Smith.ai and Ruby pricing, and the alternatives.
An honest side-by-side for HVAC, plumbing, dental and roofing owners choosing between live receptionists, an AI receptionist, or both.
The short answer
- Smith.ai live receptionists start at $300 a month for 30 calls. Its AI Receptionist has a free plan with 25 calls and a Pro plan from $150 a month.
- Ruby live receptionists start at $250 a month for 50 minutes. Its most popular plan is $720 for 200 minutes.
- Both give you real people on the phone, which is their main strength. You pay per call (Smith.ai) or per minute (Ruby).
- Ammett runs an AI receptionist for you: Answer from $249/mo with 300 voice minutes a month, plus setup from $500. It says it's an AI assistant on every call.
Prices as listed on each company's own pricing page on October 23, 2026. Plans change, so check their page for current terms. We are not affiliated with Smith.ai or Ruby.
Side by side.
Starting plans only. Your real cost depends on how many calls you get, how long they run and which add-ons you need.
| Question | Smith.aiLive receptionists | Smith.aiAI Receptionist | RubyLive receptionists | AmmettAI receptionist, run for you |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who answers | Live receptionists, 24/7. Their page says no overseas agents. | AI first. Complex calls can go to a live North America based receptionist. | Live receptionists, 24/7, including nights, weekends and holidays. | An AI assistant that says it's an AI. Urgent calls go to you or your on-call tech. |
| Starting price | $300/mo for 30 calls | Free for 25 calls. Pro from $150/mo for 75 calls. | $250/mo for 50 minutes | $249/mo for 300 voice minutes a month |
| Billed by | Calls. Over the plan: $11.50 a call on Starter. | Calls. Over the plan: $2.50 a call on Pro's first tier. | Minutes. Overage rate not shown on the pricing page. | Minutes. Over the plan: $0.25 a minute on Answer. |
| Booking appointments | Add-on, $1.50 a call | AI scheduling on every plan | Listed as a feature | From the Book plan ($590/mo), into your calendar or Jobber |
| Spanish | Dedicated Spanish line, $1.00 a call | Not listed on the pricing page | 24/7 Spanish and bilingual handling available | English and Spanish on every plan |
| Setup | No setup fees | Free plan is self-serve. Pro adds onboarding, Enterprise full-service setup. | No fees for activation, onboarding or setup | Done for you, from $500 one-time |
| Terms | Month to month. Money-back guarantee up to $1,000 (their page gives both 30 days and two weeks; ask). | Month to month, 30 days' notice | Not shown on the pricing page | Month to month, 30 days' notice |
Smith.ai
Live receptionists
- Who answers
- Live receptionists, 24/7. Their page says no overseas agents.
- Starting price
- $300/mo for 30 calls
- Billed by
- Calls. Over the plan: $11.50 a call on Starter.
- Booking appointments
- Add-on, $1.50 a call
- Spanish
- Dedicated Spanish line, $1.00 a call
- Setup
- No setup fees
- Terms
- Month to month. Money-back guarantee up to $1,000 (their page gives both 30 days and two weeks; ask).
Smith.ai
AI Receptionist
- Who answers
- AI first. Complex calls can go to a live North America based receptionist.
- Starting price
- Free for 25 calls. Pro from $150/mo for 75 calls.
- Billed by
- Calls. Over the plan: $2.50 a call on Pro's first tier.
- Booking appointments
- AI scheduling on every plan
- Spanish
- Not listed on the pricing page
- Setup
- Free plan is self-serve. Pro adds onboarding, Enterprise full-service setup.
- Terms
- Month to month, 30 days' notice
Ruby
Live receptionists
- Who answers
- Live receptionists, 24/7, including nights, weekends and holidays.
- Starting price
- $250/mo for 50 minutes
- Billed by
- Minutes. Overage rate not shown on the pricing page.
- Booking appointments
- Listed as a feature
- Spanish
- 24/7 Spanish and bilingual handling available
- Setup
- No fees for activation, onboarding or setup
- Terms
- Not shown on the pricing page
Ammett
AI receptionist, run for you
- Who answers
- An AI assistant that says it's an AI. Urgent calls go to you or your on-call tech.
- Starting price
- $249/mo for 300 voice minutes a month
- Billed by
- Minutes. Over the plan: $0.25 a minute on Answer.
- Booking appointments
- From the Book plan ($590/mo), into your calendar or Jobber
- Spanish
- English and Spanish on every plan
- Setup
- Done for you, from $500 one-time
- Terms
- Month to month, 30 days' notice
Sources, checked October 23, 2026: Smith.ai, live receptionist pricing · Smith.ai, AI Receptionist pricing · Ruby, pricing. Ammett prices: our plans.
Smith.ai pricing, in plain terms.
