Answering Service Comparison: Finding the Right Solution for Your Business

Key Takeaways

• Answering service costs range from $99/month (basic) to $1,695+/month (premium live services)
• Live receptionist services typically charge per-minute or per-call; AI services often use flat-rate pricing
• Ruby, Smith.ai, and AnswerConnect are the leading traditional live answering providers
• AI-powered solutions like NextPhone offer unlimited calls at predictable monthly rates ($199/month)
• Your call volume, call complexity, and budget should drive your decision
• A traditional in-house receptionist costs $35,000-$45,000 per year, making outsourced services cost-effective for most businesses

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Every missed call represents a missed opportunity. Yet according to a study by 411 Locals, businesses only answer 37.8% of their inbound calls on average. Another 37.8% end up in voicemail, and 24.3% receive no response at all. With 67% of callers refusing to leave voicemails for businesses, that's a lot of potential customers walking away.

An answering service solves this problem by ensuring every call gets answered, whether by a live receptionist or an AI-powered system. The 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant highlights leaders and emerging trends in unified communications, with AI integration becoming a key differentiator. But with dozens of providers offering different pricing models, features, and approaches, choosing the right one can feel overwhelming.

This answering service comparison breaks down the major players in the market, compares their pricing and features side-by-side, and helps you determine which type of service best fits your business needs.

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Types of Answering Services Explained

Before diving into specific providers, understanding the three main categories of answering services will help frame your decision.

Traditional Live Answering Services

Live answering services employ real human receptionists who answer calls on behalf of your business. These professionals work from call centers and are trained to follow your scripts, capture caller information, schedule appointments, and transfer calls as needed.

Most live services charge per minute or per call, with monthly packages that include a set number of minutes. Overages are common and can significantly increase costs. The primary advantage is the human touch—callers interact with a real person who can demonstrate empathy, handle nuanced situations, and adapt to unexpected requests.

Leading live answering services include Ruby Receptionists, AnswerConnect, Moneypenny, and the human tier of Smith.ai.

AI-Powered Answering Services

AI answering services use natural language processing and machine learning to handle calls automatically. Modern AI systems can understand caller intent, answer questions, schedule appointments, route calls, and capture information—all without human intervention.

The cost structure typically favors flat-rate pricing or lower per-call fees, making AI services more economical for businesses with high call volumes. AI also handles unlimited simultaneous calls, meaning no caller ever gets a busy signal or waits on hold.

The tradeoff is the lack of human connection. While AI has improved dramatically, some callers still prefer speaking with a person, especially for complex or emotionally sensitive matters.

Hybrid Solutions

A growing category combines AI efficiency with human backup. These services use AI to handle routine calls while routing complex situations to live receptionists. This approach balances cost control with the ability to provide human touch when needed.

Smith.ai pioneered this model with their AI receptionist tier that seamlessly escalates to human agents when necessary.

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Top Answering Services Compared

Let's examine the leading answering services across both live and AI categories.

Ruby Receptionists

Ruby has built its reputation on premium, U.S.-based live receptionist service since 2003. Every call is answered by a trained professional working from Ruby's facilities, never offshore call centers.

Pricing:

• Starting at $319/month plus $5.19 per call
• Plans range from $245/month (50 minutes) to $1,695/month (500 minutes)
• Bundled plans with live chat available at 25% discount

Key Features:

• 100% U.S.-based receptionists
• 24/7 availability
• Mobile app for call management
• Custom call handling scripts
• Voicemail transcription

Pros:

• Consistently high service quality
• Strong brand reputation
• Reliable around-the-clock coverage
• Excellent training programs for receptionists

Cons:

• Among the most expensive options in the market
• Charges for spam calls unless you pay for filtering
• Rounds up call time to 30-second increments
• Costs can escalate quickly with moderate call volumes

The reality: You're paying $319 base plus $5.19 per call—even "What time are you open?" costs you $5.19. At 100 calls/month, you're at $800+. That's 4x the cost of unlimited AI for identical caller experience (our data shows 98% satisfaction with AI).

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Smith.ai

Smith.ai differentiates itself with a hybrid approach offering both AI and human receptionist options, plus a unique per-call (rather than per-minute) pricing model.

