Comparison
Wenly vs hiring a receptionist
A good receptionist is worth having if you have a front desk, walk-ins and a phone that rings all day. But one person only covers a fraction of the week. This page puts numbers on the difference, and is honest about what a receptionist does that Wenly doesn't.
Facts about a receptionist last checked
What a receptionist publicly states
Every line below comes from the sources at the bottom of this page.
- The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median wage for receptionists of $18.27 an hour, or $38,010 a year, based on May 2025 data.
- The IRS lists the employer share of payroll taxes as 6.2% for Social Security and 1.45% for Medicare, or 7.65% together. On $38,010 that adds about $2,908, for about $40,918 a year, or about $3,410 a month, before benefits, insurance, equipment, training and paid time off.
- A week has 168 hours. One full-time person works about 40 of them. Covering every hour with people takes at least four, before holidays and sick days.
Side by side
Wenly and a receptionist
| What we compared | Wenly | A receptionist |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | $3,588 to $8,388 a year on monthly billing | About $40,900 a year for one person at the median wage, plus benefits and equipment |
| Hours covered | All 168 hours in the week | About 40 of the 168 |
| Sick days and holidays | Not an issue | Need cover, or the phone goes unanswered |
| Time to start | Set up within 1 business hour | Recruiting, hiring and training |
| Calls at once | More than one at a time | One at a time |
| Everything else | Answers calls and captures leads. That is all | Greets visitors, handles paperwork and payments, knows your customers by name |
| Judgment | Follows rules you set, and says your team will confirm when it doesn't know | High, and it improves with experience |
Where each is stronger
Where a receptionist is stronger
- A person in the room: greeting customers, handling payments and paperwork, and running the front desk.
- Judgment, and relationships with your regular customers.
- The ability to handle anything, including the call nobody planned for.
Where Wenly fits
- Covers nights, weekends and holidays, when a receptionist is off.
- Costs a fraction of one salary, with no recruiting and no training.
- Catches the calls that come in when your receptionist is on another line, at lunch or out sick.
Which one to choose
Choose a receptionist if…
- You have a front desk, walk-ins or in-person work only a person can do.
- Your calls need judgment and relationships more than speed.
- You have enough calls to keep a full-time person busy.
Choose Wenly if…
- You don't have a front desk, or you're a one- or two-person company.
- Your calls come at all hours, or while you're on a job.
- You want cover for the hours and the days your receptionist isn't there.
If you have a front desk, keep your receptionist. Wenly isn't a replacement for a person in the room. It is for the calls that go unanswered when your receptionist is on another line, at lunch or gone for the day, and for businesses that never had a front desk to begin with.
Common questions
Can Wenly replace my receptionist?
For phone answering, in many small businesses, it can. For everything else a receptionist does, no. It doesn't greet visitors, handle payments or run the front desk.
Can I use both?
Yes, and it is a common fit. Your receptionist answers during the day, and Wenly catches what they can't: the calls after hours, at lunch and while they're on another line.
Where do the cost numbers come from?
The wage is the median from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2025 data). The payroll tax rate is the employer share of Social Security and Medicare from the IRS. Benefits and equipment are extra, so the true cost is higher.
Sources, checked September 30, 2026
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics: Receptionists, median pay (May 2025 data)
- IRS: Social Security and Medicare withholding rates
We are not affiliated with a receptionist, and the names of other services are their owners' trademarks. Prices and features change, so check their site before you decide. If anything here is out of date, tell us and we'll fix it.
Trades that link here
Terms used on this page
- After-hours answeringAfter-hours answering is handling calls outside your business hours so callers reach an answer instead of voicemail.
- Call overflowCall overflow is sending calls to a second answerer when the first is busy or doesn't pick up.
- Answering serviceAn answering service is a company that answers a business's phone calls, takes messages or captures details, and passes them on.
Hear it answer. Then start free.
On business plans: If we don't catch at least 10 leads you'd have missed in your first 30 days, you don't pay.