An AI receptionist's total cost includes setup, subscription or usage charges, telephony, integrations, human escalation, and the staff time required to review its work. Ask for those items in writing before comparing offers. The advertised monthly fee may cover only part of the system you need.
There is no single reliable price for every contractor. Call volume, conversation length, scheduling complexity, and the required integrations change the scope. The worksheet below uses invented figures to show the calculation; it is not a RevCore quote or a market pricing benchmark.
Start with coverage and workload
Estimate the calls to be handled in the proposed coverage window. Separate routine sales intake from active-project support and other traffic. Use recent records if you have them, or count calls for a representative period before committing to a usage tier.
Then calculate expected conversation minutes using that mix. A short call to confirm territory and a longer design inquiry consume different amounts of time. Include transfers and repeat attempts if the provider bills them. Ask what happens when the monthly allowance runs out rather than assuming the published fee covers unlimited use.
Put every charge in the same worksheet
Our recommended comparison uses an implementation column, a recurring fixed-cost column, and a variable-cost column. Add a fourth column for the time your team must spend maintaining it. Each vendor should explain which items are included and which are separate.
- Implementation: call rules, knowledge setup, calendar configuration, integration work, and testing.
- Fixed recurring costs: platform subscription, phone numbers, and any connected services.
- Variable costs: minutes, calls, messages, overages, transfers, or human support.
- Business labor: conversation review, corrections, changing availability, and updating service rules.
- Exit scope: number ownership, record export, and work required to move to another setup.
Use an illustrative first-year calculation
Imagine a quoted setup charge of $1,200, a $250 monthly subscription, and $90 monthly usage. Suppose the office spends three hours each month reviewing conversations at an internal planning rate of $35 per hour. These inputs are illustrative assumptions, not observed rates.
The recurring operating estimate is $250 + $90 + $105 = $445 per month. Add the setup charge to twelve months of operation: $1,200 + (12 × $445) = $6,540 for the first year. Put any separately billed phone or integration costs on top. Calculate a second scenario with heavier usage so you can see how the bill changes.
Compare outcomes without inventing lost revenue
Count qualified inquiries handled, correct appointments booked, and staff minutes saved. Do not assume every missed call would have become a sold job. If the call had no suitable project, recovering it adds activity without necessarily adding revenue.
Illustrative scenario: 25 additional calls are handled, eight meet your criteria, five attend a consultation, and one signs. Record that actual funnel before valuing the result. For economic evaluation, use the project's contribution after delivery costs and include sales labor. Gross contract revenue alone overstates what is available to pay for reception.
Set a review threshold and an owner
Agree on the initial coverage window and what would justify expanding it. Our recommended checks are accurate records, correct appointment types, reliable escalation, and a workload reduction the office can describe. Keep a separate log of wrong bookings so their cost is visible.
Ask for a current written quote and confirm the billing units before signing. The same tool can have very different total costs in a busy season and a quiet one. Review the bill against handled work monthly; adjust the coverage and rules when the business changes.