Real-world live answering service pricing from BuyerZone buyers

• Basic answering services
• Call answering, screening, forwarding
• Order taking
• Scheduling appointments

Here's a sampling of actual prices paid by buyers of call center services who used our service in 2005.

Businesses turn to call centers for a wide variety of services, from simple phone answering to customer service and order-taking. As a result, prices can vary quite a bit, from under $25 to $300 per month in these examples from real BuyerZone users. Keep in mind that costs for larger projects with complex scripts can cost considerably more.

Except where noted, all of these quotes are for fewer than 500 calls per month.

Basic answering services

"$29.95/month - 24/7 live answering with brief messages taken and emailed to me."
– Business services company, Seabrook, New Hampshire

"$72 monthly."
– Shipping company, Charlotte, NC

"$39.99/month."
– Business services company, Louisville, Colorado

"$49 setup fee, $99 per month."
– Computer/IT firm, Lincoln, Nebraska

Call answering, screening, forwarding

"$187/mo with 60 min operator time. Live during business hours and call center service after hours."
– Education, Tallahassee, Florida

"$300 per month flat fee." [500 – 1,000 calls/month]
– Real estate firm, Kansas City, Missouri

"$50 to set up the account and $199/ month for 250 minutes."
-- Business services, Lawrence, New York

Order taking

"$24/mo, order taking/sales."
– Retailer, Rancho Cucamonga, California

"$1 per order processed. No deposit beforehand either." [2,000 to 5,000 calls/month]
– Retailer, Santa Monica, California

"$24.95 per month and 25 free calls."
– Retailer, Los Angeles, California

Scheduling appointments

"77 cents a call plus a $250 set up fee."
– Salon, Kansas City, Missouri

"$125/month for all calls, all inbound and outbound messages. No hardware etc was needed."
– Dentist, Merryville, Louisiana

"$30/mo + $0.90/min."
– Computer/IT services, San Diego, California

"$29.95 for 100 calls included per month, 35 cents per call after that."
– Retailer, Middlebury, Connecticut

Want more information on choosing an answering service? Read our Call Center Buyer's Guide or instantly compare answering service providers today.

Information was provided by BuyerZone users. Quotes have been edited for clarity only.