Fullday vs hiring a receptionist: what does each cost?
By the Fullday team · Published
A full-time receptionist at the US median pay costs about $3,168 a month before payroll taxes and benefits, and covers about 40 of a week's 168 hours. Fullday costs $297, $997 or $1,997 a month by plan, plus any usage past it, and answers day and night. A person is still the better hire when your office needs someone at the desk.
What does a receptionist cost?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the US median pay for receptionists at $38,010 a year as of May 2025, about $3,168 a month. That's pay alone. On top of it come payroll taxes, any benefits you offer, paid time off, and the hours you spend hiring and training, then doing it again when someone leaves.
How many hours does each one cover?
A full-time hire works about 40 hours, and a week has 168. Nights, weekends, lunch and sick days fall outside that, and an emergency leak or a no-heat call still rings then. An AI front desk answers at any hour, but only by phone, text and chat, and can't greet anyone at the counter.
How do they compare side by side?
Neither column wins every row. The right answer depends on which rows matter most in your business, so read it with your own front desk in mind.
| Hiring a receptionist | Fullday | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | About $3,168 median pay, plus taxes and benefits | $297, $997 or $1,997 by plan, plus usage past it |
| Hours covered | About 40 a week, less time off | Day and night, every day |
| In-person check-in and paperwork | Yes | No |
| Unusual or sensitive calls | Experienced judgment | Follows your rules and hands off to you |
| Texts, DMs and website chat | Yes, between other tasks | Answered in seconds from the same details |
| Leads that went quiet | If you make it part of the job | Texts and emails them until they book or say no |
When is hiring a person the better choice?
Hire a person when the job is more than the phone. If patients check in, fill in forms, pay at the counter or wait in a busy waiting room, you need someone there. The same goes for calls that need complex judgment, like a delicate legal intake.
You can also do both: your receptionist runs the desk, and the AI takes overflow, lunch, nights and weekends, so a ringing phone doesn't pull them from the customer in front of them.
What does Fullday do, and what can't it do?
Fullday answers your calls, texts and website chat, books into Google Calendar or Outlook, follows up leads that went quiet and keeps everyone in one list. It won't give medical, legal or technical advice, it quotes only prices you approve, and it puts callers through to your cell when they want a person, have an emergency or are upset.
Sources
What Fullday sets up for this
- Voice agent. Answers your phone day and night, books the visit and puts urgent calls through to you.
- Text agent. Answers texts, Instagram and Facebook messages and website chat in seconds.
- Calendar booking. Books appointments into Google Calendar or Outlook while the customer is on the line, and texts the confirmation.
- Follow-up agent. Texts every lead who hasn't booked, on days 1, 3, 7 and 14, until they book or say no.
- CRM. Every call, text, email and ad lead in one list, from new to won.
Plans start at $297 a month with a 7-day free trial, no contract.
A screen from the demo business. The people and numbers are sample data.
Related questions
Does an AI front desk cost less than a receptionist?
Compare the monthly numbers yourself: a receptionist's pay plus payroll costs, against a plan price plus any usage past it. Then compare what each covers: a person at the desk does jobs no phone system can.
Can an AI front desk replace my receptionist?
It can cover phone, text and booking work. It can't check people in, handle paperwork at the counter or calm a full waiting room. If your desk does those things, keep the person and let the AI take the overflow.
What does the receptionist pay figure include?
It's the US median pay for receptionists from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, before payroll taxes, benefits and paid time off. Half earn more and half earn less, so use what you'd actually pay.
Every call answered. Every lead followed up.
Fullday answers calls, texts and DMs, books into your calendar and follows up every lead. Try it free for 7 days.