The best AI receptionist for HVAC companies, ranked
GreetKeeper ranks first of the eight AI receptionists for HVAC companies we checked in September 2026. On the $49 plan it puts a 2am no-heat call through to your on-call tech and books the routine jobs. Calls that arrive together are all answered, so nobody queues in a cold snap. Past 200 calls, each one costs $0.45.
Goodcall counts unique customers, so the homeowner who rings three times about one failing furnace is one unit. Starter is $79 for 100 of them, and each extra customer costs $0.50.
The field-service platforms sell AI on top of the software. ServiceTitan quotes its Virtual Agent as a Pro product per technician. Housecall Pro sells CSR AI separately, on plans from $59 a month billed annually, without a price for the AI on its pricing page.
Price the surge, not the quiet month. Dialzara prints its rate on every tier, from $0.48 down to $0.35 a minute. Rosie leaves its overage rate off the page, so a January spike is priced after it happens.
How this was put together
Disclosure: GreetKeeper is our product. We set the criteria and weights for an HVAC shop before scoring anyone, then read each vendor's own pricing page in September 2026.
What we compared
- The 2am emergency (30%): transfer to the on-call tech, a fallback number, and a text with the caller's details.
- The cost of a cold snap (25%): the billing unit, and whether the rate after the allowance is published.
- Booking into a real calendar on the entry plan (20%), with the time read back to the homeowner.
- Calls that arrive together (15%): answered at once, so the first cold morning doesn't build a queue.
- Price without a platform (10%): what the receptionist costs if you don't also buy field-service software.
The shortlist at a glance
Billing unit first, because it decides more of the final bill than the headline price does.
| Charges by | Entry plan | After the allowance | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GreetKeeper | per answered call | $49/mo for 200 answered calls | $0.45 a call on Starter, published |
| Goodcall | per unique caller | Starter $79/mo ($66 annual) for 100 unique customers | $0.50 per additional unique customer, published |
| ServiceTitan AI | per technician, by quote; Virtual Agent is a Pro product | Does not publish pricing | Does not publish pricing |
| Housecall Pro AI | CSR AI sold separately, on top of a Housecall Pro plan | CSR AI is sold separately and its price is not on the Housecall Pro pricing page; plans start at $59/mo billed annually | No call or minute allowance published for CSR AI |
| NextPhone | flat monthly plan | Pro $199/mo, unlimited calls, 7-day free trial | None published: every plan lists unlimited calls with no per-minute or overage fees |
| Dialzara | per minute | Business Lite $29/mo for 60 minutes | Published on every tier, from $0.48 a minute down to $0.35 |
| Smith.ai | per call | Free tier at $0 for 25 calls, then $3.00 a call | Published, and the per-call rate falls as the tier rises |
| Rosie | per minute | Professional $49/mo for 250 minutes | Not published |
Read from each vendor's own pricing page in September 2026.
GreetKeeper
Emergency transfer and booking on the $49 plan, with the cost of a surge printed in advance.
Worth it for: You want no-heat calls put through to the on-call tech, maintenance visits booked, and a bad January priced before it starts. GreetKeeper tries a second number if the tech doesn't pick up, and robocalls it screens out never count toward your plan.
Charges per answered call. Entry plan $49/mo for 200 answered calls. After the allowance: $0.45 a call on Starter, published.
Goodcall
Unique-customer billing with uncapped minutes.
Worth it for: Your homeowners ring several times about the same job, and you'd like each one counted once.
Not for: A shop running several numbers, since Goodcall prices per agent and each number is an agent.
Charges per unique caller. Entry plan Starter $79/mo ($66 annual) for 100 unique customers. After the allowance: $0.50 per additional unique customer, published.
ServiceTitan AI
An AI agent inside ServiceTitan, sold as a Pro product by quote.
Worth it for: A large shop already running ServiceTitan that wants its calls handled inside that platform.
Not for: A shop that isn't on ServiceTitan, or wants a price before a sales call, since every ServiceTitan package says Request Pricing.
ServiceTitan AI does not publish its rates, so the cost is whatever the sales call produces.
Housecall Pro AI
CSR AI sold as an add-on to a Housecall Pro plan.
Worth it for: A shop already running its jobs in Housecall Pro that wants the AI in the same account.
Not for: A shop comparing receptionist prices, since the CSR AI price isn't on the Housecall Pro pricing page.
