How much does an answering service cost in 2026?
Published by Penny · Updated · Sources and corrections
The live-receptionist plans below start at $250–$350 a month. Penny phone plans start at $29 a month billed annually, or $35 month to month, with 100 included minutes. The subscription is the starting cost. Add extra usage and any features your office needs.
Compare the subscription, included usage, overage, and required add-ons together. Use a normal month and your busiest month of call records, especially if weather or seasonal work changes your volume. The table links to each provider’s price page; Smith.ai’s row covers its live receptionists, separately from its AI offering.
Compare the billing unit before choosing a plan.
| Model | How it bills | Entry examples | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Human receptionist minute blocks | A subscription includes minutes; extra minutes add charges. | $250/50 min or $350/200 min in the examples below | Call rounding, after-call work, extra-minute rates, and any setup fee. |
| Human receptionist call blocks | A subscription includes calls; extra calls and selected features add charges. | $300/30 calls in the Smith.ai live plan below | Which calls are billable and which features add a per-call fee. Smith.ai excludes qualifying spam. |
| AI receptionist minute blocks | A subscription includes minutes; extra minutes add charges here too. | Penny from $29/mo billed annually | Annual versus monthly price, included minutes, overage, phone-number fees, and feature tiers. |
What Ruby, Smith.ai, AnswerConnect, and Dialzara charge, dated.
Sourced from each provider’s published pricing, with the date we checked it, because pricing pages change.
| Provider | Type | Entry plan | Mid plan | Overage | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penny | AI | Chat free · phone $29/mo billed annually · 100 min | $99/mo billed annually · 375 min | $0.24–$0.29 per min | Pricing |
| Ruby | Human | $250/mo · 50 min | $395/mo · 100 min | Ask Ruby for the plan’s rate | Ruby plans and pricingas of 2026-09-07 |
| Smith.ai (live agents) | Human | $300/mo · 30 calls | $810/mo · 90 calls | $11.50/call Starter; $10.50 Basic; $8.50 Pro | Smith.ai live receptionist pricingas of 2026-09-07 |
| AnswerConnect | Human | $350/mo · 200 min (+$49.99 setup) | $395/mo · 300 min; no setup fee | $2.50/min Entry; $1.85 Growth/Standard | AnswerConnect services and plansas of 2026-09-07 |
| Dialzara | AI | $29/mo · 60 min | $99/mo · 220 min | $0.48/min Lite; $0.45 Pro; $0.40 Plus; $0.35 Elite | Dialzara pricingas of 2026-09-07 |
Prices verified on the dates shown; providers change pricing without notice. Spot an outdated number? Tell us and we’ll fix it.
What moves an answering service bill.
Decide whether callers need a human receptionist on every call or an AI receptionist with transfers to your team. Then compare plans that cover your actual hours and tasks.
Thirty calls is not thirty minutes. Use a month of call records to estimate both call count and duration. Ask each provider which time counts, how it rounds calls, and what it excludes.
Booking, bilingual answering, intake, and transfers may be included, tiered, or charged separately. Price the combination you need, rather than comparing two entry plans with different features.
Penny Starter includes 100 minutes. At 140 minutes with keep answering on, Penny adds one 60-minute block for $17.40, and the 20 minutes you don’t use carry over: a total of $46.40 on the effective annual monthly price, or $52.40 month to month. This is a usage example, not a quote for your business.
Free website chat. Phone answering from $29 a month.
Every paid plan comes with your industry’s knowledge, your intake questions, and calendar booking. Bigger plans add minutes, the on-call schedule, more numbers and locations, field-service connections, and reporting.
Billed annually, ~17% less than month to month.
100 phone minutes a month · $348 billed annually
- Everything in Free
- Live talk time on the phone, counted per second. Screened spam never counts, and the clock stops when Penny hands the call to a person.100 phone minutes a monthLive talk time on the phone, counted per second. Screened spam never counts, and the clock stops when Penny hands the call to a person.
- Your plan’s per-minute rate for talk time past your minutes, added 60 minutes at a time when you choose to keep answering. Unused added minutes carry over. No per-call fee.$0.29/min after that, in 60-minute blocksYour plan’s per-minute rate for talk time past your minutes, added 60 minutes at a time when you choose to keep answering. Unused added minutes carry over. No per-call fee.
- One visitor session counts as one conversation, and the count resets every month. On a paid plan you can choose to keep answering past your allowance: we add 100 conversations for $10 and email you. Added conversations you don’t use carry over.300 chat conversations a month, without the Penny markOne visitor session counts as one conversation, and the count resets every month. On a paid plan you can choose to keep answering past your allowance: we add 100 conversations for $10 and email you. Added conversations you don’t use carry over.
