Short answer: there are three ways to make sure a business phone gets answered, and each wins under different conditions. A hired receptionist costs a median of $38,010 a year according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, before taxes and benefits, and covers business hours only, but brings judgment and a human presence at the front desk. A human answering service covers more hours for less, with published plans ranging from $250 a month for 50 minutes at Ruby to $2,100 a month for 300 calls at Smith.ai, though most take messages rather than complete the task. An AI receptionist answers instantly at any hour, handles many calls at once, and books directly into a calendar for a fraction of either cost, but should hand anything sensitive or unusual to a person. For most small service businesses the sound answer is a combination: AI for volume and after hours, people for judgment.
Nearly every comparison of these options online is published by a company selling one of them, which is why so few concede where their own product is the wrong choice. Velora Media builds AI receptionists, so the same caution applies to this page, and the sections on where AI loses are written with that in mind.
Option one: hiring a receptionist
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median wage for receptionists of $38,010 a year, or $18.27 an hour, as of May 2025. That figure represents wages alone; payroll taxes, benefits, paid leave, and the cost of covering absences all sit on top of it, and the coverage it purchases amounts to roughly forty hours of a week that contains one hundred and sixty-eight.
Where it wins. A receptionist who knows the business is unmatched at the work that is not really telephony at all: greeting people who walk in, reading a difficult situation, remembering that a long-standing client prefers mornings. For a practice whose front desk is part of the service, such as a medical or law office with steady foot traffic, this is money well spent.
Where it fails. A single person can answer only a single call, must stop for lunch, and goes home at five, with the consequence that every call arriving during a busy stretch, after hours, or over a weekend is met by voicemail, and some proportion of those callers are new customers who will not try a second time.
Option two: a human answering service
Answering services sell access to trained people by the minute or by the call. Ruby's published plans, as listed in September 2026, run from $250 a month for 50 receptionist minutes to $395 for 100, $720 for 200, and $1,725 for 500. Smith.ai's human receptionist plans run from $300 a month for 30 calls to $810 for 90 and $2,100 for 300.
Where it wins. A person answers, which matters greatly for emotionally difficult calls, and coverage can extend to nights and weekends without a hire. For a business with low call volume and high-stakes conversations, this is frequently the right tool.
Where it fails. The pricing model penalizes volume, which is precisely the condition under which a business most needs help. A business receiving 200 calls a month of about three minutes each consumes roughly 600 minutes, a figure that exceeds Ruby's largest published plan and would require Smith.ai's $2,100 tier. Many services also take a message rather than resolve the request, so that the caller is still left waiting for a callback, and the operators, however capable, are working from a script about a business they have never seen.
Option three: an AI receptionist
An AI receptionist is software that answers the phone in a natural voice, understands what the caller wants, and completes routine work: answering common questions, checking a live calendar, booking or rescheduling an appointment, and sending a confirmation. Subscription products from the vendors that rank for these searches are advertised from roughly $100 to $400 a month, and usage-based platforms charge by the minute.
Where it wins. It answers on the first ring at three in the morning, takes several calls at once during a rush, never has a bad day, and writes the appointment into the calendar instead of onto a message pad. Customers are more receptive than owners tend to assume: in CallRail's 2025 survey of 1,000 US consumers, 52% said companies using AI assistants after hours provide superior service, 50% would use AI to book an appointment, and only 13% would not use it for any task.
Where it fails. It should not be trusted with judgment. A grieving caller, an angry customer, a medical or legal question, or any request outside its defined scope belongs with a person, and a system that lacks a clean handoff for those moments will do real damage. It also fails when it is merely a phone tree with a new name: a 2019 Vonage survey of 2,010 consumers, as reported by Numa, found that 85% had abandoned a call after reaching an auto attendant. Conversational ability is the entire point.
Renting software versus having a system built
Within the AI option there is a second decision that vendor comparisons rarely mention. A subscription product is quick to start and inexpensive, and it suits a business that has only a handful of call types and an owner prepared to configure and maintain it. The cost of that economy is that the setup, the scripts, the integrations, and the testing all become the owner's responsibility, and that the product has been designed for the average customer rather than for any one business in particular.
A done-for-you build costs more at the outset and removes that work. Velora Media builds an AI receptionist for $2,000 to $7,500, scoped during setup to the business's actual call types, connected to the calendar and tools already in use, and given explicit escalation rules for what goes to a person. Neither route is inherently better. A solo operator with simple calls is well served by a subscription; a practice with several services, real scheduling complexity, or regulated conversations usually is not.
