# AI Receptionist Pricing: Per-Minute Costs and Extras

> On developer platforms such as Vapi or Retell, an AI receptionist costs roughly $0.08 to $0.13 per minute once speech recognition, the language model, the voice and telephony are added up. Packaged services in Germany charge €0.18 to €0.50 per minute or €9.99 to €1,299 a month, plus up to €799 setup. Integration and upkeep come on top.

- URL: https://virtuelle-sekretaerin.de/en/ai-phone-agents/ai-receptionist-pricing/
- Language: en
- Updated: 2026-10-19
- Publisher: Virtuelle Sekretärin (OnlineBuilders LLC, https://onlinebuilders.biz)

One pricing page says "$0.05 per minute". Another says "from €0.18 per minute". Both seem to sell the same thing, a bot that answers your phone. Look closer and the first number is one component out of five, and the second includes things the first leaves out.

To compare them you have to take the bill apart.

## What a per-minute price is made of

Technically an AI receptionist is four building blocks: telephony, speech recognition, a language model and a synthetic voice. How they fit together is explained in [how an AI receptionist works](https://virtuelle-sekretaerin.de/en/ai-phone-agents/ai-receptionist-how-it-works/). Developer platforms list the pieces separately. Retell shows a sample configuration at $0.11 per minute, split like this:

**Retell sample configuration: $0.11 per minute**

| Share | % |
|---|---|
| Voice infrastructure | $0.055 |
| Language model | $0.04 |
| Text-to-speech voice | $0.015 |

Source: Retell AI pricing page, checked October 2026

Vapi charges a $0.05 platform fee per minute and passes the components through at cost: speech-to-text around $0.01, a language model between $0.008 and $0.045 depending on the model, and a voice at $0.015 to $0.024. Vapi's own estimate for 1,000 minutes a month is $82 to $129.

Model choice moves the price more than anything else. Retell's pricing page lists its smallest model at under $0.002 per minute, a large one at $0.16, or $0.32 in fast mode (October 2026). For bookings and routine questions a small model is nearly always enough. Bigger ones earn their price only on complex conversations.

## Packaged services

The second group sells a finished product: a local number, setup, ready-made calendar connections, support in your language, often EU hosting. Ainora, itself a vendor in this market, surveyed the pricing pages of eleven competitors in Germany (11 October 2026). Since the survey comes from a market participant, check the providers' own pages before you rely on it. Its ranges:

| Item | Range in the survey |
|---|---|
| Per minute, no monthly fee | €0.18 to €0.50 |
| Monthly bundle with included minutes | €9.99 to €1,299 |
| One-off setup | €0 to €799 |
| 600 minutes a month at list prices | €78 to €300 |

The higher prices buy you time. Someone else writes the instructions, maintains the knowledge base and fixes the calendar connection when it breaks. Whether that's worth the markup depends on who would otherwise do that work.

## Worked example: a practice with 800 calls

Say a dental practice hands 800 calls a month to the AI, two minutes on average. That's 1,600 minutes.

**Monthly usage cost at 1,600 minutes**

| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Developer platform, lean configuration | ≈ $131 |
| Developer platform, richer configuration | ≈ $206 |
| Packaged EU service at €0.18/min | €288 |
| Packaged EU service at €0.50/min | €800 |
| US live receptionist, 500-minute bundle | $1,725 for only 500 min |

Source: Vapi, Retell and Ruby pricing pages; Ainora survey; October 2026; own calculation, excluding setup and integration

Live answering is several times more expensive at this volume, which is why practices with heavy routine traffic are moving to AI. The comparison is flattering, though. The AI won't resolve every call. If a fifth of callers still need a person, that costs staff time or a second service. Live pricing models are covered in [virtual receptionist cost](https://virtuelle-sekretaerin.de/en/phone-answering/virtual-receptionist-cost/).

