What does an AI telephone assistant cost? An overview for entrepreneurs
AI telephone assistants take incoming calls, answer questions, forward inquiries or record callbacks - around the clock. But what does such a digital employee actually cost? And how do the prices differ between different providers?
In this article, we highlight the most important price differences - from traditional agencies and software solutions to comparisons with human call centers and the minimum wage.
Agency vs. software solution: two different pricing models
If you want to use an AI telephone assistant, you basically have two options:
Agency solutions:
Here, an agency takes over the complete creation, configuration and support of the assistant. The costs are usually between €5,000 and €15,000 one-off, plus ongoing charges for telephony minutes.Software providers (such as FlowLyne):
With software solutions, you configure the assistant yourself - simply via the web interface, without any programming knowledge. With software providers, there is typically no set-up fee, only the time spent on the phone is charged.
Cost structure for software providers: per-minute prices & additional fees
Most software-based AI phone assistants charge for the volume of calls made - so you only pay when you actually make a call. Prices of between €0.25 and €0.80 per minute are common, depending on the provider and the volume used. Some providers charge extra:
a monthly fee for the provision of a telephone number
Set-up fees
or mandatory subscription models with minimum terms
At FlowLyne, we deliberately offer the simplest pricing model:
0,30€- 0,50 € per minute
No basic fee, no subscription, no contract commitment
Free starter package for a risk-free trial
Comparison with call centers such as ebuero
Let's take a look at what a human telephone service like ebuero costs:
In the entry-level tariff (as of May 2025), customers pay ebuero:
59 € basic fee per month
1.39 € for each accepted call
1.39 € for every minute or part minute of a call
This means that a simple, three-minute call costs over €5 or over €1.50 per minute. That's 3-5 times more expensive than an AI telephone assistant from FlowLyne - and that's on top of the monthly basic fee! What's more, FlowLyne charges by the second, while ebuero charges for every minute in full - even if the call only lasts a few seconds. And the telephone AI is available 24/7, while ebuero charges an extra €0.25 / minute for calls between 7pm and 7am.
What's more, call center employees like those at ebuero can usually only take on simple tasks - for example, taking a callback or forwarding a request.
An AI phone assistant like FlowLyne can do much more:
Book appointments directly
Ask questions and qualify
Answer FAQ
For significantly less money, you get more performance, more flexibility and a modern solution that is ready for use around the clock with a telephone AI from FlowLyne.
FlowLyne vs ebuero: The comprehensive comparison
Comparison with the minimum wage
The current minimum wage in Germany is €12.41 per hour (as of May 2025). Including non-wage labor costs and employer contributions, this corresponds to around €0.26 per minute. It is important to note here: Employees must also be paid if they are not on the phone but just waiting for the next call. And the price per minute does not take into account the costs of hiring, training, taking breaks, vacation and sick leave. Assuming 30% "unproductive" paid time, the price per minute at minimum wage is around €0.33. In addition, there are various surcharges if you want to be available outside normal business hours. An AI telephone assistant is therefore also competitive compared to the minimum wage.
Conclusion: AI saves money - and delivers better performance
An AI telephone assistant is not only cheaper than traditional call centers or human employees - it is also more reliable, more flexible and immediately ready for use. With FlowLyne, you only pay for the actual call time used, to the second and without fixed costs. At the same time, you benefit from functions such as appointment booking, qualification and 24/7 availability.
Less costs, more possibilities - with FlowLyne.
FlowLyne makes it particularly easy to get started: no subscription, no hidden fees, ready to go straight away.