“How much does an answering service cost” doesn’t have one number. It depends which of three very different things you’re actually buying. Here’s what each one runs, honestly, so you can compare them on the same terms.

Option 1: Hire a receptionist

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median receptionist wage at $17.23/hr (OEWS, May 2023), about $2,990/month before payroll taxes and benefits. That’s for 40 hours a week, with nights, weekends, and holidays going to voicemail unless you pay overtime. Add sick days, turnover, and the weeks it takes to hire and train a replacement.

This is the right call if you want a person at a front counter, handling walk-ins and paperwork. It’s expensive coverage for a phone that mostly rings after hours.

Option 2: A live-agent answering service

These are call centers: real people, but not your employees, and usually not electricians. Pricing is almost always per-minute, commonly landing somewhere in the $1–$2 per minute range once you’re past the lowest tiers, with a monthly base fee on top. A single 10-minute emergency call can cost more than what you’d guess from the sticker price.

The agents are trained on a script, not your trade. Expect more “let me transfer you” and less real triage on the specific question a caller asks.

Option 3: An AI answering service

This is where the pricing looks the most different from the other two. Flat monthly plans, no per-minute meter, typically in the $29–$150/month range depending on the provider and plan tier, a fraction of a part-time hire, let alone a full-time one. The tradeoff is honesty: it’s AI, not a person, and a good one says so up front instead of pretending otherwise.

Not all AI tools are built the same. A generalist AI answering service knows how to take a message. A trade-specific one knows what a GFCI trip means, asks panel-size questions on an EV charger call, and knows the difference between “flickering light” and “sparking outlet,” because that’s what it was built for.

What actually matters isn’t the sticker price

It’s what a missed call costs you. Run your own numbers: your average ticket value × your close rate × the calls you’re currently missing. For most shops, that number is bigger than any of these three options. That’s really the question worth answering first, before you pick a tool. We break down that math here.

Wirewoman is the flat-rate, electrician-specific option: $95–$495/month, no per-minute meter, no contract. See the full side-by-side against hiring, or hear her work on the demo line.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2023. Median receptionist wage $17.23/hr.