PATLive Pricing and Cost Per Minute in 2026

PATLive pricing starts at $99 a month for 50 receptionist minutes, then $189 for 100, $349 for 200, $479 for 300, $759 for 500 and $1,499 for 1,000. Extra minutes cost $2.29 down to $1.49, and a pay-as-you-go plan is $49 a month plus $2.99 a minute. Every plan has a 14-day free trial, no contract, 24/7 answering and bilingual calls at no extra charge, and PATLive bills only the time a receptionist is on the line.

We read PATLive's pricing page on October 14, 2026, including its call answering, outbound calling and live chat cards and the FAQ under them. Every price below comes from that page. The cost per minute, the upgrade points and the bills at real call volumes are our arithmetic on those numbers.

How much does PATLive cost per month?

PATLive costs $99 to $1,499 a month for most small and mid-sized businesses, on plans from 50 to 1,000 receptionist minutes. Larger plans run to 5,000 minutes for $6,899. PATLive labels each plan with a call count, assuming about 2.5 minutes per call, and calls the 200-minute plan its most popular.

The cost per included minute is ours; PATLive prints the plan price and the overage rate, not the effective rate. Two plans sit between 2,000 and 5,000 minutes: 3,000 minutes for $4,299 and 4,000 for $5,599. Prices are plus government taxes and fees, and PATLive states it adds no fees of its own.

One detail on the card is worth noticing. On every plan, an extra minute costs more than an included one. On the 50-minute plan the gap is 31 cents ($2.29 against $1.98), and it stays between 11 and 30 cents all the way up. Running a little over your plan is fine. Running far over it every month means you are on the wrong plan.

When should you move up a PATLive plan?

Move up when your usual month reaches the point where the bigger plan becomes cheaper than the smaller plan plus overage. We worked those points out from the overage rates on the card:

The pay-as-you-go plan is a trap for anyone with steady calls. It only wins below 17 minutes a month, which is about seven calls. It makes sense for a business that wants a receptionist on standby for a launch or a vacation, not for regular coverage.

What does PATLive cost at your call volume?

At PATLive's own 2.5 minutes per call, here is the cheapest way to cover each volume, either a plan on its own or a smaller plan plus extra minutes:

Your calls may be shorter or longer than 2.5 minutes. A plumbing dispatch call takes about a minute, while a law firm's new-client intake can run eight. Count a month of calls and their length before you trust any estimate, ours included.

Does PATLive charge for after-call work?

No. PATLive states it bills only the time receptionists are live on your calls and does not charge for after-call notes, message entry or wrap-up. That matters more than it sounds. Ruby, for comparison, bills from the moment a receptionist answers until the call ends or is transferred, plus the after-call notes. On a short message call, write-up time can add a sizeable share to the billed minutes, so the same 100 calls use fewer PATLive minutes than they would elsewhere.

PATLive also lists no charges for nights, weekends or holidays, no per-feature fees, no change fees when you edit your call handling, and no bilingual fee. It includes a free menu that lets callers press 1 for English or 2 for Spanish.

How much is PATLive outbound calling and live chat?

PATLive sells two services next to call answering, each on its own card with the same 14-day trial.

Live outbound calls are billed per outreach, not per minute. Pay as you go is $19 a month plus $8.95 per outreach. Plans run from 25 outreaches for $199 and 50 for $309 (the most popular) to 100 for $599 and 1,000 for $5,399, with extra outreaches from $8.49 down to $5.49. One outreach is up to three call attempts, then a voicemail. Calls go out between 8 am and 6 pm Eastern, Monday to Friday, and only to people who opted in or have an existing business relationship with you.

Live chat is billed per chat. Pay as you go is $19 a month plus $9.95 per chat, then 25 chats for $149, 50 for $279, 100 for $499 and 1,000 for $4,999. PATLive states the chat is answered by people, around the clock.

Appointment scheduling is included on every call answering plan, and receptionists book into a connected calendar. If most callers only want a time slot, an online booking page they can use themselves takes those calls off the minute meter entirely.

Does PATLive include a phone system?

Yes. Every PATLive live plan includes a business phone system in its web and mobile apps at no extra charge. It comes with one local or toll-free number, unlimited users, auto attendants, ring groups, extensions, voicemail boxes, call recording and spam blocking. Calls that a receptionist touches use unlimited automated minutes. Calls that never reach a receptionist get 1,000 automated minutes a month, and you get 100 texts.

