Summary
The cost of AI answering services ranges from $15/month to over $50/month, depending on features. Some, like Rosie AI, charge by the minute, while others offer a fixed monthly fee based on selected options. In comparison, traditional answering services cost between $200 and $600 per month, making AI solutions a more affordable alternative.
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AI-powered answering services offer round-the-clock assistance, minimizing missed chances and lowering expenses in comparison to conventional receptionists.
But how much does an AI answering service cost?
Let’s break down the pricing models, cost ranges, and compare services like Allô, Rosie AI, Answering AI, and Slang AI.
What Is an AI Answering Service?
An AI answering service is an automated system that handles incoming calls for businesses, filtering spam, taking messages, forwarding important calls, and even transcribing conversations.
These services are popular among SMBs that need a professional phone presence but don’t want to hire a full-time receptionist.
These services address both simple queries (like “what are you business hours?”) and intricate customer issues (“can I schedule an appointment?”), allowing your team to concentrate on strategic objectives and essential performance indicators.
How Much Does an AI Answering Service Cost?
There is no single answer to the question of phone answering service cost, as prices vary significantly based on several factors.
That's why we are here!
Let's break down these factors to help you make the best decision for your business.
Elements That Affect the Cost
Yes, Unfortunately there is no single price that covers everything.
4 elements influence the price you’ll pay for an AI answering service.
Let’s start with the features.
AI Features
AI features are correlated with the answering service price. The more AI features the service has, the most expensive it usually is.
When talking about AI features we refer to:
- smart appointment scheduling,
- automated lead qualification and capture,
- call summaries and transcript,
- CRM integration for customer data synchronization,
- detailed analytics reporting.
Call answering services that only route calls or take messages are typically the most affordable option. But if your company needs more advanced AI features, you’ll need to upgrade to a higher-priced tier.
A good example of this is Allô, which offers AI-generated call summaries in its Starter plan, but if you want to have an unlimited AI receptionist handling your calls, you will need to upgrade to the Business plan.
Why?
These premium features require more sophisticated algorithms, greater processing power, and often more extensive customization to align with specific business workflows.
Now, let’s review the second factor that influences the price of AI answering services.
Personalization
Personalized features like personalized scripts and responses, on-call management, forwarding to specific numbers, API connectivity, typically require additional development resources and training models, which consequently increases the overall service costs.
These options, while representing a higher investment, often deliver significant value by creating a more cohesive customer experience that reflects your business identity and operational requirements.
Moneypenny exemplifies this, demonstrating that opting for personalization can result in costs that are even twice as high as those of basic plans.
Call Volume
Many providers structure their pricing models based on the total number of minutes used or calls processed within a monthly billing cycle.
This usage-based approach allows businesses to align their communication expenses with actual activity levels, potentially offering cost advantages for organizations with predictable call patterns.
Companies with fluctuating call volumes should carefully analyze their historical communication data to select plans that accommodate both average usage and potential peak periods without incurring excessive overage charges.
Integration Needs
Linking your AI phone system to the applications you currently use is also likely to result in a higher subscription cost.
Why?
These integrations provide significant workflow improvements and data synchronization benefits that require specialized development work, API configurations, and ongoing maintenance to ensure the operation.
There are providers which typically offer it as premium add-on services rather than including them in standard packages. However Allô, for example, has them included in their Business tier.
Pricing Models of AI Answering Services
AI answering services typically follow these pricing structures:
- Flat Monthly Fees – A fixed price for a set of users or numbers (e.g., $50/month, per user). This pricing model offers a simple monthly fee making it easy and transparent, allowing businesses to manage their communication expenses without worrying about fluctuating costs.
Allô exemplifies this model with its fixed monthly pricing fee for its AI-powered answering service. This pricing structure ensures you won’t have extra costs at the end of the month while scaling your communications needs.
- Pay-Per-Minute or Pay-Per-Call – On the other hand, there are providers that charge per call or per minute, allowing flexibility based on call volume. This flexible approach allows businesses to match their expenses to their actual communication needs, scaling costs up or down based on seasonal fluctuations or changing business demands.
Instead of a flat monthly fee, AnswerConnect charges based on the total minutes used, making it an ideal choice for companies with fluctuating call volumes.
