What is the average cost of an answering service?
Traditional human answering services average $50 to $300 per month for basic call handling, scaling up to $1,500+ per month for high-volume or specialty services. Most charge by the minute, typically $1 to $2 per minute, with a minimum monthly commitment. Per-minute pricing means a busy month with longer calls can produce a bill 2 to 3 times the base plan. AI answering services cost dramatically less — $24.95 to $160/mo for comparable call volumes, with per-call pricing that doesn't spike when calls run long. A business handling 100 calls per month typically pays $800 to $1,200 on a human service and $49.95 on Aira's Growth plan. The gap closes only when calls require specialized human judgment. See full 24/7 answering service guide.
Related questions
- How much does an AI receptionist cost?AI receptionists range from $24.95 to $300+/mo. Per-call pricing is predictable; per-minute pricing can spike. See full 2026 pricing breakdown.
- What is the cheapest AI answering service?Cheapest is the wrong question — lowest cost per answered call is the right one. Here's how entry plans actually compare on dollars per call.
- Do answering services still exist?Human and AI answering services both exist in 2026. Here's how the category has changed and which model fits which business.