Save with a pay-per-call answering service
Premium live call answering, without the premium price. Have friendly, professional US-based receptionists answer your calls from just $25 a month.
Affordable live call answering for your business – like having your own receptionist, without the cost of hiring
US-based receptionists
Receptionists across four states answer your calls during core business hours, with bilingual options available.
24/7 live call answering
We can answer your calls day or night – including evenings, weekends and federal holidays.
Custom call greetings
We answer your calls with your custom greeting to ensure your callers enjoy a seamless experience.
Instant emails or texts
Receive email or SMS messages after each call, containing caller details and their reason for calling.
Screening & transfers
Call screening and transfer options, so you only take the most important calls, depending on your plan.
No lock-in contract
Month-to-month subscriptions and no cancellation fees mean flexibility to scale up (or down) as needs change.
Pay per call or pay per minute – what’s the difference?
With per-minute pricing, you’re billed for the time a receptionist spends on each call. Many providers also round up, so a 61-second call is billed as two minutes. The longer the call, the more you pay.
With pay-per-call, every answered call counts once – whether it’s a quick message or a longer conversation. Your plan includes a set number of calls each month, so you know your costs upfront.
Pay-per-call suits brief, simple calls. Per-minute suits longer, more detailed calls (if that’s what you need, please note we don’t round up like other providers).
We offer both per-call and per-minute pricing, so you can switch at any time, with no lock-in contract.
Answering service ‘per call’ pricing
Most live call answering service providers only offer per-minute pricing, with entry-level plans typically costing $100-$350 a month. We offer two pay-per-call services and publish all our pricing upfront. MessageExpress starts from just $25 a month, while ReceptionistPlus – the service our free trial is based on – starts from $35 a month.
Lower prices don’t mean lower standards, either. You still have professional receptionists answering your calls and bilingual Spanish coverage included at no extra cost.
| Â | MessageExpress | ReceptionistPlus |
|---|---|---|
| Compare our pay-per-call answering services |
Call answering and message taking for one individual or team. from |
Messages, support and call transfers for multiple staff or departments. from |
| Call sample | Hear a sample call | Hear sample call |
| Caller greeting | Personalized | Fully customized |
| List staff or departments | One person or team | Unlimited contacts |
| Collect information from callers | Up to 3 details | Up to 5 details |
| Warm call transfers | Â |  |
| Advise business hours/location | Â | |
| Answer common questions | Â | |
| Â | About MessageExpress Inquire now | About ReceptionistPlusTry our 7-day free trial |
* Plus relevant sales tax. Refer to Terms & Conditions.
MessageExpress
Call answering and message taking for one individual or team.
from $25* per month
- US-based receptionists
- No lock-in contract
- Personalized greeting
- Instant email or SMS messages
- One person or team listed as message recipient
- No charge for calls under 5 seconds
- No charge for calls we identify as spam
- Real-time client portal
- 24/7 service upgrade option
- Toll-free number upgrade option
ReceptionistPlus
Messages, support and call transfers for multiple staff or departments.
from $35* per month
All MessageExpress features plus- US-based receptionists
- No lock-in contract
- Instant email or SMS messages
- No charge for calls under 5 seconds
- No charge for calls we identify as spam
- Real-time client portal
- 24/7 service upgrade option
- toll-free number upgrade option
- Fully customized greeting
- Warm call transfers
- Multiple staff or departments listed as message or transfer contacts
- Collect 5 pieces of info
- Advise business hours/location
* Plus relevant sales tax. Refer to Terms & Conditions.
We answer within 4 rings
We take great pride in answering calls in less than 15 seconds on average.
We protect you against spam
We don’t charge for calls under 5 seconds or telemarketing calls.
We answer in less than 4 rings
We take pride in answering calls in under 15 seconds on average, to stop you losing frustrated callers to competitors.
We answer in less than 4 rings
We take great pride in answering calls in less than 15 seconds on average, so you avoid losing frustrated callers to your competitors.
How our live answering service works
Set up within minutes
Tell us about your business, your preferred greeting and how you’d like us to interact with your callers. Then simply confirm who should receive messages or, depending on your plan, call transfers when they’re available.
Customer calls you
By forwarding your business phone to the unique number we provide, we’ll know when an incoming call is for you. You’ll have flexibility to send all calls to us or only unanswered calls.
We answer for you
Our friendly and professional receptionists will answer your business calls with your preferred greeting, 24/7 if you wish, providing a seamless experience for your customers. We can take messages and, depending on your plan, also transfer selected calls (unless your availability is set to “do not disturb”) and answer common queries.
We send a message
After each call you’ll immediately receive a message by email, SMS or both (as chosen by you) including details such as the caller’s name, phone number and, of course, the reason for their call.
FAQs
What our customers love
Trusted by more than 25,000 businesses
Self-manage your virtual reception pay-per-call service from anywhere
You can easily manage your greeting, call transfer availability and message preferences in real-time. Plus add additional staff of departments as contacts for transfers or messages, using our online client portal. Anywhere, any time, on your desktop, laptop or mobile.
Optional add-ons
+ Virtual address
Choose a virtual address to enhance your image or expand into new territories, without expensive overheads or the need to relocate.
+ Phone numbers
Add multiple additional local numbers or toll-free numbers to the local number you receive for free with your live call answering package.
Find out more
Have questions? Please fill in your details and we’ll be in touch.
Want to try our call answering services for free?
Put America’s leading virtual receptionist solution to the test! We’re ready to answer your phone FREE for 7 days.
Want to try our call answering services for free?
Put America’s leading virtual receptionist solution to the test! We’re ready to answer your phone FREE for 7 days.
What does the free trial include?
The trial is based on our ReceptionistPlus service, with our team of virtual receptionists able to take messages and transfer calls based on your availability settings.