Best AI Answering Services of 2026
Nine answering services ranked across pure AI, AI plus human and live receptionist models, with prices at 100, 300 and 500 calls or minutes.
By , research by the BestBots team ยท Updated Oct 19, 2026
Fact checked against each company's published pricing, documentation and verified user ratings. How we score
Smith.ai is the best AI answering service for most small businesses: a free 25 call plan, English and Spanish, native Clio, HubSpot and Salesforce links, and escalation to live receptionists when a call needs a person. If you want pure AI at the lowest cost per call, Upfirst is the best alternative, from $24.95 for 30 calls.
Our top picks
We compared nine answering services across three models (pure AI, AI plus human, and live receptionists) on what their pricing pages, product pages and review listings say as of October 2026. Scores follow our published rubric.
How to choose
An answering service is judged on one thing: did the caller get what they called for. Work back from your calls.
- Pull last month's call log. Total calls, total minutes, and the share after hours. Divide minutes by calls to get your average call length; that number decides which billing unit is cheapest.
- Sort your calls by risk. Routine (hours, booking, directions, messages) is AI work. Sensitive (upset customers, legal or medical intake, a $20,000 job) may need a person.
- Pick the model. Mostly routine: pure AI. Mixed: a hybrid with a human behind the AI. Mostly sensitive, or a brand where every caller must reach a person: live answering.
- Pick the billing unit. Per call (Smith.ai, Upfirst) suits long calls. Per minute (Rosie, Posh, Abby Connect, Ruby) suits short calls. Per unique caller (Goodcall) suits repeat callers. Per interaction (Nextiva) suits businesses that get texts and chats too.
- Check booking on the plan you buy. Rosie books directly only from $149; Upfirst books on every plan.
- Check your software. Clio and Rocket Matter (Smith.ai, Posh, Ruby, Upfirst for Clio), HubSpot and Salesforce (Smith.ai, Posh, Abby Connect, Ruby, AnswerConnect), Housecall Pro (Nextiva).
- Check languages. Upfirst lists 35+; Smith.ai, Posh, Abby Connect and Rosie list English and Spanish; Ruby sells Spanish as an add on; Goodcall and Nextiva do not publish languages.
Our picks, in detail
- Starting price
- $0 per month
- Minutes or calls included
- 25 calls free; 75 to 500 calls on paid tiers
- Live agent backup
- Yes, North America based receptionists as a per call add on
- Free trial
- Free plan with 25 calls per month
Smith.ai is the only pick that pairs a free 25 call AI plan with escalation to live North America based receptionists, so the calls AI should not handle still reach a person. It answers in English and Spanish, books through Calendly and other calendars, and connects natively to Clio, HubSpot and Salesforce. Trustpilot shows 4.3 from 375 reviews.
Pros
- Free plan with 25 real calls a month, so you can run it on live traffic before paying
- Escalation to live North America based receptionists when the AI should not handle a call
- Native Clio, HubSpot and Salesforce integrations, plus Zapier and Make
- Spam calls from a list of 20 million+ known numbers are filtered and not billed
- Recording, transcription, summaries and lead qualification on every plan
Cons
- Per call rates of $1.60 to $3.00 are two to four times what Upfirst charges at similar volume
- Live agent calls cost extra per call, and that rate is not on the AI pricing page
- Volumes above 500 calls are quote only
- Six month term plans are non refundable, and Trustpilot reviewers describe disputes over exactly that
Skip it if cost per call matters most; at 300 calls it costs $500, where Upfirst costs $159.95.
- Starting price
- $65 per month
- Minutes or calls included
- Pay as you go, or 50 to 500 mixed AI and live minutes
- Live agent backup
- Yes, US based live receptionists on the same plan
- Free trial
- 7 days or 250 receptionist minutes, no credit card
Posh mixes AI and US based live receptionists in one pool of minutes and publishes both rates: $1.15 per AI minute and $2.30 per live minute on its $65 On Demand plan, falling to $0.98 and $1.95 on Lavish AI. Terms are month to month, it connects to Clio, Rocket Matter, Salesforce, HubSpot and Zoho, and it holds 4.7 on Trustpilot from 199 reviews.
Pros
- Published per minute rates for both AI and live answering
- AI and live minutes share one plan pool
- Clio Grow, Clio Manage and Rocket Matter integrations
- Free trial of 7 days or 250 minutes with no card
- 4.7 on Trustpilot from 199 reviews
Cons
- AI minutes cost $0.95 to $1.15, several times pure AI tools
- Billed for follow up tasks like scheduling and reminders, not just talk time
- Some long term reviewers report quality slips
Skip it if you only want AI; pure AI tools charge a quarter to half as much per minute.