## Costs that aren't on the pricing page

Across a full year, other items often outweigh the per-minute rate:

- **Setup:** writing instructions, building the knowledge base, reviewing test calls. Included with some packaged providers, up to €799 extra with others, your own time on a platform.
- **Integration:** Google and Outlook calendars usually connect out of the box. Practice management software, an inventory system or a custom CRM needs development work.
- **Phone numbers:** a few dollars a month; Retell lists $2 per number.
- **Concurrency:** Retell includes 20 simultaneous calls and charges $8 a month per extra line; Vapi charges $10.
- **Add-ons:** noise reduction, removing personal data from transcripts or automated quality review each add a per-minute surcharge on Retell.
- **Compliance:** HIPAA support is a $2,000 monthly add-on on Vapi.
- **Billing increments:** Retell bills by the second, according to its pricing page; some packaged providers round up in 30-second steps. With many short calls, that adds up.
- **Upkeep:** someone has to keep the knowledge base current. Small job, but a permanent one.

## How many minutes you will really use

Every calculation depends on volume, and most people underestimate it. Three things push it up.

AI calls often run a little longer than calls with a seasoned receptionist. The assistant reads back names and numbers, asks clarifying questions and says goodbye properly. That's by design, and it costs seconds.

The AI also answers calls nobody used to answer. If lunchtime and evening calls went to voicemail before, they now become billable conversations that don't appear in your old call log.

Spam, wrong numbers and automated messages run on the meter too. Filtering known spam numbers, or playing a short recorded greeting first, saves money here.

So add a buffer. Take the call count from your phone system, multiply by average length and add a quarter. After the first month you'll have real data and can adjust the plan. That matters most on bundles, where minutes above the allowance often cost more than included ones.

## Twelve months, not one

Run the numbers for a full year. Here's a round-number example for a small business using 600 minutes a month on a packaged service:

**First year with a packaged provider, example**

- One-off setup: €400
- 600 minutes × €0.30 × 12 months: €2,160
- Phone number €5 × 12 months: €60
- **First year, net: €2,620**

Assumptions within the published ranges; your own time for testing and upkeep not included.

That's about €218 a month, and the setup fee disappears in year two. Compare that with a live answering service handling the same 600 minutes: on the German price lists checked for this site you'd pay roughly €320 to €1,300 a month before surcharges, depending on the billing model, and on a US minute bundle considerably more. The gap is why the decision rarely hinges on usage fees alone. It hinges on how many calls the AI can actually close without a human.

## Platform or packaged service?

My view: a developer platform makes sense if you or someone on your team is technical and has time for configuration and testing, or if an agency does the setup and you only pay usage afterwards. Packaged services make sense if you just want a working phone line and weigh the higher per-minute rate against your own hours.

Data protection often tips it for EU businesses. US platforms usually process audio in the US. That's allowed, but it needs a proper legal basis for the transfer, as covered in [AI receptionists and the GDPR](https://virtuelle-sekretaerin.de/en/ai-phone-agents/ai-receptionist-gdpr/). If you want a custom build wired into your own systems, a studio like [OnlineBuilders can develop it](https://onlinebuilders.biz/solutions/ai-bots), after which you pay only for the underlying components.

Get two quotes, one from a packaged provider and one for a platform build. Price both over twelve months with your real call volume, and add the hours you'd spend yourself to the platform option. Then you'll see which price is actually lower.

## FAQ

### Are there AI receptionists without a monthly fee?

Yes. Several platforms and resellers bill purely by the minute from prepaid credit. You may still pay a small monthly amount for the phone number, and not every service bills by the second: some round up in 30-second steps.

### Why do per-minute prices vary so much?

Because they include different things. A packaged provider bundles telephony, model, voice, support and usually setup. A developer platform sells the components and leaves configuration to you or whoever you hire.

### What does HIPAA compliance add to the price?

It depends on the platform. Vapi, for example, lists HIPAA compliance as an add-on at $2,000 a month. If you're a US healthcare provider, you also need a signed business associate agreement, not just a feature switch.

### Do I pay VAT on a US platform's invoice?

US platforms usually invoice without VAT. If you're a VAT-registered business in the UK or EU, you generally account for the VAT yourself under the reverse charge for services bought from abroad.

Photo: Derrick Coetzee from Berkeley, CA, USA, CC0 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rear_of_rack_at_NERSC_data_center_-_closeup.jpg)