Smith.ai sells two things: live receptionists and an AI Receptionist. They are priced by the call, not by the minute.
Live receptionists
- Starter: $300 a month for 30 calls, then $11.50 a call.
- Basic: $810 a month for 90 calls, then $10.50 a call.
- Pro: $2,100 a month for 300 calls, then $8.50 a call.
- Enterprise: custom pricing.
Add-ons are charged per call. Booking an appointment is $1.50, a dedicated Spanish line $1.00, recording and transcription $0.25, and text or email follow-up $0.50. Their page lists no setup fees, month-to-month billing, a money-back guarantee up to $1,000, overage excluded (the page says 30 days in one place and the first two weeks in its FAQ, so confirm with them) and 10% off for a 12-month term.
AI Receptionist
- Free: 25 calls a month, then $3.00 a call.
- Pro: from $150 a month for 75 calls, with larger tiers of 150 and 300 calls.
- Enterprise: from $500 a month for 300 calls, with full-service setup and custom prompting.
It is month to month with 30 days' notice. Known spam numbers are filtered before the AI answers, and you can remove up to 10% of calls from a bill as spam. Complex calls can be transferred to a live receptionist.
Where Smith.ai fits: you want a real person to take over when the AI can't help, your calls are short, and you want live receptionists as backup.
Ruby receptionist pricing.
Ruby is a live virtual receptionist service, priced by the minute.
- 50 minutes: $250 a month.
- 100 minutes: $395 a month.
- 200 minutes: $720 a month, the plan Ruby marks as most popular.
- 500 minutes: $1,725 a month.
Live chat for your website is separate, from $143 a month for 10 chats, and cheaper when bundled with a receptionist plan. Ruby's page says there are no fees for activation, onboarding or setup, and that Spanish and bilingual answering are available 24/7. It also lists AI-powered transcripts and AI-assisted call flows at no extra cost. The pricing page did not show an overage rate or contract terms when we checked, so ask before you sign.
Where Ruby fits: callers expect a warm, human voice, your calls are few but sometimes long, and you'd rather pay for minutes than per call.
Where Ammett is different.
We don't staff phones. We set up and run an AI receptionist on your number, for your trade, and keep tuning it.
Done for you
We write the script for your trade: the 5 to 7 questions you'd ask, your service area, your hours and your hand-off rules. Then we test it before it goes live.
Honest on every call
It says it's an AI assistant and that the call is recorded. If a caller asks for a person, or the call is urgent, it goes to you.
You see every call
A summary, transcript and recording of each call by text and email. We review calls every month and fix the script.
Priced by minutes
Answer is $249/mo with 300 voice minutes a month. Book adds calendar booking and texts for $590/mo. Front Desk covers every channel for $1,190/mo.
What that looks like by trade. An HVAC shop gets a no-cool call at 9 pm in July: the agent asks if anyone at home is at risk, checks the zip code, and sends it to the on-call tech. A plumber gets a burst pipe call: the agent tells the caller where to shut off the water and transfers the call. A dental office gets a new-patient call on Saturday: the agent takes the details and sends clinical questions to the team on Monday. A roofer gets ten calls the morning after a storm: each caller gets an answer, with the address and damage noted for you.
See how it works for HVAC, plumbing, dental and after-hours calls.
Where Ammett is not the right fit: if every caller must reach a live person, a live answering service fits better. You can also run both, with AI first and people as backup.
Other alternatives worth a look.
A DIY AI receptionist app
Several apps let you sign up, write your own script and forward your calls in an afternoon. They usually cost less per month than a done-for-you plan. The trade-off is your time: you write the questions, test the calls, connect your calendar and fix what goes wrong. If you like setting up software, this is a good start.
A part-time receptionist
A person in your office knows your customers and your jobs better than any service. They also cover only their hours, take breaks and vacations, and can answer one call at a time. Many shops pair a part-time person in the day with an answering service or AI at night and on weekends.
Your own cell phone
It costs nothing extra, and many owners start here. It stops working when you're on a roof, under a sink or with a patient, which is when most calls come in.
How to choose in 15 minutes.
- Pull last month's call log. Count the calls and note the average length.
- Mark how many came after hours or while you were on a job.
- Price each option with those numbers, including add-ons like booking and Spanish.
- Call each service as a customer would, after hours, and listen to how it handles your most common job.
- Ask about cancellation, overage and who owns the phone number before you sign.
Want a second opinion on your calls?
The free audit includes how fast your business answers calls and forms, and what we'd change first. Written, and free.
Get a free auditAmmett AI receptionist plans.
Done for you, on your number. Calls live in about a week; texting starts once carrier registration clears, usually 2–3 weeks. Month to month, 30 days' notice. Phone and texting fees bill to accounts in your name where possible.
