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How much does an AI answering service cost?

As of August 2026: flat-rate plans run $79–$599 a month, metered plans $49–$789 a month for a bundle of minutes or calls, build-it-yourself platforms $0.07–$0.31 a minute, and enterprise contracts start around $30,000 a year. The spread isn’t noise — it’s four different products sharing one name.

Every price on this page comes from the vendor’s own pricing page, checked 12 August 2026. Vendors are linked — re-check before you buy.

Four products, one label.

Price follows the model, so pick the model first: who builds the agent, and what runs the meter.

Flat monthly

One price, any volume — Goodcall $79–$249, Slang $399–$599, VAVAVOICE $499. Read the fine print on “unlimited”: some flat plans cap unique customers, not minutes.

Metered

A bundle of minutes or calls, overage after — Rosie $49–$299 for 250–2,000 minutes; Smith.ai $150–$500 for 75–300 calls, then $2–$3 a call. Fine for messages; expensive for the long calls that book.

Build-it-yourself

Bland $0.11–$0.14/min, Retell $0.07–$0.31/min. The cheapest minutes on the page — and no agent until you build, test and maintain one. Infrastructure, not a service.

Enterprise & platform bundles

Synthflow contracts start at $30,000 a year, scoped to volume; PolyAI is custom. ROLLER bundles its Guest Experience Agent into platform plans, priced on request with the platform.

The prices, side by side.

Published prices only — quotes-on-request stay marked as such.

ServiceModelPublished priceThe meter
GoodcallFlat software$79–$249/mo100–500 customers/mo, then $0.50 each
SlangFlat service$399–$599/moNo minute charges (restaurants)
VAVAVOICEFlat, done-for-youFree · $499/moNo minute caps, no overage
RosieMinute bundles$49–$299/mo250–2,000 min/mo in plan
Smith.aiPer call$0–$500/mo25–300 calls in plan, then $2–$3/call
SamedayMinute bundles$449–$789/mo500–1,000 min/mo in plan
BlandDIY per minute$0.11–$0.14/min+ $0–$499/mo platform fee
RetellDIY per minute$0.07–$0.31/min+ per-feature add-ons per minute
SynthflowEnterpriseFrom $30,000/yrScoped to volume & integrations
ROLLER Guest Experience AgentPlatform bundleWith ROLLER plansPlans priced on request

Sources: each service linked in its row · checked 12 August 2026.

What actually moves the number.

  • Who builds it. Per-minute infrastructure is cheap because you’re the engineer. Configure-it-yourself software is cheap because you’re the scriptwriter. Done-for-you costs more because building, testing and tuning the agent is in the price.
  • Answering vs booking. Taking a message and working an enquiry to a paid booking are different jobs. Services that only answer price like software; services that book price against the revenue they touch.
  • The meter. Minutes punish exactly the calls a venue wants more of — a party enquiry runs long: group size, date, food, deposit. Per-call punishes volume. Flat means the number on the invoice is the number.

Where VAVAVOICE sits.

Flat and done-for-you, for attractions — trampoline parks, FECs, karting, bowling, escape rooms. We build the agent from your website, packages and policies, deploy it on your line, and keep tuning it. Coordinator is $499 a site: it works the enquiry, checks availability, books end to end and sends the payment link on the call. At one US trampoline park, the average booking it takes is $389 — two a month and it’s paid for.

$389
the average booking taken on one customer’s line, June–August 2026
25 of 25
every booking that line took was a party or birthday, May–August 2026

The cost questions, answered plainly.

Why do prices run from $79 a month to $30,000 a year?

They’re different products wearing one label. $79–$249 buys software you script yourself. $399–$599 buys a configured service tuned to one industry. Per-minute platforms sell raw infrastructure — the agent is yours to build and maintain. Enterprise contracts include the engineering team. Decide who’s doing the work, and the spread makes sense.

What do per-minute rates really add up to?

Take a real month: 150 calls averaging 4 minutes is 600 minutes — about $72 at Bland’s $0.12/min, plus the $299/mo platform tier it sits on, plus the build. The rate is the smallest line on that bill; the engineering time is the real one.

Do venues pay setup fees?

Not on published plans — no service in the table lists one, and VAVAVOICE doesn’t charge one: the build, from your website, packages and policies, is part of the subscription. Enterprise contracts fold onboarding into the scoped price.

Is any of it actually free?

Two standing free tiers exist as of August 2026: Smith.ai answers 25 calls a month free, and VAVAVOICE Front Desk is free on fair use — it answers the calls your desk misses, logs them, and emails you. Trials expire; tiers don’t. Start free →

How much does an AI receptionist cost per month?

The same as the table above — “AI receptionist”, “AI phone answering service” and “AI answering service” are one market wearing three labels. Flat plans run $79–$599 a month, metered $49–$789, build-it-yourself infrastructure from $0.07 a minute. Smith.ai, the biggest name sold as an AI receptionist, runs $0–$500 a month for 25–300 calls in plan.

What does it cost?

Front Desk is free — no card. Coordinator, which books the call end to end, is $499/site flat: no minute caps, no overage. See pricing →

Hear it on your own line.

Front Desk is free — it answers the calls your desk misses, logs them, and emails you what it caught. No card.

Start freeSee pricing
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