MAP Communications does something most of this category won't: they publish their overage rate on a page you can actually find. At $1.28–$1.37 per minute they're also the cheapest of the major human answering services.
The gap is between that pricing page and their terms of service, where four more fees live. NextPhone runs flat monthly plans from $199 with no per-minute rate and no surcharges. Here's the full picture on both.
Last updated: August 2026. Pricing from MAP's published pricing page; fees and contract terms quoted verbatim from their published terms.
MAP Communications pricing
| Plan | Monthly | Minutes | Overage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pay As You Go | $49 | 0 | $1.37/min |
| Business (most popular) | $179 | 125 | $1.30/min |
| Enterprise | $339 | 250 | $1.28/min |
| Premium | $649 | 500 | $1.28/min |
Included on every plan: toll-free number, 24/7 coverage, free message delivery, client portal, English and Spanish fluency, no long-term contracts, HIPAA compliance, PCI-DSS, HITRUST and SOC 2 certification.
Two things worth noticing. The overage rate barely moves — $1.37 down to $1.28 is a 6.6% discount for ten times the commitment, so volume buys you almost nothing on the marginal minute. And bilingual is included on every plan, where AnswerConnect charges $30/month for Spanish answering.
Free trial: 7 days, no credit card. Almost nobody in this category offers that.
The four fees that aren't on the pricing page
From MAP's terms of service, section 7:
"Depending on your Service Plan and the resources provided to you, you may be charged fees to help defray certain direct and indirect charges, costs, fees and/or taxes we incur to provide the Services. These fees are not mandated or imposed by law but are determined by us. They are designated on your monthly invoice as one or more of the following:
- Telecom Fee – This fee is charged at $.024 per call...
- Compliance/Regulation Use Fee – This is a flat fee...
- Technology Fee – This is a flat fee...
- Holiday Fee – This is a flat fee charged on seven major holidays..."
Only the Telecom Fee has a published number. The other three are "a flat fee" with no figure attached. Credit to MAP for the honesty of that first sentence: most companies imply these fees are imposed on them, and MAP says outright that they set them.
There's also a credit card surcharge, amount unstated: paying by card costs more than paying by ACH.
The holiday fee, and a number that doesn't line up
Customers are charged on seven holidays. MAP's careers page offers staff "double pay on 6 major holidays for hours worked."
That matters because MAP's own stated reason for the fee is the staff. From their public reply to a Trustpilot reviewer in June 2021:
"Yes, we do charge a few small holiday fees as outlined in our terms of service. This is a common practice in our industry. We do this to ensure we can reward the receptionists who spend their holidays answering the phones for our clients."
Seven billed, six at double pay. Both figures are published by MAP, and the gap is worth asking about — not because it proves anything, but because their stated reason for the fee is the staffing cost, and the two numbers don't line up.
How the meter runs
Also section 7, verbatim:
"You acknowledge that you will be charged in whole-minute increments, and that any partial minutes will be rounded up to the nearest whole minute. For inbound calls, usage of Services is calculated starting from the time the receptionist receives the call and ending when a receptionist transfers the call through... as well as any time a receptionist spends completing any information on your call after the caller has hung up, or we perform other work on your account."
Three consequences worth understanding before you sign.
Spam calls reach the meter. There's no wrong-number or robocall carve-out anywhere in the terms, and the meter starts when the receptionist picks up. MAP confirmed publicly in a September 2023 reply that the calls do arrive: "when lines are forwarded to our service any Robo calls placed to your office line also forwards to us." They did not address billing in that reply — so ask them directly whether robocalls are billable before you sign.
A customer, Jackie, describes what that costs in practice: "We have a small, very small business and spending over 400$ a month on this service with no more than 15 legit calls."
Support calls can be billed. That final clause — "or we perform other work on your account" — is broad. A BBB reviewer, Sara L, June 2024:
"What they failed to disclose was that they drag out their phone calls to the most minutes, and ALSO charge you for customer support by the minute!!! I am going back and forth with them right now because they are trying to charge me 8 hours of customer support!"
We can't adjudicate that dispute from the outside. What we can say is that the clause is broad enough that "we performed other work on your account" is an available answer, which is why you want the scope of it in writing.
And they can reprice at will: "We reserve the right to change our charges or pricing plans, or adjust pricing for Services or any components thereof, in any manner and at any time."
Cancellation
The free-trial page says: "No contracts or long-term commitments required. Cancel, upgrade, or downgrade anytime with no fees."
The terms say:
"Your Service Plan subscription shall automatically extend on a month-to-month basis until we receive a written cancellation request from you on written notice received by us at least 1 month prior to your next invoice due date."
Both are MAP's pages. The good news is genuine: there's no minimum term, which beats AnswerForce's 90-day floor. The catch is that cancelling takes a month's written notice by email or post — a phone call or a portal click doesn't count, and missing the window costs you another cycle.
A setup fee also exists and isn't published anywhere. MAP confirmed it in an April 2026 Trustpilot reply referencing a customer's final invoice showing "your setup fees." The amount is unknown — ask before you sign.
