Human answering, 24/7; Spanish and bilingual call handling available.
Sources and method
Sources and comparison method
Each figure on this site comes from a provider’s own page, read on November 14, 2026. Follow each record to the original provider page.
Coverage
12 providers and 15 offerings have reviewed direct-page statements in this comparison, read on November 14, 2026. There are 87 current source-linked records. Older records are retained below as history.
Provider pages show what each provider says. No service-quality test or buyer outcome is implied. Compare plans by their billing units, included tasks and contract terms. Inclusion is not an endorsement or a service-quality ranking.
How to use the comparison
Prices describe specific plans and billing units. Free plans and trials are labelled separately from paid entry fees. Usage, add-ons and taxes can change your total.
ReceptionHQ describes both PAYG charges and included allowances. Ask which applies to the plan in your quote.
Provider terms can change. Use the dated source records below, then confirm your selected plan directly with the provider.
Disclosure and corrections
No commercial relationship or affiliate approval is established. There are no paid placements or affiliate links in this publication.
Published by At First Ring. Research and page preparation use AI assistance. Statements are checked against captured primary sources; we have not tested these services.
For corrections, contact contact@atfirstring.com. Include the page, provider, source URL and the wording you believe needs correction. Corrections are checked against the original source; substantive changes retain a dated record.
Sources are reviewed when changes are detected. Evidence dates describe the source review, not the date a page was rebuilt.
Records
Current source records
Grouped by offering. Each record links to the provider page it was read from.
Ruby
$250/month · 50 receptionist minutes
Monthly phone receptionist plan. Ask for the overage rate, rounding rule and total including tax.
$395/month · 100 receptionist minutes
Monthly phone receptionist plan. Ask for the overage rate, rounding rule and total including tax.
$720/month · 200 receptionist minutes
Monthly phone receptionist plan. Ask for the overage rate, rounding rule and total including tax.
$1,725/month · 500 receptionist minutes
Monthly phone receptionist plan. Ask for the overage rate, rounding rule and total including tax.
Scheduling, bilingual answering and client intake are listed across receptionist plans.
No added activation, onboarding, setup or customization fee is stated.
Smith.ai Human-first
Human receptionists, available 24/7.
Starter: $300/month · 30 calls; $11.50 per additional call; 1 free transfer destination
Human-first plans, monthly. Paid handling add-ons are separate; confirm applicable taxes and reasonable-use terms.
Basic: $810/month · 90 calls; $10.50 per additional call; 2 free transfer destinations
Human-first plans, monthly. Paid handling add-ons are separate; confirm applicable taxes and reasonable-use terms.
Pro: $2,100/month · 300 calls; $8.50 per additional call; 10 free transfer destinations
Human-first plans, monthly. Paid handling add-ons are separate; confirm applicable taxes and reasonable-use terms.
Appointment booking is a $1.50-per-call add-on.
Human-first service. Custom calendaring and extended intake have separate fees; supported calendar must fit the workflow.
First CRM integration is free; each additional CRM costs $0.50/call.
Month to month; cancellation bills through the current monthly cycle.
Human-first FAQ, not the AI product cancellation rule. No setup fee is listed elsewhere on the same page.
Smith.ai AI Receptionist
AI answers first; calls can transfer to a North America-based live receptionist.
AI Receptionist FAQ; live-agent eligibility, additional charges and included escalation allowance need written confirmation.
Free: $0/month · 25 calls; $3 per additional call.
AI service, not 25 human receptionist calls. Test and simulated calls are separate categories.
Pro: $150/month · 75 real calls; $2.50 per additional real call.
Default 75-call Pro configuration; higher call bundles differ. Human escalation charges need confirmation.
AI scheduling, lead qualification, call routing and named integrations are listed in core features.
Calendly, Clio and Zapier are named examples; exact workflow behavior has not been tested.
AI Receptionist is month to month and asks for 30 days’ cancellation notice.
Smith.ai Hybrid
Hybrid uses AI for routine calls and live agents for selected calls.
Vendor example: $771/month at 300 calls, with about 30% escalated to live agents.
New Client Priority calculator example, not a fixed plan price or independent estimate. Actual mix and quote can differ.
Presets include new-client priority, higher human coverage and daytime human/after-hours AI.
NextPhone
AI service; human transfers go to your team.
This is transfer to the buyer’s team, not evidence of a vendor-staffed live receptionist backup service.
Pro: $199/month · unlimited inbound calls.
Monthly Pro offer; the vendor’s unlimited-call and no-overage claims have not been contract-tested. Enterprise has annual volume-based agreements.
Growth: $299/month · unlimited inbound calls, vendor setup and CRM updates.
Monthly plan; supported CRM examples include HubSpot and Clio. Compatibility must be checked.
Scale: $599/month · custom call flows and routing.
Monthly plan; includes Growth features. Enterprise pricing is custom and annual.
Pro lists calendar booking, intake questions and transfers; Growth adds CRM updates.
