What a human on the line costs.
| Service | Billing | Smallest plan | Mid plan | Large plan | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ruby | Per minute | $250 / 50 min | $720 / 200 min | $1,725 / 500 min | $3.45 to $5.00 a min |
| Abby Connect | Per minute | $164 / 50 min | $599 / 200 min | $1,380 / 500 min | $2.76 to $3.28 a min |
| Smith.ai (live) | Per call | $300 / 30 calls | $810 / 90 calls | $2,100 / 300 calls | $7.00 to $10.00 a call |
| PATLive | Per minute | $99 / 50 min | $349 / 200 min | $759 / 500 min | $1.52 to $1.98 a min |
Pick the meter that matches your calls.
Per-minute plans (Ruby, Abby, PATLive) suit short calls: a two-minute booking request costs a few dollars. They punish long ones, like a customer describing a leak in detail or a quote conversation. Per-call plans (Smith.ai) flip that: the length stops mattering, but a 20-second wrong number can cost the same as a full intake.
Most trade calls run two to three minutes. At that length the two models land within about 20% of each other, so pick on what the receptionist does with the call, not on the meter. For pure answering service rates, including budget services from $44, see our answering service cost guide.
Inside Linq
The call becomes a job, not a message.
The AI receptionist answers on the first ring, books the job into your schedule and texts back every call that slips through. The customer gets a live booking page.
See the AI receptionist
The same call, answered by software.
| Service | Billing | Plans | Over the allowance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smith.ai AI Receptionist | Per call | Free for 25 calls; $150 for 75; $270 for 150; $500 for 300 | $2.17 to $3.00 a call |
| Quo Sona | Per call, plus a Quo seat | $25 for 40 calls; $49 for 100; $99 for 250; $199 for 600 | $0.45 to $0.75 a call |
| Rosie | Per minute | $49 for 250 min; $149 for 1,000; $299 for 2,000 | Not published |
| Goodcall | Per unique caller | $79 for 100; $129 for 500; $299 for 2,000 | 15 to 79 cents a caller |
| Jobber Receptionist | Per conversation | $29 for 30 (add-on) | $0.79 a conversation |
| Linq AI receptionist | Included, unmetered | Part of Growth at $179 a month, with the whole field service platform | None |
One month, 100 calls, every option.
| Option | Type | 100 calls / month |
|---|---|---|
| Ruby | Live | About $940 |
| Smith.ai (live) | Live | $915 |
| Abby Connect | Live | $749 |
| PATLive | Live | $449 |
| Smith.ai AI Receptionist | AI | $212.50 |
| Rosie | AI | $49 (messages) or $149 (booking) |
| Jobber Receptionist | AI add-on | $84.30 |
| Goodcall | AI | $79 |
| Quo Sona | AI | $49 plus a Quo seat |
| Linq | AI, in the platform | $179, everything included |
How the table is built
About 2.5 minutes a call, so 100 calls is 250 minutes. Live figures are the cheapest published plan plus overage, from the October rates in our answering service cost comparison. AI figures: Smith.ai's 75-call plan plus 25 calls at $2.50; Rosie's 250-minute plan, or the Scale plan that books appointments; Jobber's $29 plus 70 conversations at $0.79; Goodcall Starter; Quo Sona's 100-call tier. Before tax, in USD.
What the plan card leaves out.
Booking sold as an add-on: Smith.ai charges $1.50 per booked appointment. Setup fees at some smaller services (Ruby, PATLive, Abby and Smith.ai charge none). Spam and wrong numbers billed as calls unless the service filters them (Smith.ai and Goodcall say they do). Notice periods: Smith.ai AI needs 30 days to cancel. And the biggest one: with most standalone services, a person still has to call the customer back and put the job on the schedule.
One booked job pays for it.
For a trade business, one booked emergency call usually pays for a month of AI answering and a good part of a live one. The question is how many calls you miss now. Run your own numbers in the missed call calculator.
Match it to the call.
Live receptionists still win on complex, emotional or high-stakes intake, like legal and medical lines. For booking a service call, quoting a window and taking an address, AI now does the job at a tenth of the cost and never puts a caller on hold. Compare the AI options in best AI receptionist.
Fourteen days. Your actual jobs.
Not a sandbox with fake customers in it. Put a real week through the board, answer real calls with it, and see what the Friday number looks like. Fourteen days, no card, cancel any day.
Virtual receptionist cost questions
How much does a virtual receptionist cost?
A live virtual receptionist starts at about $99 to $300 a month for 30 calls or 50 minutes, and about $450 to $950 at 100 calls. An AI receptionist costs about $49 to $215 a month for the same volume.
How much is a virtual receptionist per call?
Smith.ai's live receptionists work out at about $7 to $10 a call depending on the plan. AI receptionists charge about $0.45 to $3.00 a call (Quo Sona, Smith.ai AI).
What is the cheapest virtual receptionist?
Among live services, PATLive at $99 for 50 minutes. Among AI ones, Smith.ai has a free tier for 25 calls and Quo Sona starts at $25 for 40 calls. A receptionist included in your field service platform costs nothing extra per call.
Ruby vs Smith.ai: which costs less?
At short calls, Ruby's per-minute plans; at long calls, Smith.ai's per-call plans. At about 2.5 minutes a call and 100 calls a month they cost about the same: roughly $915 to $940.
Do virtual receptionists charge for spam calls?
Some do. Smith.ai AI excludes known spammers and gives a spam allowance, Goodcall excludes spam and wrong numbers, and Jobber does not count spam conversations. Ask any service before you sign.
Sources
Live receptionist rates from each service's pricing page as of October 2026: Ruby, Smith.ai, Abby Connect, PATLive. AI receptionist rates as of November 2026: Smith.ai AI Receptionist, Quo, Rosie, Goodcall, Jobber's Receptionist help article. All USD. Rechecked monthly; corrections welcome.
Where this page points next.
A receptionist with no meter on it.
The 24/7 AI receptionist is included on Growth and up, and it books the job onto your schedule instead of taking a message. Start free, or see what missed calls cost you with the missed call calculator.
