Verdict
PATLive — From $49/month. Best for: Large 24/7 answering service with minute plans from pay-as-you-go to 3,000 minutes.
Wrong choice if: You need legal intake depth.
Pricing as published
| Plan | Price | Extra minutes | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 minutes | $49/month | $2.99/min | — |
| 50 minutes | $99/month | $2.29/min | $2/min |
| 100 minutes | $189/month | $2.09/min | $2/min |
| 200 minutes | $349/month | $1.99/min | $2/min |
| 300 minutes | $479/month | $1.89/min | $2/min |
| 500 minutes | $759/month | $1.79/min | $2/min |
| 1000 minutes | $1,499/month | $1.69/min | $1/min |
| 2000 minutes | $2,899/month | $1.64/min | $1/min |
Source: https://www.patlive.com/pricing/, checked 11 November 2026.
What it costs at different volumes
| Monthly volume | PATLive | How it's priced | HireParalegals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 calls | $479 | 300-minute plan | $1,040–$2,080 |
| 150 calls | $759 | 500-minute plan | $1,040–$2,080 |
| 300 calls | $1,475 | 500-minute plan + 400 extra min | $1,040–$2,080 |
| 500 calls | $2,344 | 1000-minute plan + 500 extra min | $1,040–$2,080 |
Phone scenarios assume 3-minute calls. Dedicated staff are priced at 30 hrs/week regardless of call volume.
What PATLive publishes
- $49/month with no included minutes ($2.99/min); 50 min $99, 100 $189, 200 $349, 300 $479, 500 $759, 1,000 $1,499, 2,000 $2,899.
- 24/7 live answering; bilingual support; no contracts.
Terms at a glance
| Model | Per minute (shared) |
|---|---|
| Minimum | None |
| Contract | No contracts |
| Setup / fees | Not stated |
| Team location | United States |
| Hours | 24/7 live |
| Spanish | Yes, as standard |
| Replacement | n/a |
| Time to start | Not stated |
| Roles | Receptionist |
How we scored it
| Criterion | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Legal specialisation | 5/10 | General provider; legal is one industry among many |
| Ownership of follow-up | 3/10 | A pooled team answers; follow-up stays with your staff |
| Cost at our reference scenario | 8/10 | $1,475/month at our reference scenario: 300 calls/month at 3 minutes (or 30 hrs/wk dedicated) |
| Spanish / bilingual | 9/10 | Spanish-speaking staff available without a stated surcharge |
| After-hours coverage | 10/10 | Live answering 24/7/365 |
| Flexibility of commitment | 9/10 | No contracts; plan with no included minutes |
| Total | 44/60 | Scoring method |
Our assessment, criterion by criterion
Legal specialisation: 5/10
General provider; legal is one industry among many. A generalist will follow your script, but legal judgement has to be written into it: which questions screen out a case, which callers go straight to an attorney, and what never to say.
What we measure: Whether the provider works only with law firms, or recruits specifically for legal roles. Highest on this criterion here: HireParalegals (9), Virtual Legal Assistants (9), Veza Reception (9).
Ownership of follow-up: 3/10
A pooled team answers; follow-up stays with your staff. The service takes the call and passes on a message. Name someone in your office who owns every message, with a same-day deadline, or leads go cold.
What we measure: Whether one named person owns the lead after the call: chasing documents, booking the consultation, sending the engagement letter. Highest on this criterion here: HireParalegals (9), Virtual Legal Assistants (9), Get Staffed Up (9).
Cost at our reference scenario: 8/10
$1,475/month at our reference scenario: 300 calls/month at 3 minutes (or 30 hrs/wk dedicated). Among the cheapest options at our reference scenario.
What we measure: What the provider would cost at the site's reference scenario, using only published prices. Highest on this criterion here: HireParalegals (10), Virtual Legal Assistants (10), Responsive Answering (10).
