An AI receptionist costs anywhere from nothing to a few hundred dollars a month. The price depends mostly on whether you pay per call or a flat rate. Ours is $497 a month plus a one-time $997 setup, with unlimited minutes, so the first year comes to $6,961.
That number only makes sense next to what you'd do otherwise, so here are the alternatives.
The options side by side
| Option | What it costs | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Voicemail | $0 | Someone with a burst pipe or a car in a ditch doesn't leave a message. They call the next number on the list. |
| Per-call AI answering (example: Smith.ai's AI receptionist) | A free tier covers 25 calls. Paid plans start at $150/mo, plus a fee for every call past your plan's limit. | Cheap when it's quiet. The bill grows every time the phone rings, which is exactly when you're busiest. |
| 513 AI Receptionist | $497/mo + $997 setup | Flat price with unlimited minutes. If your phone barely rings, a per-call plan will cost you less. |
| Full-time receptionist | About $3,170/mo in wages at the national median of $18.27/hr (BLS, May 2025), before payroll taxes | Covers roughly 40 of the week's 168 hours. Nights, weekends, and lunch breaks still go to voicemail. |
A person at the front desk does plenty that software can't, like greeting walk-ins and handling a tricky billing question. If your phone is busy from 8 to 5, a hire may be the right call. The AI earns its money in the hours nobody is there.
What the $497 a month covers
- It answers on the number you already have. No porting and no new number to print on the truck.
- You pick the mode: it answers every call, or only the calls you couldn't get to, in place of voicemail.
- It speaks English and Spanish and figures out which one the caller is using.
- It texts each caller your booking link so they can put themselves on your calendar.
- On hot calls, you get a text summary within a minute of the call ending.
- Missed-call text-back and quote chasing are included. When a quote goes quiet, it texts the customer in your voice until they book or say no.
- You choose from 28 voices and hear yours before any customer does.
The full feature list is on the AI Receptionist page.
What the $997 setup pays for
Setup is the build. We learn your services, hours, prices, and which calls should go straight to you, then connect it to your line and tune the voice you picked.
It starts with a 30-minute kickoff call. In total, expect 25 to 60 minutes of your time spread across the first week. Most of our products go live in 5 to 14 days.
Costs after you sign up
- One free hour of changes every month. More than that is $75 an hour, billed in 15-minute blocks.
- A second location gets 25% off its monthly price.
- Cancel with 30 days notice by email. There's no minimum term.
- Prices are plus any applicable tax.
How to tell if it would pay for itself
Use your own numbers, not ours. Pull last month's call log and count three things: calls that went to voicemail, calls that came in after hours, and how many of those were new customers.
Then do the math with your average job size and how often you close a new caller. Here's a made-up example: a two-truck HVAC shop whose average repair is $300 needs two extra booked jobs a month to cover $497. A towing company can usually see the answer faster, because a missed tow call is gone in minutes. For a dental office, one new patient who stays for years can be worth a lot more than a single visit.
If the count is close to zero, don't buy a receptionist. Start smaller. Our $97 Personal Assistant has no setup fee and handles estimates, invoices, and email instead of phones.
Do I need new hardware or a new phone number?
No. It runs on the line you already use. Your customers keep dialing the same number on your sign and your Google profile.
Want to run your own numbers with us? Book a 15-minute call at 513ai.ai/book or call (513) 444-9330. If a cheaper option fits better, we'll tell you.