Outsource your phone: answering service, call centre or AI
Outsource your phone to an answering service, a call centre or an AI receptionist. What each one does, what it costs, and why it also helps when busy.
You can outsource your business phone to an answering service, a call centre or an AI receptionist. An answering service takes a message and charges per call. An AI receptionist also answers when your team is busy, handles the call itself and costs a flat monthly fee.
With an answering service you pay per call, so the busier it gets, the higher the bill. With an AI receptionist the amount stays the same.
You can outsource to people or to software
At an answering service or call centre a person answers your phone. An AI receptionist is software that does the same and handles the call.
An answering service answers in your company name, notes who is calling and why, and sends you a note. An operator usually works for several companies, with a script for each.
A call centre also handles orders, complaints and returns. You pay per minute, per hour or per agent.
An AI receptionist does what an answering service does, and more. It takes a message when needed, but also answers questions, transfers the caller to the right employee and puts appointments in your calendar. With a complaint or an order, it asks the right questions and leaves it ready for whoever handles it.
Outsourcing your phone is not only for after hours
Outsourcing is not only for evenings and weekends. During the day, when everyone is busy, the service also picks up what you let go.
The phone often rings at the worst moment: when someone is with a customer, in the middle of a job or facing a queue at the desk. Then someone has to choose between their work and the phone.
You choose when someone else answers:
- When it is busy. You forward on no answer or when the line is busy. Your employees answer themselves when they can, and what they let go is still answered.
- Outside opening hours. Evenings, weekends and public holidays.
- Always. Every call is answered by the service first.
Your number stays the same. With an AI receptionist it does not matter how many people call at once: if five call, all five are answered. How to set up forwarding per provider is in call forwarding codes.
An AI receptionist handles the call instead of sending a note
With an answering service you get a note after the call and call back yourself. An AI receptionist transfers calls, answers questions and books appointments.
An operator can also transfer calls and book appointments, but at an answering service that costs extra. A transfer costs €0.50 to €2.05 a time, and booking appointments costs €75 a month at BizziPhone.
An AI receptionist has your business knowledge. It answers questions with a fixed answer, such as opening hours or the area you cover. It knows which employee handles which subject and transfers the caller straight away.
If the caller wants an appointment or a booking, it puts it in your calendar. If an existing appointment needs to change, it moves or cancels it.
What needs a person goes to the right employee
You do not get another inbox. Appointments are in your own system, and anything that needs a person goes to the right employee.
If that employee does not pick up, the AI receptionist leaves the call ready for them: who called, what about, and when the caller can be called back. It arrives by WhatsApp or in the app, where your employee already looks.
Appointments and bookings go straight into the calendar or booking system you already use. Nobody has to retype or forward anything.
Outsourcing your phone costs per call or a flat fee
An answering service charges a subscription, a fee per call and surcharges. An AI receptionist costs a flat fee, including transfers and evenings.
Say calls last two minutes, one in four is transferred, and you also want to be reachable in the evening and at weekends. That is how an AI receptionist works as standard. At an answering service you then pay per month:
| provider | 100 calls | 200 calls |
|---|---|---|
| Binnendienst | €152 | €315 |
| Mijn Telefoniste | €235 | €410 |
| Antwoordservice-telefoonservice | €267 | €523 |
| BizziPhone | €388 | €715 |
| PasCall | ± €413 | ± €780 |
| BeepSweep (AI receptionist) | €99 | €99 |
From the providers’ own price pages, checked on 3 November 2026; all five are Dutch answering services. Subscription and price per call, plus their surcharges for calls over 90 seconds, transfers and evenings and weekends. Binnendienst and PasCall list no surcharge for long calls or evenings, so none is counted for them. The answering services do not say whether their prices include VAT; BeepSweep excludes VAT.
Some answering services charge per minute. Antwoordservice Nederland asks €2.50 a minute, falling to €1.79. Their own example of 40 calls of two minutes comes to about €230 a month.
On busy days a bill per call goes up. A flat fee stays the same.
How BeepSweep does it
BeepSweep is an AI receptionist for your company’s main number. It answers when it is busy, outside working hours or always, including at night. It answers questions from your own knowledge base, transfers to the right colleague or department, and books, moves and cancels appointments in your calendar. If you work with your own booking system, we connect BeepSweep to it.
Enterprise costs €99 a month excluding VAT. There is no charge per call, per transfer or per appointment. Each employee you connect costs €15 a month.
On the homepage you leave your number and BeepSweep calls you within ten seconds. Questions go to WhatsApp on +31 85 083 5355.
Frequently asked questions
Do I keep my own number if I outsource my phone?
Yes. You switch on call forwarding from your existing number. Your customers call the number they already know. For a company’s main number, it is step by step in forward your business number to an AI receptionist.
Do my employees have to work differently?
Not if you choose cover for busy moments. Then they answer the way they always have, and only what they let go is answered by the service.
Is outsourcing cheaper than hiring a receptionist?
Yes. A receptionist on the payroll costs a full salary for the hours they are there, even when the phone is quiet. How the two compare in more detail is covered in AI receptionist vs human receptionist.
What is the difference between an AI receptionist and an answering service?
With an answering service a person answers, with an AI receptionist software does. More on that in AI receptionist or answering service.
What do other AI receptionists cost?
It varies a lot: a flat fee, a bundle of minutes or a price per call. Ten AI phone assistants side by side lists them.