What an answering service actually costs
The advertised number is the monthly bundle. The real number is what you pay per genuine customer conversation once per-minute billing, rounding, overages and answered spam do their work. Here's the honest math.
The pricing model in one paragraph
Nearly all services bill by the receptionist minute — typically $1.30–$1.70 — bundled monthly: entry plans around $250–$330 for 100–200 minutes, with overage rates above the bundle and premiums for 24/7, holidays, appointment booking and call patching. Some offer per-call pricing (~$1.50–$3 for simple message-taking). Every answered call counts: the customer, the supplier, the robocall — the meter doesn't know the difference.
A worked example month
Small trades business, mid-tier plan, realistic call mix:
| Bundle: 150 minutes | $285 base (at ~$1.90 effective w/ fees) |
| 62 answered calls × ~2.5 min avg | 155 minutes used |
| 5 overage minutes | +$9–$12 at overage rates |
| Of those calls: 11 spam/robocalls, 8 suppliers | ~48 minutes you paid to answer |
| Real customer conversations | 43 calls ≈ $6.90 each |
Roughly $300 for the month, ≈$7 per real customer conversation — and each of those conversations still ends with "he'll call you back." The message-relay delay is where the quote-shopper quietly books your competitor.
The flat-rate comparison
For the daytime-overflow misses that make up most trades call volume, an instant text-back does the recovery without the meter: $297/month flat whatever your volume, the customer replies straight to your phone, and there's no per-spam surcharge because nothing bills per interaction. The honest decision framework between the two lives on our contractor guide, with trade-specific takes for plumbers and electricians.
Put your own numbers in
The missed-call calculator shows what the misses themselves cost you — then call (866) 903-9906, hang up, and feel the alternative.
Common questions
What is the average cost of an answering service?
For small businesses: typically $1.30–$1.70 per minute, sold as monthly bundles — commonly $250–$330/month for 100–200 minutes. Per-call plans exist too (roughly $1.50–$3 per call for basic message-taking). 24/7 coverage, appointment booking, and dispatch push prices up.
What fees should I watch for?
Per-minute rounding (a 61-second call billed as 2 minutes), overage rates above your bundle, setup fees, holiday and after-hours premiums, charges for patched/transferred calls, and billing for spam and robocalls the receptionist answered. Always ask how they round and what a wrong number costs you.
Is an answering service worth it for a small trades business?
It's worth it when a live human voice genuinely wins the moment — overnight emergencies with dispatch, clientele that won't text. For daytime quote-and-booking misses (most trades misses), you're paying $4–$8 per call for a message you still have to return; an instant text-back covers that miss at flat cost with you in the conversation.
How does FiveFlow's pricing compare?
Flat $297/month — missed-call text-back, two-way relay to your phone, booking by text, review requests — no per-minute meter, no contract, and a $99 thirty-day pilot with a 3-recovered-inquiries-or-refund promise. One recovered job a month typically covers it.
Written by Priya Mathai
Founder of FiveFlow — she builds and runs the missed-call recovery system US electricians and plumbers use to stop losing jobs to voicemail. About
FiveFlow · United States · After-hours coverage · Missed-call text-back · Contact