24/7 live answering service · US-based & human-only since 1987 Every call answered by a real, trained person.
Real people in the US answer every call in your company’s name, 24 hours a day, follow your script, and get urgent calls to whoever is on call. Every industry, nationwide, from one-person shops to national enterprises.
The only major US live answering service with public plans under $1 a minute.
Nationwide. No long-term contract. HIPAA-compliant; we sign your Business Associate Agreement.
Message to your on-call dentist2:14 AM
Dental office · after hours
Caller reports swelling and a fever of 101 after an extraction yesterday. Callback number confirmed. Dentist on call paged at 2:15 AM.
Urgent · pagedCall recorded
Example
1987Answering calls since
24/7/365Live human representatives, nights and holidays
NationwideEvery service, in all 50 states
100% USHuman representatives, never offshore
BilingualEnglish and Spanish on every plan
Organizations we’ve answered for
Also the American Red Cross and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, among thousands of businesses since 1987.
Every industry, every size
Whatever you do, your callers reach a person
A patient at 3 a.m. A new client choosing a law firm. A tenant locked out. A burst pipe. A car in a ditch. Since 1987 we have answered these calls for every kind of business.
Medical practices
Every specialty: on-call paging by your protocol, refill and appointment requests.
How we answer
Law firms
New-client intake by your script; urgent matters to the attorney on duty.
How we answer
Property management
Maintenance emergencies routed to the right vendor or manager.
How we answer
HVAC
No-heat and no-cool calls dispatched to your on-call tech, day or night.
How we answer
Plumbing
Burst pipes and backups get a person and a dispatch, not voicemail.
How we answer
Dental offices
Emergencies screened for the dentist on call; appointment requests logged.
How we answer
Home health
Patient and caregiver calls, visit changes and on-call clinician paging.
How we answer
Towing
Every tow request answered and dispatched with location, vehicle and callback.
How we answer
Rental properties
Guests and tenants reach a person for lockouts, leaks and late check-ins.
How we answer
Hospice
Families reach a calm person at 3 a.m.; the on-call nurse is reached by your rules.
How we answer
Water utilities
Outage and main-break reports logged and escalated to your crew on call.
How we answerYour business
Don’t see your industry? We answer for every kind of business, of every size.
How we answerDon’t see your industry? We answer for every kind of business, from funeral homes and IT providers to franchises and nonprofits.
Small shop or national enterprise
One location, one phone line, or a few
Plans from $75 per 28 days, live in days, no long-term contract.
- Five plans from 50 to 1,000 minutes
- Under $1 a minute on Business
- Month to month after the first month
Programs up to 60,000 minutes a month
Custom programs for national brands, health systems, utilities and franchise networks: overflow, after-hours and representatives trained on your account.
- Custom volume pricing above 1,000 minutes
- Representatives trained on your account, and custom routing
- HIPAA-compliant healthcare programs; we sign your Business Associate Agreement
What our representatives do on every call
We build your account from your instructions. When your call rings in, your script appears on the representative’s screen, so every representative on every shift handles it the same way.
- Answer in your company’s name, usually within three rings
- Follow a custom script for each type of call
- Page, text or call your on-call staff, and keep trying until someone answers
- Patch callers through live when you want them
- Take detailed messages and confirm every callback number
- Deliver messages by text, email, fax or secure app
- Record every call for quality assurance
- Answer in English or Spanish
The real math
Voicemail, AI, a receptionist, or CallNET
Every option has a price. The biggest cost usually isn’t on the invoice: it’s the customer who hung up and called someone else.
Voicemail
$0 /month
A person on the line: 0 of 168 hrs
No one answers. Many callers hang up and call the next business on the list.
AI receptionist
$30–$150 /month
A person on the line: Software, 168 hrs
Answers, but can’t judge an emergency, calm an upset caller or think past its script.
Full-time receptionist
≈ $4,525 /month
A person on the line: 40 of 168 hrs
One person, business hours only. Nights, weekends, lunches and sick days go uncovered.
CallNET Business plan
≈ $237 /month
A person on the line: 168 of 168 hrs
Every call answered by a real, trained person, 24/7/365. The only major US live service with public plans under $1 a minute.
What are missed calls costing you?
Use your own numbers; nothing you enter leaves this page. CallNET Business plan: $219 per 28 days, about $237 a month.
Sources: receptionist cost uses the US median receptionist wage of $38,010 (BLS, May 2025) plus benefits, which are 30% of private-industry compensation (BLS, June 2026). AI price range from published entry plans. Full answering service vs. AI comparison
Family-owned since 1987
You can reach the owners.
CallNET is a family business in Wilmington, North Carolina, run by the people who founded it. Our representatives answer from our own call center in Wilmington, never overseas, with US-based backup representatives for overflow and storms. Many have been with us for years.
That is why clients stay. Some have been with us for more than 20 years.
Live in days, not weeks
- Choose a plan. Billed every 28 days. One-month minimum, then month to month.
- Tell us how to handle your calls. We write your script and set your rules for urgent calls, transfers and messages.
- Forward your line. Most accounts are answering within 48 hours of sending us their instructions.
Find your plan
An estimate only. Most calls take 1 to 2 minutes, including the message. We’ll confirm the right plan with you.
Common questions
How much does an answering service cost?
Plans run from $75 to $999 per 28-day billing period, with 50 to 1,000 minutes included; on the Business plan that works out to under $1 a minute. Extra minutes are $1.05 to $1.25 depending on the plan. Your first bill is your plan rate plus a one-time $50 setup fee and a refundable deposit equal to your plan's base rate. See every plan.
Is there a contract?
No long-term contract. One-month minimum, then month to month. Give 30 days' written notice and your deposit comes back. Billed every 28 days.
Are your representatives real people in the United States?
Yes. Every call is answered live by a trained representative in the United States, at our Wilmington call center or by our US-based backup team during overflow and storms. We do not use AI to answer calls.
Do you sign Business Associate Agreements?
Yes. CallNET is HIPAA-compliant. Send us your organization's Business Associate Agreement and we sign it and return it before we answer your first call. Patient messages can go through miSecure encrypted messaging, an add-on.
How fast can we start?
Most accounts are live within 48 hours of sending us their call instructions.
How do I get my messages?
However you choose: text, email, or encrypted messaging through miSecure. Urgent calls go to your on-call person by your rules, by phone, page or a live transfer, and every call is recorded.
What happens when a storm or power outage hits?
Your calls still get answered by a person. Our call system runs in the cloud, not on equipment in our building, and US-based backup representatives answer during overflow and storms. We are a coastal North Carolina company and have planned for hurricane season since 1987. Keeping your phones answered in a hurricane.
Are your representatives bilingual?
Yes. Bilingual representatives answer in English and Spanish on every plan, at no extra charge.
Hear what a real answering service sounds like.
Call our sales line and a person picks up. Or tell us about your calls and we will come back with a plan and an estimate of your first bill.