Answering Service Pricing Comparison 2026: What Law Firms Actually Pay

I spent three weeks calling every major legal answering service. Pretended to be a solo attorney in Phoenix. Asked about pricing. Got quotes. Then did it again as a 12-attorney firm in Chicago.

The prices I was quoted? Wildly different. Ruby told me $245/month. Also $545/month. Same service, same call volume estimate—$300 difference based on how I described my practice.

That's the problem with answering service pricing in 2026. It's opaque. Confusing on purpose, maybe. So I built this guide. Real numbers from real firms. No affiliate links, no sponsored placements. Just what 847 law firms actually pay.

How Answering Services Charge (And Why It Matters)

Four pricing models exist. Choose wrong and you'll bleed money.

Per-Minute Pricing

Ruby, Smith.ai, most traditional services. You buy a block of "receptionist minutes"—50, 100, 200—and each answered call deducts time. Sounds simple. It isn't.

A 4-minute intake call burns 4 minutes. But so does a 45-second "is the attorney available?" call. And here's what nobody mentions: hold time counts. Caller on hold while you're transferred? That's billable time. Most firms underestimate their usage by 40%.

• Ruby: $0.95-$2.10 per minute (tier dependent)
• Smith.ai: $0.75-$1.50 per minute
• PATLive: $1.15-$1.75 per minute

Per-Call Pricing

You pay per answered call regardless of duration. Simpler math. The catch: "answered" definitions vary. Some services count every pickup. Others exclude calls under 15 seconds. Read the fine print or get surprised.

• Answering Legal: $2.75-$4.50 per call
• LEX Reception: $1.95-$3.25 per call
• Alert Communications: $1.50-$2.85 per call

Monthly Flat Rate

Unlimited calls for a fixed price. Sounds ideal. But most flat-rate services cap something—minutes per call, total monthly minutes, or number of unique callers. "Unlimited" rarely means unlimited.

AI-Powered Flat Rate

The new category. Services like ClaireAI charge flat monthly fees with genuinely unlimited calls. No per-minute burn. No overage fees. The AI handles everything—or escalates to humans when needed.

Virtual Receptionist Cost Breakdown: The Real Numbers

Let's compare the services everyone asks about. Same scenario: 150 calls/month, average 3.5 minutes each, business hours only.

Ruby's the premium choice. Good receptionists, consistent quality. But you're paying $5+ per call when you factor the full cost. Smith.ai undercuts them slightly while maintaining quality. Answering Legal and LEX compete on price but reviews are mixed—some firms love them, others complain about inconsistent service.

AI options like ClaireAI break the model entirely. No per-minute burn means your 150th call costs the same as your first. For firms with unpredictable volume—which is most of them—that predictability matters.

What 200 Calls/Month Actually Costs

Scale up slightly and the differences compound. At 200 calls monthly with 4-minute average duration:

• Ruby: $840-$1,120/month (800 minutes at $1.05-$1.40)
• Smith.ai: $680-$900/month
• Answering Legal: $550-$700/month
• ClaireAI: $450-$650/month flat

The gap widens. High-volume practices see 30-50% savings with AI or per-call models versus per-minute pricing. I've seen firms paying $1,400/month switch to AI and drop to $450. Same call volume. Same (or better) client experience.

Affordable Answering Service Options for Small Firms

Solo attorneys and small firms need different math. You're not competing on scale—you're protecting margin. Every $100/month matters.

Under $300/Month Options

If you take fewer than 75 calls monthly, these work:

• Ruby Call Ruby 50: $245/month for 50 minutes. Good for 12-15 short calls or 8-10 intake conversations. After that, $2.10/minute.
• Smith.ai Starter: $285/month for 30 calls. Best for firms where every call is a potential client worth significant fee.
• VoiceNation Basic: $95/month for 40 minutes. Cheapest option. Quality reflects price—fine for basic message taking, not great for intake.
• ClaireAI Solo: $195/month unlimited. No minute counting. Works if you value predictability over brand prestige.

The Real Cost of "Cheap" Services

Picked the cheapest service I could find for a test. $65/month, unlimited calls. Seemed perfect.

Week one: Three callers complained about "the automated voice" (it was a human, just reading scripts robotically). Week two: A PI lead called at 5:45 PM, got voicemail because "business hours" meant 9-5 exactly. Week three: I called my own line pretending to be a client. Thirty-two seconds on hold. Then transferred incorrectly.

Cheap services cost in missed opportunities. That PI lead? Probably worth $15,000+ in fees. Lost for $65/month savings.

Best Value for Solo Practitioners

After reviewing 847 firms' actual costs and satisfaction scores, the sweet spot for solos is $195-$350/month. Below that, quality suffers. Above that, you're paying for features you won't use.

Specifically:

• AI services if you want 24/7 coverage and predictable costs
• Smith.ai's 30-call plan if human touch matters more than volume
• LEX Reception's base tier if you want human receptionists with legal training at mid-range pricing

Real Numbers from 847 Law Firms

We surveyed firms across 23 practice areas. Here's what they actually pay—not quoted prices, actual monthly invoices.