- Starting price
- $164 per month
- Minutes or calls included
- 100 to 1,000 AI minutes (50 to 500 human minutes)
- Live agent backup
- Yes, human receptionists on the same plan
- Free trial
- Free trial on every plan
Abby Connect sells human and AI answering on one plan, with an AI minute using half an Abby Minute, so the $164 Starter plan covers up to 100 AI minutes or 50 human minutes. English and Spanish are on every plan, and it lists Salesforce, HubSpot, Calendly and 1,000+ other integrations.
Pros
- Human and AI answering mixed per call on one subscription
- AI minutes count half, doubling plan coverage
- English and Spanish on all plans, plus HIPAA options and encrypted recordings
- Salesforce, HubSpot, Calendly and 1,000+ other integrations
- No setup fee, month to month, free trial
Cons
- Starter covers only 100 AI minutes for $164
- Most expensive per AI minute in this group
- Overage rate is described, not listed as a dollar figure
Skip it if price per AI minute matters; at about $1.50 to $1.64 it is the most expensive AI rate here.
- Starting price
- $24.95 per month
- Minutes or calls included
- 30 to 600 calls depending on plan
- Live agent backup
- No staffed agents; warm transfers to your own team with caller context
- Free trial
- 14 days
Upfirst starts at $24.95 for 30 calls and covers 600 calls for $299, and it does not bill spam, calls under 15 seconds or silent calls. Booking works on every plan with Google, Outlook, Calendly, Acuity, Square and Clio, and it lists 35+ languages with automatic switching.
Pros
- Lowest entry price among per call receptionists at $24.95 for 30 calls
- Spam, sub 15 second and silent calls are not billed
- Calendar booking on every plan, including Clio, Calendly, Acuity and Square
- 35+ languages with automatic switching when the caller changes language
- 14 day free trial and 20% off for annual billing
Cons
- No review listing with 10 or more reviews that we could find, so less public proof than Smith.ai
- No staffed human backup; transfers go to your own phones
- HIPAA BAAs only on custom plans above 600 calls
- Native CRM list is short beyond Clio; most CRMs go through Zapier
Skip it if you want staffed human backup or a long public review record.
- Starting price
- $49 per month
- Minutes or calls included
- 250, 1,000 or 2,000 minutes
- Live agent backup
- No staffed agents; warm and live transfers to your team on Scale and up
- Free trial
- 7 days, no credit card
Rosie's $49 plan includes 250 minutes and Scale includes 1,000 minutes for $149, the lowest cost per included minute on a published plan here. English and Spanish are on every plan, and it trains from your website and Google Business Profile.
Pros
- $49 for 250 minutes is the lowest cost per included minute on a published plan in this group
- English and Spanish on every plan
- Trains itself from your website and Google Business Profile
- Can run for after hours or overflow only through conditional call forwarding
- Native iOS and Android apps
Cons
- Calendar booking and live transfers need the $149 Scale plan
- No published overage rate, so you cannot model a busy month
- Only Google Calendar and Calendly natively; CRMs go through Zapier
- Thin review record: 3.5 on the App Store from 11 ratings and no Trustpilot reviews
Skip it if you need calendar booking or live transfers under $149, or a published overage rate.
- Starting price
- $79 per month
- Minutes or calls included
- 100 to 2,000 unique callers, unlimited minutes
- Live agent backup
- No staffed agents; transfers to your team, up to three attempts, then takes a message
- Free trial
- Free demo agent; pay when you connect a number
Goodcall bills per unique caller per month and never meters minutes, so a customer who calls five times counts once and a nine minute call costs the same as a 30 second one. Growth covers 500 unique callers for $129.
Pros
- Never meters minutes, so a nine minute booking costs the same as a 30 second call
- Repeat callers in the same month count once; spam and wrong numbers do not count
- Growth plan covers 500 unique callers for $129, the lowest cost at that volume in this group
- Every call recorded and transcribed, and Gabi runs practice calls before you go live
- Began inside Google in 2017 (CallJoy, Area 120) and says it is SOC 2 and HIPAA compliant
Cons
- Answers in English only, per its own How it works page
- Short native integration list: HighLevel, Google Calendar, Google Sheets and Zapier
- Its Trustpilot page has only 5 reviews, all 1 star, citing billing after cancellation and unannounced price increases
- Unique caller billing makes side by side comparison with per call tools harder
Skip it if you need published languages or integrations beyond HighLevel, Google Calendar and Zapier.