Spanish / bilingual: 9/10
Spanish-speaking staff available without a stated surcharge. Spanish-speaking callers can be screened and followed up in Spanish without an extra fee.
What we measure: Whether Spanish-speaking staff are standard (9), available at a surcharge (7) or not offered (3). Highest on this criterion here: HireParalegals (9), Virtual Legal Assistants (9), Veza Reception (9).
After-hours coverage: 10/10
Live answering 24/7/365. Calls at 9pm, at weekends and on holidays reach a live person, which matters most for criminal defence, PI and family practices.
What we measure: Whether a live person answers outside business hours. Highest on this criterion here: Veza Reception (10), Responsive Answering (10), Posh (10).
Flexibility of commitment: 9/10
No contracts; plan with no included minutes. Easy to start small and leave if it doesn't work, which keeps a trial cheap.
What we measure: How easy it is to start small and leave: part-time hours, no setup fees and no long contracts score highest. Highest on this criterion here: HireParalegals (9), Veza Reception (9), Posh (9).
What PATLive costs over a year
Twelve months at each volume, plus any published one-time setup fee.
| Volume | Monthly | One-time setup | First 12 months |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 calls | $479 | — | $5,748 |
| 150 calls | $759 | — | $9,108 |
| 300 calls | $1,475 | — | $17,700 |
| 500 calls | $2,344 | — | $28,128 |
Where it gets cheaper or dearer than a dedicated hire
At 3-minute calls, PATLive costs less than a full-time dedicated person from HireParalegals ($1,040/month at 30 hrs/week) up to about 210 calls a month. Above that, the dedicated person is cheaper, and also does follow-up and admin between calls.
Pros
- Published overage at every tier
- Scales to high volume
Cons
- Not legal-specific
How PATLive compares on price
Every provider on Chambers Front Desk at our reference scenario (300 calls/month at 3 minutes (or 30 hrs/wk dedicated)), cheapest first. "On request" providers don't publish a price.
| # | Provider | Monthly | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Responsive Answering | $1,009 | 500-minute plan + 400 extra min |
| 2 | HireParalegals | $1,040–$2,080 | 30 hrs/wk × published rate |
| 3 | Virtual Legal Assistants | $1,040 | 30 hrs/wk × published rate |
| 4 | Veza Reception | $1,421 | 500-minute plan + 400 extra min |
| 5 | PATLive | $1,475 | 500-minute plan + 400 extra min |
| 6 | Posh | $1,755 | 500-minute plan + 400 extra min |
| 7 | Smith.ai | $2,100 | 300-call plan |
| 8 | Get Staffed Up | $2,145 | full-time price (no published part-time rate) |
| 9 | Abby Connect | $2,484 | 500-minute plan + 400 extra min |
| 10 | Answering Legal | On request | no public price |
| 11 | LEX Reception | On request | no public price |
| 12 | Ruby | $1,725+ | above the largest published plan (500 min) |
| 13 | Back Office Betties | $1,364+ | above the largest published plan (500 min) |
Questions to ask PATLive before you sign
- Is every call answered by a person, or does AI answer some calls first?
- Will you use our screening script word for word, and how quickly can we change it?
- How are minutes or calls counted: from pick-up, rounded up, and are spam or wrong-number calls billed?
- What happens to a lead who doesn't book on the call: do you follow up, or does the message come to us?
- Can you enter leads directly into our case-management system or CRM, and at what cost?
- Are Spanish calls handled by native speakers or an interpreter line, and is there a surcharge?
- How are call recordings and notes stored, who can access them, and for how long?
- What is the notice period, and do unused minutes roll over?
Alternatives to consider
- HireParalegals — From $8/hour; Dedicated, mostly bilingual legal staff from Latin America on US hours, billed hourly.
- Virtual Legal Assistants — From $8/hour; A hiring service focused only on virtual legal assistants for US law firms.
- Veza Reception — From $200/month (100 minutes); Virtual receptionist service built only for law firms, no long-term contracts.