Charges CSR AI sold separately, on top of a Housecall Pro plan. Entry plan CSR AI is sold separately and its price is not on the Housecall Pro pricing page; plans start at $59/mo billed annually. After the allowance: No call or minute allowance published for CSR AI.
NextPhone
Unlimited calls at a flat monthly price, with features stepped by plan.
Worth it for: Your call count swings hard with the weather, and answering, booking and transfers on the $199 Pro plan cover what you need.
Not for: A shop that wants calls in its CRM, since CRM integrations, webhooks and the API are listed from Growth at $299.
Charges flat monthly plan. Entry plan Pro $199/mo, unlimited calls, 7-day free trial. After the allowance: None published: every plan lists unlimited calls with no per-minute or overage fees.
Dialzara
A $29 AI plan with the overage printed on every tier.
Worth it for: You run a small shop and want the cost of a spike known ahead of time.
Not for: Peak season on the entry plan. It holds 60 minutes, and heating calls run long.
Charges per minute. Entry plan Business Lite $29/mo for 60 minutes. After the allowance: Published on every tier, from $0.48 a minute down to $0.35.
Smith.ai
Per-call AI with a trained human team behind it.
Worth it for: Enough of your overnight calls need a person that having one on hand changes the outcome.
Not for: A one-van shop. After 25 free calls each call is $3.00, and Pro is $150 a month through quiet months too.
Charges per call. Entry plan Free tier at $0 for 25 calls, then $3.00 a call. After the allowance: Published, and the per-call rate falls as the tier rises.
Rosie
A $49 plan counted in minutes, with transfer and booking on the $149 tier.
Worth it for: You mostly need messages taken out of hours and do your own callbacks.
Not for: Putting an emergency through to the on-call tech from the entry plan, since live transfer starts on the $149 tier.
Charges per minute. Entry plan Professional $49/mo for 250 minutes. After the allowance: Not published.
How an HVAC company should choose
Start with the 2am call. Decide which jobs count as urgent: no heat, no cooling in a heatwave, a gas smell. GreetKeeper puts those through to the on-call tech, tries a second number if needed, and texts the details. It books the rest into the first open slot.
Then price the surge. On a minute plan, a long heating call costs more in your busiest week. GreetKeeper counts answered calls: $49 for 200, $149 for 750 or $349 for 2,000, with each extra call at $0.45, $0.35 or $0.25.
If you run ServiceTitan or Housecall Pro, weigh their add-on against a separate receptionist. GreetKeeper sends every booking and message by signed webhook, so the details can follow the job into the software you already use.
Our own pricing, in full
Including the rate after the allowance, which is the number most of this list leaves off.
| Plan | Monthly | Calls included | After that |
|---|---|---|---|
| StarterFor a single location taking calls one line at a time. | $49 | 200 | $0.45 per call |
| ProfessionalBooking, routing and transfers included, not an add-on. | $149 | 750 | $0.35 per call |
| ScaleFor busy phones and longer opening hours. | $349 | 2,000 | $0.25 per call |
The short version
- Booking is included on every tier. Rosie keeps booking and live transfer behind its $149 plan.
- The overage rate is on the pricing page. Rosie, Ruby, Slang and AnswerConnect do not publish theirs.
- Calls are counted, not minutes, so a long useful conversation costs the same as a short one.
Questions people ask about this list
What is the best AI receptionist for an HVAC company?
On our published method, GreetKeeper ranks first. Emergency transfer and booking are on the $49 plan, calls that arrive together are all answered, and extra calls cost $0.45. Every plan starts with a 14-day free trial, and you don't need a card.
What does a bad January cost on GreetKeeper?
Take your January call count and pick the plan it fits. Starter holds 200 calls for $49, Professional 750 for $149, and Scale 2,000 for $349. Very short calls, robocalls and screened calls don't count toward any of them.
Can it handle a 2am call differently from a 2pm call?
Yes. Your hours decide what the assistant does at each time of day. At 2am it can put a no-heat call through to the on-call tech. A routine visit gets booked for the morning, with the time read back first.
Why is GreetKeeper first on a list it wrote?
The 2am call carried the most weight, and GreetKeeper covers it on its $49 plan with a transfer, a fallback number and a text. Its surge rate is printed too, so you can price your worst month before you commit.
Hear one of these handle your own call
Your scenario, your greeting, a couple of minutes.