- Penny checks open slots and your booking rules before adding an appointment to Google Calendar or Outlook during a call or chat.Calendar booking in Google or Outlook, on phone and chatPenny checks open slots and your booking rules before adding an appointment to Google Calendar or Outlook during a call or chat.
- Edit your industry’s emergency rules in plain English. Penny tries the number you choose. If nobody answers, she takes a message and emails it to you.Your industry’s emergency rules and a transfer numberEdit your industry’s emergency rules in plain English. Penny tries the number you choose. If nobody answers, she takes a message and emails it to you.
- Every call and chat with its transcript in your dashboard. Send call, lead, and appointment details to your own system with a signed webhook, or through Zapier to Slack, Microsoft Teams, HubSpot, Salesforce, and other apps.Call log with transcripts; Zapier and webhooksEvery call and chat with its transcript in your dashboard. Send call, lead, and appointment details to your own system with a signed webhook, or through Zapier to Slack, Microsoft Teams, HubSpot, Salesforce, and other apps.
375 phone minutes a month · $1,188 billed annually
- Everything in Starter
- Live talk time on the phone, counted per second. Screened spam never counts, and the clock stops when Penny hands the call to a person.375 phone minutes a monthLive talk time on the phone, counted per second. Screened spam never counts, and the clock stops when Penny hands the call to a person.
- Your plan’s per-minute rate for talk time past your minutes, added 60 minutes at a time when you choose to keep answering. Unused added minutes carry over. No per-call fee.$0.27/min after that, in 60-minute blocksYour plan’s per-minute rate for talk time past your minutes, added 60 minutes at a time when you choose to keep answering. Unused added minutes carry over. No per-call fee.
- One visitor session counts as one conversation, and the count resets every month. On a paid plan you can choose to keep answering past your allowance: we add 100 conversations for $10 and email you. Added conversations you don’t use carry over.1,000 chat conversations a monthOne visitor session counts as one conversation, and the count resets every month. On a paid plan you can choose to keep answering past your allowance: we add 100 conversations for $10 and email you. Added conversations you don’t use carry over.
- Set who is on call by day and hour. Penny rings that person and, with announce on, tells them about the call before connecting the caller. If nobody picks up, Penny comes back on the line, takes a message, and emails it to you.On-call schedule and warm transferSet who is on call by day and hour. Penny rings that person and, with announce on, tells them about the call before connecting the caller. If nobody picks up, Penny comes back on the line, takes a message, and emails it to you.
- Send intake records to Jobber or Housecall Pro for your office to review and schedule. Penny sends one after each call or chat where she takes a message, lead, request, booking or voicemail. Housecall Pro needs its Max plan.Jobber or Housecall ProSend intake records to Jobber or Housecall Pro for your office to review and schedule. Penny sends one after each call or chat where she takes a message, lead, request, booking or voicemail. Housecall Pro needs its Max plan.
- Up to 3 locations and 3 Penny numbers under one account. Each location has its own number, hours, greeting, service area, transfer contacts and alert email. Your services, prices, house rules and answers are shared.Multiple numbers and locationsUp to 3 locations and 3 Penny numbers under one account. Each location has its own number, hours, greeting, service area, transfer contacts and alert email. Your services, prices, house rules and answers are shared.
1,050 phone minutes a month · $2,988 billed annually
- Everything in Pro
- Live talk time on the phone, counted per second. Screened spam never counts, and the clock stops when Penny hands the call to a person.1,050 phone minutes a monthLive talk time on the phone, counted per second. Screened spam never counts, and the clock stops when Penny hands the call to a person.
- Your plan’s per-minute rate for talk time past your minutes, added 60 minutes at a time when you choose to keep answering. Unused added minutes carry over. No per-call fee.$0.24/min after that, in 60-minute blocksYour plan’s per-minute rate for talk time past your minutes, added 60 minutes at a time when you choose to keep answering. Unused added minutes carry over. No per-call fee.
- One visitor session counts as one conversation, and the count resets every month. On a paid plan you can choose to keep answering past your allowance: we add 100 conversations for $10 and email you. Added conversations you don’t use carry over.2,500 chat conversations a monthOne visitor session counts as one conversation, and the count resets every month. On a paid plan you can choose to keep answering past your allowance: we add 100 conversations for $10 and email you. Added conversations you don’t use carry over.