Companies with irregular call patterns or unpredictable volume often benefit from this model, as they only pay for what they use, rather than committing to a fixed service package.
- Hybrid Models – A combined pricing structure between flat monthly fee, and Pay-per-minute pricing structure. This approach typically includes a base monthly fee that covers a predetermined set of services or usage allowance, plus additional charges for the extra minutes or calls they make during that month. This model can also complement additional charges like adds-on as specialized integrations with existing business systems, or access premium features beyond the standard package.
Pricing Ranges
Here's how different AI answering services stack up, offering various features, pricing models, and technological capabilities to meet diverse business communication needs:
Now that we’ve seen the pricing ranges, let’s check how they compare with traditional phone answering services.
Are AI Answering Services Cheaper Than Traditional Answering Services?
Traditional live answering services typically charge anywhere from $200 to $7000 per month for human receptionists who handle a limited number of incoming calls. These services employ actual people to answer phones on behalf of businesses, which accounts for the significantly higher price point due to labor costs, training requirements, and operational overhead.
AI answering services, on the other hand, can cost as little as $13/month (Allô) or $0.25 per minute (Rosie AI), making them a substantially more affordable and scalable option, especially for small and medium-sized businesses with budget constraints.
This dramatic price difference stems from the automated nature of AI systems, which can handle multiple calls simultaneously without the ongoing labor expenses associated with human operators.
For a deeper comparison, check out our guide on Answering Service Costs.
Top 5 Factors (Besides Price) to Choose the Best AI Answering Service
If you’re choosing an AI answering service, we recommend considering these factors beyond cost:
- Accuracy & AI Capabilities – Ask yourself, does the AI effectively transcribe conversations with high precision? Does it generate accurate, comprehensive summaries that capture all essential details and nuances?
The system's ability to correctly interpret different accents, speaking styles, and industry terminology directly impacts its utility for business communications and decision-making processes. - Spam Filtering – The system efficiently identifies and blocks unwanted robocalls, telemarketing attempts, and other spam communications, helping to protect your time and maintain focus on legitimate business interactions.
- Integrations – The system's ability to seamlessly connect and synchronize with your existing business software ecosystem, including Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platforms, digital calendars, team messaging applications, and other essential productivity tools.
- Customization Options – The extent to which you can personalize the system to align with your specific business requirements by setting up custom greetings that reflect your brand voice, creating intelligent routing rules that direct calls to appropriate departments or individuals, and configuring flexible business hours that accommodate your operational schedule.
- Scalability – Will the system effectively accommodate your expanding business operations as you grow? A truly scalable solution should seamlessly adjust to increasing call volumes, support additional team members, and incorporate new features without requiring significant reconfiguration or causing performance degradation.
Now, let’s take a look at 3 scenarios to help you identify the best option for your company.
3 Scenarios To Help You Pick Your AI Answering Service
Scenario 1: Growing Business with Moderate Call Volume (50-100 Calls/Month)
For businesses handling around 100 calls per month, choosing between pay-per-minute pricing or a mid-tier subscription plan is crucial.
Scenario 2: High Call Volume Business (500+ Calls/Month)
For companies handling 500+ calls per month, an unlimited plan or a high-volume minute-based plan is essential.
Scenario 3: Business Requiring CRM Integration & Workflow Automation
If your business relies on CRM sync, calendar automation, and workflow integration, the best choice depends on whether you need basic or advanced automation.
Conclusion
AI answering services offer a cost-effective alternative to human receptionists, with pricing starting as low as $13/month for basic plans and going up to $500+/month for premium features.
If the pricing if your main driver, we recommend the following options:
- For startups & solopreneurs (under 100 calls/month) → Allô ($13-25/month) for unlimited calls or Rosie AI ($0.25/minute) for ultra-low call volume.
- For mid-sized businesses (100-500 calls/month) → Allô ($13-25/month) for unlimited calls or Answering AI ($99/month for 500 minutes) offers solid value.
- For enterprises & high-volume users (500+ calls/month) → Slang AI ($399/month) or Smith.ai Custom Plan ($2,025/month) or Allô ($25/month) for AI-powered automation.
- For businesses needing CRM & automation → Allô ($25/month), or Smith.ai ($2,025/month) for SMBs, and enterprise-level AI receptionists.
