Virtual receptionist pricing: what it really costs per month

Virtual receptionist pricing runs from about $25 a month to more than $720, depending on who answers and how you're billed. Live receptionist services cost $79 to $250 a month for 50 minutes of calls. AI receptionists cost $25 to $215 a month for up to 100 calls.

The sticker price is only part of it. Rounding rules, add-on fees, and after-hours charges decide what you actually pay. Below, we break down how pricing works, then list real prices for 16 services, verified on each provider's own pricing page in September 2026.

How virtual receptionist pricing works

Every virtual receptionist service bills in one of three ways. Then add-ons stack on top.

Per minute

You pay for the time a receptionist spends on your calls. Most plans include a bundle of minutes, then charge $1.12 to $2.99 for each extra minute.

Rounding matters more than the rate. Across 626,000 calls answered by Upfirst, the median call lasted 63 seconds and the average was 78. If a service rounds up to the next full minute, like AnswerConnect does, each of those calls bills as two minutes. AnswerHero rounds to the quarter minute, and ReceptionHQ bills by the second, so the same call costs less.

Per-minute pricing works best when your calls are short and predictable. Long-winded callers make the bill climb fast.

Per call

You pay a flat fee for each call, however long it runs. Smith.ai's live receptionists charge $300 for 30 calls, then $11.50 per extra call. ReceptionHQ starts at $25 a month plus $1.99 per call for message taking.

Per-call pricing is easier to budget. The catch is paying full price for a 20-second call. Ask whether spam and wrong numbers count. Smith.ai and Upfirst don't charge for spam, and ReceptionHQ doesn't charge for telemarketing calls.

Monthly tiers

Most services sell tiers: a set number of minutes or calls for a flat monthly fee, with a lower rate as you move up. Tiers make budgeting simple. You risk paying for unused minutes in a slow month, or overage in a busy one.

Add-ons that raise the bill

This is where two plans with the same headline price end up far apart. Here's what to check.

• Appointment booking. Smith.ai charges $1.50 for each call where it books an appointment. ReceptionHQ's scheduling plan starts at $49 a month plus $2.20 a minute, with a setup fee from $99.
• Call transfers. ReceptionHQ charges $0.30 per transferred call on its ReceptionistPlus plan. AnswerHero charges $0.06 a minute to patch a call through. Smith.ai includes one transfer destination on its starter plan, then $15 a month for each extra.
• Bilingual answering. Smith.ai charges $1.00 per call for a dedicated Spanish line. Posh, PATLive, MAP, and AnswerHero include Spanish. This matters more than most owners expect: 14.3% of calls Upfirst answers involve a language other than English.
• After-hours and holidays. ReceptionHQ adds $0.20 to $0.30 per call outside weekday business hours and on federal holidays. In Upfirst's data, 22.9% of calls come in on evenings or weekends, so this fee can touch a quarter of your calls.
• Setup fees. AnswerConnect charges $49.99 on most plans. ReceptionHQ charges $50 to $99 on its assistant and scheduling plans.
• Intake questions. Smith.ai includes five intake questions, then charges $1.50 per call for six more.

Some services include everything. Posh says it has no other fees, and Moneypenny, where VoiceNation's pricing page now points, promises no feature upsells. Those plans cost more up front, but the bill is easier to predict.

AI vs human receptionists

A live receptionist is a trained person answering from a call center. An AI receptionist answers every call at once, around the clock, and usually costs a fraction of the price.

The price difference is large. Fifty minutes of live answering costs $79 to $250 a month. An AI plan covering up to 100 calls costs $25 to $215. Most AI plans also include booking, transfers, and multiple languages in the base price, where human services often charge per use.

Human receptionists still make sense for calls that need judgment, like a sensitive intake or a caller who is upset. Many businesses now use AI for most calls and send the rest to a person. For a deeper comparison of AI tools, see our guide to the best AI answering services.

Virtual receptionist prices compared (2026)

The tables below compare each service's entry plan, the cheapest way to get started. Most services lower their per-minute or per-call rate on bigger plans, so your cost per call drops as your volume grows. All prices were checked on each provider's own pricing page in September 2026, and they change often, so confirm before you sign up.

AI virtual receptionist services

Live (human) virtual receptionist services

For full plan breakdowns of the live services, see our answering service pricing comparison.

What 100 calls a month actually costs

Headline prices are hard to compare, so here is one scenario. Say your business gets 100 calls a month, each about 78 seconds long, the average across Upfirst's calls. That's 130 minutes of talk time, or 200 billable minutes if each call rounds up to the next full minute. Human receptionists often take longer, so treat the live numbers as a floor.

* PATLive and Posh don't publish their rounding increment, and Ruby's pages say 30 or 60 seconds. At 130 minutes, PATLive would cost about $252 and Posh about $280.

Two things stand out. Rounding changes the math, since full-minute rounding turns 130 minutes of talk into 200 billable minutes. And add-ons stack. If Smith.ai's live team books an appointment on 30 of those calls, add $45.

Virtual receptionist vs. in-house receptionist

A full-time receptionist costs far more than any plan above.

The median receptionist earns $18.27 an hour, or $38,010 a year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2025). That's before payroll taxes, benefits, and paid time off. An in-house hire also covers only business hours, while nearly a quarter of calls come in after hours.

An in-house receptionist does win on personal touch. If you have a front office and regulars who walk in, a person at the desk is hard to replace. For phone coverage alone, a virtual receptionist costs a fraction as much.

Questions to ask before you commit

How do you round minutes? Full-minute rounding can nearly double the bill on short calls. Ask for the increment in writing.

What costs extra? Get a list of every per-use fee: booking, transfers, bilingual answering, after-hours calls, intake questions, and setup.

Do spam and wrong numbers count? Some services bill every ring. Others filter junk calls for free.

Is there a contract? Most services here are month-to-month, but some require 30 days' notice to cancel.

FAQs about virtual receptionist pricing

How much does a virtual receptionist cost per month?

Live virtual receptionists cost about $79 to $250 a month for 50 minutes, and $279 to $720 for 200 minutes. AI receptionists cost about $25 to $215 a month for up to 100 calls.

What is the cheapest virtual receptionist?

For live answering, ReceptionHQ starts at $25 a month plus $1.99 per call, for messages only. For AI, Smith.ai has a free plan for 25 calls, and Upfirst pricing starts at $24.95 a month for 30 calls with booking and transfers included.

Is per-call or per-minute pricing cheaper?

Per-minute is cheaper when calls are short and the service doesn't round up to full minutes. Per-call is cheaper when callers talk longer or your call length varies. Check the rounding rule before comparing.

Do virtual receptionists charge extra for after-hours calls?

Some do. ReceptionHQ adds $0.20 to $0.30 per call outside weekday business hours. Posh, PATLive, and AnswerHero don't charge extra for nights, weekends, or holidays. AI receptionists answer 24/7 at the same rate.

Is a virtual receptionist worth the cost?

If you miss calls from new customers, usually yes. One missed job often costs more than a month of service. Most services offer a trial, so you can test with real calls first. Upfirst has a 14-day free trial with no credit card required.