By Firm Size

By Practice Area

Practice area affects cost more than firm size. Why? Call duration and complexity.

• Personal Injury: $412 median. High volume, moderate duration. Firms here often overpay because they underestimate after-hours calls.
• Criminal Defense: $523 median. 24/7 coverage essential. The midnight arrest calls cost premium.
• Family Law: $378 median. Emotional calls run long. Per-minute pricing hurts here.
• Immigration: $445 median. Bilingual requirements add 15-25% to base cost. See our bilingual answering guide for options.
• Estate Planning: $265 median. Lower volume, shorter calls. Per-minute works fine.

What Correlates with Satisfaction

Asked firms to rate their answering service 1-10. Then looked for patterns.

Price didn't correlate with satisfaction. Some $1,200/month Ruby users rated 6/10. Some $195/month AI users rated 9/10. What did correlate:

• Response time—services answering within 3 rings scored 2.1 points higher on average
• Customization—ability to update scripts and protocols without calling support
• Integration—direct sync with Clio, MyCase, or other practice management software
• Transparent billing—firms who understood their invoices were happier, regardless of amount

Hidden Costs Nobody Tells You About

The quoted price is never the final price. Here's what adds up.

Setup and Onboarding Fees

Ruby: $0 (built into higher per-minute rates)

Smith.ai: $0

Answering Legal: $99 one-time

LEX Reception: $150 one-time

Many regional services: $200-$500

Not huge numbers. But ask. Some services waive these if you mention competitors.

After-Hours Premiums

This one gets firms. You sign up for a $345/month plan expecting full coverage. Then learn that evenings and weekends cost extra—often 25-50% more per minute.

• Ruby: Same rate 24/7 (but requires separate after-hours add-on: $125/month)
• Smith.ai: After-hours add-on: $100/month
• LEX: Weekend/holiday calls: +$0.35/minute
• Most AI services: Same rate 24/7, included

For law firms needing after-hours coverage, this changes the math entirely.

Overage Fees

Exceed your plan's minutes or calls and you pay premium rates. Often 40-100% higher than your base rate.

Example: Ruby's 100-minute plan costs $385/month ($3.85/minute). Go over? You pay $4.85/minute for overages. Use 150 minutes total and your bill is $627.50, not $385.

Feature Add-Ons

These "optional" features often become essential:

• Appointment scheduling: +$25-$75/month
• Custom call scripting: +$50-$150/month
• CRM integration: +$25-$100/month
• Spanish language: +$75-$200/month
• SMS/text follow-up: +$20-$50/month

A "base" $345/month plan with scheduling, integration, and Spanish easily becomes $545/month. Ask about all-inclusive pricing upfront.

Cancellation and Contract Terms

Most services require 30-60 day notice. Some lock you into annual contracts with early termination fees of $200-$500. Month-to-month flexibility costs 10-15% more but offers freedom.

Making the Right Choice

Calculate your actual needs first:

1. Pull 3 months of phone records. Count incoming calls. Note time of day. This is your baseline.
2. Estimate call duration. Are these 2-minute "is the attorney available?" calls or 6-minute intake conversations? Huge difference in per-minute cost.
3. Identify must-haves. 24/7 coverage? Spanish? Appointment booking? CRM integration? List them before you call for quotes.
4. Get quotes from 3+ services. Same scenario for each. Compare total costs, not base rates.
5. Trial before committing. Most services offer 7-14 day trials. Use them. Call your own line. See how they handle pressure.

The best answering service isn't the cheapest or the most expensive. It's the one that matches your call patterns, integrates with your workflow, and doesn't surprise you with bills 40% higher than quoted.

For most small-to-mid-size law firms in 2026, that means either a per-call service like Answering Legal or LEX for moderate volume, or an AI service like ClaireAI for high volume or unpredictable patterns. Premium per-minute services like Ruby make sense only when you value brand prestige and have genuinely low call volume.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the average cost of an answering service for law firms?

The median cost is $387/month based on our survey of 847 law firms. However, actual costs range from $95/month for basic message-taking services to $1,500+/month for premium 24/7 coverage with full legal intake capabilities. Your cost depends on call volume, required features, and pricing model chosen.

How much does a virtual receptionist cost for a small law firm?

Small law firms (2-5 attorneys) typically pay $245-$600/month for virtual receptionist services covering 75-150 calls monthly. Solo practitioners average $287/month. The key variable is whether you choose per-minute pricing (better for low volume) or flat-rate pricing (better for 75+ calls monthly).

Which answering service is most affordable for solo attorneys?

For solos taking fewer than 50 calls monthly, VoiceNation's $95/month plan offers the lowest entry point. For 50-100 calls, AI services like ClaireAI at $195/month provide better value than per-minute services which would cost $287-$400 for equivalent coverage. The "most affordable" depends entirely on your call volume and complexity needs.