When the phone starts costing you jobs, the first idea is to hire someone. It is a reasonable idea. Here is what the numbers look like for a small trade business, and where each option fits.
What a hired receptionist costs
Published 2026 comparisons put a full time receptionist at roughly $48,000 to $63,000 a year once you include salary, benefits, payroll taxes, training and turnover. A part time hire covering about 20 hours a week runs in the region of $1,300 to $1,700 a month. Figures vary by area, so use your own wage as the base.
That buys one person, in business hours, handling one call at a time. They take lunch, holidays and sick days, and the phone still rings at 7pm.
What an AI receptionist costs
Published comparisons put AI receptionists at about $25 to $300 a month, depending on volume and what the plan includes. Ansdale is a flat $49, $99 or $199 a month with booking included. It answers around the clock, takes any number of calls at once and does not bill per call.
Side by side
- Cost: thousands a month for a person, tens or low hundreds for AI.
- Hours: a person covers a shift. AI covers every hour, including nights, weekends and holidays.
- Volume: a person handles one call at a time. AI handles many at once, which matters during a heatwave or a freeze.
- Judgement: a person is better with an upset customer, an unusual request or a negotiation. AI is best on the routine call: who, what, where, when.
- Back-office work: a person can also do invoicing, dispatch and parts orders. An AI answers and books.
When hiring is the right call
If you have an office, a steady stream of walk-ins and a lot of work that happens at a desk, a person is worth it. The phone is only part of the job, and a good hire does more than answer it.
When AI is the better fit
If you are a one to ten truck business and the problem is calls missed while you are out working, you do not need a desk job filled. You need the call answered and the visit booked. That is a narrower job, and an AI receptionist does it at a small share of the price.
Using both
Many shops do not choose. They use AI to answer every call and book the routine ones, and a person for the calls that need judgement or the work that happens at the desk. The AI keeps the phone from being the bottleneck, so the hire can be part time or later.
Compare the models in detail in answering service vs virtual receptionist vs AI, or see the full cost guide and Ansdale plans.
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