Virtual receptionist services, human and AI, compared
We rank first on cost of coverage. Our Starter is $49 for 200 answered calls with booking included, against $250 for 50 minutes at the cheapest human service here. It answers calls that arrive together, at any hour, and transfers to your team when a caller asks for a person.
If virtual receptionist means a person to you, Ruby is the benchmark, from $250 a month for 50 minutes. Its overage rate is not on the pricing page.
Abby Connect prices human and AI in one currency, and an Abby Minute buys two minutes of AI, so shifting the mix never means changing plan. Entry is $165 for 50 Abby Minutes.
Smith.ai runs AI first with real people behind it, at $150 a month for Pro covering 75 to 300 calls. GreetKeeper's fallback is your own team, reached by transfer with a second number behind it.
How this was put together
Compared in September 2026 on who answers, what it costs and what you give up either way, by the team behind one of the entries.
What we compared
- Whether a human or software answers, and what the vendor does when the first choice cannot help.
- Published entry price and what the allowance buys in real conversations.
- The overage rate where the vendor publishes one.
- Whether booking is included at the entry tier.
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 |
| Ruby | per minute | $250/mo for 50 minutes | Not published on their pricing page |
| Abby Connect | per minute (half-rate AI) | Starter $165/mo for 50 Abby Minutes | Not published; one Abby Minute buys two minutes of AI handling |
| 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 |
| AnswerConnect | per minute | Does not publish pricing | Does not publish pricing |
| Rosie | per minute | Professional $49/mo for 250 minutes | Not published |
Read from each vendor's own pricing page in September 2026.
GreetKeeper
Every call answered at a fraction of the price, with booking included.
Worth it for: A business that needs the phone covered and appointments booked rather than a human voice, and wants the overage rate in advance.
Charges per answered call. Entry plan $49/mo for 200 answered calls. After the allowance: $0.45 a call on Starter, published.
Ruby
The established human option, and the reason the category has the name it does.
Worth it for: A firm or practice where a person answering the first call is part of how the business presents itself, and volume is low enough to afford it.
Not for: Volume on a budget. 50 minutes at $250 is a handful of real conversations, and the overage rate is not on the pricing page.
Charges per minute. Entry plan $250/mo for 50 minutes. After the allowance: Not published on their pricing page.
Abby Connect
Human and AI in one plan, priced in a single currency.
Worth it for: A business that wants people on the main line and software on overflow, without two contracts or a migration to change the balance.
Not for: Small budgets, at $165 entry, with no published overage rate.
Charges per minute (half-rate AI). Entry plan Starter $165/mo for 50 Abby Minutes. After the allowance: Not published; one Abby Minute buys two minutes of AI handling.
Smith.ai
AI first with a human team behind it, and real depth in legal.
Worth it for: Firms that want intake captured into Clio or MyCase with a person available for the call that needs one.
Not for: Businesses with no need for practice-management integration, who are paying for depth they will not use.
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.
AnswerConnect
Long-established human answering, with pricing behind a form.
Worth it for: Round-the-clock human cover from an operator with a long record, where you are content to price it on a call.
Not for: Published comparison, and short calls, given per-minute billing that rounds up.
AnswerConnect does not publish its rates, so the cost is whatever the sales call produces.
Rosie
AI-only at the lowest credible price, with the usual gate.
Worth it for: Basic coverage and accurate messages on a small budget.
Not for: Booking or live transfer at the entry price, both of which start at $149.
Charges per minute. Entry plan Professional $49/mo for 250 minutes. After the allowance: Not published.
When neither is the answer
If your front desk is failing because it is understaffed during business hours, the fix may be a rota rather than a vendor. A virtual receptionist covers hours nobody is there and calls that arrive while your person is busy. Your regulars stay with the person who knows them.
If some calls need a negotiation or a decision with money attached, route them. The assistant captures the details and transfers the caller to the person who decides, with the transcript ready.
And if your calls are predictable and low in number, forward on no-answer only. The ring count is set where the forwarding is set, and GreetKeeper answers the moment the call arrives. You keep the calls you can take, and it catches the rest.
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
Is a virtual receptionist a person or software?
Both, depending on the vendor, which is exactly why the term causes confusion. Ruby and AnswerConnect are people. Rosie, Dialzara and we are software. Smith.ai and Abby Connect are deliberately both.
Will callers know it is an AI?
Yes, if you leave the disclosure on. GreetKeeper can announce itself as an AI at the start of the call. Maine's law makes a misleading AI conversation actionable, so a vendor promising callers can't tell is selling you a risk.
Which is cheaper over a year?
AI, usually by a wide margin. Ruby's entry plan alone is $250 a month for 50 minutes. Our Starter is $49 a month for 200 answered calls. The difference funds a lot of your own team's time for the calls that need them.
Why is GreetKeeper first on a list it wrote?
Because coverage per dollar is what most buyers of this category are actually after, and $49 for 200 answered calls with booking is the cheapest published way to get it. The overage past that is printed at $0.45 a call.
Hear one of these handle your own call
Your scenario, your greeting, a couple of minutes.