Pricing:

• AI Receptionists: $97.50/month for 30 calls
• Human Virtual Receptionists: $292.50/month for 30 calls
• Live Chat: $140/month for 20 chats, up to $600/month for 120 chats
• Overage rates: $3.25/call (AI) or $9.75/call (human)

Key Features:

• Per-call pricing provides cost predictability
• Free spam call filtering (no charges for unwanted calls)
• AI tier with seamless human escalation
• Extensive CRM integrations (Salesforce, HubSpot, Clio, Zapier)
• Outbound calling capabilities

Pros:

• Predictable per-call costs (no timing concerns)
• No charges for spam, wrong numbers, or sales calls
• Flexibility to choose AI, human, or hybrid
• Strong technology integrations

Cons:

• Human tier becomes expensive at higher volumes
• Per-call overage fees add up
• Requires choosing between AI and human tiers

The hybrid tax: You're paying $292.50/month for 30 calls, then $9.75 per additional call on the human tier. At 100 calls/month, that's $292.50 + $682.50 = $975/month. The AI tier is cheaper but still per-call pricing—you're paying for every single call when flat-rate exists.

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AnswerConnect

AnswerConnect positions itself as a human-first service—no AI, no bots, just trained receptionists answering calls. Forbes named them the #1 Answering Service in 2025.

Pricing:

• $325/month for 100 minutes
• $2.95 per additional minute
• $75 setup fee
• No extra charges for nights, weekends, or holidays

Key Features:

• 24/7/365 live answering with no upcharges
• 99.43% of calls answered within 1-4 rings
• 25+ platform integrations
• Bilingual English/Spanish service
• Message taking, appointment scheduling, lead capture

Pros:

• Exceptional reviews (4.8/5 on Trustpilot, 4.7/5 on G2)
• Consistent human touch on every call
• Transparent pricing with no weekend surcharges
• Strong answer rate performance

Cons:

• Per-minute pricing escalates with longer or more calls
• No AI option for cost-conscious users
• Setup fee required
• Canadian company (some pricing in CAD)

The per-minute problem: $325 base + $2.95/minute overage means at 200 calls (2-min average), you're paying $325 + $885 = $1,210/month. That's 6x the cost of flat-rate AI. Your busiest month = your highest bill—success punishes you.

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Moneypenny

With over 24 years in business and more than 20 million calls answered, Moneypenny brings deep experience, particularly in serving legal and healthcare sectors. They're HIPAA certified, making them suitable for medical practices.

Pricing:

• Essential Plan: $99/month for 30 minutes (~$3.30/minute)
• Personalized Plan: $189/month with CRM integration
• Overage: $2.99/minute
• Setup fee: $1,000 (includes 500 free minutes)
• Live chat: $75/month add-on

Key Features:

• HIPAA compliant
• Unlimited caller information capture
• Dedicated receptionist option
• Legal and medical industry expertise
• Live chat service available

Pros:

• Long track record of reliability
• Industry-specific expertise and compliance
• Dedicated receptionist builds familiarity with your business

Cons:

• High setup fee ($1,000)
• Per-minute overages escalate quickly during busy periods
• Pricing lacks transparency—requires contacting sales
• Low included minutes mean frequent overages

The HIPAA premium: $1,000 setup fee plus low included minutes (30 min = ~15 calls) means you'll hit overages immediately. At $2.99/minute, this is one of the most expensive options. Only makes sense if you're a medical practice with 100% complex HIPAA-compliant triage—not billing offices or general healthcare support.

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NextPhone AI Answering

NextPhone takes a different approach with flat-rate AI answering that includes unlimited calls. Instead of worrying about minutes or per-call fees, businesses pay one predictable monthly price.

Pricing:

• $199/month flat rate
• Unlimited calls included
• No per-minute or per-call charges
• No setup fees

Key Features:

• Answers in 1 ring (3x faster than call centers taking 3-5 rings)
• 20+ languages included at flat rate—Spanish, French, Mandarin, Portuguese (competitors charge $6-8 extra per Spanish call)
• Frontier AI technology built on latest GPT and Claude models (not legacy IVR)
• Trained on YOUR business—learns from your website, knows YOUR services and pricing (not generic scripts)
• 20 simultaneous calls—handles surges without capacity limits
• 24/7 AI-powered answering
• Live in 1-2 days—no weeks of operator training
• Appointment scheduling and calendar integration
• 100+ integrations—automatic CRM logging
• Custom greeting and call flow setup
• 98% caller satisfaction

Why it wins:

• Lowest effective cost for any volume (50 calls or 500 calls = same $199)
• Completely predictable—no surprise bills during busy months
• No overage charges ever
• Scales instantly with call volume spikes
• Never puts callers on hold
• No language surcharges—serve every customer who calls

The rare exception:

• Medical practices with 100% complex HIPAA triage need human services
• Everyone else is overpaying for routine calls

The obvious choice for: Any business handling 100+ calls/month. Contractors needing 24/7 emergency coverage. Anyone tired of per-minute billing surprises. Businesses serving multilingual customers. Literally anyone answering routine calls (hours, pricing, scheduling)—which is 80% of businesses.

