This article is part of our AI Front Desk hub. Want help applying it? Talk to eSEOspace.
An AI receptionist's published price is far lower than a full-time salary. The two are not doing the same job, so the price gap is not your savings. A fair comparison starts with which tasks you would actually move.
This guide is part of our AI Front Desk guide. Pay data comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and vendor prices were checked on each vendor's pages on 9 November 2026. We make no savings claim, because the answer depends on your own calls and staffing.
Key Takeaways
- A staff receptionist does much more than answer the phone, so the two aren't direct substitutes.
- BLS reports median receptionist pay of $38,010 per year for 2025.
- Employer costs are higher than pay, and BLS data shows benefits were 30.0 percent of private industry compensation in June 2026.
- AI plans bill per minute, per call or per caller, so your volume sets the real price.
- Add your costs for setup, review and handling the calls that still need a person.
What a human receptionist does
The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists duties that go well beyond the phone. They include answering calls, scheduling appointments, greeting and checking in visitors, entering customer information and handling correspondence.
An AI phone tool can only take on the phone-based part of that list. Someone still has to greet the person who walks in, unless your business has no walk-ins.
What an AI receptionist does
An AI receptionist answers calls with a generated voice and follows your instructions. Depending on the product, it can take messages, book appointments and transfer calls.
It can answer outside staff hours and handle more than one call at a time, within each plan's limits. Retell's pricing page says every account includes 20 concurrent calls for free, for example. It also needs oversight, because it can make mistakes that someone has to catch.
The staff cost baseline
BLS reports median pay of $38,010 per year for receptionists in 2025. It also says: "Most receptionists work full time."
Pay isn't the whole cost to an employer. The BLS employer cost release for June 2026 shows wages at 70.0 percent of private industry compensation costs and benefits at 30.0 percent. That figure covers all private industry workers, not receptionists alone.
Use your own payroll figures if you have them. They will be more accurate than a national median.
The AI cost baseline
These were published prices on 9 November 2026. They are not quotes.
| Vendor | Billing unit | Published price |
|---|---|---|
| Retell | Minute | $0.07 to $0.31 per minute for voice agents |
| Goodcall | Unique customer per month | $79 for 100, $129 for 500, $299 for 2,000 |
| Dialzara | Minutes bundle | $199 for 500 minutes, $349 for 1,000 minutes |
| Smith.ai AI Receptionist | Real call | Free for 25 calls; Pro from $150 a month for 75 calls |
| Quo Sona | Call | $99 for 250 calls, $199 for 600 calls; Quo phone plans are priced separately |
Our AI receptionist pricing guide explains these units and extra fees in more depth.
A worked example (hypothetical arithmetic)
This example is hypothetical arithmetic for illustration. It is not a client result, a forecast or a savings estimate. We assume 300 inbound calls a month, each lasting three minutes, or 900 minutes in total.
Staff side. Take the BLS median of $38,010. If wages were 70 percent of total cost, as in the private industry average, total cost would be $38,010 divided by 0.70. That comes to about $54,300 a year, or about $4,525 a month.
AI side, published prices only:
| Product | Calculation | Monthly total before extras |
|---|---|---|
| Retell | 900 minutes at $0.07 to $0.31 | $63 to $279 |
| Goodcall Growth | Up to 500 unique customers | $129, if the 300 calls come from different numbers |
| Dialzara Business Elite | 1,000 minute bundle | $349 |
| Quo Sona Tier 4 | $99 for 250 calls, plus 50 calls at $0.55 | $126.50, plus any Quo phone plan cost |
We haven't subtracted one column from the other, because that subtraction would be misleading. The staff figure pays for a person who does the whole job on the BLS list. The AI figure pays for phone handling only.
Retell's published range doesn't say plainly whether it includes telephony. Treat its total as a lower bound.
Costs that don't appear on the price list
Add these to the AI side, using your own numbers.
- Setup time, including writing your business facts and call rules.
- Regular review of calls, plus fixing what goes wrong.
- Time your staff spend on calls the AI transfers or can't finish.
- Telephony, knowledge base or other add-on fees where they apply.
- Connections to your calendar or CRM.
Our article on the hidden costs of AI agents covers these in more detail. For a wider version of this decision, read AI agent vs hiring an employee.
Where each one fits
These are our judgments, not research findings.
A person tends to fit when visitors walk in, calls need empathy or judgment, or the role includes a lot of non-phone work.
AI tends to fit when calls are repetitive and the answers are written down, or when calls arrive outside staff hours.
Both can fit when an AI handles overflow and after-hours calls, so that staff can focus on the people in front of them. Our guide to rolling out AI with your front desk team covers how to do that.
How to run your own comparison
- Use your payroll numbers, including benefits and payroll taxes.
- Track how much of the receptionist's week goes to phone calls.
- Measure your calls, using how to measure missed calls.
- Price your call volume in each vendor's unit.
- Add setup, review and handoff time.
- Compare the tasks you would really move, not the whole job.
Next step
Do the task count first, because it decides which comparison is fair. If you want a custom agent connected to your own systems, our AI agent development team can scope it with you.
Frequently asked questions
Is an AI receptionist cheaper than hiring someone?
The published price is lower than the BLS median salary, but the two don't do the same work. Whether you save money depends on which tasks you can really move. Run the comparison with your own figures.
Can an AI receptionist replace my receptionist?
It can take over some phone tasks. BLS lists several duties that a phone tool can't do, including greeting and checking in visitors. Decide task by task.
Why don't you give a savings percentage?
We have no data to support one, and any figure would depend on your call mix and payroll. A vendor's savings claim needs a method behind it before you rely on it. The arithmetic above is an illustration only.
Should I use the BLS median in my budget?
Use it only as a starting point if you have nothing better. Your own payroll data will reflect your location and benefits. The BLS benefit share covers all private industry workers, not receptionists alone.
What should I count as the AI's cost?
Count the plan, any usage over the plan, telephony and add-ons, setup time and ongoing review. Include staff time on transferred calls.
