This is a free, vendor-neutral 2026 cost report for contractor owners shopping for an AI receptionist (or live virtual receptionist with AI augmentation). All vendor pricing was pulled from public pricing pages on 2026-05-15. Confirm current published pricing directly with each vendor before signing.
The honest takeaway: vendor pricing in the contractor answering-service category varies by ~20x at high call volume because of the per-minute vs per-call billing model. At 500+ monthly calls (a 10-truck shop, or a 4-truck shop during a freeze event), the cost difference between cheapest and most expensive often exceeds $3,000/month.
Last reviewed May 17, 2026.
Featured answer
At 50 monthly contractor calls, an AI receptionist plan from OnCrew Starter is $49/month for 100 included calls. Smith.ai's Starter is $293/month for 30 included calls plus $11.50-$15 per overage call. Ruby Receptionists is around $319/month for 50 receptionist minutes (covers about 25 short calls). At 500 monthly calls, OnCrew Multi-Truck is $349/month for 1,000 included calls; Smith.ai Basic plus 300-call overage ends up around $4,215/month at the high end. The 12x-20x gap at high volume is the per-call vs per-minute billing model, not a quality gap. The right vendor depends on contractor call mix, daytime vs after-hours split, and tolerance for variable monthly invoices.
How to read this report
Each vendor has a different billing unit:
- Per-call vendors charge per answered call (OnCrew, Smith.ai, parts of AnswerForce).
- Per-minute vendors charge per minute of operator time (Ruby Receptionists, PATLive, parts of AnswerConnect).
- Per-plan vendors charge flat monthly within a call cap (OnCrew, Goodcall entry tier).
- Custom vendors quote individually (AnswerConnect high-volume).
For contractor call mixes (which include long emergency calls in winter / storm season), per-call beats per-minute on the same monthly volume because emergency calls run 8-15 minutes each.
Vendor pricing as of 2026-05-15
OnCrew (AI receptionist configured for contractor trades)
- Starter: $49/month for 100 included calls
- Pro: $149/month for 400 included calls
- Multi-Truck: $349/month for 1,000 included calls
- Overage: $0.99 per call across every plan
- Per-minute meter: none
- Source: oncrew.ai/pricing
Smith.ai (live virtual receptionist)
- Starter: $293/month for 30 included calls
- Basic: $765/month for 200 included calls
- Overage: $11.50 to $15 per call depending on plan
- Per-minute meter: per-call model
- Source: smith.ai/pricing (accessed 2026-05-15)
Ruby Receptionists (live virtual receptionist)
- Baseline: ~$319/month for 50 receptionist minutes
- Higher tier: ~$599/month for 200 receptionist minutes
- Overage: per-minute plus after-hours and holiday pricing add-ons
- Per-minute meter: yes
- Source: ruby.com/pricing (accessed 2026-05-15)
AnswerForce
- Mid-tier: typically around $325/month for ~100 included calls
- Overage: ~$0.75 per additional call
- Per-minute meter: parts of model use per-minute
- Source: answerforce.com (verify current published pricing)
PATLive
- Base plan: ~$239/month for 75 minutes
- Overage: per-minute at vendor rate
- Per-minute meter: yes
- Source: patlive.com/plans (verify current published pricing)
AnswerConnect
- Mid-tier: ~$329/month for 200 minutes
- Overage: per-minute
- Higher tiers: custom pricing
- Source: answerconnect.com/plans (verify current published pricing)
Goodcall (general-purpose AI receptionist for small business)
- Free tier: limited monthly calls
- Paid tier: ~$60/month
- Per-minute meter: not applicable to AI tier
- Source: goodcall.com/pricing
Rosie AI (general AI virtual receptionist)
- Entry tier: ~$59/month
- Source: rosie.ai (verify current published pricing)
Dialzara (AI phone answering with custom voice setup)
- Entry tier: ~$59/month
- Source: dialzara.com (verify current published pricing)
Cost math at 5 call volumes
Worked examples. Average contractor call length: 4 minutes routine, 12 minutes emergency. Assume call mix is 70% routine + 30% emergency for these calculations.