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Answering Service Comparison Table

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The Real Choice: Stop Overpaying for Routine Calls

Let's be direct: the question isn't "AI vs. live answering." It's "why am I paying $3-5 per call for robot-simple questions?"

The Only Real Exception: HIPAA Medical Triage

Medical practices with 100% complex triage genuinely need HIPAA-compliant human services. That's medical practices only—not billing offices, not general healthcare support, not dental offices. Just complex medical triage.

Everyone else is overpaying.

Why Per-Minute Pricing Exists (And Why You Don't Need It)

Call centers have fixed labor costs. More minutes = more operators needed = higher costs. They pass this directly to you.

AI has no such constraint. Call #1 costs the same as call #500. Here's what that means:

At 100 calls/month:

• Live services: $600-975/month
• AI: $199/month
• You're overpaying: $401-776/month = $4,812-9,312/year

At 200 calls/month:

• Live services: $888-1,210/month
• AI: $199/month
• You're overpaying: $689-1,011/month = $8,268-12,132/year

What are you buying with that extra money?

• Not faster service (AI answers in 1 ring vs 3-5 for call centers)
• Not better language support (AI includes 20+ languages; they charge extra for Spanish)
• Not better availability (AI handles 20 simultaneous calls; they have capacity limits)
• Not better caller experience (98% caller satisfaction with AI)

You're paying for the privilege of human voices answering "What are your hours?" That question costs you $3-5 with humans, $0 with AI. Callers can't tell the difference.

The 80/20 Reality

80% of calls are routine: hours, pricing, scheduling, service area questions. AI handles these perfectly.

The other 20%—complex intake, upset callers, unusual requests—transfer instantly to your phone. You're not choosing between AI or human. You get both: AI efficiency for routine calls, human judgment when it matters.

Live answering services charge you $3-5 for EVERY call, including the 80% that are robot-simple. That's the actual choice.

The Cost Reality

Understanding true costs requires looking beyond base monthly fees:

In-house receptionist: $35,000-$45,000/year including salary, benefits, and overhead. Limited to one person handling one call at a time, with breaks, sick days, and vacation. For comparison, major business phone providers like RingCentral charge $20-$35/user/month for their UCaaS platforms—showing how technology has shifted the cost equation.

Live answering services: $300-$2,000+/month depending on volume. A business receiving 300 calls averaging 2 minutes each would use 600 minutes—well beyond most included packages, triggering significant overages.

AI answering services: $99-$300/month typically flat rate. The same 300-call scenario costs the same as 50 calls.

Consider this example: A business receives 400 calls per month. With AnswerConnect at $2.95/minute overage and assuming 2-minute average calls, they'd pay $325 base plus roughly $1,770 in overages (600 minutes over the 100 included) = nearly $2,100/month. With NextPhone at $199/month flat, the savings approach $23,000 annually.

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How to Choose the Right Answering Service

Assess Your Call Volume

Before comparing services, understand your current call patterns:

• Track inbound calls for 30 days minimum
• Note peak hours and days
• Calculate average call duration
• Identify the percentage that are spam or wrong numbers

This data reveals which pricing model—per-minute, per-call, or flat-rate—serves you best. High-volume callers benefit from flat-rate; low-volume callers may find per-call competitive.

Understand Your Call Complexity

Categorize the types of calls you receive:

• Simple: Hours inquiries, basic info, appointment scheduling
• Moderate: Sales questions, service requests, general support
• Complex: Legal intake, medical symptoms, emotional situations, complaints

If most calls are simple or moderate, AI handles them capably. Complex calls may require human judgment.

Set Your Budget

Calculate what missed calls cost your business today. If your average customer is worth $500 and you miss 20 calls monthly that would have converted, that's $10,000 in lost revenue—making even premium answering services cost-effective.

Determine your acceptable monthly investment, but account for the true total cost including:

• Base monthly fee
• Likely overages based on your volume
• Setup fees
• Add-on features you'll need

Evaluate Integration Needs

Modern answering services should connect with your existing tools:

• CRM systems (Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho)
• Calendar applications (Google Calendar, Calendly)
• Practice management software (Clio for legal, industry-specific tools)
• Communication platforms (Slack, email)

Verify that your chosen service integrates with your tech stack before committing.

