AI Call Answering Cost Comparison for Law Firms: 2025 Guide

Choosing a call answering solution for your law firm is one of the most consequential decisions affecting both client service and overhead costs. This guide provides a comprehensive comparison of all major options in 2025.

The Options

1. In-House Receptionist

Hiring a full-time receptionist remains common, but costs have increased significantly.

Costs:

• Salary: $35,000-$55,000/year
• Benefits (health, PTO, etc.): $10,000-$20,000/year
• Payroll taxes: $3,000-$5,000/year
• Training and turnover: $2,000-$5,000/year
• Total: $50,000-$85,000/year

Limitations:

• 40 hours/week coverage only
• Sick days, vacation, turnover disruptions
• Can only handle one call at a time
• No after-hours coverage

2. Traditional Answering Services

Human-staffed answering services have been the default "upgrade" from in-house staff.

Examples:

• Ruby Receptionist
• AnswerConnect
• PATLive
• Smith.AI Virtual Receptionist

Costs:

• Ruby: $245-$1,695/month (50-500 minutes)
• Smith.AI: $292.50-$2,025/month (30-300 calls)
• Overage: $3-$11 per minute/call

Limitations:

• Per-minute or per-call billing creates unpredictable costs
• After-hours coverage limited or premium-priced
• Generic scripts (not legal-specific)
• Hold times during peak periods

3. AI Call Answering

AI-powered solutions use voice AI to handle calls automatically.

Examples:

• KaiCalls
• Law Firm AI
• Various general AI receptionists

Costs:

• KaiCalls: $69.99-$1,000/month (Essentials to Enterprise)
• Overflow plan: $300/month for 500 minutes
• Overage: $0.10-$0.15 per minute

Advantages:

• Flat-rate predictable pricing
• True 24/7/365 coverage
• Unlimited concurrent calls
• Legal-specific workflows

Detailed Cost Comparison

Low Volume: 100 Minutes/Month

Option	Monthly Cost	Per-Minute
In-house (prorated)	$4,167	$41.67
Ruby (Starter)	$245	$4.90
Smith.AI (30 calls ~100 min)	$292.50	~$2.93
KaiCalls Essentials	$69.99	~$0.70

Winner: KaiCalls Essentials (lowest cost for low-volume callers)

Medium Volume: 500 Minutes/Month

Option	Monthly Cost	Per-Minute
In-house (prorated)	$4,167	$8.33
Ruby (Pro)	$1,695	$3.39
Smith.AI (90 calls ~300 min)	$787.50 + $2,200 overage	~$5.97
KaiCalls Overflow	$300	$0.60

Winner: KaiCalls Overflow (saves $1,395/month vs Ruby, $2,687/month vs Smith.AI)

High Volume: 2,000 Minutes/Month

Option	Monthly Cost	Per-Minute
In-house (1.5 FTE)	$7,500	$3.75
Ruby (Pro + overage)	$1,695 + $5,085 = $6,780	$3.39
Smith.AI (cannot scale)	Not practical	—
KaiCalls (Premium)	$600 + $75 overage = $675	$0.34

Winner: KaiCalls (saves $6,105/month vs Ruby, $6,825/month vs in-house)

Hidden Costs to Consider

1. Billing Increments

Ruby: Bills in 30-second increments. A 10-second call is billed as 30 seconds. Smith.AI: Bills per call regardless of duration. A 30-second call costs the same as a 10-minute call. AI Services: Most bill per second or per minute with no rounding.

Impact: With 30-second billing, short spam calls and wrong numbers inflate costs significantly.

2. Spam and Robocalls

The average business receives 15-50 spam calls per day.

Traditional services: You pay full price for every spam call. AI services: Most filter spam at no charge.

Impact: At 30 spam calls/day × $3/call = $2,700/month in wasted spend with traditional services.

3. Add-On Fees

Smith.AI charges extra for:

• Bilingual Spanish: +$1.00/call
• Appointment booking: +$1.50/call
• Call recording: +$0.25/call
• Payment collection: +$1.00/call

Impact: A call requiring Spanish + booking + recording costs an extra $2.75.

AI services: Most include all features in base pricing.

4. Setup and Cancellation

Some services charge:

• Setup fees: $100-$500
• Early cancellation: 1-3 months penalty
• Account changes: Per-modification fees

AI services: Most offer no setup fees and month-to-month billing.

5. After-Hours Premiums

Traditional services often charge:

• After 6 PM: 25-50% premium
• Weekends: 50-100% premium
• Holidays: 100-200% premium

AI services: Same rate 24/7/365.

Impact: A firm receiving 25% of calls after hours pays significantly more with traditional services.

ROI Calculator

Input Your Numbers:

Use these benchmarks to estimate your costs:

Your Metric	Low Estimate	Medium	High
Monthly call minutes	100	500	2,000
After-hours percentage	15%	25%	40%
Spam call percentage	10%	20%	30%
Calls requiring booking	20%	35%	50%

Sample ROI Calculation

Firm Profile:

• 500 minutes/month
• 25% after-hours
• 20% spam calls
• 35% need booking

Traditional Service (Ruby) Annual Cost:

• Base: $1,695/month × 12 = $20,340
• Spam waste: ~$1,200/year
• After-hours premium: ~$2,500/year
• Total: ~$24,000/year

AI Service (KaiCalls) Annual Cost:

• Base: $69.99/month × 12 = $839.88 (Essentials) or $300/month × 12 = $3,600 (Overflow)
• No spam charges
• No after-hours premium
• Total: $839.88-$3,600/year

Annual Savings: $20,400-$23,160

Making the Decision

Choose In-House When:

• You need a receptionist for non-phone duties (greeting, mail, etc.)
• Call volume is extremely low (<50 minutes/month)
• You highly value the human presence in your office

Choose Traditional Services When:

• You specifically need human operators for complex situations
• Your clients specifically request human interaction
• You're willing to pay premium prices for perceived prestige

Choose AI When:

• You want predictable, flat-rate pricing
• After-hours coverage is important
• You receive moderate to high call volume
• Integration with legal software matters
• You want to minimize overhead while maximizing coverage

The Verdict

For most law firms in 2025, AI call answering provides the best combination of:

• Coverage: 24/7/365 without gaps or premiums
• Cost: 70-90% less than traditional alternatives
• Quality: Consistent, legal-specific intake
• Integration: Deep CRM connectivity

The firms gaining competitive advantage are those capturing leads around the clock while competitors send calls to voicemail or pay premium rates for limited after-hours human coverage.

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Ready to see the savings? Start your free trial or compare specific services: vs Ruby | vs Smith.AI