Pricing
Most answering services make you book a sales call to learn what they charge. We publish our call answering rates on this page, in full, because a service that hides its prices is telling you something.
Every plan below is answered by a real person, in your company name, from a script we build with you. Booking, dispatch, and follow-up are included — not sold back to you as add-ons. Pick the plan that matches your call volume.
New to the idea? Here is how our live answering service works.
The plans
| Plan | Monthly price | Included minutes | Cost per extra minute |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pay-As-You-Go | $29/mo base | Pay per minute — no bundle | $1.55/min flat |
| Starter 100 | $149/mo | 100 minutes | $1.49/min |
| Growth 250 | $299/mo | 250 minutes | $1.39/min |
| Pro 500 | $539/mo | 500 minutes | $1.29/min |
Above 500 minutes, Pro 500 continues at $1.29 per extra minute. Above 1,000 minutes, or if you need a dedicated team on your line, we quote it.
Which plan fits?
Pay-As-You-Go is for the business that gets a handful of important calls a week — a solo operator who cannot always pick up but does not yet need a bundle. You pay a small base and $1.55 for each minute we are actually on your calls.
Starter 100 fits solo trades and small offices: an owner-operator plumber, a one-chair practice, a two-person firm. One hundred minutes covers the calls that land while you are on a job, in a chair, or already on another line.
Growth 250 fits small crews and busy offices — a few technicians in the field, a front desk that overflows at peak hours, a team whose phones ring past closing. It is a natural fit for growing businesses, including law firms.
Pro 500 fits multi-technician operations, multi-location businesses, and offices where the phone is the front door. Five hundred minutes of live coverage with the lowest overage rate we offer.
Included in every plan — no add-on menu
- $0 setup fee. Getting started costs nothing beyond your plan.
- Per-second billing. We bill the seconds a call actually lasts. Your minutes are never rounded up to the next full minute.
- Spam and robocalls never billed. A junk call costs you nothing.
- Appointment booking included. We book into your calendar or the process you already use.
- Dispatch included. Urgent calls are routed to your on-call person under the rules you set.
- Message delivery by email and SMS, plus CRM notes, after every conversation.
- Unused minutes roll over for 30 days. A quiet month is not wasted money.
- No contract. Cancel or change plans anytime.
- 14-day free trial on Starter, Growth, and Pro, so you can hear how we sound in your name before you pay for a month.
How we compare
Figures below are the published prices on each provider’s own pricing page, checked October 21, 2026: the monthly cost of the cheapest plan for each volume, including the published extra-minute rate where a plan runs over. “Not published” means the provider does not list that figure.
| Provider | ~100 minutes | ~250 minutes | ~500 minutes | Setup fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Softwave Communications | $149 | $299 | $539 | $0 |
| Specialty Answering Service | $159 | $312.20 (220-min plan + extra minutes) | $649 | $0 |
| Go Answer | $175 | $345 (300-min plan) | $550 | $0 |
| Answering Service Care | $179 | $329 | $639 | $50 |
| MAP Communications | $179 (125-min plan) | $339 | $649 | Not published |
| PATLive | $189 | $448.50 (200-min plan + extra minutes) | $759 | Not published |
| Ruby | $395 | Not published | $1,725 | $0 |
Two things the table hides: some providers round every call up to a full minute and bill hold time in 60-second blocks, quietly inflating your minutes — we bill by the second. And booking, often the whole reason for the call, is an extra per-call charge at some providers. Here it is simply in the plan.
The same plans cover our virtual receptionist service, so virtual receptionist pricing is the Softwave Communications row above. And unlike most outsourced call center pricing, nothing here is hidden behind a sales call.
Savings calculator
How much would you save?
24/7 coverage, or the hours you choose
Every plan can run as a 24/7 answering service or cover only the hours you choose: business hours, evenings, weekends, after-hours, or around the clock. We confirm the window with you in writing before go-live, and the window you choose is the window your callers reach a person — including 3 a.m. if you choose 24/7.
Pricing FAQ
How much does an answering service cost?
At Softwave Communications, between $29 a month pay-as-you-go and $539 a month for 500 included minutes. The right figure depends on your call volume: Starter 100 is $149, Growth 250 is $299, and Pro 500 is $539, so pick the plan closest to your usual monthly minutes. Unused minutes roll over for 30 days, you can change plans anytime, and every price is published here.
How much does an after-hours answering service cost?
Nothing extra as a separate product. After-hours coverage is part of the plan you choose: the minutes are drawn from the same bundle at the same rates, as long as the after-hours window is part of the coverage we agreed with you up front.
What happens if I go over my minutes?
You pay the per-minute overage rate for your plan — $1.49 on Starter, $1.39 on Growth, $1.29 on Pro — billed by the second, with spam and robocalls excluded. There is no penalty tier and no surprise multiplier. If you overrun two months in a row, we will suggest the next plan up, because it will be cheaper for you.
Do unused minutes roll over?
Yes. Unused bundle minutes roll forward for 30 days. If you have a quiet month, those minutes wait for your busy one.
How exactly am I billed for call time?
By the second, for the time an agent is on your call. A 40-second call costs you 40 seconds. We never round a call up to a full minute, and time your callers spend on hold is not padded into 60-second blocks.
How does the 14-day free trial work?
On Starter, Growth, and Pro, your first 14 days are free. We build your script with you, forward your line, and answer in your name so you can hear the real service — not a demo — before the first paid month begins.
Am I locked into a contract?
No. Plans are month to month. Change plans or cancel whenever you like; there is no term contract and no cancellation fee.
What coverage hours are included?
Live agents answer inbound calls 24/7, including nights, weekends, and holidays, or only the windows you choose. Outbound calls are placed within calling windows. We confirm your coverage in writing before go-live and describe it exactly that way.
Related services
Services behind this coverage
Every plan runs on the same Softwave Communications services, scripted to your rules:
Live receptionist service
A real person answers in your company name, 24/7 or during the hours you choose.
Virtual receptionist service
Greeting, transfers, messages, and booking by a live person, on the published plans.
After-hours answering service
Evening and weekend windows with scripted triage and on-call alerts.
Dispatch answering service
Urgent calls routed to your on-call contact; visits moved when plans change.
Appointment setting service
Bookings, confirmations, and callbacks on the calendar you share.
Customer support coverage
Status questions, account updates, and routine requests handled on your script.
Order tracking & Tier-1 support
Order status, warranty checks, and CRM updates in your brand voice.
Next step
Pick the plan that fits your call volume
You now know exactly what live answering costs here — which is more than most of our competitors will tell you before a sales call. Start the 14-day free trial on Starter, Growth, or Pro. Serving businesses across Connecticut and the United States.