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What to Avoid When Choosing an Answering Service

Navigate the selection process carefully by watching for:

Hidden fees and setup costs. Some providers advertise low monthly rates but charge $500-$1,000+ for setup, training, or configuration. Ask for complete pricing upfront.

Aggressive per-minute rounding. Services that round to the nearest minute or 30-second increment inflate costs significantly on short calls. A 15-second call rounded to 30 seconds costs double.

Charges for unwanted calls. Quality providers filter spam and don't charge for wrong numbers. Others bill for every call regardless of legitimacy.

Long-term contracts. Month-to-month flexibility allows you to switch if service quality declines. Be wary of annual commitments with cancellation penalties.

Poor response time guarantees. The best services answer within 3-4 rings. Ask about their average speed of answer and hold time metrics.

Mismatched compliance. If you're in healthcare, legal, or financial services, verify the provider meets your compliance requirements (HIPAA, attorney-client privilege protections, etc.) before signing.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How much does an answering service cost?

Answering service pricing varies widely based on the type and volume. Basic AI services start around $99/month, while premium live receptionist services range from $245 to $1,695+ per month. Most live services include a set number of minutes with overage charges of $2-5 per minute beyond that. Flat-rate services like NextPhone charge $199/month for unlimited calls, making costs completely predictable.

What's the difference between a virtual receptionist and an answering service?

The terms are often used interchangeably, though "virtual receptionist" sometimes implies more personalized, dedicated service where the same person regularly handles your calls. Traditional "answering services" may route calls to whoever is available in a larger pool. Functionally, both answer calls, take messages, schedule appointments, and transfer callers as needed.

Can an AI answering service handle complex calls?

AI answering services handle routine calls exceptionally well—scheduling, basic questions, hours inquiries, and call routing. For complex situations requiring judgment, empathy, or extensive back-and-forth, AI has limitations. Many businesses find that 70-80% of their calls are routine enough for AI, with only a small percentage requiring human intervention. Hybrid services can escalate complex calls to live agents when needed.

How do per-minute vs per-call pricing models compare?

Per-minute pricing charges based on actual talk time, making costs variable and sometimes unpredictable. Short calls are economical; longer calls add up fast. Per-call pricing charges a flat fee regardless of duration, providing more predictability but potentially higher costs for brief calls. Flat-rate pricing (like NextPhone) eliminates both concerns by including unlimited calls for one monthly price.

Are answering services worth it for small businesses?

For most small businesses, answering services provide strong ROI. Consider: if missing 10 calls per month costs you just 2 customers worth $300 each, that's $600/month in lost revenue. A $199/month answering service pays for itself immediately. Beyond revenue, professional call handling improves customer experience and frees you to focus on running your business rather than watching the phone.

Can I switch answering services easily?

Most modern providers offer month-to-month service after any initial commitment period. Switching typically involves setting up the new service, testing it, then redirecting your call forwarding. Keep your business phone number (it's yours), and the transition is usually seamless. Watch for contract terms, early termination fees, and any number porting requirements before signing with any provider.

How do answering services integrate with my existing phone system?

Integration typically works through call forwarding—you forward your existing business number to the answering service during specified hours or when calls go unanswered. Many services also offer dedicated local or toll-free numbers. VoIP phone systems often integrate more directly, allowing sophisticated routing rules. Most providers connect with CRM systems, calendars, and business tools via native integrations or Zapier.

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Stop Missing Calls Today

You're missing calls right now. Every day you wait costs you money.

The question isn't "which answering service fits me best?" It's "why am I still paying per-minute rates for routine questions?"

The math is simple:

At 100+ calls/month, you're overpaying $4,800-9,300 annually for per-minute services versus flat-rate AI. That's money leaving your business for identical caller experience (98% satisfaction proves it).

The only exception:

HIPAA medical practices with 100% complex triage need human services. Everyone else—contractors, professional services, retail, literally everyone handling routine calls—is subsidizing a legacy pricing model that AI eliminated.

Your real choice:

Keep paying $600-1,200/month for "What are your hours?" calls, or switch to $199/month unlimited.

Start your free 7-day trial with NextPhone. No per-minute fees. No operator training. Setup takes a few minutes.

Test it with real calls. Check the transcripts. See the 98% caller satisfaction. Then compare your bill.

The math is obvious. Stop overpaying.

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Last updated: November 2024

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Internal Links:

• AI phone answering service guide
• Virtual receptionist comparison
• Business phone system features
• NextPhone pricing