Pricing
Property management answering service pricing
$197 a month for 500 minutes, billed by the second. Spam and wrong numbers are not counted. Setup is $297 on monthly plans and free on annual plans.
Last updated
Starter
$197/ month
For one to a few properties.
- 500 minutes, about 150 calls
- $0.35 a minute after that
- Emergency rules and on-call ladder
- Email summary and recording for every call
Prices in USD.
Growth
Most portfolios$397/ month
For growing portfolios with leasing calls.
- 1,250 minutes, about 400 calls
- $0.30 a minute after that
- Everything in Starter
- Rules set per property
Prices in USD.
Portfolio
$797/ month
For larger portfolios and lines answered 24/7 on request.
- 2,500 minutes, about 800 calls
- $0.25 a minute after that
- Everything in Growth
- [[PORTFOLIO_EXTRA]]
Prices in USD.
Setup $297 on monthly plans, free on annual plans ([[ANNUAL_PRICE: 12 times monthly, setup fee waived]]). Call counts assume about 3 minutes a call. Prices in US dollars.
Short answer
What does a property management answering service cost?
MaeDay costs $197 a month for 500 minutes, $397 for 1,250 or $797 for 2,500, billed by the second. Spam, wrong numbers and calls under 10 seconds are not counted. Setup is $297 on monthly plans and free on annual plans. Calls to your on-call ladder count, because they are part of handling the emergency.
What counts as a minute?
Time Mae spends on a call for you, billed to the second. That includes the calls she makes to your on-call tech and backup, because those are part of handling the emergency.
- Counted: tenant, owner, prospect and vendor calls, plus calls to your on-call ladder.
- Not counted: spam, robocalls, wrong numbers and calls under 10 seconds.
- Not rounded: a 2 minute 10 second call is 2 minutes 10 seconds, not 3 minutes.
- Unused minutes: [[ROLLOVER: unused minutes reset on your billing date]].
Tonight's call log
Oak Street Property Management- 2:14 AMMaria Lopez · 555-0142 · 14 Elm St, unit 3B“Water's coming from under the kitchen sink.”Emergency
- 2:15 AMCalling Dave Chen, on-call · no answer
- 2:20 AMRetrying Dave Chen · no answer
- 2:21 AMCalling Priya Shah, backup · answered, connected
- 2:24 AMSummary and recording emailed to you
Example call. Names and numbers are invented.
Why does billing by the second matter?
Because most after-hours calls are short, and the expensive ones are rare. You should pay for the time spent, not for a bundle sized for a busy day line.
Emergencies are rare
A broker managing almost 350 rentals said on BiggerPockets that they get fewer than four emergency calls a month, about half of them lockouts. Your bill should look like that too.
Source: BiggerPockets forum, after-hours call center thread, checked 14 November 2026
Flat bundles get expensive at low volume
One BiggerPockets landlord canceled a live answering service after bills of $300 to $400 a month, mostly for financial reasons.
Source: BiggerPockets forum, answering service thread, checked 14 November 2026
Per-call billing charges by the call
On a per-call plan, a short wrong number can cost the same as a long emergency. Mae leaves spam and wrong numbers out and bills the rest to the second.
How does that compare?
Published prices from each company's own website, checked 14 November 2026. Prices change, so follow the links for today's figures.
| Service | Type | Published price | Billed by | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MaeDay | AI voice agent, property managers only | $197 for 500 min; $397 for 1,250; $797 for 2,500 | The second | 14 November 2026 |
| Smith.ai AI Receptionist | AI receptionist, many industries | Free for 25 calls; $150 for 75 calls; $500 for 300 calls | The call | 14 November 2026 |
| Smith.ai Virtual Receptionists | Human receptionists | $300 for 30 calls; $810 for 90 calls; $2,100 for 300 calls | The call | 14 November 2026 |
| Ruby | Human receptionists | $250 for 50 min; $395 for 100; $720 for 200; $1,725 for 500 | The minute | 14 November 2026 |
| MAP Communications | Human answering service | $49 a month plus $1.37 a minute; $179 for 125 min; $339 for 250; $649 for 500 | The minute | 14 November 2026 |
| PATLive | Human answering service | $49 a month plus $2.99 a minute; $99 for 50 min | The minute | 14 November 2026 |
| Specialty Answering Service | Human answering service, property management line | From $44 a month | Not shown on the page | 14 November 2026 |
| Buildium Maintenance Contact Center | Buildium add-on, maintenance calls only | $0.70 per unit (missed maintenance calls, and all maintenance calls after office hours); $1.10 per unit (all maintenance calls); $140 a month minimum; $300 setup | The rental unit | 14 November 2026 |
| Property Meld MAX On-Call | Property Meld add-on, maintenance calls | $1.50 per unit (MAX On-Call add-on); $2.00 per unit (Property Meld Ops plan); $200 a month minimum | The rental unit | 14 November 2026 |
Per-unit add-ons only work inside their own software. Human services include a person on every call. Read how we compare with Smith.ai, or see every service compared.
Pricing questions
What does the $297 setup cover?
How many calls is 500 minutes?
Is there a contract?
Do unused minutes roll over?
What happens if I go over my minutes?
Does 24/7 on request cost more?
Do you also offer a general receptionist?
Not sure which plan? We'll size it on the setup call.
Bring a rough count of your after-hours calls, or just your unit count. We will suggest a plan and show you the math.