The three layers, and who bills you for each
Every quote you get for follow-up automation, from us or anyone else, is some mix of these three. Separating them is how you compare quotes, because vendors tend to show you the layer that makes them look cheap.
| Layer | What it is | Who bills you | Typical amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| The build | Connecting each lead source to the CRM, writing the messages, the call script, the stop rules and the exception queue, then testing it on real leads. | The builder, once. | $1,500 to $5,000 at GoodHandoff. Agencies quote similar builds from $1,500 to $15,000; freelancers less, with less testing. |
| The software plan | Your CRM, and a Zapier plan if the connection runs through Zapier. | Each vendor, monthly. | Your existing CRM plan. Zapier Professional from $19.99 a month billed annually, $29.99 monthly, for 750 tasks. |
| Usage | Texts in and out, AI call minutes, telephony minutes and the phone number. | Twilio, Retell or your phone provider, monthly, to your own account. | $17 to $80 a month at 30 to 150 leads; see the worked budgets. |
What a text and a minute actually cost
These are the public pay-as-you-go prices on November 1, 2026. Twilio and Retell are the two providers we use most; other providers land within a few cents of these.
| Item | Price | Source and note |
|---|---|---|
| Text message, outbound, per segment | $0.0083 | Twilio US SMS pricing. A segment is 160 plain characters; an emoji cuts that to 70. Carrier fees can add a fraction of a cent. |
| Text message, inbound, per segment | $0.0083 | Same page. Replies cost the same as sends. |
| Local phone number | $1.15 a month | Same page, leased long code. A2P 10DLC registration carries one-time and campaign fees that Twilio lists separately. |
| AI voice agent, per minute | $0.07 to $0.31 | Retell pricing. The estimator’s common setup lands at $0.11: model $0.04, voice infrastructure $0.055, speech $0.015. |
| Telephony, per minute | $0.015 | Same page, US calls through Twilio or Telnyx. |
| Retell phone number | $2.00 a month | Same page. Custom numbers are free to connect. |
| Zapier | Free for 100 tasks; Professional from $19.99 a month billed annually | Zapier pricing. Each step that runs is a task; one lead through a five-step Zap is five tasks. |
Worked budgets at 30, 60 and 150 leads a month
The assumptions are the schedule from the follow-up guide: a call and a text in the first minute, two more call attempts over the next two days, texts at days 2, 5 and 9 for anyone who has not answered, and everything stopping on a reply. Per lead that is about seven text segments in and out and about 3.6 minutes of AI calling including voicemails. The arithmetic is shown so you can change the assumptions.
| Line | 30 leads | 60 leads | 150 leads |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texts: 7 segments × $0.0083 | $1.74 | $3.49 | $8.72 |
| AI calls: 3.6 min × ($0.11 + $0.015) | $13.50 | $27.00 | $67.50 |
| Phone number | $2.00 | $2.00 | $2.00 |
| Usage total | about $17 | about $32 | about $78 |
| Zapier Professional, if the connection runs through it | $19.99 to $29.99 | $19.99 to $29.99 | $29.99 to $49 as tasks grow |
| Build, one time | $1,500 to $2,500 | $1,500 to $3,500 | $2,500 to $5,000 |
A fictional HVAC company at 60 leads a month, year one
Two lead sources, a website form and Google Local Services Ads, into Housecall Pro. The form connects through Zapier; the LSA calls come in on a tracked number. The build is $2,500: both sources, the first-minute call and text, the schedule, the stop rules and a queue for the office. Usage is about $32 a month, Zapier about $20. Year one without a monthly plan: $2,500 plus about $620, so roughly $3,100.
The same company on the Care plan pays $1,500 a month on top, $18,000 a year. That buys monitoring, a business-day response when a source changes its form or the CRM moves a field, message updates as the season changes, and a monthly report. It is worth it when the workflow needs tending; a one-source build that never changes does not need it.
What the same follow-up costs without a build
Two routes avoid the build, and both are worth checking before you pay for one. Your CRM may already follow up on leads: Housecall Pro’s Pipeline texts leads on a schedule in accounts that have it, and JobNimbus can text a new lead from a status rule through Engage; Jobber does nothing until a quote exists. Our CRM table has the specifics with dates. If the native feature covers your sources, the cost is your plan and the usage, nothing else.
