Key takeaways
- Headline prices are not bills. The unit (minute, call or unique caller) decides what you pay.
- At 100 calls a month, published human-desk cards in our example ran $749 to $1,725.
- Overage is where budgets break. Ruby does not show its overage rate on the plan cards.
- AnswerConnect and Housecall Pro CSR AI have no public price; Jobber Receptionist lists $29/mo on top of a Jobber plan but no usage limits.
- If the caller can wait for a text, missed-call text-back is the cheaper fix. If they must stay on the line, pay for a live desk.
The three ways an answering service bills you
Most surprise invoices come from the unit, not the plan. A 4-minute no-heat call costs four units on a minute plan and one on a call plan.
Ruby, Abby Connect
Per minute
You buy a bucket of receptionist minutes. Long calls, hold time and transfers all burn the bucket. Cheapest when calls are short and predictable.
Watch: Check how they round partial minutes and what overage costs.
Smith.ai (human and AI)
Per call
Each answered call is one unit, whatever its length. Easier to budget than minutes. Ask whether spam, wrong numbers and hang-ups count.
Watch: Add-ons (booking, follow-up texts) are billed on top.
Goodcall
Per unique customer
Repeat callers count once a month. Good for shops where the same homeowner calls back three times about one job.
Watch: Only AI agents bill this way today. A person on the line is not part of it.
2026 answering service price index
Every published plan we could find, with the date we last read the vendor’s page. The chart and table use the same data, and you can download it as CSV.
Published monthly cards · October 16, 2026
From the cheapest paid plan to the biggest card on the page
- Goodcall (AI agent)$79–$299
- Smith.ai (AI receptionist)$150–$500
- Abby Connect$165–$599
- Ruby (live receptionists)$250–$1,725
- Smith.ai (human receptionists)$300–$2,100
- 50 min$250 · over n/p
- 100 min$395 · over n/p
- 200 min$720 · over n/p
- 500 min$1,725 · over n/p
Source · verified 2026-10-16
- 50 min$165 · over $3.30
- 100 min$329 · over $3.29
- 200 min$599 · over $3
Source · verified 2026-10-16
- Starter · 30 calls$300 · over $11.50
- Basic · 90 calls$810 · over $10.50
- Pro · 300 calls$2,100 · over $8.50
Source · verified 2026-10-16
- Free · 25 calls$0 · over $3
- Pro · 75 calls$150 · over $2.50
- Pro · 150 calls$270 · over $2.30
- Enterprise · 300 calls$500 · over $2.17
Source · verified 2026-10-16
- Starter · 100 customers$79 · over $0.79
- Growth · 500 customers$129 · over $0.26
- Scale · 2,000 customers$299 · over $0.15
Source · verified 2026-10-16
| Service | Bills by | Plan | Monthly | Overage | Last verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ruby (live receptionists) Live humans | Per minute | 50 min | $250 | Not published | 2026-10-16 |
| 100 min | $395 | Not published | |||
| 200 min | $720 | Not published | |||
| 500 min | $1,725 | Not published | |||
| Abby Connect Live humans | Per minute | 50 min | $165 | $3.30/minute | 2026-10-16 |
| 100 min | $329 | $3.29/minute | |||
| 200 min | $599 | $3/minute | |||
| Smith.ai (human receptionists) Live humans | Per call | Starter · 30 calls | $300 | $11.50/call | 2026-10-16 |
| Basic · 90 calls | $810 | $10.50/call | |||
| Pro · 300 calls | $2,100 | $8.50/call | |||
| Smith.ai (AI receptionist) AI voice | Per call | Free · 25 calls | $0 | $3/call | 2026-10-16 |
| Pro · 75 calls | $150 | $2.50/call | |||
| Pro · 150 calls | $270 | $2.30/call | |||
| Enterprise · 300 calls | $500 | $2.17/call | |||
| Goodcall (AI agent) AI voice | Per unique customer | Starter · 100 customers | $79 | $0.79/customer | 2026-10-16 |
| Growth · 500 customers | $129 | $0.26/customer | |||
| Scale · 2,000 customers | $299 | $0.15/customer | |||
| AnswerConnect Live humans | Quote only | Confirm with vendor | 2026-10-16 | ||
| Jobber Receptionist FSM add-on | Quote only | Confirm with vendor | 2026-10-16 | ||
| Housecall Pro CSR AI FSM add-on | Quote only | Confirm with vendor | 2026-10-16 | ||
Download the table: answering-service-prices-2026.csv · n/p = not published
Worked example: one month, 100 calls
A shop answers 100 calls in a month. Each call takes 2.5 receptionist minutes (250 minutes), and 80 of the calls come from different people. We priced that month on each published card, taking the cheapest plan plus published overage.
