ModPhone's AI receptionist plans cost $49, $99 or $299 a month, depending on how many minutes you need and which channels you want covered. Other AI receptionists sit in a similar range but count usage in different ways, and that difference decides your real bill far more than the headline price. A human answering service or a full-time hire costs several times more for the same calls. This guide shows how each pricing model works, runs one office's numbers through all of them, and lists the costs that never appear on a pricing page.
Two ways AI receptionists are priced
Almost every product you compare will use one of these models, sometimes with a free tier on top.
A monthly plan with included minutes
You pay a flat monthly fee for a set number of talk minutes, and a per-minute rate for anything beyond it. ModPhone works this way: Starter includes 200 minutes, Growth 500 and Business 1,500, with overage at $0.15, $0.12 and $0.10 a minute. This model is easy to budget when your call volume is steady, and short calls cost very little. Before you sign up for any minute-based plan, check two things: the overage rate, and whether the service keeps answering once you pass your allowance or goes quiet.
A price per call
You pay for each answered call, however long it runs. Smith.ai's AI receptionist plans, for example, start at $150 a month and list per-call rates from about $1.60 to $2.00 depending on volume (as listed in September 2026). Per-call pricing works in your favor when calls are long. It works against you when many of your calls are 40-second questions like "Are you open Saturday?" or "What's your fax number?"
How that compares with an answering service and a hire
Human answering services also bill by the minute or by the call, at higher rates, because a person is on the line. Ruby's published plans start at $250 a month for 50 receptionist minutes, and the largest listed plan is $1,725 for 500 minutes. Smith.ai's human receptionist plans start at $300 a month for 30 calls.
Hiring is the most expensive option and the easiest to underestimate. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median pay for receptionists at $38,010 a year ($18.27 an hour, May 2025). That is wages only, before payroll taxes, benefits and paid time off, and it covers one person's working hours. Nights, weekends, lunch breaks and sick days are still uncovered.
One office, five ways to pay
Say your office gets 12 calls each business day and they average three minutes. Over about 22 business days, that is roughly 264 calls and 790 minutes a month.
| Option | Monthly cost for 264 calls, about 790 minutes |
|---|---|
| ModPhone Growth | $99 plus about 290 extra minutes at $0.12, roughly $134 |
| ModPhone Business | $299 (includes up to 1,500 minutes, plus the email agent) |
| Per-call AI at $1.80 to $2.00 a call | roughly $475 to $530 |
| Human answering service billed by the minute | more than Ruby's largest listed plan (500 minutes for $1,725) |
| Full-time receptionist | about $3,170 a month in median wages, before benefits |
Two caveats. This example only counts weekday calls. Evenings and weekends add minutes, and an AI receptionist answers them at the same rate while a person would need overtime or a second shift. And the per-call and human figures come from those vendors' public pricing pages; your quote may differ, so run your own numbers before you decide.
Costs that don't show up on the pricing page
These are the line items that turn a cheap plan into an expensive one. Ask about each before you commit, whoever you buy from.
- Spam and robocalls. If every call counts, junk calls eat your allowance. Some reviewers on Ruby's Trustpilot page complain about robocalls and hang-ups using up billable minutes. In ModPhone you can block individual numbers or whole area codes; blocked calls are hung up immediately and use no minutes.
- What happens at the limit. On a paid ModPhone plan your agent keeps answering after your included minutes run out, and the extra minutes are billed at your plan's overage rate after the billing period closes. Some services stop answering instead, which is the worst possible time to find out.
- Extra phone numbers. Starter, Growth and Business each include one number. A second location or line with its own agent means talking to us about Enterprise.
- Channels. Texting is included on every ModPhone plan (200, 500 or 1,000 texts a month). The website chat widget starts on Growth, and the email agent is on Business.
- Call recording. Transcripts are saved for every call at no extra cost. Audio recording is off by default, and the settings screen notes that storing recordings carries additional storage costs.
- Setup fees and contracts. ModPhone has no setup fees and no contracts on Starter, Growth or Business, and paid plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Ask other vendors for the same terms in writing.
- A call that never ends. A single ModPhone call is billed for at most 120 minutes, so a line left open by a fault can't run up a surprise bill.
- Forwarding charges from your own carrier. If you forward your existing line, check with your phone company whether forwarded calls count against your plan.
Which ModPhone plan fits
| Plan | Price | Minutes a month | Texts a month | Adds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $49 | 200 | 200 | Phone and text, booking, transfers, integrations |
| Growth | $99 | 500 | 500 | Website chat widget |
| Business | $299 | 1,500 | 1,000 | Email agent |
| Enterprise | Custom | Unlimited | Custom | Unlimited phone numbers, account manager |
A rough way to size it: multiply the calls you get on a normal day by three minutes, then by the days you're open. If that lands under 200, Starter is enough. Choose Business when you want the email agent answering your inbox too, or you send more texts than Growth includes. Full details are on the pricing page.
The easier way is to measure instead of guessing. The free trial runs 30 days, needs no credit card and includes a real US phone number with 100 voice minutes and 100 texts. Point your busy and no-answer calls at it for a couple of weeks and your call history will show your real minutes before you pay anything.
When the cheapest option is voicemail
If your phone rings a few times a week and your callers are happy to leave a message, you don't need any of this. Voicemail is free. The math changes when missed calls cost you appointments or clients, or when the same five questions eat an hour of someone's day.
And if most of your calls are emotional or need judgment that you can't write down as rules, a human service may be worth its higher price. We cover that trade-off in AI receptionist vs answering service.
Common questions
How much does an AI receptionist cost per month?
ModPhone's AI receptionist costs $49, $99 or $299 a month, with custom pricing for Enterprise. Other AI receptionists use similar monthly plans or charge per call; Smith.ai, for example, lists AI plans from $150 a month at about $1.60 to $2.00 per call (September 2026). Compare them using your own monthly call count and average call length.
Is an AI receptionist cheaper than an answering service?
For the same number of calls, usually yes, by a wide margin. Human answering services bill for a person's time: Ruby's plans start at $250 a month for 50 minutes, while ModPhone's Starter plan includes 200 minutes for $49. A human service can still be worth the premium for emotional or complex calls.
Is there a free AI receptionist?
ModPhone has no free plan, but its 30-day trial is free, needs no credit card and includes a US phone number, 100 voice minutes and 100 texts. Some vendors offer a small free tier; Smith.ai lists a free AI plan with 25 calls a month (September 2026).
What happens if I go over my minutes?
On a paid ModPhone plan your agent keeps answering, and the extra minutes are billed at your plan's overage rate ($0.15, $0.12 or $0.10 a minute) on a separate invoice after the billing period closes. During the free trial, the agent stops answering once the 100 trial minutes are used, until you choose a plan.
Do I pay for spam calls?
Not for numbers you block. ModPhone lets you block single numbers or whole area codes, and blocked calls are disconnected before your agent answers, so they use no minutes. Calls from numbers you haven't blocked are answered and counted like any other call.
Before you pick a plan
This week, pull last month's call log from your phone provider, count the calls and estimate their average length, and put the result against the table above. Then start the free trial and let two weeks of real calls check your math.