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Best answering service for small business: AI and live options (2026)
An answering service makes sure every call gets picked up, even when you're on a job or closed for the night. Here are 8 options for common small-business situations, from $14/mo AI plans to live receptionists, with prices from each company's own website.
How we picked: from what each company publishes on its own website (checked 2026-10-14), not from hands-on testing. We have not run test calls on these tools yet, and there are no ratings or reviews here because we haven't earned them. See how we review.
Paid links: some links on this site may earn us a commission at no cost to you. It never changes which tools we pick or what we say. Disclosure.
First: AI, live, or both?
| AI answering | Live answering | AI + live backup | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lowest published start | AI-Receptionist.com $14/mo | Ruby $250/mo (50 min) | Smith.ai AI Receptionist free plan (25 calls) |
| Good for | Routine calls, after-hours, volume | Sensitive or high-value calls | Mostly routine calls with the odd tricky one |
| Main catch | Features often start on plan 2 | Minutes run out fast | Per-call billing adds up at volume |
Our picks by situation
| Situation | Service | Starts at | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| After-hours calls on a tight budget | Rosie | From $49/mo | $49/mo for 250 minutes, 24/7, English and Spanish on every plan. |
| Very few calls a month | AI-Receptionist.com | From $14/mo | $14/mo for 75 minutes; 7-day free trial, no card. |
| AI with a live person as backup | Smith.ai AI Receptionist | Free to start | Free plan with 25 calls/mo; AI can hand callers to live receptionists. |
| Real people on every call | Ruby | From $250/mo | 100% live receptionists, 24/7 including holidays; $250/mo for 50 minutes. |
| Trades that need emergency transfers | Dialzara | From $29/mo | Blind transfer on every plan, warm transfer from the $99 Pro plan (220 minutes). |
| Pay per call, skip the spam | Upfirst | From $24.95/mo | $24.95/mo for 30 calls, and spam calls aren't billed. |
| Calls land in your job app | Jobber | From $29/mo | Receptionist add-on $29/mo (30 conversations) for Jobber users. |
| Restaurants taking phone orders | Loman | Price on request | Phone ordering and payments with POS integrations like Toast and Square; pricing by request. |
Every fact above links to the tool's page, which shows the source and the date we checked it.
What to ask before you sign up
- What counts as usage? Minutes, calls, unique callers or "conversations". Each one changes your bill differently.
- What happens when I go over? Look for the overage rate on the pricing page.
- Can it transfer an emergency to my cell? On some plans only blind transfer is included.
- Does it book into my calendar or job app?
- Is there a contract or cancellation notice? Smith.ai, for example, asks for 30 days' notice.
By trade
Tools that name your trade on their own website: HVAC · plumbing · electrical · lawn & landscaping · restaurants
Questions owners ask
What is the best answering service for a small business?
For most small businesses with routine calls, an AI answering service is the lowest-cost way to answer every call, starting at $14 to $49 a month in our data. If your calls need judgment or a human touch, a live service like Ruby costs more but puts a person on every call.
How much does an answering service cost for a small business?
In our data, AI answering starts at $14/mo and live answering at $250/mo for 50 minutes. Estimate your own cost with the answering service cost estimator.
Is an AI answering service legit?
These are real products from companies that publish their prices and terms. Test any service with its free trial before you forward your main line, and check how it handles a transfer to your cell.
What's the difference between an answering service and a virtual receptionist?
The terms overlap. Answering service usually means calls are answered and messages taken; virtual receptionist often also means booking, transfers and intake. Both can be live or AI. See live vs AI virtual receptionists.