- Starting price
- $99 per month
- Minutes or calls included
- 100 interactions (calls, texts, chats)
- Live agent backup
- No staffed agents; smart handoff to your team
- Free trial
- 30 day money back guarantee, no credit card required
Nextiva XBert answers calls, texts and website chat from one bucket of 100 interactions for $99, and calls under 30 seconds do not count. It lists HIPAA compliance, a live Housecall Pro integration and a 30 day money back guarantee, and Nextiva carries 4.5 on Trustpilot from 8,704 reviews.
Pros
- $99 for 100 interactions covers calls, texts and web chat in one bucket
- Calls under 30 seconds do not count as interactions
- 30 day money back guarantee and no long term contract
- Says it is SOC 2 certified and HIPAA compliant
- Nextiva carries 4.5 on Trustpilot from 8,704 reviews
Cons
- Supported languages are not published
- ServiceTitan, Salesforce and HubSpot are request based integrations (2 to 4 days)
- No staffed human backup
- Trustpilot reviewers describe confusing onboarding and long hold times
Skip it if past a few hundred interactions; each extra one costs $0.99, and languages are not published.
- Starting price
- $250 per month
- Minutes or calls included
- 50 to 500 live receptionist minutes
- Live agent backup
- Yes, every call is answered by a live receptionist
- Free trial
- None listed
Ruby answers every call with a live receptionist 24/7 and publishes plans from $250 for 50 minutes to $1,725 for 500. AI works behind the scenes on transcripts, sentiment analysis and robocall filtering at no extra cost, and it integrates with Clio, Lawmatics, Filevine, MyCase, Follow Up Boss and JobNimbus. Trustpilot shows 4.5 from 853 reviews.
Pros
- A live receptionist answers every call 24/7, including weekends and holidays
- Legal integrations: Clio, Lawmatics, Law Ruler, Filevine, MyCase, Rocket Matter
- AI transcripts, sentiment analysis and robocall filtering included at no extra cost
- No contracts and no activation, setup or customization fees
- 4.5 on Trustpilot from 853 reviews and 4.8 on the App Store from 338 ratings
Cons
- About $3.45 to $5.00 per included minute, several times the cost of AI tools
- No standalone AI receptionist; AI only assists the human receptionists
- Overage rate, billing increment, Spanish and HIPAA add on prices are not published
- Some Trustpilot reviewers say robocalls pushed them toward bigger plans
Skip it if you want AI to answer calls; Ruby's AI only assists its staff, and minutes cost about $3.45 to $5.00.
- Starting price
- Quote only
- Minutes or calls included
- Minute based plans, quote only
- Live agent backup
- Every call answered by a live receptionist; no AI answering
- Free trial
- None listed
AnswerConnect puts a live receptionist on every call 24/7/365 and pledges no bots, with the strongest public record we found: 4.9 on Trustpilot from 1,544 reviews. It offers a HIPAA option in its portal, bilingual answering, and integrations with Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho, Zendesk and Zapier.
Pros
- Live receptionists 24/7/365, including weekends and holidays
- HIPAA option activated in the online portal
- 4.9 on Trustpilot from 1,544 reviews, with replies to every negative review
- Integrations with Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho, Zendesk, ServiceMinder and Zapier
Cons
- No published prices at all
- No AI answering, so no low per minute option
- Field service software such as ServiceTitan or Jobber is not listed
Skip it if you want AI answering or any published price; every plan is quote only.
AI only vs hybrid vs live
The three models differ more in what they cost per minute than in anything else, and each fits a different kind of business.
Pure AI. The AI answers, books, takes messages and transfers to your own phones. Upfirst, Rosie, Goodcall and Nextiva are the pure AI picks here. As listed, cost runs about $0.15 per included minute on Rosie's Scale plan ($149 for 1,000) to $0.70 to $1.50 per call at Upfirst and $0.99 per interaction past Nextiva's first 100. Goodcall works out to $0.26 per extra unique caller on Growth, with minutes never metered. Pure AI answers every call at once, at 3 a.m. as easily as at noon. The catch is that when it transfers, someone on your team must pick up.
Hybrid. AI handles routine calls, and trained receptionists take the rest on the same plan. Smith.ai bills AI per call ($1.60 to $3.00 effective) and adds live receptionist escalation per call. Posh bills $0.98 to $1.15 per AI minute and $1.95 to $2.30 per live minute. Abby Connect counts an AI minute as half an Abby Minute, which works out to about $1.50 to $1.64 per AI minute and twice that for a human. Hybrids suit law firms, clinics and service businesses where some callers must reach a person and your own staff cannot always answer.
