Aiwalay Pricing
Aiwalay's AI receptionist and AI voice agent builds start from $2,000 USD as a one-time project fee. Call minutes, phone numbers and AI model usage are billed separately because they scale with your call volume, and every other service is quoted per project after a free consultation.
We publish the one number we can stand behind and explain what moves it, rather than a grid of tiers that rarely matches a real project. Prices last reviewed 2026-10-01.
AI receptionist / AI voice agent
A custom voice agent that answers calls 24/7, books appointments and updates your CRM.
Included in the build
- Custom AI voice receptionist designed around your call flows
- Booking / calendar and CRM integration
- Knowledge base set up from your services, pricing and FAQs
- Testing, launch and handover
Billed separately
- Call minutes and phone numbers (telephony provider)
- AI voice and language model usage, which scales with call volume
- Optional ongoing optimisation and support plan
Final pricing depends on call volume, languages, integrations and compliance needs. We confirm a fixed quote after a free consultation.
What usage costs in practice
Usage is the per-minute cost of the voice platform, the language model, speech synthesis and the phone line. On published 2026 provider rates (for example Retell AI's component pricing) it typically adds up to $0.09–$0.25 per minute of talk time, depending on the model and voice you choose.
The biggest lever is average call length. A receptionist that confirms a booking in 90 seconds costs half as much to run as one that takes three minutes, which is why we design tight call flows rather than chatty ones.
Comparing against staff or an answering service? The AI receptionist cost calculator puts all three side by side, and the ROI calculator estimates revenue from recovered missed calls.
| Talk minutes / month | Approx. usage cost |
|---|---|
| 300≈ 100 three-minute calls | $27–$75 |
| 900≈ 300 three-minute calls | $81–$225 |
| 3,000≈ 1,000 three-minute calls | $270–$750 |
Excludes phone number fees and any optional support plan. Provider rates change; your quote uses current rates for your chosen stack.
How a custom build compares with the alternatives
A one-time build is not the only way to get calls answered. Here is how the main options are priced as of 2026, so you can judge whether a custom AI receptionist is the right spend for your business.
| Option | How it is priced | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| In-house receptionist | $38,010/yr US median salary (BLS, May 2025), plus benefits | Front desks with in-person work, complex or sensitive calls |
| Live virtual receptionist service | Minute bundles; Ruby's published plans work out to $3.45–$5.00/min | Low call volume where a human voice matters on every call |
| Off-the-shelf AI answering subscription | Monthly plan plus per-call fees; Smith.ai's AI Receptionist lists about $1.67–$3 per call | Standard message-taking and simple booking with supported tools |
| Aiwalay custom AI receptionist | One-time build from $2,000, plus usage at roughly $0.09–$0.25/min | Custom call flows, your own CRM or booking system, several languages, steady volume |
If your volume is a few calls a day and you only need messages taken, an answering service or an off-the-shelf subscription is usually the cheaper and simpler choice, and we will say so on the call. A custom build earns its cost when calls follow your own rules: qualifying leads the way your team does, booking into the system you already use, switching languages, or handing off to the right person by department or location. Third-party prices were checked on 2026-10-01 and change often; confirm them on each provider's own pricing page.
What changes your quote
The starting price fits a single-location receptionist that answers questions and books appointments. These are the things that move a quote above it.
Number of call flows
Answering FAQs and booking one appointment type is the simplest build. Separate flows for new vs existing customers, emergencies, sales and support each add design and testing.
Integrations
Calendar booking is standard. Writing to a CRM, a practice-management or property system, GoHighLevel, a helpdesk or a custom database adds build time per system.
Languages
Each extra language (for example Arabic, Urdu, Spanish or Malay alongside English) needs its own prompts, voice choice and test calls.
Locations and numbers
Several branches with different hours, staff and routing rules take longer to configure than a single location on one number.
Compliance requirements
Healthcare, legal and financial clients may need vendors that sign a business associate agreement, region-hosted data, recording-consent scripts and redaction. We scope these per project.
Inbound only, or outbound too
Reminder calls, lead follow-up or reactivation campaigns add outbound logic, calling-hours rules and opt-out handling on top of an inbound receptionist.
Other services: custom quote
These projects vary too much for a single honest starting price, so we quote them after a free consultation, with a written scope and a fixed figure before any work starts.
WhatsApp automation
WhatsApp chatbots for enquiries, bookings, reminders and lead qualification. Meta's WhatsApp template-message fees are billed separately.
Custom quoteCRM integration
Connecting your AI agents, website forms and messaging channels to your CRM so every lead and booking lands in one place.
Custom quoteBusiness automation
Workflows in n8n, Make or Zapier, or custom code, for lead routing, document handling, reporting and back-office tasks.
Custom quoteGoHighLevel setup
Account configuration, pipelines, funnels, calendars and automations in GoHighLevel, including connecting AI voice and chat.
Custom quoteOutbound AI calling
AI calling agents for lead follow-up, appointment reminders and qualification campaigns, scoped on top of or separately from a receptionist.
Custom quoteCustom AI products
Bespoke AI systems and SaaS products, scoped from a written specification. See past builds in our work portfolio.
Custom quoteHow quoting works
Free consultation
We look at your call volume, current tools and what you want automated.
Written scope and fixed quote
You get the build price, a usage estimate for your volume and what is out of scope.
Build and test
We build the flows, connect your systems and test against your real call scenarios.
Launch and handover
Go live, review early calls together, and choose whether you want an ongoing support plan.
Not sure which platform or option fits a small budget? Read our guide to the best AI voice agent for small business or the AI vs virtual vs in-house receptionist comparison.
Pricing FAQ
How much does Aiwalay charge for an AI receptionist?
Aiwalay's AI receptionist and voice agent builds start from $2,000 USD as a one-time project fee. Call minutes, phone numbers and AI model usage are billed separately because they depend on your call volume. Final pricing depends on call volume, languages, integrations and compliance needs. We confirm a fixed quote after a free consultation.
Is there a monthly fee?
There is no fixed monthly licence for the build itself. The ongoing costs are usage: telephony minutes, phone numbers and AI voice/model fees, which on 2026 market rates typically run $0.09–$0.25 per minute of talk time. An ongoing optimisation and support plan is optional.
What is included in the starting price?
The $2,000 starting price covers: Custom AI voice receptionist designed around your call flows; Booking / calendar and CRM integration; Knowledge base set up from your services, pricing and FAQs; Testing, launch and handover. More call flows, integrations, languages or locations raise the quote.
Why don't you publish prices for your other services?
WhatsApp automation, CRM integration, workflow automation and custom AI products vary too much in scope for one honest number: a single booking flow and a multi-system integration are very different projects. We give a fixed quote after a free consultation rather than a misleading starting price.
Who pays the call and AI usage bills?
Usage is billed by the telephony and AI providers or passed through, and we confirm which arrangement applies in your written quote. Either way it is shown separately from the build price, so you can see exactly what you pay for minutes.
Is an AI receptionist cheaper than hiring a receptionist?
For most businesses answering a few hundred calls a month, yes: the US median receptionist salary is $38,010 a year before benefits (BLS), while AI usage for the same calls is usually a few hundred dollars a month or less after the one-time build. Our AI receptionist cost page has a calculator for your own numbers.
Can I start small and expand later?
Yes. Many businesses start with after-hours and overflow calls only, measure the results, then add booking, more languages or outbound reminders. Starting narrow keeps the first build near the starting price.
Get a fixed quote in one conversation
Tell us your call volume, the tools you use and what you want automated. We will come back with a written scope, a fixed build price and a usage estimate.
Or email bukhari@aiwalay.com