What is the cheapest AI answering service?
The cheapest AI answering services run $10 to $30 per month at the entry level, but price alone is a poor filter. The right question is lowest cost per answered call. A $10/mo plan that caps at 5 calls is $2 per call; a $24.95/mo plan that includes 30 calls is $0.83 per call. At normal small business call volumes, Aira Starter at $24.95/mo is competitive with or cheaper than most alternatives once you count overage fees and feature restrictions. If your call volume is genuinely under 5 per month, a voicemail-to-email service like Google Voice is the cheapest working option. Below that, the real cost is missed calls, not the plan fee. See best AI receptionist rankings with pricing.
Related questions
- Is there a free AI answering service?A few services offer free tiers but cap calls very low. Here's what 'free' actually means in AI call answering — and what's worth paying for.
- 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 average cost of an answering service?Human answering services average $50-$300/mo; AI answering services run $25-$160/mo for the same call volume. Here's the full price breakdown.