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Quick answer: Most virtual receptionist services charge by the minute or by the call and share a team of receptionists across many businesses. PATLive starts at $99 a month for 50 minutes, Abby Connect at $164 for 50 minutes, Ruby at $250 for 50 minutes, and Smith.ai at $300 for 30 calls, and all four answer around the clock. If your phones ring all day, a dedicated remote receptionist can cost less per call: Stellar Staff places one full-time receptionist for $1,999 a month for 160 hours, month to month, who works only for your business.
Disclosure: Stellar Staff publishes this page and is one of the services compared. Every other company's prices come from its own website, checked on October 28, 2026, and linked in its entry.
Virtual receptionist companies look similar from their home pages: friendly voices, 24/7 answering, and calls sent to your phone. The real differences are in how they bill and who picks up. A per-minute plan is a great deal at 50 minutes a month and an expensive one at 1,000. A shared team covers nights and weekends, while a dedicated receptionist learns your clients by name. This comparison of the best virtual receptionist services puts six options side by side and shows where each pricing model stops making sense.
Six Virtual Receptionist Services Side by Side
| Service | How it bills | Starting price | Coverage | Receptionists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stellar Staff | Flat monthly, one dedicated person | $1,999 a month for 160 hours | Your business hours, one shift | Primarily the Philippines |
| PATLive | Per minute | $99 a month for 50 minutes | 24/7 | U.S.-based |
| Abby Connect | Per minute | $164 a month for 50 minutes | 24/7 | U.S.-based team in Las Vegas |
| Ruby | Per minute | $250 a month for 50 minutes | 24/7 | Not stated on its pricing page |
| Smith.ai | Per call | $300 a month for 30 calls | 24/7 | North America-based |
| Moneypenny | Custom, from about $84 a month | About $84 a month | 24/7 | U.S.-based teams |
Per-Minute, Per-Call, or One Dedicated Receptionist
Per-minute plans buy a block of talk time each month, with overage billed per extra minute. They're easy to start and cheap at low volume. Watch how minutes are counted, since some services include hold time, transfers, and after-call work.
Per-call plans charge for each call instead of each minute. They suit businesses whose calls run long, such as intake for law firms or service businesses, because a 10-minute call costs the same as a 2-minute one.
A dedicated remote receptionist is one full-time person who works your hours inside your phone system, calendar, and CRM. You pay a flat monthly price no matter how many calls come in. The trade-off is coverage: one person covers one shift, so nights and weekends still need voicemail, an answering service, or a second hire. For a full picture of rates and hidden fees, see our guide to how much a virtual receptionist costs.
Shared Receptionist Services Billed by Usage
PATLive
PATLive has the lowest entry price on this list and the widest range of plans. Pay as you go costs $49 a month plus $2.99 a minute, and plans run from $99 for 50 minutes to $6,899 for 5,000 minutes, with overage falling from $2.29 to $1.49 a minute as plans grow. Every plan includes 24/7 human answering, there are no contracts, and PATLive says its receptionists are 100% U.S.-based. It fits businesses that want round-the-clock coverage at a low monthly floor.
Abby Connect
Abby Connect assigns a small, dedicated team of U.S.-based receptionists to each client, working from its Las Vegas headquarters rather than from home. Plans run from $164 for 50 minutes to $1,380 for 500 minutes, with overage billed at your plan's per-minute rate, no setup fee, and month-to-month terms. Abby also offers AI answering, where one AI minute uses half a plan minute. It fits businesses that want the same few voices on every call without hiring a full-time person.
Ruby
Ruby sells receptionist plans from $250 a month for 50 minutes to $1,725 for 500 minutes, with 24/7 live answering on every plan, including nights, weekends, and holidays. It also sells website chat, from $143 a month for 10 chats, with a discount when you bundle chat with a receptionist plan. Its pricing page doesn't list overage rates, contract terms, or where receptionists are based, so ask before you sign.
Smith.ai
Smith.ai bills by the call rather than the minute. Its human receptionist plans cost $300 a month for 30 calls, $810 for 90 calls, and $2,100 for 300 calls, with overage of $11.50 down to $8.50 a call. Receptionists are North America-based, with no overseas agents, and calls are answered 24/7 at the same price. Plans are month to month, with a 10% discount for a 12-month term, and new clients get a 30-day money-back guarantee on the initial plan. Per-call billing makes Smith.ai a good fit for long intake calls.
Moneypenny
Moneypenny says its U.S. service starts at about $84 a month, with custom pricing for higher volume. It runs U.S.-based teams that combine human receptionists with AI for routine calls, offers a dedicated receptionist so regular callers hear the same voice, and advertises a 7-day free trial with no setup fees and no contracts. Because its price is a starting estimate, get a written quote based on your call volume.