Pro lists Google, Outlook and other calendars. Named integrations are vendor claims, not tested connections.
Self-serve plans: month to month, no cancellation fee; 7-day trial.
Trial must be cancelled before it ends to avoid a charge. Enterprise lists annual agreements; do not apply the monthly FAQ to Enterprise.
ReceptionHQ
Live call answering; US-based receptionists and 24/7 availability are advertised.
The MessageExpress FAQ describes business-hours receptionists and optional after-hours answering. Confirm hours for the quoted plan.
MessageExpress: from $25/month plus $1.99 per answered call in the PAYG FAQ.
Plus relevant sales tax. Same-page allocation wording conflicts with PAYG; no included-call allowance or final total is assumed.
ReceptionistPlus: from $40/month · messages and call transfers.
Starting fee only; allowance and extra call rate need confirmation; relevant sales tax applies.
MyDiary: from $50/month · bookings, cancellations and rescheduling.
Per-minute family; included minutes and excess rate need confirmation. Relevant sales tax applies.
Per-minute plans claim exact-second billing, rather than rounding each call up.
Applies to per-minute plans, not MessageExpress per-call billing.
The same page also says base subscriptions include a call or minute allocation.
Concurrent documentation conflict with the MessageExpress PAYG FAQ; ask which tier and allowance apply.
Abby
Choose human, AI, or both within one service.
Starter: $164/month · 50 Abby Minutes
Direct page capture. An Abby Minute is not a common minute across human and AI calls. Confirm the starter price in writing; search-index content can differ from the live page.
Essential: $329/month · 100 Abby Minutes
Direct page capture. An Abby Minute is not a common minute across human and AI calls. Confirm the starter price in writing; search-index content can differ from the live page.
Professional: $599/month · 200 Abby Minutes
Direct page capture. An Abby Minute is not a common minute across human and AI calls. Confirm the starter price in writing; search-index content can differ from the live page.
Growth: $1,380/month · 500 Abby Minutes
Direct page capture. An Abby Minute is not a common minute across human and AI calls. Confirm the starter price in writing; search-index content can differ from the live page.
1 Abby Minute buys 1 human minute or 2 AI minutes; mixed calls split usage.
No setup fee; month to month. Overage uses the plan’s Abby Minute rate.
Ask for your plan’s extra-minute rate and free-trial duration before signing up.
PATLive
Human answering by US-based receptionists, 24/7.
50-minute plan: $99/month; $2.29/additional minute
Live call answering monthly plan; government taxes and fees extra. Vendor’s approximate call counts are not call allowances.
Pay as you go: $49/month · no included minutes; $2.99/minute
Live call answering monthly plan; government taxes and fees extra. Vendor’s approximate call counts are not call allowances.
100-minute plan: $189/month; $2.09/additional minute
Live call answering monthly plan; government taxes and fees extra. Vendor’s approximate call counts are not call allowances.
300-minute plan: $479/month; $1.89/additional minute
Live call answering monthly plan; government taxes and fees extra. Vendor’s approximate call counts are not call allowances.
500-minute plan: $759/month; $1.79/additional minute
Live call answering monthly plan; government taxes and fees extra. Vendor’s approximate call counts are not call allowances.
Appointment scheduling, emergency dispatch and client intake are listed in every plan.
Exact calendar and dispatch compatibility need confirmation.
Spanish bilingual answering is offered at no extra cost.
Bills live on-call time, excluding after-call notes, message entry and wrap-up.
14-day free trial; plans can be changed or cancelled without a contract.
Dialzara
AI receptionist with 24/7 availability and 10 languages, including English and Spanish.
Transfers go to your own team.
Lite: $29/month · 60 talk minutes; $0.48/additional minute
Inbound monthly plan; outbound voice, SMS and website-chat allowances have separate terms. Confirm taxes and minute rounding.
Pro: $99/month · 220 talk minutes; $0.45/additional minute
Inbound monthly plan; outbound voice, SMS and website-chat allowances have separate terms. Confirm taxes and minute rounding.
Plus: $199/month · 500 talk minutes; $0.40/additional minute
Inbound monthly plan; outbound voice, SMS and website-chat allowances have separate terms. Confirm taxes and minute rounding.
Elite: $349/month · 1,000 talk minutes; $0.35/additional minute
Inbound monthly plan; outbound voice, SMS and website-chat allowances have separate terms. Confirm taxes and minute rounding.
Warm transfers, after-hours escalation rules and Google/Outlook calendar sync start at Pro.
Lite’s table lacks these three features. Basic third-party integration wording does not override the calendar-sync tier table.
Monthly pricing; no setup fee or long-term contract; cancel anytime.
7-day free trial.
Davinci Virtual
Live receptionist answering with Business and Premium plans.
Business 50: $129/month · 50 live answer minutes
Live receptionist plan. $95 one-time setup from the official FAQ is separate; overage rate and coverage hours require confirmation.
Business 100: $239/month · 100 live answer minutes
Live receptionist plan. $95 one-time setup from the official FAQ is separate; overage rate and coverage hours require confirmation.
