The real cost is in the meter.Plans from $299 replace hidden metering.
Most answering services advertise $39–$99/month then bill 3–5x that after per-minute charges, surcharges, and overages. Here's what they actually cost — and what transparent tiered AI pricing looks like instead.
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monthly cost range for traditional small-business answering services
average hidden-fee markup over the advertised "base" price
Front Desk starting price per location (Pro tier)
What You\'re Really Paying
The four ways traditional answering services inflate the bill.
The advertised price gets you in the door. The real bill comes from line items most buyers don't see until month two.
Per-minute charges
$0.95–$2.50 per minute is the headline cost. A 10-minute call = $10–$25. Twenty long calls a month = $200–$500 on top of base.
After-hours & holiday premiums
1.5x for evenings/weekends, 2x for federal holidays. The exact hours you most need coverage cost the most.
Add-on fees
Bilingual (+$50–$150/mo), HIPAA BAA (+$50–$200/mo), message-relay fees, per-call connection fees, overage processing fees. They add up fast.
How to Estimate
A simple formula for your real monthly cost.
Run the numbers on your current or prospective service before signing anything.
Count your minutes
Pull your phone bill or front-desk logs. Estimate total inbound minutes per month — both during and after hours.
Apply the rate plus 30%
Base monthly fee + (total minutes × per-minute rate) × 1.3 for surcharges/fees. That number is within 10% of your real bill.
Compare to plans from $299
For many practices doing 150+ minutes per month, Front Desk is cheaper — and it books appointments, not just messages.
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Cost at different call volumes.
I sat down with our old answering service's last 12 months of invoices. The average was $1,210/month — never under $900. We switched to Front Desk and started on Pro at $299, then moved tiers as volume increased.
— David Okafor, Practice Manager, Okafor Pediatrics
Built For
Better unit economics for every kind of practice.
Plans from $299/mo
Tiered, transparent pricing
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Month-to-month
Books appointments
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BAA included
No add-on fee
FAQ
Answering service cost, explained.
Most small business answering services in the US cost $200–$1,500 per month, depending on call volume. The pricing structure is typically a $39–$99/month base fee plus $0.95–$2.50 per minute used. Higher volumes, after-hours coverage, and specialized services (medical, legal, bilingual) push the cost up significantly.
Four main models: (1) Per-minute — most common, $0.95–$2.50/min on top of a monthly base; (2) Per-call — $1–$3 per call regardless of length; (3) Minute bundle — pay upfront for X minutes, overages billed per minute; (4) Tiered plans — a monthly base with transparent included usage and overage rates (like Front Desk).
Hidden fees. Most services add: per-call connection fees ($0.50–$1.50 each), after-hours premiums (1.5x), holiday surcharges (2x), message-delivery fees, bilingual surcharges, and overage charges if you exceed your minute bundle. A "$99/mo" service often bills $400–$800.
Per-minute charges on long calls. A single 10-minute call at $2/min is $20. Twenty of those per month is $400 — on top of the base fee. Chatty patients or complex intakes punish your bill the most.
Front Desk plans start at $299/month per location with transparent included usage and overage rates. For practices doing more than ~150 minutes per month total, Front Desk is often cheaper than most human services. And it actually books appointments, which most human services don't.
Voicemail is "free" — but it costs you in lost patients. Industry data shows 70%+ of callers hang up at voicemail. The hidden cost of voicemail (lost bookings) is usually higher than any paid answering service.
HIPAA compliance typically adds $50–$200/month to a traditional answering service's base — it's positioned as a premium add-on. Front Desk includes a signed BAA at no extra cost.
Take your average monthly call count × average call length × your service's per-minute rate, plus their base fee, plus 30% for surcharges and fees. That's usually within 10% of your real monthly bill. Front Desk starts at $299 with clear plan limits.
Stop guessing at your monthly bill.
Front Desk pricing starts at $299/month per location with clear limits and transparent overage. Try the live demo and compare your current bill.
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