Example bill · one month
Goodcall (AI agent)
- Usage
- 80 unique callers
- Cheapest fit
- Starter · 100 customers
Price source · verified 2026-10-16
Example bill · one month
Smith.ai (AI receptionist)
- Usage
- 100 calls
- Cheapest fit
- Pro · 75 calls
Price source · verified 2026-10-16
Example bill · one month
Abby Connect
- Usage
- 250 receptionist minutes
- Cheapest fit
- 200 min
Price source · verified 2026-10-16
Example bill · one month
Smith.ai (human receptionists)
- Usage
- 100 calls
- Cheapest fit
- Basic · 90 calls
Price source · verified 2026-10-16
Example bill · one month
Ruby (live receptionists)
- Usage
- 250 receptionist minutes
- Cheapest fit
- 500 min
Price source · verified 2026-10-16
Ruby’s 200-minute card ($720) does not cover 250 minutes, and the plan cards do not show an overage rate, so the next published card ($1,725) is the only number we can stand behind. Ask Ruby for the overage rate in writing.
Price the calls you miss, not every call
Cost at your volume
Move the sliders to your own month. Quote-only vendors stay at the bottom with no number.
List prices from October 16, 2026. Unique callers assumed at 80% of calls. Cheapest published plan plus published overage. Not a quote.
- Goodcall (AI agent)80 unique callers · Starter · 100 customers$79
- Smith.ai (AI receptionist)100 calls · Pro · 75 calls$212.50
- Abby Connect250 receptionist minutes · 200 min$749
- Smith.ai (human receptionists)100 calls · Basic · 90 calls$915
- Ruby (live receptionists)250 receptionist minutes · 500 min$1,725
- AnswerConnectQuote onlyConfirm with vendor
- Jobber ReceptionistQuote onlyConfirm with vendor
- Housecall Pro CSR AIQuote onlyConfirm with vendor
Live answering vs AI voice vs missed-call text-back
Live answering service
A person answers, takes a message, and can dispatch. It costs the most per call and is the only option that puts a human on the line.
AI voice agents
Smith.ai’s AI receptionist and Goodcall publish lower per-call and per-customer prices. They answer with a voice agent. Read the spam and repeat-caller rules before you compare.
Missed-call text-back
The call rings your phone as usual. If nobody picks up, the caller gets a text within seconds so they do not dial the next shop. You call back. That is what Toolbench does. It is not a voice agent, and it does not replace a live desk where one is needed. Compare the categories in answering service vs text-back vs AI receptionist.
When a live answering service is worth it
- Emergency work where the caller will hang up and call the next shop unless a person answers now.
- You need dispatch, triage or payment taken during the call.
- Your calls are short and steady enough to fit a minute plan without overage.
- Not worth it: callers who can wait a minute, after-hours quote requests, or a month where half the minutes are spam.
Already running Jobber? See Toolbench vs Jobber before you add a receptionist. Want one bill for Google profile and text-back? Try Toolbench on your number.
Methodology
We read each vendor’s public pricing page on October 16, 2026 and recorded plan price, included units and overage. We did not use sales quotes, review sites or old screenshots. A vendor with no public price is marked “confirm with vendor.” The worked example uses list prices only, the cheapest plan that fits, and published overage. Annual discounts, setup fees and add-ons are excluded. Prices change; check the source link before you sign.
FAQ
On the public pages we read October 16, 2026, live-receptionist plans started at $165/mo (Abby Connect, 50 minutes) and $250/mo (Ruby, 50 minutes). Smith.ai’s human plans start at $300/mo for 30 calls. Larger cards run $599 to $2,100. Your bill depends on minutes or calls, not the headline price.
Both exist. Ruby and Abby Connect sell minutes. Smith.ai sells calls. Goodcall’s AI agent bills unique customers. Match the model to your calls: long calls favor per-call plans; short, repeat calls favor per-customer.
In our worked example (100 calls, 2.5 receptionist minutes each), published cards came to about $749 at Abby Connect, $915 at Smith.ai’s human desk, and $1,725 at Ruby if you avoid its unpublished overage. AI voice plans came in lower. The example is illustrative, not a survey.
On October 16, 2026, AnswerConnect and Housecall Pro CSR AI showed no public price. Jobber lists AI Receptionist as a $29/mo add-on on top of a Jobber plan but does not show its usage limits. Get limits or a written quote and run it against the same month of calls before you compare.
When the caller can wait a minute for a text and you can call back. A live answering service is worth it when someone must stay on the line, such as an emergency dispatch you will lose to the next shop otherwise.
It varies. Smith.ai’s human plans do not charge for spam. Its AI plans count spam by default with a 10% allowance. Goodcall says spam does not count. Ask how robocalls are billed before you sign.