Digital Front Desk
Ask what an AI receptionist costs and the honest answer is "it depends on your calls". That is not a dodge: the price is built from a handful of parts, and once you know what they are you can compare any two quotes, including ours, and work out whether the service is worth it for your office.
This guide is for small Canadian offices and practices: clinics, therapists, law firms and trades. It explains what you pay for, how an AI receptionist compares with an answering service, a live virtual receptionist and a hire, and the questions that keep a quote from surprising you later.
What you actually pay for
Most AI receptionist prices are made of some mix of these parts. Not every supplier charges for all of them, and some fold several into one monthly figure, so ask which are included.
- A monthly fee. The subscription for the service itself, often with an allowance of calls or minutes.
- Usage. Calls or minutes beyond the allowance. This is the part that grows with how busy your line is.
- The phone number. A new local number, or the work of forwarding or moving your existing one.
- Text messages. If call summaries or follow-ups go out by text, those messages can carry their own cost.
- Set-up. Writing the greeting, the hours and what the receptionist should know about your business. Some suppliers do this with you; some leave it to you.
What makes the price go up or down
The biggest factor is the number and length of calls. A practice that gets a few calls an hour pays differently from one with a queue every morning. After that, it is mostly about what you switch on:
- Hours covered. After-hours only, overflow when reception is busy, or every call.
- Languages. Whether you need French or another language as well as English.
- Recording and voicemail. Extras on some services, switches on others.
- What happens after the call. A summary by email is simpler than one that writes into other systems.
Before asking for quotes, look at your phone records for a typical month: how many calls, how many were missed, and when. Those three numbers decide most of the price.
AI receptionist, answering service, live receptionist or a hire
Each option charges in a different way, which is why their prices are hard to compare directly:
- AI receptionist. Software answers and talks with the caller. Cost usually grows with how busy the line is, and it answers at any hour.
- Answering service. A call-centre agent takes a message from a script. Usually charged per call or per minute, with hours set by the plan.
- Live virtual receptionist. A remote person answers for several businesses and can put calls through. Usually charged per minute or by the hour.
- A hire. A receptionist on staff costs wages, payroll costs and time off, and covers the hours they work. They can also do everything else at the desk.
The fair comparison is not price per call; it is what each option does with the calls you are missing today.
When an AI receptionist is worth it, and when it is not
An AI receptionist earns its cost when many of your calls are the same few questions (hours, location, whether you take new clients, how to reach someone) and when calls that would otherwise reach voicemail are costing you business. It is the calls reception cannot get to: during appointments, over lunch and after closing.
It is the wrong choice when most calls need a person to decide something on the spot, or need to be put through live. In that case a live receptionist or a hire is the better fit, whatever the price difference.
Questions to ask before you sign
- What is included in the monthly price, and what is charged on top?
- What happens to the bill in a busy month?
- Can I keep my existing number, and what does that involve?
- Does it book appointments or transfer calls, or does it take messages? Get the answer in writing.
- Where is call audio and the transcript processed, and by whom?
- Can I try it on real calls before committing, and how do I leave?
If you are also comparing the wider front-desk tools, One Front Desk, Front to Back explains why some offices replace several apps with one.
How Digital Front Desk prices it
Digital Front Desk is an AI receptionist for Canadian businesses. It answers your number day or night with your own greeting, knows your hours and what you have written about your business, and sends you a summary of each call by email or text. Recording and voicemail are switches, and a line can be set to French while still following a caller who speaks something else.
It does not book appointments or transfer calls: your team acts on the summary. Our price depends on how busy your line is, so we quote it rather than publish one figure. Tell us about your calls and we will send you a price, or read more on the virtual receptionist page. Where call data is processed is listed on our subprocessors page.
Questions about AI receptionist costs
Is an AI receptionist cheaper than hiring a receptionist?
For the calls it handles, often, because you are not paying wages to cover quiet hours, though a subscription still costs the same in a quiet month. A hire does far more than answer the phone, so the fair comparison is with the calls you miss today, not with a whole job.
Why do AI receptionist prices vary so much?
Because suppliers bundle different things into the price: call allowances, phone numbers, text messages, set-up and extras such as recording. Compare what is included and what a busy month would cost, not the headline figure.
Are there free AI receptionists?
Some suppliers offer free trials or free tiers with a small call allowance. Check what happens when the allowance runs out, and whether a free tier keeps your callers' details somewhere you would choose.
Does an AI receptionist charge per call or per minute?
Both models exist, and many suppliers combine a monthly fee with an allowance. Ask which one applies, how a call is counted, and what happens to the bill when your line is busier than usual.
Can I use an AI receptionist only after hours?
Often, yes. The usual way is to forward your existing line to the service only after hours, or only when nobody picks up, which you set with your phone provider. Our getting-started guide explains how forwarding works with ours.
This article is general buying guidance. It does not state any supplier's prices, which change; ask each supplier for a written quote.