- Everything Pro does for multiple locations, for up to 10 locations and 10 Penny numbers.Up to 10 locations and numbersEverything Pro does for multiple locations, for up to 10 locations and 10 Penny numbers.
- Call volume, outcomes, leads, and bookings over time, with a read API and export for your own reporting.Analytics and reporting; API and exportCall volume, outcomes, leads, and bookings over time, with a read API and export for your own reporting.
- Choose how long Penny keeps conversations. Older ones are deleted automatically, except those with an appointment still to come.Retention controlsChoose how long Penny keeps conversations. Older ones are deleted automatically, except those with an appointment still to come.
- Front-of-the-line support and a guided setup session that tunes Penny to how your office runs.Priority support and guided setupFront-of-the-line support and a guided setup session that tunes Penny to how your office runs.
14 days of Pro, including 100 phone minutes and 300 website conversations. No credit card.
Chat on your website. 100 conversations a month.
- One visitor session counts as one conversation, and the count resets every month. On a paid plan you can choose to keep answering past your allowance: we add 100 conversations for $10 and email you. Added conversations you don’t use carry over.100 chat conversations a monthOne visitor session counts as one conversation, and the count resets every month. On a paid plan you can choose to keep answering past your allowance: we add 100 conversations for $10 and email you. Added conversations you don’t use carry over.
- The free widget carries a small “answered by Penny” mark. Starter removes it.A small “answered by Penny” mark on the widgetThe free widget carries a small “answered by Penny” mark. Starter removes it.
- A visitor asks for a time, Penny takes the request, and the email gives you what you need to confirm it with them. Live booking onto your calendar begins on Starter.Appointment requests you confirmA visitor asks for a time, Penny takes the request, and the email gives you what you need to confirm it with them. Live booking onto your calendar begins on Starter.
- Penny notices the caller’s or visitor’s language and switches, mid-conversation if needed, at no extra charge.English and SpanishPenny notices the caller’s or visitor’s language and switches, mid-conversation if needed, at no extra charge.
- Penny reads your site for services, hours, and service area, and starts with a working reference on your line of work.Answers from your website and your industry’s knowledgePenny reads your site for services, hours, and service area, and starts with a working reference on your line of work.
- The details each visitor shares, their question, and the outcome, in your inbox as the conversation ends.Lead capture, with an email after every conversationThe details each visitor shares, their question, and the outcome, in your inbox as the conversation ends.
Phone answering, live booking, and call transfers begin on Starter.
Try Penny freeFrom $3,000 a year, with custom volume and a named account team.
- Everything in Business
- Minutes sized to your call volume, on a contract you negotiate with the account team.Custom phone volumeMinutes sized to your call volume, on a contract you negotiate with the account team.
- What talk time past your contract’s minutes costs is agreed with the account team and written into your contract.Overage set in your contractWhat talk time past your contract’s minutes costs is agreed with the account team and written into your contract.
- Website conversations sized to your traffic, set in your contract along with your minutes.Custom website chat volumeWebsite conversations sized to your traffic, set in your contract along with your minutes.
- A named team that knows your setup, with contractual response times.A dedicated account team and SLAsA named team that knows your setup, with contractual response times.
- Connectors built for your systems and a hands-on onboarding for your team.Custom integrations and onboardingConnectors built for your systems and a hands-on onboarding for your team.
Billed annually on a custom contract.
Talk to usNo setup fee. Keep your number and cancel from billing. Enterprise uses a custom annual contract.
Rounding, overage, setup fees, and the other bill questions.
Listen to the shared HVAC demo at (630) 324-4620, then compare the plans above.
The live plans in the table begin at $250–$350 per month with limited included usage. Penny answers 24/7 from $29/month billed annually or $35 month to month, with 100 minutes included; when you choose to keep answering past them, 60 more are added at a time at $0.29 a minute. There is no separate Penny after-hours surcharge.
Estimate the cost against your own job margin.
Penny asks whether the furnace starts and quits or never starts at all, then puts the caller’s answer on the booking.
Penny records the property, unit, and access instructions together, so the maintenance coordinator can act on the request.
A slow-drain request includes which fixture is affected and whether other drains are backing up, so your plumber can prepare for the visit.
Give Penny a call before you forward yours.
Try the HVAC demo, then set up Penny for your business. Your account starts with 14 days of Pro, including 100 phone minutes and 300 website conversations; Free keeps your website chat after the trial.
14 days of Pro, including 100 phone minutes and 300 website conversations. No credit card.