How Much Does an AI Receptionist Cost for Contractors? (2026)

Every published price we could verify, the three billing models behind them, and worked examples for three sizes of shop.

How this page works: Facts and prices come from each vendor's public website (and are labeled when they come from third-party reports), checked October 2026. Prices change, so verify on the vendor's site before buying. We have not hands-on tested these tools yet; any ranking reflects our editorial read of published features and pricing. We don't currently earn commissions from these links. Disclosure.

On this page

Short answer
Published prices
The three billing models
Worked examples
AI vs human answering vs hiring
Will it pay for itself?
Hidden costs checklist
FAQ

Short answer

Trade-focused AI receptionists checked on October 16, 2026 cost $49 to $149 a month to start and $299 to $829 at the top tier. If you already pay for Jobber, its Receptionist is a $29/month add-on (included on the Plus plan). What you actually pay depends more on the billing model (minutes, calls, or flat) than on the sticker price.

Published prices (checked October 16, 2026)

Tool	Plans (monthly)*	What's included*	Overage*	Trial*	Contract*
Wakeman	After Hours $149 · Front Desk $349 · Dispatch $829	300 / 750 / 2,000 minutes	59¢ / 39¢ / 29¢ per minute; spam not billed; you set a spend limit	14 days or 500 min, no card	None; cancel online; 1st-month refund within 30 days
OnCrew	Starter $49 · Pro $149 · Multi-Truck $349	100 / 400 / 1,000 answered calls	$0.99 per extra call; alert texts $0.05 past allowance	14 days, no card	Month to month; 30-day money-back
Jobholler	Starter $85 · Core $149 · Pro $399	Flat price; call length doesn't change it	None published	3 days (terms at checkout)	Cancel from Account → Billing
OrangeChat	Starter $49 · Growth $149 · Pro $299	250 / 1,100 / 2,300 voice minutes + SMS & chat allowances	Not published on pricing page	14 days, no card	Not stated
Jobber Receptionist	$29/mo add-on (included on Jobber Plus)	Calls & texts; books into Jobber	See Jobber (its pages differ)	Jobber 14-day trial	Follows your Jobber plan

*From each vendor's pricing page, checked October 16, 2026. Prices change; confirm before buying.

For context, two vendors publish competitor prices on their own pages. Wakeman lists Ruby (a human service) at $250/mo for 50 minutes; OnCrew lists Smith.ai's receptionist plans from $300/mo for 30 calls and PATLive at $99/mo for 50 minutes, then $2.29/min. Those are the vendors' readings of rivals' pages, dated September–October 2026; verify before relying on them.

The three billing models

Model	Who uses it	Good when	Watch out for
Included minutes + per-minute overage	Wakeman (59¢/39¢/29¢), OrangeChat (minute allowances)	Calls are short; you want a spend cap	Long calls and surge weeks
Included calls + per-call overage	OnCrew ($0.99/call)	Calls are long or chatty	Forwarding your whole business day on a small plan
Flat monthly	Jobholler	You want an identical bill every month	Fewer published features at the entry tier

Worked examples

Illustrative math, not data: three made-up shops. Average call length of 3 minutes is our assumption for the per-minute math; check your own phone log.

Shop	Calls / month the AI answers	OnCrew	Jobholler	Wakeman
Solo plumber, nights & weekends	60 (≈180 min)	Starter $49	Starter $85	After Hours $149
3-truck HVAC, all missed calls	250 (≈750 min)	Pro $149	Starter $85 / Core $149	Front Desk $349
Roofer, storm month	900 (≈2,700 min)	Multi-Truck $349	Pro $399 (3 lines) or Starter $85	Dispatch $829 + 700 × $0.29 = $1,032

The cheapest plan isn't the same as the right one. The $49 and $85 options deliver leads by text or email; Wakeman's higher price buys live on-call escalation and Jobber booking. Decide which features you need first, then price only the tools that have them.

AI vs a human answering service vs hiring

Option	Typical cost basis	Strengths	Weaknesses
AI receptionist	$49–$829/mo published	24/7, no hold queue, consistent intake, cheap	Can mishear; needs careful emergency rules
Human answering service	Per minute or per call; get quotes	Handles odd calls and upset callers	Costs more per call; often message-taking only
Part-time office hire	Hourly wage + taxes	Knows your business; can sell and schedule	Doesn't cover nights; sick days and turnover

Many shops use AI for after-hours and overflow while a person handles the office in the daytime. Wakeman's After Hours plan and OnCrew's per-call pricing both suit that pattern.

Will it pay for itself?

Missed calls per month × share that would have booked × average job value = revenue at risk.

Illustrative math, not data: if you miss 20 calls a month, 25% would have booked, and the average ticket is $300, that's 20 × 0.25 × $300 = $1,500 at risk. Against a $49–$349 plan, recovering a small share covers the cost. These numbers are examples, not industry data.

Get your real missed-call count from your carrier or VoIP call log (see how to measure missed calls).

Hidden costs checklist

Overage: per minute (Wakeman), per call (OnCrew), or none (Jobholler flat).
Alert texts: OnCrew caps them per plan, then $0.05 each.
Callbacks: Wakeman counts optional AI callbacks as minutes.
Tax: Wakeman notes tax is extra.
Card at trial: Wakeman and OnCrew need none; Jobholler shows terms at checkout.
Setup fees: Wakeman and OnCrew say none.
Annual discounts: Wakeman and OnCrew both offer two months free on annual.
Refunds: Wakeman (first payment, 30 days) and OnCrew (first 30 days) publish one.

Questions to ask before you sign up

How many simultaneous calls can it handle? Matters on storm days or Monday mornings.
What exactly is in the call summary, and how is it delivered? Text, email, app, or into your scheduling software?
How are emergencies escalated? Can it warm-transfer to your on-call tech, or only notify?
What happens in a heavy month? Included minutes, overage rate, or a hard cap?
Can I edit what it says? Service area, fees, hours, and how it describes your company.
Who owns the call recordings and transcripts, and can you export them if you leave?
How do I cancel, and is there a minimum term?

Setup in an afternoon

Write a one-page "office cheat sheet": services, service area, hours, emergency definition, trip/diagnostic fee, who's on call.
Create your account and paste in the cheat sheet.
Turn on conditional forwarding (no answer/busy) from your carrier, or after-hours forwarding only to start.
Make five test calls: emergency, routine quote, price shopper, existing customer, wrong number.
Read every summary for the first two weeks and tighten the instructions where it got things wrong.

Common mistakes

Forwarding every call on day one before testing; start with after-hours or overflow.
Letting the AI quote exact prices you haven't approved.
Not telling your team where leads now arrive, so callbacks still get missed.
Judging it on one call. Look at two weeks of summaries.

FAQ

What's the cheapest AI receptionist for contractors?

OnCrew and OrangeChat start at $49/month. Jobber's Receptionist is a $29/month add-on if you already pay for Jobber (checked October 16, 2026).

Are there contracts?

Wakeman, OnCrew and Jobber's monthly no-commitment option are month to month. Check each vendor's terms at checkout.

Do AI receptionists charge per minute?

Some do. Wakeman bills minutes past your allowance; OnCrew bills per answered call; Jobholler is flat.

How much is an AI receptionist per year?

On annual billing, Wakeman is $1,490–$8,290 and OnCrew is $490–$3,490 (both two months free). Monthly plans times twelve for others.