If you're shopping for an AI answering service for your restaurant, pricing is the hardest thing to compare. Some vendors publish a monthly price, some charge per location, some charge by the minute, some take a cut of every order and some won't tell you until you've had a sales call.
This guide explains the pricing models, shows real published prices from October 2026 and gives you a simple way to work out what you'd actually pay.
Quick Answer
Expect to pay somewhere between about $100 and several hundred dollars per location per month, depending on whether you only need calls answered or want phone orders sent into your POS. The model matters more than the sticker price: a cheap plan with per-minute or commission pricing can cost more than a flat plan once you get busy.
The Four Pricing Models
1. Flat monthly fee
One price, regardless of how many calls or orders come in. It's the easiest to budget, and every extra order the agent captures is upside you keep. Check whether the flat fee includes unlimited calls and whether it's per location.
2. Per location
A set fee for each store. Simple for a single restaurant. For groups, multiply it out before you sign, and ask whether there's a multi-location rate.
3. Per minute or per call
You pay for usage. It looks cheap on a quiet Tuesday, but your bill is highest on your best days, and some operators end up limiting how they use the agent to control cost. That defeats the point.
4. Commission per order
A percentage of every order the agent takes. For context, third-party delivery apps work this way: DoorDash lists commissions of 15% to 30% on delivery orders placed in its app and 6% on pickup orders (DoorDash pricing, October 2026). For your own phone line, a commission means the better the agent works, the more you pay.
Real Published Prices (October 2026)
- HeyTARA: Starter $99/month (answers every call, FAQs, transfers, text-to-order links). Main Course $199/month (adds direct ordering into Toast, Clover, Square, SpotOn, NCR Aloha, SkyTab and any POS that uses Olo, upselling, Spanish, payments by text). Chef's Special is custom for multi-unit groups. Unlimited calls and no commissions on every plan. See pricing.
- Slang AI: its pricing page lists Core starting at $399 per location and Premium starting at $599 per location, with Enterprise by quote. Slang focuses on reservations and private events.
- Loman AI: pricing is by quote. Its pricing page says there are no per-minute fees or hidden costs.
Prices change, so check each vendor's site before you decide. For a feature-by-feature view, see HeyTARA vs Slang AI and HeyTARA vs Loman AI.
How to Work Out What You'd Actually Pay
Take two numbers from your own restaurant: roughly how many calls you get a month and how much you take in phone orders. Then run each vendor's model against them. An example with made-up but realistic numbers:
- Your store: 1,200 calls a month, averaging 2 minutes, and $8,000 a month in phone orders.
- Per-minute plan at a hypothetical $0.25/minute: 2,400 minutes × $0.25 = $600/month, and more in December.
- Commission plan at a hypothetical 5%: $8,000 × 5% = $400/month, rising as phone orders grow.
- Flat plan: the same number every month, no matter how busy you get.
Multiply by your number of locations, add any setup fee, and you have a fair first-year comparison.
Compared to Hiring Someone for the Phone
A part-time phone person for four peak hours a day, at $16/hour, is about $1,920 a month per location before payroll taxes, and they still can't answer two calls at once. That doesn't mean replacing people. Most restaurants use AI for the routine calls (hours, directions, simple orders) and keep their team for guests in the building and calls that need a human. Our ROI calculator estimates what missed calls cost you today.
Hidden Costs to Ask About
- Setup or onboarding fees
- Per-location pricing and multi-location discounts
- Monthly call or minute caps, and overage charges
- Extra fees for POS integrations, reservations or additional languages
- Commissions on orders, including catering
- Contract length and cancellation terms
For the full list of questions to ask, use our restaurant AI phone agent buyer's guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does an AI answering service for a restaurant cost per month?
Published prices in October 2026 run from $99/month (HeyTARA Starter, unlimited calls) to plans starting at $399 per location (Slang AI Core). Some vendors, like Loman AI, only quote on request. Phone ordering into your POS usually costs more than answer-only plans.
Is a commission-based AI phone agent cheaper?
Only when you're slow. A commission grows with every order the agent takes, so the better it works, the more you pay. Model it at your real phone-order volume before deciding.
Is an AI phone agent cheaper than hiring someone to answer the phone?
Usually, for routine calls. A part-time phone person for four peak hours a day at $16/hour is about $1,920 a month before payroll taxes, and still can't answer two calls at once. Most restaurants use AI for routine calls and keep people for the calls that need them.
What hidden costs should I ask about?
Setup or onboarding fees, per-location pricing, call or minute caps, overage charges, extra fees for integrations or languages, and contract length. Ask for the full first-year cost in writing.