Cost guide
Cheapest AI Receptionists for Small Home-Service Businesses: How to Compare Cost
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Editorial status: This page separates vendor-published facts from our own analysis. We do not claim hands-on testing until the calls are completed and logged.
“Cheapest” is surprisingly easy to get wrong because vendors meter different things: minutes, calls, credits, users or bundled platform usage. A $49 plan is not automatically cheaper than a $99 plan if the first plan runs out halfway through the month.
Use four standard volumes
Price every candidate at roughly 100, 250, 500 and 1,000 answered calls (or translate those calls into minutes using your own historical average). Do not convert call-priced and minute-priced products with an invented call length.
A transparent example: OnCrew
| Answered calls | Lowest-cost OnCrew plan from published rates | Approx. bill |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | Starter | $49 |
| 250 | Pro | $149 |
| 500 | Pro + 100 overage | $248 |
| 1,000 | Multi-Truck | $349 |
These calculations use OnCrew's published $49/100, $149/400 and $349/1,000 plans with $0.99 overage. A different vendor may use minutes or credits, so the right comparison is total expected bill at your real usage.
Hidden cost questions
- Are transfers billed as AI minutes after the handoff?
- Do outbound SMS messages carry separate usage charges?
- Does “integration” require Zapier/Make or a premium FSM plan?
- Are multiple phone numbers extra?
- Does a spam/abandoned call count?
- Is annual billing required for the advertised rate?