July 14, 2026 · 4 min read
How Much Does an AI Receptionist Cost? (Real Numbers for Home-Service Businesses)
If you run a home-service business, you've probably done this math in your head at 7pm: “I'm missing calls, but I can't afford a receptionist.” Here's the honest breakdown of what an AI receptionist actually costs — no “contact sales” wall.
The short answer
A full AI voice receptionist runs about $297/month with 500 call minutes included and a one-time setup around $497. If you just want a safety net — an instant text back to every missed call — that's $197/month with no setup. Most owners land around $591/month for the popular combo: AI voice agent, missed-call text-back, and AI call summaries.
What you're actually paying for
Not “minutes.” You're paying for every call answered in one ring, 24/7; callers qualified and booked into your real calendar; a text confirmation sent automatically; and a dashboard where every call is recorded and summarized. It's a system that books jobs, not a machine that takes messages.
How it compares
Voicemail: free — and it costs you the most. Most callers never leave one; they call the next result.
Answering service: roughly $1–$2 per minute, and they take messages rather than booking jobs into your calendar.
Hiring a receptionist: $3,000–$4,000/month for someone who works 9–5, takes vacations, and can only handle one call at a time.
AI receptionist: about $297/month, 24/7, handles ten calls at once, and never calls in sick.
The way to think about it
One booked job usually covers the whole month. If your average job is $300 and the AI books one call you'd otherwise have missed, it's paid for itself. Everything after that is margin you were leaving on voicemail.
Try it before you buy it
You don't have to trust a pricing page — call our actual AI agent at (248) 599-0123 and put it through its paces. Then build your own system and watch the price update live. Month-to-month. No contracts.