Beyond that, PATLive charges $0.02 per extra automated minute or text and $5 a month per extra number. Turning on texting costs a one-time $50 for the carrier registration every US business texting service has to go through. PATLive also says its system does not connect to desk phones, so calls are made and answered in its app.

That changes the math for anyone already paying for PATLive. You do not need a second phone system to put a menu in front of the receptionists. A separate system makes sense when you want desk phones, when your team's automated minutes run well past 1,000 a month, or when you do not want a live service at all.

Is PATLive cheaper than Ruby, AnswerConnect and Moneypenny?

At low volume, yes. From about 225 minutes a month AnswerConnect is cheaper, and the two are level at 500. Here are the published plans side by side at the same minute counts:

Moneypenny figures are its US plans with extra minutes where cheaper; Ruby prints no overage rate, so its 300-minute cell is the next plan up. AnswerConnect also charges a one-time $49.99 setup fee on its 200 and 400 minute plans, and its 300-minute plan lists none. Our answering service cost breakdown lists every tier from all five vendors with its cost per minute, and the Ruby receptionist pricing and AnswerConnect pricing pages go through each card in full.

PATLive and AnswerConnect tie at 200 minutes and again at 500. Between those points AnswerConnect's 300-minute plan at $395 is the best value on any of these cards, and PATLive wins everywhere below 200 minutes. Ruby costs the most per minute at every volume, and it includes scheduling, intake and bilingual answering, which PATLive also includes.

Who PATLive is a good fit for

PATLive suits a small office that wants every call answered by a person and has fewer than about 100 calls a month. Its 50 and 100 minute plans are the cheapest published live coverage we have found, the trial lets you test it on real calls, and with no contract you can drop to a smaller plan in a slow season. Our live phone answering service page sets it next to the other live services and an automated line, call type by call type.

It is a weaker fit when most callers just need to reach the right person. A receptionist minute spent transferring a caller to accounting costs $1.50 to $2.29, and a phone menu does the same job without a meter. Trades and property managers with a few urgent calls a night often split the line: a menu answers everything, and only the emergency option goes to a person. Our answering service for property management page prices that split at 100, 200 and 400 tenant calls, and the after hours answering service page does the same for any small office.

PATLive alternatives by price

• AnswerConnect is cheaper than PATLive from about 225 minutes a month, level with it at 500, and lists on-call scheduling on every plan.
• Moneypenny starts at $165 for 50 minutes with no contract and prints an overage rate on every plan.
• Smith.ai bills per call instead of per minute and sells an AI receptionist from $150 for 75 calls, which suits long calls. Our Smith.ai pricing page works out the bill.
• A phone system with a menu answers every call instantly and routes it with no minute meter. Phoner Team is $17 per user per month billed yearly with a three-user minimum, $51 a month in total, with a phone menu, ring groups, a business hours schedule, voicemail to text and unlimited US and Canada calling. Nobody talks to the caller, takes intake or books an appointment, so it is not a replacement for a receptionist when you need one.

Frequently asked questions

Does PATLive have a free trial?

Yes. PATLive offers a 14-day free trial on any call answering plan, and on its outbound calling and live chat plans. The trial is the full service with no limitations. When it ends, the plan you chose starts and your calls keep being answered the same way, so cancel before day 14 if you do not want to continue.

Does PATLive require a contract?

No. PATLive states it uses no contracts, so you can upgrade, downgrade or cancel at any time, by phone or online. It also lists no fees for changing plans or call handling. That makes it practical to sit on a small plan in a quiet month and move up for a busy season.

What is PATLive's cheapest plan?

The cheapest plan with included minutes is $99 a month for 50 minutes, which PATLive says covers about 20 calls. There is also a pay-as-you-go plan at $49 a month with no minutes and $2.99 for each minute used, which is only cheaper below 17 minutes a month.

Does PATLive use AI to answer calls?

No. PATLive states that it does not use AI to answer calls, that all calls are answered by live receptionists, and that all of them are based in the US. Its live chat is also answered by people. If you want an AI receptionist, Smith.ai and others sell one at a lower price per call.

Does PATLive charge extra for nights, weekends or Spanish?

No. PATLive includes 24/7 answering on every plan, including holidays, with no night or weekend fees. Bilingual answering for Spanish-speaking callers is also included at no extra cost, along with a free menu that lets callers choose English or Spanish.

How do I send my calls to PATLive?

PATLive assigns you a local or toll-free number when you sign up. You can advertise that number, port your existing number to PATLive, or forward your current number to it, for example only when nobody answers or only after hours. Forwarding keeps your number on your own phone system and sends PATLive just the calls you choose.