Answer
Every call answered, day and night.
from $249/mo
Setup $500 · 300 voice minutes a month
Owner-operators and small offices that can't pick up every call.
- Answers 24/7, or only after hours and when you're busy
- Says it's an AI assistant and that the call is recorded
- A script for your trade: the 5–7 questions you'd ask
- Answers from your approved FAQ: hours, area, services
- Urgent calls (gas smell, flooding) transferred to you
- Lead summary, transcript and recording by text and email
- Texts the caller your booking link if they ask for one
- English and Spanish, spam calls filtered
- We review 10 calls a month and tune the script
Not included: Booking into your calendar, texts and chat, reports.
Over the limit: $0.25 per extra minute.
Book
Most businesses start hereCalls booked straight onto your calendar.
from $590/mo
Setup $1,500 · 600 minutes + 500 texts or chats a month
Teams of 2–15 with a calendar or field-service software.
- Everything in Answer
- Books into your calendar or Jobber; Housecall Pro where your plan has API access
- Knows your job types, time windows and service area
- Reschedules, cancels and sends visit reminders
- Texts back missed calls and answers texts on your number
- Chat on your website, same answers as the phone
- On-call rules: who gets which urgent call, in what order
- Call review and script fixes every week in month one, then every two weeks
- Monthly report: calls, after hours, booked, missed
Not included: Social DMs, estimate follow-up, review requests.
Over the limit: $0.22 per minute, $0.05 per message.
Front Desk
Every channel answered, every lead followed up.
from $1,190/mo
Setup $2,500 · 1,200 minutes + 1,500 messages a month
Offices running ads and getting leads from many places.
- Everything in Book
- One agent for calls, texts, web forms, website chat, Instagram and Facebook messages
- Fast first replies to new form leads, and to LSA, Yelp and Thumbtack leads where the platform allows a connection
- Follows up on open estimates, only with people who asked
- Asks happy customers for a review after the job
- Updates your CRM: new customer, notes, stage
- Up to 2 agents, for example voice and messages, or two locations
- 30-minute monthly call with Sergei
- Human backup through a live answering service on request, billed by that service
Not included: Running your ads, listings and website: that's Operator.
Over the limit: $0.20 per minute, $0.04 per message.
First reply within 5 minutes, or your setup fee back. On any AI receptionist plan: if, in the first 30 days after go-live, a call or message on a channel your plan covers waits more than 5 minutes for a first reply because of the agent, we refund your setup fee. Outages at your phone carrier or the platforms are excluded.
Getting fewer than five calls a day and happy to set things up yourself? A $49–149 app like Rosie or Jobber's receptionist may be all you need, and we'll tell you so in the audit. What an AI receptionist costs →
Smith.ai, Ruby and AI receptionist questions.
How much does Smith.ai cost?
As listed on their site on October 23, 2026: live receptionists are $300 a month for 30 calls (Starter), $810 for 90 calls (Basic) and $2,100 for 300 calls (Pro), with add-ons like appointment booking at $1.50 a call. The AI Receptionist has a free plan with 25 calls, Pro from $150 a month and Enterprise from $500 a month. Check smith.ai for current terms.
How much does Ruby cost?
As listed on ruby.com on October 23, 2026: $250 a month for 50 minutes, $395 for 100, $720 for 200 and $1,725 for 500 minutes of live receptionist time. Live chat plans start at $143 a month. The pricing page did not show an overage rate or contract terms, so ask Ruby before you sign.
Is Smith.ai or Ruby worth it for a small service business?
They can be, if you want a person on every call and your call count is steady. Price each one with your real numbers: how many calls a month, how long they last, and how many need a booking. Per-call billing grows with the number of calls; per-minute billing grows with total talk time.
What do Smith.ai and Ruby reviews say?
We don't summarize their reviews here. Read recent reviews on Google, G2 or Capterra from businesses like yours, and look for comments on call handling in your trade and on how the monthly bill compared with the plan.
Is an AI receptionist better than a live answering service?
Not always. A person handles an upset caller or an odd question better. An AI receptionist answers right away, day and night, follows the same script every time, and is billed under the plan's included usage and overage terms. Many owners use AI first and a person as backup.
Does the Ammett AI receptionist tell callers it's an AI?
Yes, on every call. It also says the call is recorded, as California law expects. You get a summary, transcript and recording of each call by text and email.
Can I keep a live answering service and add AI?
Yes. The AI can answer first and send certain calls to your service or your phone. On Front Desk ($1,190/mo), we can set up human backup through a live answering service you choose, billed by that service.
Find out where your calls slip away.
A free, written audit of how customers find you and how fast you answer. Then pick the option that fits, ours or not.
Prefer to talk first? Call or text Sergei directly. See plans →
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