Describe your business
Add your greeting, common questions, business details, and the information you want collected from each caller.
Virtual receptionist cost & pricing
Virtual receptionist for small business. From $39/mo.
AI virtual receptionist service $39-$179/month: answers routine calls 24/7, asks your intake questions, captures appointment requests, and sends structured messages to the right person. No setup fees, no contracts.
Demo recording
Hear a real Ringing call
Ringing asks
- What happened
- Service address
- How urgent the issue is
You receive
A structured summary sent to the configured contact.
- Try it first
- 25 free minutes, no credit card
- Start small
- $39/month for 250 minutes
- Keep your number
- Connect it with call forwarding
Set up around the phone system you already have.
No new business number and no hardware. Tell Ringing what to ask, then decide when calls should forward.
Find your forwarding guideForward your existing number
Choose when calls should reach Ringing. Keep the business number your customers already know.
Review each outcome
Receive the recording, transcript, summary, and captured details so the right person can follow up.
Useful on routine calls. Honest about the edge cases.
Ringing is designed for structured intake, not for replacing complex judgment or emergency services.
Ask the right questions
Use custom greetings, FAQs, and message scenarios to collect the details your team needs from each caller.
Explore message scenariosCapture appointment requests
Collect preferred times and contact details, then let your team confirm the appointment.
Categorize and route
Organize calls with categories and smart routing. Scale and Growth can transfer selected calls to a person.
Review the full context
Receive recordings, transcripts, summaries, email alerts, and SMS notifications after each call.
Virtual receptionist cost: AI vs in-house vs traditional service.
Compare the monthly cost of hiring an in-house receptionist, contracting a traditional human virtual receptionist service, or using AI-powered answering from Ringing.io.
In-House Receptionist
$2,500-$3,750/month
Plus benefits, equipment, training
- •$30,000-$45,000 annual salary
- •Health insurance, payroll taxes, PTO
- •Office space, equipment, training time
- •Coverage: Business hours only (40 hrs/week)
- •No nights, weekends, or holiday coverage
Traditional VR Service
$235-$500/month
Per-minute or per-call billing
- •$0.75-$1.50 per minute, no included minutes
- •Setup fees: $50-$300 upfront
- •After-hours surcharges (20-50% premium)
- •Unpredictable costs based on call volume
- •Contracts often required (3-12 months)
Ringing.io AI VR
Best Value$39-$179/month
Flat monthly, predictable billing
- Flat monthly plans with included minutes
- Zero setup fees, zero contracts
- 24/7 coverage included (no surcharges)
- Overage: $0.30/min if you exceed plan
- 25 free minutes to start, no credit card
Lower cost, higher coverage
An AI virtual receptionist from Ringing.io costs 95% less than hiring in-house and 40-70% less than traditional human virtual receptionist services — while providing 24/7 coverage including nights, weekends, and holidays at no extra charge. Keep your existing business number via call forwarding.
See forwarding guidesTransparent virtual receptionist pricing plans.
Three flat monthly plans based on call volume. Upgrade for live call transfers and multiple intake flows. No setup fees, no contracts.
View PricingStarter
$39/month
250 minutes included
- 24/7 AI answering
- Custom greeting and FAQs
- Recordings and transcripts
- Email, SMS, and smart routing
- Scale, $99/month
- 500 minutes, live call transfer, up to five message scenarios, and scenario analytics.
- Growth, $179/month
- 1,500 minutes, custom training documents, text links during calls, and priority email support.
Virtual receptionist cost and service questions.
Clear answers about pricing, forwarding, setup fees, in-house costs, appointment requests, and 24/7 coverage.
Ask a different questionHow much does a virtual receptionist cost?
Plans start at $39/month, billed by the minutes you use, not per call. Higher-volume businesses run on a mid or top tier based on call volume; see our pricing page for all tiers. No setup fees, no contracts.
What is virtual receptionist pricing at Ringing.io?
Ringing.io offers three flat monthly plans: Starter - $39/mo for 250 minutes, Scale - $99/mo for 500 minutes, and Growth - $179/mo for 1,500 minutes. All plans include 24/7 coverage, no setup fees, and no contracts. If you exceed your included minutes, overage is billed at $0.30/min by the second. Start with 25 free minutes to test your actual call volume.
What is the cost of a virtual receptionist vs hiring in-house?
An in-house receptionist costs $30,000-$45,000 per year in salary plus benefits, and only covers business hours (typically 40 hours/week). A Ringing.io virtual receptionist starts at $39/month ($468/year) and provides 24/7 coverage including nights, weekends, and holidays — no time off, no benefits, no equipment costs.
Are there setup fees or contracts for virtual receptionist service?
No. Ringing.io charges zero setup fees, zero contracts, and zero per-call charges. You pay only the flat monthly rate for your plan, and optional overage at $0.30/min if you exceed included minutes. Cancel anytime. Traditional human virtual receptionist services often charge $100-$500 in setup fees plus require 3-12 month contracts.
What is a virtual receptionist?
A virtual receptionist answers business calls from outside your office. Ringing uses conversational AI to follow your greeting and questions, capture structured details, and send the result to your team without requiring another front-desk hire.
How does Ringing work with my existing number?
You keep your existing business number and forward selected calls to Ringing. Our forwarding guides cover common phone carriers and systems, and you can change or turn off forwarding through your provider.
How does Ringing handle appointment requests?
Ringing captures appointment requests, including the preferred date, time, service, and contact details, then sends them to your team for confirmation. It does not currently place appointments directly on your calendar.
Can Ringing transfer callers to a person?
Live call transfer is included on the Scale and Growth plans. Starter handles messages, categories, and smart routing but does not transfer calls to a person.
What happens after each call?
Ringing stores a recording and transcript, creates a summary, and sends notifications by email and SMS. Call categories and smart routing help the right person review the message.
Does the virtual receptionist answer nights and weekends?
Ringing can answer 24/7, including nights and weekends, while your account has available minutes or overage enabled. You choose when your business number forwards calls to the service.
Explore the parts of your call workflow.
Go deeper on screening, after-hours coverage, call forwarding, and configurable intake.
Call screeningFilter routine calls and collect context before your team steps in.Message scenariosUse different questions and routing rules for different caller needs.After-hours answeringCover nights and weekends without changing your daytime workflow.Call forwarding guidesConnect the phone number and provider you already use.AI receptionist overviewSee how the conversational AI answers calls, asks custom questions, and captures structured details.Automated call answeringSee the broader answering workflow for routing, intake, messages, and call summaries.Legal answering serviceExplore 24/7 law-firm intake, consultation requests, and urgent-call routing.Plans and pricingCompare included minutes, plan boundaries, and overage options.
Try it on your own calls
Try the receptionist on real calls.
25 free minutes. No credit card. Keep the business number you already use.