A Dedicated Remote Receptionist on Your Team
Stellar Staff
- Price: $1,999 a month on Pro or $2,999 on Executive, for 160 hours a month, about $12.50 an hour on Pro. A bilingual receptionist adds $200 a month.
- Terms: Month to month, no long-term contract, 14 days' notice to cancel.
- Hiring: You interview 2 to 3 finalists and choose one. The search takes 5 to 10 business days.
- Replacements: Free, forever, on managed plans.
A Stellar Staff remote receptionist works only for your business during your hours. Besides answering calls, they book and confirm appointments in your calendar, return missed calls, update your CRM, and handle the email and text follow-up that a shared answering service doesn't touch. Candidates go through written and spoken English verification, reference and equipment checks, skill assessments, and background checks. Stellar handles recruiting, payroll, HR, tracking, and replacements, and you direct the daily work. Medical and dental practices can hire a virtual medical receptionist who works in their scheduling system. Talent comes primarily from the Philippines, and one receptionist covers one shift, so this doesn't replace 24/7 answering.
When a Per-Minute Plan Becomes Too Expensive
Per-minute plans are priced for light, unpredictable call volume. The more your phones ring, the faster those plans climb. Here's what the largest published plan at each per-minute service buys, next to one full-time receptionist.
| Plan | Monthly price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Ruby, 500 minutes | $1,725 | About 8 hours of talk time a month |
| Abby Connect, 500 minutes | $1,380 | About 8 hours of talk time a month |
| PATLive, 1,000 minutes | $1,499 | About 17 hours of talk time a month |
| Smith.ai, 300 calls | $2,100 | 300 calls of any length |
| Stellar Staff Pro | $1,999 | One dedicated receptionist for 160 hours, including calls, scheduling, and follow-up |
If your phones generate a few hours of talk time a month, a per-minute service is the cheaper choice and gives you 24/7 coverage. Once calls, callbacks, and scheduling fill most of a workday, a dedicated receptionist usually costs less per call and does more between calls. Many businesses use both: a dedicated receptionist during business hours and an answering service for nights and weekends.
Choose Stellar Staff If Your Phones Ring All Day
Choose Stellar Staff if you want one receptionist who knows your clients, works your hours, and handles scheduling and follow-up as well as calls, at a flat $1,999 a month for 160 hours, month to month. You choose from 2 to 3 finalists, and replacements are free, forever, on managed plans. A full-time hire through Stellar Staff comes in at a third of the cost of a local hire, and Stellar Staff is the #2 VA agency on Clutch, with 1,000+ remote hires placed since 2022.
Choose a shared service if you need 24/7 answering (any of the five here), if your volume is low or seasonal (PATLive or Abby Connect), or if your calls are long intake conversations (Smith.ai).
What Business Owners Ask Before Choosing a Receptionist Service
What's the best virtual receptionist service?
It depends on your call volume and hours. For low volume with 24/7 coverage, PATLive and Abby Connect have the lowest published entry prices among U.S.-based services. For long calls, Smith.ai's per-call pricing works well. For a full day of calls, scheduling, and follow-up, a dedicated remote receptionist from Stellar Staff costs $1,999 a month for 160 hours.
How much do virtual receptionist companies charge?
Published starting prices on this list run from $99 a month for 50 minutes at PATLive to $300 a month for 30 calls at Smith.ai. Larger per-minute plans run $1,380 to $1,725 for 500 minutes. A dedicated full-time receptionist through Stellar Staff costs $1,999 a month.
Are live virtual receptionists real people?
At the services on this list, yes, though several now mix in AI. Abby Connect and Moneypenny offer AI answering alongside human receptionists, and Smith.ai sells a separate AI receptionist. Ask how a call moves from AI to a person before you sign.
Do virtual receptionist services answer 24/7?
PATLive, Abby Connect, Ruby, Smith.ai, and Moneypenny all advertise 24/7 answering. A dedicated receptionist from Stellar Staff works one full-time shift during your business hours.
Can a virtual receptionist book appointments?
Yes. Most services can book into a shared calendar using your rules, and a dedicated receptionist can also confirm appointments, call back no-shows, and update your CRM.
Count Your Minutes Before You Pick a Plan
Pull last month's call log and add up the minutes, the number of calls, and how many calls came after hours. Under a few hundred minutes, start with a per-minute plan. If calls arrive all day and each one leads to scheduling or follow-up, price a dedicated receptionist. If both are true, use a receptionist for the day shift and a service for the rest.
If a full-time receptionist fits, compare Stellar Staff's plans or start a search.
Prices were checked on each company's website on October 28, 2026. Talk-time hours are calculated from each provider's published minutes. Confirm current plans and overage rates before you sign.