AskMuse vs a receptionist vs an answering service vs voicemail
4 ways to answer a business phone in Canada, row by row: what each costs a month, the hours it covers, French, booking, texts, and what happens to the call nobody picks up. No company is named; the columns are the choices an owner actually has.
| AskMuse | A receptionist | An answering service | Voicemail | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost per month in Canada | $39.99 to $249.99, for 40 to 650 calls | About $3,922 full time at the median wage, with employer CPP and EI, before vacation pay and benefits | Typically from $175 to $350 for 50 to 100 minutes, about $1 to $3 a minute after that | $0 extra on most phone plans |
| Hours covered | 24/7, nights and weekends, every plan | The hours they work: 40 of the week's 168 | Often 24/7; after-hours and holiday surcharges are common | 24/7, but nobody answers |
| Calls at once | Up to 10 at once on Growth and Scale | 1; the next caller waits or rings out | Varies by provider; callers may queue | Records messages, answers none |
| French | English and French on every plan, same number; other languages from Pro | If you hire someone bilingual | Varies by provider | Only your recorded greeting |
| Books appointments | Yes, into Google Calendar, Outlook or Apple iCloud, on the call | Yes, in office hours | Varies; many take a message for you to call back | No |
| Texts the caller | Yes: a booking confirmation, a reminder the night before, and a link to pick a time if they hang up without booking | If they do it by hand | Varies by provider | No |
| After hours | Answers and books, same as daytime | Only with another shift, at another wage | Usually a message, often at a higher rate | A message, if the caller leaves one |
| What happens to a missed call | She answers it. Even on a 20-second hang-up the name and number are kept and the lead is texted to you | Goes to voicemail, or rings out | An operator takes a message and passes it on | A message if they leave one; otherwise only a number in your call log |
| Setup time | About 15 minutes yourself, or we do it with you; free, and you keep your number | Hiring and training | An onboarding call and a script; setup fees are common | Record a greeting |
AskMuse: Canadian dollars, before tax; a call up to 10 minutes counts as 1 call; spam and calls under 15 seconds never count; past the allowance, talk time is $0.18 a minute; 7-day free trial, no contract. Every plan. Receptionist: Job Bank median for receptionists (NOC 14101), $21.00 an hour, 40 hours a week, plus the employer's 2026 CPP and EI. Answering service: typical published pricing of services selling in Canada, read 1 October 2026. The working for every number is in How much does an AI receptionist cost in Canada? (2026).
Hear the AskMuse column for yourself.
Call the demo line at (902) 707-6527 and try to trip her up, or start the 7-day free trial on your own number.