Usage Fees
Simple, transparent usage pricing
Simple, Transparent Usage Pricing
Your HOSTT monthly plan covers the services and features included within your chosen plan.
Some services — including SMS, phone calls, emails and AI — have variable third-party costs based on how much you use them.
Rather than increasing your monthly subscription to cover usage you may never need, we simply pass these costs on to you at cost, with no HOSTT markup.
You only pay for what you use.
Usage fees only apply to Phase 2 (CRM), Phase 3 (AI Receptionist) and Phase 4 (Meta Ads). Phase 1 (Website) does not incur any usage fees.
Current Usage Rates
All usage rates are shown in US dollars (USD) because our underlying communication and AI providers bill these services in USD.
Communication rates vary by country, so we've provided separate pricing for the United Kingdom and United States below.
SMS
SMS messages sent and received through your HOSTT system are charged per message segment.
United Kingdom 🇬🇧
| SMS Usage | Rate |
|---|---|
| Outbound UK SMS | $0.056 / segment |
| Inbound UK SMS | $0.0075 / segment |
United States 🇺🇸
| SMS Usage | Rate |
|---|---|
| Outbound US SMS | $0.0083 / segment |
| Inbound US SMS | $0.0083 / segment |
What Is an SMS Segment?
SMS is charged per segment rather than necessarily per visible message.
A standard SMS can contain up to 160 GSM characters. Longer messages are automatically divided into multiple segments.
Emojis and certain special characters can also reduce the number of characters available within each segment.
Important: Additional carrier fees may apply to US SMS depending on the recipient's mobile network. US business messaging may also be subject to A2P 10DLC registration and associated carrier fees.
Phone Calls
Calls made and received through your HOSTT system are charged per minute. The rate depends on the country and type of telephone number involved.
United Kingdom 🇬🇧
| Call Usage | Rate |
|---|---|
| Incoming UK Call | $0.0100 / minute |
| Outgoing UK Landline | $0.0158 / minute |
| Outgoing UK Mobile | $0.0305 / minute |
United States 🇺🇸
| Call Usage | Rate |
|---|---|
| Incoming US Local Call | $0.0085 / minute |
| Outgoing US Call | $0.0140 / minute |
| Incoming US Toll-Free Call | $0.0220 / minute |
These are standard calling rates. Calls to premium-rate, special-service, international and certain other destinations may have different rates.
Emails
Email pricing is the same for UK and US customers.
$0.000675 per email
| Emails | Cost |
|---|---|
| 1,000 | $0.675 |
| 5,000 | $3.375 |
| 10,000 | $6.75 |
| 50,000 | $33.75 |
This applies to chargeable emails processed through your HOSTT system, including automated emails, follow-ups and campaigns.
Conversation AI
Conversation AI powers the intelligent text-based conversations your AI Receptionist has with your leads and customers.
It can answer questions, respond to leads, qualify potential customers, collect information and help book appointments automatically.
Conversation AI pricing is the same for UK and US customers.
How Conversation AI Is Charged
Conversation AI is charged according to the amount of AI processing used.
AI usage is measured in tokens — small units of text processed and generated by the AI.
The price depends on the AI model being used and the number of input and output tokens consumed.
Conversation AI Rates
| AI Model | Input / 1M Tokens | Output / 1M Tokens |
|---|---|---|
| GPT-5 | $1.25 | $10.00 |
| GPT-5 Mini | $0.25 | $2.00 |
| GPT-4.1 | $2.00 | $8.00 |
| GPT-4.1 Mini | $0.40 | $1.60 |
What Does This Mean?
Most individual conversations use only a small fraction of one million tokens.
Your actual cost depends on factors such as:
- The length of the conversation
- The number of messages exchanged
- The length of the AI's responses
- Conversation history
- Knowledge-base information
- The AI model being used
Short, simple conversations generally cost less than longer or more complex conversations.
You are only charged for the actual AI usage consumed.
Voice AI
Voice AI enables your AI Receptionist to have natural telephone conversations with your leads and customers.
It can answer calls, respond to questions, qualify leads, collect information and help book appointments automatically.
The underlying Voice AI processing rates are the same for UK and US customers. Only the telephone call component varies by country.
How Voice AI Is Charged
A Voice AI call consists of four components:
Voice Engine + AI Voice + AI Model + Phone Call
1. Voice AI Engine
$0.045 per minute
This is the core Voice AI processing cost.
2. AI Voice
The text-to-speech technology converts your AI Receptionist's responses into natural speech.
| AI Voice | Rate |
|---|---|
| OpenAI TTS | $0.015 / minute |
| Cartesia TTS | $0.015 / minute |
| ElevenLabs V2.5 | $0.035 / minute |
| ElevenLabs V3 | $0.170 / minute |
Using OpenAI or Cartesia, for example: $0.045 Voice Engine + $0.015 AI Voice = $0.060 per minute. The AI model and telephone call charges are then added.
