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This page compares an in-house receptionist, a live answering service you price yourself, and Goldenhour's AI plans for the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler MSA. BLS defines that area as Maricopa County and Pinal County, so Casa Grande uses this wage table. The default is the receptionist mean, $19.63 an hour. The loaded-cost multiplier is an assumption.
Assumption A full-time week is 40 hours. Nights and weekends are extra hours you add here.
Means from the BLS May 2025 Phoenix news release, Table 1. The release says this MSA includes Maricopa County and Pinal County. Annual pay on the release is the hourly mean times 2,080, rounded.
Default $19.63 is the Phoenix mean for receptionists and information clerks (43-4171). Published annual mean $40,820.
Assumption 1.25 is not a BLS figure. It stands in for payroll taxes and basic benefits. Edit it.
Assumption 100 matches the answering-service example below. It is not a measured average for your shop.
Assumption 3 minutes is the call length in the third-party median. Changing it does not reprice the quote you typed. Billed minutes in the example: 300.
Assumption Example default: $406, the median live answering service for 100 three-minute calls. Third-party, not a Goldenhour price. AnsweringPrices.com
Assumption 168 is round-the-clock coverage, as an example only. Change it to the hours in your quote. This is not a claim about any vendor.
$4,253 per month
The cards below update with the fields. Monthly and yearly figures round to the nearest dollar. Cost per call rounds to the cent.
Payroll month = hours × wage × multiplier × 52 / 12.
$4,253 /month
Year one: $51,038
Hours covered: 40 per week
Cost per call: $42.53
$406 /month
Year one: $4,872. No setup fee is added, because this page does not invent one.
Hours covered: 168 per week
Cost per call: $4.06
$249 /month
$1,997 one-time setup. Year one: $4,985
After hours, weekends, and while you are on the other line. The Full Package includes 300 call minutes a month.
Cost per call at the monthly price: $2.49
Top up $50 , $100 , or $250 when the included minutes or texts run out.
From the homepage: What this covers included each month 300 call minutes and 1,000 texts. After that, voice is $1.00 a minute and texts are $0.06 each.
| In-house | Answering service | Goldenhour AI | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who answers | A person you employ | Whoever your quote buys | Callers are talking to an AI on the AI plans. You confirm the time. |
| Hours | The hours you enter | The hours you enter for the quote | The Full Package answers after hours, on weekends, and while you are on the other line. It includes 300 call minutes a month. |
| Calendar | Your own process | Depends on the vendor | Google Calendar is not synced. |
| Texts | Your own process | Depends on the vendor | A missed call does not send an automatic text. |
Goldenhour Solutions LLC, Phoenix, AZ. Sunny is an AI receptionist, not a person.
On the Full Package ($249 a month, $1,997 one-time setup), an AI voice answers calls after hours, on weekends, and while you are on the other line. It takes messages, answers common questions, and collects a preferred time. You confirm the appointment. Callers are talking to an AI. Google Calendar is not synced. A missed call does not send an automatic text.
Done for you, live within a week. No contract. Cancel anytime.
Try it: call (520) 602-8435 to talk to the AI. That call does not send a text.
Means from the BLS May 2025 Phoenix news release, Table 1. The release says this MSA includes Maricopa County and Pinal County. Annual pay on the release is the hourly mean times 2,080, rounded. The calculator multiplies the hourly wage you enter. A 40-hour week is 2,080 hours before the multiplier, which is the same hours figure BLS uses for the published annual wage.
It is an assumption, not a BLS benefit rate. It stands in for payroll taxes and basic benefits on top of the wage. Edit it to your own loaded-cost rate. Leave it at 1 if you want wage only.
AnsweringPrices.com, a third party, says the median live answering service costs $406 for 100 three-minute calls a month, with prices checked October 12, 2026. It is an example default. Replace it with your quote. This page does not reprice vendors when you change the call length.
No. Callers are talking to an AI. You confirm the time. Google Calendar is not synced. A missed call does not send an automatic text. The Full Package on the homepage includes the AI voice receptionist.
The BLS Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler release says the MSA includes Maricopa County and Pinal County. Casa Grande is in Pinal County, so this wage table is the one that covers it. There is no separate Casa Grande receptionist wage in that release.