Live answering services compared
A live answering service puts a trained person on your line when you cannot answer. It costs more per call than an AI receptionist, but some calls and some callers still need a person. This page compares the answering services we track on published price, trials, booking, transfers and languages.
Facts last checked
3 answering services side by side
Ordered by how many of these 5 checks each vendor meets with a published fact: Transfers calls to a person, Books appointments, Publishes a price, Free trial or free plan, Spanish listed. Then vendors that publish a price, then A to Z.
- Smith.ai5/5 checksReady-made product
- Starting price
Free plan with 25 calls/month ($3.00/call after); Pro is $150/month at about $2.00/call
- Free trial
25 calls per month on the free plan.
- Books appointments
- Transfers to a person
Warm transfers; calls can also go to a live North America-based receptionist as a per-call add-on.
- Languages
- English, Spanishsource for languages, checked Oct 3, 2026
- Integrations
- Salesforce, HubSpot, Clio Grow, Clio Manage, Calendly, Zapier, Makesource for integrations, checked Oct 3, 2026
- Ruby4/5 checksLive answering service
- Starting price
Virtual receptionist plan with 50 minutes per month. No activation, onboarding or setup fees. Overage rate not published.
- Free trial
- Not published
- Books appointments
Receptionists schedule appointments.
- Transfers to a person
- Languages
- English, Spanishsource for languages, checked Oct 3, 2026
24/7 Spanish and bilingual call handling available.
- Integrations
- Google Calendar, Calendly, Clio, MyCase, HubSpot, Salesforce, Zapier, JobNimbus, FieldPulse, Microsoft Teamssource for integrations, checked Oct 3, 2026
- AnswerConnect3/5 checksLive answering service
- Starting price
- Not published
Plans are a set monthly amount based on minutes, with a per-minute overage fee; prices are given through a form or sales call.
- Free trial
- Not published
- Books appointments
- Transfers to a person
- Languages
- English, Spanishsource for languages, checked Oct 3, 2026
Bilingual routing is an add-on with a small additional monthly charge.
- Integrations
- Zapier, Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho, Setmore, Outlook, Clio, Workiz, Pipedrive, Slacksource for integrations, checked Oct 3, 2026
How answering services price
Most live services sell a bundle of minutes or calls per month and charge for every minute or call over the bundle. What counts toward a minute or a call varies, so compare the billing basis, not only the headline price, and ask how a busy month would be billed.
Where AI fits in
An AI receptionist answers every call at once for a flat monthly price, and several answering services now offer AI alongside their people. Vocenya works the other way round: the AI answers first, and GH Live, a staffed team at GH Business Solutions, takes the calls that need a person, at a rate quoted per business. GH Live has no public price, so Vocenya is not in the table below; see Vocenya’s profile or live agents. Compare AI receptionists or read AI receptionist vs answering service.
Guides for your industry or state
Other kinds of AI tools
Questions
Is an answering service better than an AI receptionist?
It depends on your calls. A person handles emotional or complicated calls better; an AI answers every call instantly and costs less per call. Many businesses combine them, with the AI first and a person for the calls that need one.
Why does Vocenya list answering services?
Because for some businesses a live service is the better fit, and we would rather say so than leave it out.
Hear it answer as your business, right now.
Put in your website. Vocenya builds your receptionist from it and calls your phone so you can hear it. 14-day free trial, keep your number, cancel any time.
Hear it yourself
Call (732) 633-0055Our AI receptionist picks up. Ask it anything, or have it answer as your business.