Plumbing Answering Service: What It Costs, AI vs Human
For a plumbing company taking 120 calls a month at about 4 minutes each, an AI answering service costs $68.80 to $262.50 a month and a human answering service costs $633.40 to $1,380, at public list prices. The full table is below. Dooza’s AI answering service is $149 a month for up to 500 minutes: it answers the calls you miss and emails you each message with the transcript.
Month to month. Cancel within 14 days of your first charge for a full refund.
The calls a plumbing company loses to voicemail
- The burst pipe or backed-up drain at night. The caller wants someone now and will try the next plumber if nobody answers.
- The water heater replacement quote. A homeowner pricing a new water heater calls several plumbers in a row.
- The routine repair call that comes in while you are under a sink.
An answering service, AI or human, gets the address, the problem and how urgent it is, so you call back with what you need.
Plumbing answering service prices: 120 calls a month
120 calls at about 4 minutes each is 480 minutes. Each row is the cheapest published plan that covers that usage plus published overage, from the vendor’s own pricing page (linked), checked October 6–14, 2026. We sell one of these, so check the pricing pages yourself. Change the numbers in the cost calculator. Other trades: HVAC and garage door answering service prices.
| Service | Type | Plan | Monthly cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dooza (ours) | AI | Monthly | $149 |
| OnCrew | AI | Starter | $68.80 |
| Quo (OpenPhone) Sona | AI | Tier 3 | $77 |
| Goodcall | AI | Starter | $89 |
| Upfirst | AI | Premium | $89.95 |
| Marlie | AI | Standard | $99 |
| Trillet | AI | AI Receptionist | $115 |
| Nextiva XBert | AI | XBert | $118.80 |
| Phonely | AI | Starter | $120 |
| Rosie | AI | Pro | $149 |
| My AI Front Desk | AI | Business-in-a-Box | $169 |
| Dialzara | AI | Plan 3 | $199 |
| NextPhone | AI | Pro (unlimited calls) | $199 |
| Ringly.io | AI | Pay per conversation | $238.30 |
| RingCentral AIR (standalone) | AI | Standalone | $239 |
| Smith.ai AI Receptionist | AI | Pro | $262.50 |
| MAP Communications (human answering) | Human | Enterprise | $633.40 |
| PATLive (human answering) | Human | 300 minutes | $819.20 |
| Smith.ai Virtual Receptionists | Human | Basic | $1,125 |
| Abby Connect (human answering) | Human | Growth | $1,380 |
Services that publish no price at this volume are left out. For a full feature-by-feature list see the 20 AI answering services compared.
What Dooza’s plumbing answering service does, and doesn’t
Included
- Answers the calls you miss
- Asks your questions: address, what is wrong, how urgent
- Emails you each message with the call transcript and a link to the recording (callers hear that the call is recorded)
- $149/month for up to 500 minutes; $0.30/min after
Not included
- Booking onto your calendar or dispatch software
- Text messages
- Two calls at once (the second caller is asked to call back)
Hear a demo call (HVAC example; a plumbing call works the same way).
Frequently asked questions
For an example plumbing company taking 120 calls a month at about 4 minutes each (480 minutes), AI answering services cost $68.80 to $262.50 a month and human answering services cost $633.40 to $1,380 a month at list prices checked October 6–14, 2026. Dooza’s AI answering service is $149 a month for up to 500 minutes.
A human service handles judgment calls and upset customers better and costs several times more per minute. An AI service is cheaper and picks up nights and weekends without per-minute human rates. One setup: AI for overflow and after hours, a person for the office day.
It answers the calls you miss, asks the questions you give it (address, what is wrong, how urgent), takes the message and emails it to you with the call transcript. It does not book onto your calendar or dispatch software, does not send texts, and takes one call at a time.
The address, a callback number, what is leaking or blocked, whether water is still running and the main shut-off is closed, and whether it is a home or a business. With those answers you know on the callback whether it is an emergency tonight or a booked job tomorrow.
No. $149 a month for up to 500 minutes, then $0.30 a minute, month to month, paid up front. Cancel within 14 days of your first charge for a full refund.
It works with any line that can forward calls: you forward your business line or your cell when you can’t answer. We confirm your go-live date at intake.
Stop losing emergency calls to voicemail
$149/month for up to 500 minutes. Month to month. Cancel within 14 days of your first charge for a full refund.