Live. A receptionist answers every call. Ruby publishes plans from $250 for 50 minutes ($5.00 a minute) to $1,725 for 500 ($3.45 a minute), with AI only working behind the scenes. AnswerConnect is human only and quote only, with 4.9 on Trustpilot from 1,544 reviews. Live services suit businesses where every caller expects a person: high end services, emotionally charged calls, or callers who hang up on bots.
A rule of thumb: if fewer than one call in ten needs human judgment, pure AI plus a transfer to your cell covers it. If one in three does, a hybrid pays for itself. If most do, buy live answering and use AI for overflow.
What it costs
Each cell is the cheapest published monthly plan that covers the volume, with overage at the listed rate. Per call and per interaction tools are priced at that many calls; per minute tools at that many minutes; Goodcall at that many unique callers.
| Service | Model | 100 | 300 | 500 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smith.ai | Hybrid, per call | $212.50 (Pro 75 plus 25 at $2.50) | $500 (Pro 300) | $800 (Enterprise 500) |
| Posh, all AI minutes | Hybrid, per minute | $180 (On Demand, $65 plus $1.15 a min) | $410 (On Demand) | $640 (On Demand) |
| Abby Connect, AI minutes | Hybrid, per minute | $164 (Starter) | about $494 (Essential plus 100 AI min) | about $749 (Professional plus 100 AI min) |
| Upfirst | AI, per call | $69.95 (Premium plus 10 at $1.00) | $159.95 (Pro) | $299 (Scale) |
| Rosie | AI, per minute | $49 (Professional) | $149 (Scale) | $149 (Scale) |
| Goodcall | AI, per unique caller | $79 (Starter) | $129 (Growth) | $129 (Growth) |
| Nextiva XBert | AI, per interaction | $99 | $297 ($99 plus 200 at $0.99) | $495 ($99 plus 400 at $0.99) |
| Ruby | Live minutes | $395 (100 min) | $720 for 200 min, overage not published | $1,725 (500 min) |
| AnswerConnect | Live, by minutes | Quote only | Quote only | Quote only |
How the harder cells were built:
- Posh: its bundles count mixed minutes, so for all AI use the $65 On Demand plan at $1.15 a minute comes out cheapest at every volume here. The bundles start paying off once live minutes are in the mix, since a live minute on On Demand costs $2.30.
- Abby Connect: Essential is $329 for 100 Abby Minutes ($3.29 each), and an AI minute uses half, so 100 extra AI minutes cost about $164.50. Professional ($599 for 200 Abby Minutes) plus 100 AI minutes is about $749.
- Ruby: minutes are live receptionist minutes. At 300 minutes the 200 minute plan runs out and overage is not published, so the real choice is $720 plus an unknown rate, or the $1,725 plan.
- Rosie: at 300 minutes the $49 plan's 250 minutes run out with no published overage, so we priced Scale.
Remember that calls and minutes are different units. If your calls average 3 minutes, 100 calls is 300 minutes, so read per minute tools one column to the right.
For comparison, a full time receptionist at the BLS median of $18.27 an hour costs about $3,167 a month in wages alone, for 40 hours a week of coverage (BLS). Run your own numbers in the cost calculator, follow rate changes in the AI Price Index, and see more volumes in how much an AI receptionist costs. The model by model breakdown is in AI receptionist vs answering service.
By industry
Trade software, emergencies and compliance change the ranking, so we built a page for each:
- HVAC: Sameday AI leads for ServiceTitan and Housecall Pro booking and no heat, no cool routing.
- Plumbers: Sameday AI leads, with Nextiva XBert and Avoca behind it for burst pipe calls and dispatch.
- Roofing: Sameday AI leads for AccuLynx and JobNimbus and storm month surges.
- Electricians: Sameday AI leads for safety calls, panel upgrades and EV charger quotes.
- Home services: Sameday AI, Avoca and Jobber's own receptionist compared by field service software.
- Law firms: Smith.ai leads for intake, Clio and live backup, with Posh and Ruby behind it.
- Dental offices: Weave leads for HIPAA and Dentrix, Eaglesoft and Open Dental.
- Medical offices: HelloPatient leads on SOC 2 Type 2, BAAs and no training on patient data.
- Real estate: Smith.ai leads for speed to lead and HubSpot and Salesforce sync.
- Restaurants: Slang.ai leads for OpenTable, Resy and SevenRooms reservations.
