How much does an answering service cost?
For a small business, a live answering service typically costs a few hundred dollars a month, an AI receptionist often costs under a hundred, and the gap comes down to who picks up the phone.
Quick summary
- Live human answering (Ruby, Smith.ai): roughly $250 to $2,100 a month depending on how many minutes or calls you need.
- AI receptionist and phone systems (Quo, Allo): roughly $19 to $48 per user per month for Quo's plans and $32 to $45 for Allo's Business plan, plus separate charges for AI call handling.
- For 40 calls of about 3 minutes each, our example works out to about $415 on Smith.ai, $720 on Ruby, and about $44 to $77 on the AI tools.
Live answering services
These services route your calls to trained receptionists who answer in your business name, take messages, book appointments and transfer urgent calls.
| Plan | Price per month |
|---|---|
| 50 minutes | $250 |
| 100 minutes | $395 |
| 200 minutes | $720 |
| 500 minutes | $1,725 |
Ruby says its plans include the same features at every level and that it charges no activation, onboarding or setup fees. The pricing page lists only the four plans above; it does not state what happens when you go over your minutes, so ask Ruby before you rely on a smaller plan.
| Plan | Price per month | Overage per extra call |
|---|---|---|
| 30 calls | $300 | $11.50 |
| 90 calls | $810 | $10.50 |
| 300 calls | $2,100 | $8.50 |
Smith.ai also charges per call for add-ons, for example $1.50 to book an appointment, $0.50 for an SMS or Slack notification, $0.25 for call recording and transcription, and $1.00 to accept a payment. A few extras are monthly: $10 for business caller ID on outbound calls, $15 for each additional transfer destination, and $5 for each inbound call-tracking number. Smith.ai says its plans are month to month, with a 30-day money-back guarantee that does not cover overage charges.
AI receptionists and phone systems
These tools are business phone systems with an AI agent that can answer calls. The AI is usually billed separately from the phone line, and an AI agent is not the same as a trained human receptionist.
| Plan | Monthly billing | Billed yearly |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $28 | $19 |
| Business | $39 | $27 |
| Scale | $48 | $36 |
All prices are per user per month. Quo's Sona AI agent is included on every plan, with 1,000 free automation credits a month. Quo's page says one call equals 100 credits, so the free credits cover about 10 AI-handled calls. More credits cost extra: $25 a month for 4,000 credits (about 40 calls), $49 for 10,000 (about 100 calls), $99 for 25,000, and $199 for 60,000. Quo offers a 7-day free trial. Texting requires a one-time $19.50 carrier registration fee plus $1.50 to $3 a month, and extra phone numbers cost $5 a month each.
| Plan | Monthly billing | Billed yearly |
|---|---|---|
| Solo (waitlist) | $15 | $10 |
| Business | $45 | $32 |
| Ultra | $120 | $100 |
All prices are per seat per month. Allo's AI Receptionist is an add-on at $32 a month per agent, billed yearly. Allo's page does not state a limit on calls or minutes for the AI Receptionist, so ask before relying on it. Allo says it has no setup fees or contracts and offers a 7-day free trial. Texting needs a $24 one-time registration, and Allo notes that its pricing is early and can still change.
What drives the bill
- Call volume and call length. Ruby bills by minutes, Smith.ai by calls, and Quo's AI by credits per call, so a few long calls and many short calls cost differently on each.
- Add-ons. Appointment booking, payments, recording, Spanish lines and extra transfer destinations can add noticeably to a per-call plan.
- Human or AI. A person can handle complicated or sensitive calls. An AI agent costs a fraction of that but can miss nuance, so check how it handles calls that matter most to you.
- Seats and numbers. Phone systems charge per user, and extra phone numbers and texting registration add small fees.
- Billing term. Annual billing lowers the monthly rate for Quo and Allo. Month-to-month plans cost more but are easier to leave.
Worked example: 40 calls a month, about 3 minutes each
That is about 120 minutes of calls. These are estimates from the public prices above and assume one user and no add-ons unless noted.
| Service | How we got there | About per month |
|---|---|---|
| Smith.ai | 30-call plan ($300) plus 10 extra calls at $11.50 | $415 |
| Ruby | 120 minutes is over the 100-minute plan ($395), so the 200-minute plan applies unless Ruby quotes overage | $720 |
| Quo (AI answers all 40 calls) | Starter ($28, or $19 billed yearly) plus the 4,000-credit pack ($25) | $44 to $53 |
| Allo (AI answers all 40 calls) | Business ($45, or $32 billed yearly) plus AI Receptionist ($32) | $64 to $77 |
The AI figures cover only the cost of the tools. They do not say an AI agent will handle your calls as well as a person would. If your calls are high value, such as new-client inquiries, test any AI option yourself before relying on it. Rules about recording phone calls vary by state and country, so get advice before you record calls.
How to choose
- If most calls are new leads worth hundreds or thousands of dollars each, and a missed or mishandled call is costly, a live service may pay for itself.
- If you have few calls, mostly routine questions or after-hours messages, start with a phone system's AI and look at the transcripts for a few weeks.
- Use free trials where offered (Quo and Allo list 7 days) and ask live services about overage and cancellation before you commit.
Sources
All figures are from each vendor's public pricing pages, read on October 15, 2026:
- Ruby: ruby.com/plans-and-pricing
- Smith.ai: smith.ai/pricing
- Quo: quo.com/pricing
- Allo: withallo.com/pricing