Guide
AI Receptionist Cost vs Answering Service vs Hiring
An AI receptionist from Kall8 costs $55 a month plus a $10 setup fee on any Kall8 plan (from $14.95 a month), with 250 AI minutes included per account. Answering services usually price per minute or per call, and a receptionist on payroll costs an hourly wage plus taxes and benefits. Compare them at your own call volume.
What does each option cost?
| Option | How it's priced | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Kall8 AI Receptionist | A monthly fee per receptionist, with AI minutes included per account | $55 a month + $10 one-time setup; 250 AI minutes a month included per account; $0.25 per AI minute over that, plus your standard per-minute rate; on any Kall8 plan from $14.95 a month |
| Answering service | Per minute or per call, often with a monthly minimum | Answering services price per minute or per call; check each provider's current price list |
| Receptionist on payroll | An hourly wage, plus payroll taxes and benefits | Your local hourly wage, before payroll taxes and benefits, for the hours you staff; enter it in the calculator below |
| Voicemail only | Included with every Kall8 number | No extra charge; callers leave a message and Kall8 emails it to you |
What does an AI receptionist cost at different call volumes?
The AI Receptionist's monthly cost at 2-minute calls, from the catalog. Your Kall8 plan and the call minutes it already covers are on top, plus taxes and fees.
| Calls a month | AI minutes | AI minutes over 250 | AI Receptionist a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | 200 | 0 | $55 |
| 200 | 400 | 150 | $92.50 |
| 400 | 800 | 550 | $192.50 |
Which hidden costs should you check?
- A required phone plan. Some AI receptionists only work on the vendor's own phone service. Add that plan to the price.
- Setup or onboarding fees. One-time charges are easy to miss on a pricing page; Kall8's is $10.
- Per-call or per-minute charges. Find out what happens after the included amount, and whether a short call counts as a whole one.
- Your own number. Check whether you can keep the toll-free, vanity or local number you already advertise, and whether porting it costs anything. Kall8 charges no port-in fee.
- The contract. Kall8's AI Receptionist has none: remove it in your portal and the monthly charge stops.
How does it compare with hiring?
A receptionist does far more than answer the phone, and many businesses keep one. The AI receptionist covers the hours nobody is at the desk and the routine questions that interrupt the day. Use the calculator to put your own wage, hours and call volume side by side.
Compare a receptionist with the AI Receptionist
Either way, calls to your Kall8 number use your plan's minutes. On Kall8 Phone and Teams plans, calls to a toll-free main line are billed at your standard per-minute rate. All prices plus taxes and fees.
Get your AI ReceptionistMore: Kall8 AI Receptionist · What is an AI receptionist? · All add-on prices
Cost questions
Compare, then add your AI Receptionist
$55 a month plus $10 setup, with 250 AI minutes included per account, then $0.25 per AI minute, on any Kall8 plan. Plus taxes and fees. No contract.