- Property management: My AI Front Desk leads as the only pick listing Yardi, AppFolio and Buildium.
- Car dealerships: Numa leads for service lane calls with DMS context.
Red flags
- Unpublished overage. Rosie, Ruby and AnswerConnect do not list rates past the plan. Ask in writing before a busy season, and ask whether the service stops answering or keeps billing.
- Live minutes sold as AI. Ruby's AI assists its human staff and does not answer calls on its own. If you want AI pricing, buy an AI product.
- Escalation fees. Smith.ai bills live receptionist escalations per call, and that rate is not on its AI pricing page. Posh bills follow up tasks like scheduling, not just talk time.
- Refund disputes on long terms. Some Smith.ai Trustpilot reviewers describe refund disputes on longer term plans, and Goodcall's 5 reviews are all negative about billing after cancellation. Read the cancellation terms before you pay.
- No HIPAA paperwork. If you take patient calls, get a signed BAA. Nextiva lists HIPAA, Upfirst offers BAAs above 600 calls, AnswerConnect and Ruby offer HIPAA options; others do not state it.
- Thin review records. Upfirst, Rosie and Abby Connect had no listing with 10 or more reviews that we could open. Run the trial on real calls first.
- Recording without consent. Most services record or transcribe calls. Some states require all party consent, so add a line to your greeting.
How we picked
We started from the answering services small businesses search for and compare, then kept nine that cover the three models: four pure AI (Upfirst, Rosie, Goodcall, Nextiva XBert), three hybrids (Smith.ai, Posh, Abby Connect) and two live services (Ruby, AnswerConnect). For each, we opened the pricing page, the product page and any review listing we could reach, and recorded only what those pages say.
We graded five factors: value 25%, features 25%, trust 20%, ease 15% and integrations 15%, as described on how we score. Order is editorial: the best fit for most small business readers who want calls answered well, which is why a hybrid leads and two live services close the list. We did not place test calls, so voice quality and receptionist skill are not graded; use each vendor's free plan or trial for that.
Trade specialists such as Sameday AI, Avoca, Weave and Numa are ranked on their industry pages above rather than here, because their value depends on the software you run. Developer voice platforms that require you to build the agent are covered in best AI voice agents. For a pure AI ranking with more tools, see best AI receptionists.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best AI answering service?
Smith.ai is the best overall AI answering service for most small businesses, because it combines a free 25 call plan, English and Spanish, native CRM links and escalation to live receptionists. If you want the lowest cost per call, Upfirst starts at $24.95 for 30 calls and covers 600 calls for $299.
How much does an AI answering service cost?
As listed in October 2026, pure AI answering services cost $24.95 to $99 to start and $129 to $297 for about 300 calls or minutes a month. Hybrids with live receptionists cost $164 and up, and live only services run $250 for 50 minutes (Ruby) or more.
Is an AI answering service better than a live answering service?
For routine calls, booking, after hours and overflow, AI answers every call at once for a fraction of the cost: about $0.15 to $1.50 per minute or call against $3.45 to $5.00 per live minute at Ruby. A live service wins on upset callers, sensitive intake and calls worth thousands. A hybrid like Smith.ai, Posh or Abby Connect gives you both.
Can an AI answering service book appointments?
Yes. Upfirst books on every plan into Google, Outlook, Calendly, Acuity, Square and Clio. Smith.ai, Nextiva and Goodcall book into calendars on their entry plans, while Rosie sends booking links on $49 and books directly from $149.
Do AI answering services sound like real people?
Modern AI voices sound natural on short calls, but many callers can still tell on longer ones. We did not place test calls, so we do not grade voice quality; use the free trials (Smith.ai's free plan, Upfirst's 14 days, Rosie's 7 days) on your real calls. A short disclosure in the greeting is good practice.
Is there a free AI answering service?
Smith.ai has a free plan covering 25 calls a month, then $3.00 per call. Most others offer a trial instead: 14 days at Upfirst, 7 days at Rosie, 7 days or 250 minutes at Posh, and a 30 day money back guarantee at Nextiva.
Are AI answering services HIPAA compliant?
Some list it. Nextiva XBert lists HIPAA compliance, Upfirst offers BAAs on custom plans above 600 calls, AnswerConnect has a HIPAA option in its portal, and Ruby sells HIPAA as an add on. For anyone else, ask for a signed BAA before patients call in.
Can I use an AI answering service only after hours?
Yes. With most services you set conditional call forwarding on your phone line, so calls go to the AI after hours, on weekends or when no one picks up. Rosie lists after hours and overflow coverage through conditional forwarding.