Alamak, another booking lost over the weekend because nobody could pick up. So you're weighing it up: hire a receptionist, or get an AI one? Fair question. And the first thing every operator wants to know is the same: how much?
No "contact sales" runaround. Here's the honest number.
The short answer
A Trelinx AI Receptionist runs about S$16,656 a year for a single outlet. It answers your calls 24/7, across every channel, in Singlish and 15+ languages.
Hire that same coverage as a human? You're looking at S$41,432 a year for one full-time receptionist, fully loaded. And they still go home at 6pm.
That's not a typo. The AI costs roughly 40% of one human hire, and it never takes MC.
What you'd pay to hire one human instead
The salary is never the real cost. That's what catches most operators out.
A full-time receptionist in Singapore earns a median S$2,724/month (MOM Occupational Wages, 2024). Run the real maths an employer pays:
- 12 months' salary + ~1 month AWS = 13 months → S$35,412
- Employer CPF at 17% on top → +S$6,020
- Fully loaded: ~S$41,432/year
Trying to save by hiring part-time? A 20-hour-a-week part-timer only covers half your opening hours, so to man the phones across the full business week you need two of them: ~S$31,637/year (wages and employer CPF, no AWS). Still business hours only. Still one outlet.
And none of those figures count MC, annual leave, turnover, or the cost of re-hiring and re-training when they quit.
What you can't staff your way out of
This is where the comparison stops being close.
One full-time receptionist covers one outlet, business hours. Your customers don't call on a schedule. They call during the Friday dinner rush, on Sunday afternoon, at 11pm when they suddenly remember they need to reschedule. Your competitor picks up. You don't. That's not a staffing problem. That's a revenue problem.
An AI Receptionist answers every outlet, around the clock, on the second ring. No MC. No CPF. No "sorry, she's on leave this week." For a multi-outlet SME operator running multiple locations, you're not comparing one AI to one human. You're comparing one AI to a team of them.
See the full head-to-head — Trelinx vs hiring a Singapore receptionist →
How the AI Receptionist cost actually breaks down
No hidden tiers. The S$16,656 breaks down like this (single outlet, ~3,000 call-minutes/month):
- Platform (1 outlet): S$488/mo → S$5,856/yr
- Voice (3,000 min/mo @ S$0.30/min): S$10,800/yr
- Setup: S$2,888, waived on an annual plan
- Total: ≈ S$16,656/yr
You pay S$0.30 per voice minute. Prepaid wallet, unused minutes roll forward, no monthly minimum. Add another outlet for S$88/month. WhatsApp is an optional bundle from S$400/month. That's the whole rate card: published, on the site, no quote required.
So, is an AI receptionist cheaper than hiring?
For a Singapore multi-outlet SME operator: yes, and it's not close. Roughly 40% of a full-time hire, with 24/7 coverage across every outlet, in every language your customers actually speak. A human gives you one person, one counter, business hours, and a CPF bill every month.
The honest catch: if you barely get any calls, a part-time human might pencil out cheaper on paper. But the moment you're busy enough to miss calls, which is exactly when an outlet is growing, the maths flips hard in the AI's favour.
FAQ
How much does an AI receptionist cost in Singapore?
For a single outlet, a Trelinx AI Receptionist is about S$16,656/year: S$488/month platform plus S$0.30/minute for voice, with setup (S$2,888) waived on an annual plan. Additional outlets are S$88/month each.
Is an AI receptionist cheaper than hiring a human one?
Yes. A full-time receptionist in Singapore costs roughly S$41,432/year fully loaded (median salary, AWS, and 17% employer CPF). The AI lands at about 40% of that, and covers 24/7 across every outlet, not just business hours at one.
Does the cost include CPF, MC and leave?
There's nothing to include. An AI Receptionist has no salary, no CPF, no MC, and no annual leave. Those are the exact costs that make a human hire so much more than the headline salary.
Sources
- Full-time salary: MOM Occupational Wages 2024, "Receptionist (general)" SSOC 42241, median gross S$2,724/mo → ×13 (12mo + ~1mo AWS) × 1.17 employer CPF.
- Employer CPF 17% (age 55 and below, wage above S$750/mo): CPF Board.
- Part-time rate S$11–16/hr: Indeed SG, above MOM's Local Qualifying Salary floor (S$10.50/hr).
- Call-volume basis (~3,000 call-min/mo, about 500 calls at the 6-min industry-average handle time): Call Centre Helper.
- Trelinx figures: published rate card (PRICING v1.7). AWS is customary (~1 month), not statutory. Call volume is an illustrative example, not a claimed average.