Human answering service or AI assistant: how these services are billed, public rates checked on 28 October 2026, and the questions to ask before you sign.
Before you compare amounts, look at what you're actually being charged for.
The most common model among answering services: a number of calls (or “interactions”, or “credits”) included each month, then a price per extra call. Read carefully what counts as a call: some count a long call twice.
Some providers sell hours of remote secretarial work, per week or per month, rather than calls. Useful if you also hand over other tasks; less clear-cut if all you want is someone to answer the phone.
This is AlloBob's model: a volume of minutes included (120, 500 or 1000 a month), then €0.30 a minute if you top up. Essential, Pro and Business share the same core; from Pro, the assistant also prices the quote during the call.
Few providers display their prices: most work on a quote basis. Here are the public rate cards of two answering services active in Belgium, as they appeared on 28 October 2026.
| Provider | Published monthly plans (excl. VAT) | Volume included per month | Beyond the volume | Set-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ringphone answering service | 4 plans, from €114.17 to €871.59 | from 25 to 500 “credits”; a call lasting more than 3 minutes counts as one extra credit | from €2.33 to €1.63 per call, depending on the plan | €211.58, free on the highest plan |
| 123secretariat answering service | 4 packs, from €179 to €799 | from 42 to 205 interactions (packs advertised as “ideal for 30 to 50” up to “125 to 205 calls/month”) | charged at the pack rate, amount not published | free with a 12-month commitment (stated value: €299) |
Sources (public rates checked on 28 October 2026)
Prices as published by the providers, excluding VAT, without discounts or options. They may have changed since: the provider's own page is authoritative.
On these two rate cards, a human answering service therefore cost from €114 to €872 excl. VAT per month depending on the volume of calls included, before any set-up fees. These examples don't sum up the whole market: other providers work on a quote basis, and the hours covered and languages differ from one offer to the next.
€67/month billed annually. 120 minutes of calls per month, all features included.
€169/month billed annually. 500 minutes of calls per month, plus the quote priced during the call, using your rates.
€299/month billed annually. 1000 minutes and 100 SMS per month.
For multi-person organisations: AI photo diagnosis, AI reports, multiple users.
Prices excluding VAT (plus 21% Belgian VAT). No set-up fees, and a free 15-minute trial with no credit card required. Full details on the Pricing page.
A call, an interaction, a credit or a minute? What happens with a long call, a sales call, or a call where the caller hangs up?
Are evenings, weekends and public holidays covered, and at the same price? What happens to a call outside those hours?
In Brussels and Flanders, your customers may also call in French, Dutch or English. Who answers them, and in which language?
Just a message taken, or an appointment booked in your calendar, urgent calls sorted, an immediate summary by WhatsApp or e-mail?
Set-up, minimum commitment, notice period, VAT included or not: compare amounts on the same basis.
Do they know they're talking to an AI or to an external provider? Is the call recorded, and how long is the recording kept?
A human answering service brings the listening skills and judgement of a trained person. It remains a good choice for sensitive or very varied conversations, provided its hours and languages match your calls.
An AI assistant such as Bob answers at any hour, in French, Dutch or English, books the appointment in your calendar and sends you a summary, for a fixed price based on your minutes. He doesn't give advice on your behalf and can mishear an address on a noisy line: depending on your settings, he can have the caller confirm the address and spell out names.
Bob doesn't pretend to be human: by default, he introduces himself as your company's assistant, and if someone asks whether he's a robot, he honestly says yes. Your greeting, which you set yourself, can also announce that the call is recorded. Recordings are kept for 90 days at most.
To go further, see our comparison of call answering solutions.
Enter your website address: Bob prepares himself from what he reads there, then you call him from your phone on the number shown. You'll hear him answer just as he would for your customers.
A real call to a Belgian number, no premium rate · simulated appointments · 3 minutes maximum.
15 minutes of calls on us, no credit card required. You keep your number.
Then from €67/month billed annually, or €89/month with no commitment.
At two answering services that publish their rates, plans ranged from €114 to €872 excl. VAT per month on 28 October 2026, depending on the volume of calls included, sometimes with set-up fees. An AI assistant such as AlloBob costs €89 excl. VAT per month with no commitment (€67/month billed annually) for 120 minutes of calls.
Because the billing unit changes: an answering service counts calls, interactions or credits, while an AI assistant such as AlloBob counts minutes. The hours covered, languages, set-up fees, commitment and VAT also vary. Always work out what each offer would cost for your own call volume.
It depends on your volume and the length of your calls. Work out how many minutes of calls you receive each month: 120 minutes is, for example, 40 calls of 3 minutes. Then compare that with what you would pay for the same number of calls, over the same hours.
Bob doesn't pretend to be human: by default, he introduces himself as your company's assistant, and if someone asks whether he's a robot, he honestly says yes. Your greeting, which you set yourself, can also announce that the call is recorded. Recordings are kept for 90 days at most.
No. You keep your number and forward your calls to your assistant's dedicated Belgian number, for example only when you don't pick up. See the call forwarding guide by operator.