stop answering and route calls based on a default backup, like call forwarding. If overages are enabled, the service keeps answering and you’ll pay an overage rate per each call or minute.
Free tiers exist with some providers. Quo lets you try your first 10 calls with Sona for free. Sona handles calls inside your workspace so you maintain full visibility. Smith.ai gives you your first 25 AI-handled calls for free, but the software requires you to forward calls to it.
No, lobby automation and virtual front desk platforms are different products from virtual receptionists. Pricing varies but ranges from $299 to $499+ per month. Compare this to virtual receptionists, which start at $25 per month for AI-handled calls.