Premium 50: $249/month · 50 live answer minutes
Live receptionist plan. $95 one-time setup from the official FAQ is separate; overage rate and coverage hours require confirmation.
Premium 100: $319/month · 100 live answer minutes
Live receptionist plan. $95 one-time setup from the official FAQ is separate; overage rate and coverage hours require confirmation.
Appointment scheduling and outbound calling are listed in Premium.
Live receptionist time is tracked by the second; automated transferred-call time is separate.
Do not treat 10,000 automated minutes as 10,000 live receptionist minutes. The FAQ’s extra-automated-minute price wording is ambiguous and is not normalized.
Live Receptionist Services has a $95 one-time setup fee.
Month-to-month phone/chat service requires 30 days’ written cancellation notice.
Moneypenny People
Live receptionist plans are minute-based; AI plans are call-based; both advertise 24/7 service.
People: $165/month · 50 minutes; $2.85/additional minute.
Monthly live receptionist plan; confirm taxes and billing increments. Old third-party overage figures are not used.
People: $265/month · 100 minutes; $2.65/additional minute.
Monthly live receptionist plan; confirm taxes and billing increments.
Live plans list warm transfers, bilingual answering and CRM integrations; AI plans list human escalation.
Cancellation needs 30 days’ notice, effective from the next billing date.
Moneypenny AI
LEX Reception
Live legal receptionists handle intake, appointments, chat and outbound calls.
Minute-based plans; each call is rounded up to the next minute.
The FAQ illustrates a 2m28s call as 3 billable minutes.
FAQ offers 30 calls lasting under 30 seconds free each month.
Confirm eligibility and treatment of short or spam calls in the signed plan.
Nexa
Offers people-powered and AI answering with 24/7 coverage.
Marketing scope across several services; exact operating model must be specified in the quote.
Lists emergency dispatch, bilingual English/Spanish receptionists and appointment booking.
Confirm which tasks are included in the plan you choose.
Reception.ai by ElevenLabs
Reception.ai by ElevenLabs: AI receptionist answering calls 24/7, handling inquiries and booking appointments.
Basic: $29/month; up to 75 phone minutes; $0.40/minute overage
Monthly billing in USD, plus tax. Included credits are shared with web chat, assistant messages and staff-first calls; phone-only allowance shown. Confirm rounding and applicable terms before subscribing.
Plus: $79/month; up to 275 phone minutes; $0.32/minute overage
Monthly billing in USD, plus tax. Included credits are shared with web chat, assistant messages and staff-first calls; phone-only allowance shown. Confirm rounding and applicable terms before subscribing.
Premium: $199/month; up to 1,000 phone minutes; $0.22/minute overage
Monthly billing in USD, plus tax. Included credits are shared with web chat, assistant messages and staff-first calls; phone-only allowance shown. Confirm rounding and applicable terms before subscribing.
All plans list Google Calendar and Calendly integrations, appointment booking, rescheduling, cancellation and call transfers.
Vendor feature statements; calendar compatibility and transfer behavior have not been tested.
Monthly credits are shared: a phone minute uses 1 credit, web chat 0.5/minute and assistant messages 0.1 each; unused credits do not roll over.
Staff-first human-answer mode also uses one credit per minute. These are usage credits, not a separate allowance per channel.
14-day free trial with 30 shared credits, up to 30 phone minutes or 60 web minutes; no credit card required.
One trial per workspace. Trial credit cap stops answering until upgrade; this is a timed trial, not an ongoing free plan.
Reception.ai does not currently support HIPAA compliance.
Vendor statement specific to Reception.ai. Separate ElevenAgents platform eligibility and BAA terms do not establish Reception.ai support.
Historical records
These earlier records are retained for provenance and are not the current price selector.
Earlier November 13 source records
MessageExpress starting subscription from $25 per month
MessageExpress; source says relevant sales tax applies; adjacent $1.99 per answered call and general allocation/excess statements do not resolve applicability to this tier
Vendor assigns MessageExpress and Receptionist Plus to per-call pricing, and MyAssistant and MyDiary to per-minute pricing
No tier allowance or profile total established
Vendor says per-minute plans charge exact seconds used to manage each call
Provider statement about its per-minute billing increment.
Vendor presents MyDiary as appointment scheduling from $50 per month
Does not establish included functions, tier, allowance, or profile total; relevant sales tax applies
Vendor-authored guide says flat monthly plans start at $199/month and all plans include unlimited inbound calls
Search-discovery capture, not direct refresh; recheck canonical pricing and plan terms
Vendor labels its offer live call answering
Label does not establish staffing details or quality
Vendor guide labels product AI Receptionist
Vendor label does not independently establish operating method or performance
General BAA definition
US Department of Health and Human Services (PDF) (opens in a new tab) · 45 CFR 164.504(e), October 1, 2025 edition, read November 14, 2026. General requirements do not determine a provider’s role or suitability.