How to price an AI agent

Price it against what the tradesperson pays today for the same job, not against what it costs you. What it costs you is on our pricing page. What they pay today is below.

What a human answering service costs

In the UK, commonly £0.99 to £2.50 per answered call, or £0.80 to £1.85 a minute (Praxum). A plumber taking 100 detailed inquiries a month can spend £100 to £400 or more once length, booking and nights are in. In the US, traditional per-minute plans sit around $0.75 to $1.50 a minute, and monthly packages for a small shop are quoted at $200 to $1,500 (VoiceCharm, OnCrew; vendor figures, not a survey). A message is not a booking. The owner still calls back.

What a person costs

The median US front desk worker earns $38,010 a year (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025), before employer taxes and benefits, for weekday hours. A full-time UK front desk worker is on the order of £28,000 to £40,000 a year all-in (Praxum). Neither answers at 11pm on a Saturday.

Where the price sits

$299 to $399 a month. At $199, with 10 clients on Growth, after platform fees, our client share, estimated card fees and 600 minutes of calls, you lose about $4 a client. At $399 you keep about $130. We recommend $399 a month. You choose what to advertise and charge. Try your own numbers in the calculator.

The sentence to say

“This costs less than one job a month.” The average plumbing job is $341, the average HVAC repair $350, the average electrical job $351 (HomeAdvisor, June 2026; the missed-call article has the table).

What to include

The agent, the number, the calendar booking, caller texts, the call log with transcripts, and your support. Put a minute allowance on the plan, 600 is a sound default, and a top-up pack above it.

Sources

1. Praxum, telephone answering service costs in the UK: £0.99 to £2.50 per answered call, £0.80 to £1.85 per minute; in-house all-in about £28,000 to £40,000. Retrieved August 23, 2026.
2. VoiceCharm and OnCrew, US answering service pricing: $0.75 to $1.50 per minute; monthly packages $200 to $1,500 (vendor figures). Retrieved August 23, 2026.
3. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: median pay $18.27 an hour, $38,010 a year, May 2025. Retrieved October 8, 2026.