3. AI Model
The AI model powering the conversation is charged according to the number of tokens processed.
| AI Model | Rate / 1M Tokens |
|---|---|
| GPT-5 Nano | $0.05 |
| GPT-5 Mini | $0.25 |
| GPT-5 | $1.25 |
| GPT-4.1 Nano | $0.10 |
| GPT-4.1 Mini | $0.40 |
| GPT-4.1 | $2.00 |
| GPT-4o Mini | $0.15 |
| GPT-4o | $2.50 |
4. Phone Call
Finally, the applicable telephone charge is added.
United Kingdom 🇬🇧
| Call | Rate |
|---|---|
| Incoming | $0.0100 / minute |
| Outgoing Landline | $0.0158 / minute |
| Outgoing Mobile | $0.0305 / minute |
United States 🇺🇸
| Call | Rate |
|---|---|
| Incoming Local | $0.0085 / minute |
| Outgoing | $0.0140 / minute |
| Incoming Toll-Free | $0.0220 / minute |
Voice AI Example
An incoming Voice AI call using OpenAI TTS would have the following base cost:
UK: $0.045 Voice Engine + $0.015 AI Voice + $0.0100 incoming call = $0.0700 per minute + AI token usage
US: $0.045 Voice Engine + $0.015 AI Voice + $0.0085 incoming call = $0.0685 per minute + AI token usage
The final amount depends on the AI model and number of tokens processed during the conversation.
Reviews AI
Reviews AI can automatically generate intelligent, personalised responses to customer reviews. Pricing is the same for UK and US customers.
$0.01 per AI-generated review response
| AI Review Responses | Cost |
|---|---|
| 10 | $0.10 |
| 100 | $1.00 |
| 500 | $5.00 |
| 1,000 | $10.00 |
Usage Fees at a Glance
United Kingdom 🇬🇧
| Service | Rate |
|---|---|
| Outbound SMS | $0.056 / segment |
| Inbound SMS | $0.0075 / segment |
| Incoming Calls | $0.0100 / minute |
| Outgoing Landline Calls | $0.0158 / minute |
| Outgoing Mobile Calls | $0.0305 / minute |
| Emails | $0.000675 / email |
| Conversation AI | Token based |
| Voice AI Engine | $0.045 / minute |
| AI Voice | From $0.015 / minute |
| Reviews AI | $0.01 / response |
United States 🇺🇸
| Service | Rate |
|---|---|
| Outbound SMS | $0.0083 / segment + carrier fees |
| Inbound SMS | $0.0083 / segment + applicable carrier fees |
| Incoming Local Calls | $0.0085 / minute |
| Outgoing Calls | $0.0140 / minute |
| Incoming Toll-Free Calls | $0.0220 / minute |
| Emails | $0.000675 / email |
| Conversation AI | Token based |
| Voice AI Engine | $0.045 / minute |
| AI Voice | From $0.015 / minute |
| Reviews AI | $0.01 / response |
Why Do We Charge Separately for Usage?
Every business uses HOSTT differently.
One business may send hundreds of SMS messages each month, while another may rely mainly on email.
One may receive a handful of AI calls, while another may have its AI Receptionist answering calls throughout the day.
Building large usage allowances into every subscription would mean charging customers for services they may never use.
Instead, HOSTT keeps things simple:
- Your monthly plan pays for your system.
- If you use more, you simply pay the underlying cost.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does HOSTT add a markup to these rates?
No. HOSTT passes the underlying usage costs on to you without adding a markup.
Are UK and US rates different?
For some services. SMS and telephone costs vary by country and network, which is why we publish separate UK and US rates. Email, Conversation AI, Voice AI processing and Reviews AI use the same underlying rates for UK and US customers.
Are there additional US SMS carrier fees?
Yes. US mobile networks can apply additional carrier fees to SMS messages. The amount depends on the recipient's network and the type of messaging being used. US business messaging may also require A2P 10DLC registration and associated fees. These third-party charges are passed through at cost.
Why are all rates shown in US dollars?
Our underlying communication and AI providers bill usage in US dollars. Displaying usage in USD allows us to pass the underlying costs through transparently without building currency fluctuations into our rates.
Why can two AI conversations cost different amounts?
AI costs depend on the amount of processing required. A short conversation containing a few messages will generally consume fewer tokens than a longer conversation involving multiple questions, conversation history and knowledge-base information. You pay according to the actual AI usage consumed.
Why can Voice AI calls have different costs?
Voice AI combines several services. The final cost depends on the length of the call, AI voice selected, AI model used, tokens processed and the applicable telephone rate.
Can these rates change?
Yes. Our communication and AI services are provided by third-party providers, and their underlying rates may change from time to time. Because HOSTT passes these services through at cost, our published usage rates may be updated whenever the underlying provider changes its pricing.
Simple. Transparent. Pay For What You Use.
Your HOSTT monthly subscription covers your system and the services included within your plan.
Any usage beyond what's included in your plan is charged at the underlying cost — no markup, no inflated fees.
No HOSTT markup.
No inflated usage fees.
Just transparent, pay-as-you-go pricing.