How much does an AI receptionist cost?
Most service businesses overpay for AI phone answering. Here is the honest breakdown of what you should expect to pay, what hidden fees to watch for, and where Metrili sits in the market at $149 CAD per month.
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Short answer
A real AI receptionist for a service business should cost between $99 and $299 per month for the entry tier, with no setup fee and a free trial. Anything below $50 a month is usually a wrapper that cannot cover the cost of voice infrastructure. Anything above $500 a month at the entry tier is usually charging for an enterprise sales process you do not need.
What different pricing models actually mean
AI receptionist pricing comes in three shapes. Knowing which one a vendor uses tells you what your real cost will be.
| Pricing model | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Flat monthly (e.g. $149/mo) | Predictable budget, low to medium call volume | Minute caps that trigger overage fees |
| Per-minute (e.g. $0.30/min) | Very low call volume | Costs explode if your AI handles long calls or many callers |
| Pay per resolved call | Outcome-aligned customers | Definition of "resolved" can be vendor friendly, not yours |
Hidden costs to ask about before signing
The headline price is rarely the real price. Before you commit, ask the vendor about each of these:
- Setup fees: industry standard is $0. Anything above $500 is unusual for SMB tier.
- Per-minute overage fees once you exceed your monthly minute allowance.
- Outbound call cost: many vendors charge extra per outbound minute on top of the inbound subscription.
- Number porting fees if you bring your existing business number.
- Integrations: some vendors charge per CRM integration or per calendar.
- Voice cloning or custom voice fees, often $50 to $200/mo extra.
- Long term contract requirements: month-to-month is the SMB norm.
How Metrili prices
Metrili is $149 CAD per month flat for the Starter tier. That includes the inbound AI receptionist (24/7), outbound campaigns on Growth tier and up, the staff copilot, and a generous monthly minute allowance. No setup fee. No sales call required. 14 day free trial with full features. Month to month, cancel anytime from the dashboard.
What you actually get on the $149 CAD Starter plan
- AI inbound receptionist that answers every call 24/7 with a natural voice.
- Direct calendar booking on the call.
- New customer intake with structured records you can search later.
- Public demo line at +1 365 617 0711 you can call to test before signing up.
- HIPAA aligned data handling with AWS BAA signed.
- Toronto based support, PIPEDA aware.
- Monthly minute allowance that covers most small service businesses comfortably.
Is it worth it?
The math is straightforward. If you miss two appointment-booking calls a month and one of them would have been a $300 customer, the AI receptionist has paid for itself twice over. Most service businesses miss 20 to 30 percent of inbound calls. At an average customer value of $200, that is hundreds of dollars in recovered revenue per month. The right question is not whether the cost is justified, it is whether the AI sounds and books well enough to convert callers. Try the demo line and judge yourself.
Frequently asked questions
No. Metrili has no setup fee at any tier. You sign up at app.metrili.com, configure your business in 15 minutes, and the AI is live.
You can either upgrade to a higher tier with more minutes, or pay a per-minute overage rate. We do not silently cut off calls or charge surprise fees. The dashboard shows your usage in real time.
No. Metrili is month to month and you can cancel anytime from the dashboard with one click. No call to retention required.
Per-minute pricing makes sense for businesses with very low and predictable call volume. For most service businesses, a flat monthly rate is more predictable and usually cheaper once you cross 100-200 minutes a month.
Yes. The demo line +1 365 617 0711 is the actual Metrili AI live. You can also sign up for the 14 day free trial with full features and cancel before day 14 with no charge.
Human answering services in Canada typically run $1 to $3 per minute or $300 to $1500 per month for SMB tier. Metrili at $149 per month covers a comparable monthly minute pool at a fraction of the cost, with the trade-off that the AI does not handle highly emotional or complex calls as well as a trained human.
Try Metrili free for 14 days
Self serve setup in 15 minutes. No sales call. Cancel anytime.