How to choose
Three questions settle most cases: how many calls arrive when nobody is free to answer, after hours included; what proportion of those calls are routine enough to be completed without the exercise of judgment; and what a single booked job is worth. A business that misses many routine calls of meaningful value has a problem that AI solves. A business that receives few calls, most of them delicate, is better served by an answering service, and a business whose front desk is itself the product ought simply to hire.
The combination is common and sensible: AI answers first and completes what is routine, and a person, whether an employee or a service, takes what is not. The full system is described on the AI Receptionist service page.
Frequently asked questions
Is an AI receptionist cheaper than an answering service?
Usually, and the gap widens with volume. Human answering services publish plans from $250 a month for 50 minutes (Ruby) to $2,100 a month for 300 calls (Smith.ai), while subscription AI receptionists are advertised from roughly $100 to $400 a month. Velora Media builds a done-for-you AI receptionist for a one-time $2,000 to $7,500.
How much does it cost to hire a receptionist?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median wage of $38,010 a year, or $18.27 an hour, as of May 2025. Payroll taxes, benefits, and leave are additional, and the role covers business hours only.
What is the difference between an AI receptionist and an answering service?
An answering service uses people who follow a script and typically take a message for a callback. An AI receptionist is software that answers instantly, handles many calls at once, and completes routine tasks such as booking an appointment on a live calendar, then hands sensitive or unusual calls to a person.
Do customers mind talking to an AI receptionist?
Most do not, provided it works. In CallRail's 2025 survey of 1,000 US consumers, 52% said AI assistants after hours signal superior service and only 13% would not use AI for any task. What callers reject is the automated phone tree, which 85% of consumers in a 2019 Vonage survey had abandoned.
When is a human answering service the better choice?
When calls are few and delicate. Emotionally difficult conversations, such as those handled by funeral homes or crisis-related services, benefit from a person, and at low volume the per-minute pricing is manageable.
Can an AI receptionist and a human work together?
Yes, and it is often the best arrangement. The AI answers every call and completes routine requests, and anything outside its defined scope is passed to an employee or an answering service with the details of the conversation attached.
Related reading
For real pricing and what the system catches during and after hours, see how much an AI receptionist costs for an auto body shop. For where an owner's hours actually go, see where a small business owner's day actually goes. For why Velora lists every price publicly, see why we publish our prices.
Where to look next
If you are unsure which of the three fits, the discovery call is free and starts with how many calls you are missing today. The AI receptionist landing page offers a free demo in which the receptionist answers, qualifies, and books a real appointment.
Velora Media landing pages, by industry
Each site below carries the same six pages: an overview, the services built for that industry, a shop with published prices, the engine showing how the pieces connect, results, and the questions owners in that industry ask first.
AI receptionist, for any industry
aireceptionist.veloramedia.cloud · Services · Shop · Engine · Results · FAQ
Home services: plumbing, electrical, HVAC, and appliance repair
homeservices.veloramedia.cloud · Services · Shop · Engine · Results · FAQ
Real estate agents
realestateagents.veloramedia.cloud · Services · Shop · Engine · Results · FAQ
Real estate wholesalers
wholesale.veloramedia.cloud · Services · Shop · Engine · Results · FAQ
Med spas and aesthetic clinics
medspaaesthetics.veloramedia.cloud · Services · Shop · Engine · Results · FAQ
Physicians and medical practices
physicians.veloramedia.cloud · Services · Shop · Engine · Results · FAQ
Auto body and collision repair
autobody.veloramedia.cloud · Services · Shop · Engine · Results · FAQ
Law firms and attorneys
lawfirms.veloramedia.cloud · Services · Shop · Engine · Results · FAQ
Florists and flower shops
florist.veloramedia.cloud · Services · Shop · Engine · Results · FAQ
Sources
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, "Receptionists," May 2025 wage data. bls.gov
- Ruby, pricing page, retrieved September 2026. ruby.com
- Smith.ai, virtual receptionist pricing, retrieved September 2026. smith.ai
- CallRail, "Why businesses can't afford to miss calls," September 25, 2025. Survey of 1,000 US consumers. callrail.com
- Vonage IVR survey of 2,010 consumers (2019), as reported by Numa, "22 Business Phone Statistics." numa.com
- Juryo, "Best AI Receptionist for Law Firms," listing advertised AI receptionist prices. juryo.ai