A marketing platform with follow-up built in, the GoHighLevel type, replaces the build with a monthly subscription and your own setup time. Publicly listed plans in that category run from under a hundred to a few hundred dollars a month; check the vendor page, because the figure changes and the texting is often metered on top. The trade is the one the follow-up guide describes: the platform becomes one more inbox, and the stop rules only work inside it.
What a build pays for is the part neither route does: a call in the first minute at 9 PM on a Saturday, a reply that becomes a task for a named person, and a lead that phoned instead of filling out the form still landing on one record with its source kept.
How to read a quote
Five questions sort an honest quote from a cheap-looking one. Ask them of us too.
- Ask which layer each line is. A low build price with usage billed through the vendor’s own account at a markup is the common trick; ask whether the phone numbers and minutes are in your name.
- Ask what stops the sequence. If the answer is a time limit rather than a reply, the customer who answered on day two gets a reminder on day five.
- Ask what happens to a reply nobody can automate: a price question, an angry caller. If the answer is not a task with an owner, the build is incomplete.
- Ask for the test on five real leads before acceptance, with the record history shown. A demo on a demo account proves nothing about your sources.
- Ask what the monthly plan buys. If you cannot name a change the workflow will need in the next three months, you do not need the plan yet.
The questions people ask first
How much does lead follow-up automation cost for a contractor?
Three layers. A one-time build, $1,500 to $5,000 at GoodHandoff, depending on how many lead sources and tools it connects. Your existing CRM plan, plus Zapier from $19.99 a month if the connection runs through it. And usage billed by the phone providers: about $17 a month at 30 leads, $32 at 60 and $78 at 150, using Twilio’s and Retell’s prices on November 1, 2026. See the worked budgets.
What does an AI call cost per minute?
Retell lists $0.07 to $0.31 a minute for the agent and $0.015 a minute for the phone line, as of November 1, 2026; the common setup lands at about $0.11 plus telephony. A three-attempt follow-up schedule uses about 3.6 minutes a lead including voicemails, so under 50 cents a lead. Set a maximum call length and the line cannot run away.
How much does a text cost?
Twilio charges $0.0083 per segment in either direction as of November 1, 2026. A segment is 160 plain characters, 70 with an emoji. Seven segments per lead is a full follow-up sequence, which is about six cents. The phone number is $1.15 a month, and US A2P 10DLC registration adds one-time and campaign fees that Twilio lists separately.
Do I need Zapier?
Only when the lead source and the CRM have no direct connection and Zapier has both. Then Professional from $19.99 a month billed annually covers 750 tasks, which is roughly 150 leads through a five-step Zap. Some CRMs expose the lead through their own API or webhooks instead, and some sources, such as Angi into JobNimbus, connect directly and need nothing in between.
Is the monthly plan required?
No. The build is a fixed-scope project and the workflow keeps running without a plan. Care at $1,500 a month adds monitoring, business-day response, updates as your season or tools change and a monthly report; Partner at $3,500 adds a new workflow or improvement every month. Both are month to month. A one-source build that never changes does not need either.
What is the cheapest way to automate lead follow-up?
The follow-up your CRM already includes, if it covers your sources, costs nothing beyond the plan and the usage. Housecall Pro’s Pipeline and JobNimbus’s automations both text a new lead on a schedule; Jobber’s follow-ups start at the quote. Test that first. The build earns its price when leads come from several places, arrive after hours, or need a call rather than a text.
Supporting documentation
Official documents were checked for the latest update to this guide. Examples and operating recommendations are GoodHandoff’s analysis; they are not claims of live customer results or vendor certification. We have not tested these integrations in your account. Access, pricing and API behavior can change.
- Twilio: US SMS pricingPer-segment SMS prices, the leased number price and the 10DLC fee note, as shown November 1, 2026 (page marked current as of October 2026).
- Retell AI: pricingPer-minute agent, telephony and phone number prices, as shown November 1, 2026.
- Zapier: plans and pricingFree and Professional task allowances and prices, as shown November 1, 2026.
- GoodHandoff: pricingBuild range, the assessment, and the Care and Partner plans.
GoodHandoff sells custom workflow services. We recommend built-in configuration when it meets the requirement. No ranking payment or vendor partnership is implied by inclusion.