People search: “AI receptionist cost” · “AI answering service pricing”
The three ways AI receptionists are priced
| Model | How it works | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Flat monthly | One price for a bundle of minutes or calls, with tiers as you grow. | What happens when you go over the bundle, and whether the overage rate is written down. |
| Per minute | You pay for talk time. Cheap when it’s quiet, unpredictable in your busy season. | Whether hold time, transfers, and voicemail drops are billed. Rounding rules. |
| Per call | A price per answered call regardless of length. | Whether spam, wrong numbers, and hang-ups count as calls. |
Human-backed services (a live receptionist team with AI in front) sit in a different bracket entirely, because you are paying for people’s time. They are worth it for some businesses; they are not comparable line-for-line with a fully automated product.
The fees that don’t show up in the headline price
- Setup or onboarding fees. Some vendors charge to configure the assistant. Ask.
- The phone number. Is a number included, or is that a separate line item?
- Extra channels. Website chat, texting, and online booking are often add-ons or separate products.
- Seats. Whether your office staff can log in without paying per person.
- Integrations. Calendar and CRM connections gated behind a higher tier.
- Contracts. Annual commitments, and what cancelling costs.
What Torklio costs
Plans start at $99 a month, with higher tiers at $149 and $249 as your call volume and team grow. Every plan lists its limits cell by cell on the pricing page: minutes, seats, channels, integrations. There is a 7-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee on your first payment. Phone, website chat, voice chat, and online booking are part of one front desk, not four subscriptions. Your $99 base stays $99 while the account is active.
How to compare prices fairly
Pull your last three months of phone bills or your carrier’s call log and count the calls and the minutes. Then price each vendor at your volume, in your busy month, including the add-ons you’d actually turn on. The cheapest headline price is rarely the cheapest bill.
The number that matters more than the price
An AI receptionist is cheap next to what it protects. One booked job a month that would otherwise have gone to voicemail usually covers the subscription. Run your own version of that math on the cost of a missed call page — with your ticket size, not ours.
Hear what $99 a month sounds like. The line is a live Torklio, not a recording.
Call (704) 237-0883Questions people ask
Is there a free AI receptionist?
Free tiers exist and are usually limited to a handful of minutes or calls, enough to hear the voice but not to run a business on. Most vendors, Torklio included, offer a free trial instead.
Does Torklio charge setup fees?
No. The plan price on the pricing page is the price, and the 7-day trial lets you set up and test before paying anything.
Is per-minute or flat pricing better?
Flat pricing is easier to budget if your volume is steady or seasonal. Per-minute can be cheaper for very low volume. Price both at your real busy-month volume before deciding.