50 monthly calls
| Vendor | Estimated cost |
|---|---|
| OnCrew Starter | $49 |
| Smith.ai (30 incl + 20 over @ ~$11.50) | ~$523 |
| Ruby (50 min plan, covers ~25 short calls; overage on rest) | ~$425+ |
| AnswerForce mid-tier | ~$325 |
| PATLive (75 min plan, covers ~25 routine OR ~6 emergencies) | ~$239 + heavy overage on emergencies |
| AnswerConnect mid-tier | ~$329 + per-minute overage |
| Goodcall paid | ~$60 |
100 monthly calls
| Vendor | Estimated cost |
|---|---|
| OnCrew Starter | $49 |
| Smith.ai (Starter + 70 over) | ~$1,098 |
| Ruby (200 min plan, covers ~50 short calls; per-minute on rest) | ~$599+ |
| AnswerForce mid-tier | ~$325 |
| PATLive (75 min + heavy overage) | ~$239 + per-minute |
| AnswerConnect | ~$329+ |
200 monthly calls
| Vendor | Estimated cost |
|---|---|
| OnCrew Pro | $149 |
| Smith.ai Basic | $765 |
| Ruby (200 min plan with overage) | ~$599 + per-minute on remaining 150+ calls |
| AnswerForce | ~$325 + per-call overage |
| AnswerConnect mid-tier | ~$329+ per-minute |
500 monthly calls
| Vendor | Estimated cost |
|---|---|
| OnCrew Pro (400 incl + 100 over @ $0.99) | $248 |
| OnCrew Multi-Truck | $349 |
| Smith.ai Basic (200 incl + 300 over @ ~$11.50) | ~$4,215 |
| Ruby (per-minute model accumulates fast on emergency calls) | $1,000+ |
| AnswerForce | $500-$900+ |
| AnswerConnect | custom, expect $700+ |
1,000 monthly calls
| Vendor | Estimated cost |
|---|---|
| OnCrew Multi-Truck | $349 |
| Smith.ai Basic (200 incl + 800 over @ ~$11.50) | ~$9,965 |
| Ruby premium tier | custom, $1,000+ |
| AnswerForce | $1,000+ |
| AnswerConnect | custom, $1,000+ |
The freeze-week / storm-week spike model
Most contractor shops calculate based on monthly average call volume. The honest cost story is at peak weeks.
A 4-truck plumbing shop fielding 35 calls/week normal jumps to 250 calls/week during a sustained freeze event. A 6-truck roofing shop fielding 40 calls/week jumps to 280 calls/week after a hail event.
At the freeze-event spike (250 calls/week ~= 1,000 calls/month sustained), the cost gap widens dramatically:
| Vendor | Freeze-week effective monthly cost |
|---|---|
| OnCrew Multi-Truck (1,000 calls included) | $349 |
| Smith.ai Basic + 800 overage @ $11.50 | $9,965 |
| Per-minute live operator (Ruby, PATLive, AnswerConnect) | $1,500-$3,000+ depending on emergency call duration |
The per-call vs per-minute arbitrage is the single largest cost variable in the contractor answering-service market. Per-call AI plans cap your monthly invoice in advance; per-minute models bill exactly when emergency calls run longest.
Where each vendor wins
- OnCrew: contractor shops with emergency-heavy call mixes, freeze/storm/heat-wave seasonal spikes, and a preference for predictable monthly invoices.
- Smith.ai: non-contractor verticals (legal, real estate, accounting) or contractor offices that also run a non-contractor business line and want one vendor.
- Ruby: shops where a warm human voice on every call is a brand promise (concierge, premium client base).
- AnswerForce: shops wanting live-operator scripts with industry-aware training and per-minute-tolerant invoices.
- PATLive: shops needing bilingual (English/Spanish) live coverage with low to moderate volume.
- AnswerConnect: high-volume shops wanting custom-pricing quotes.
- Goodcall / Rosie AI / Dialzara: small businesses outside the contractor vertical, or contractor shops willing to build their own intake script from scratch.
The buyer rubric
Pricing is one slice. The full buyer rubric for any vendor covers 8 dimensions:
- Trade-specific intake script
- Safety-first ordering on fire-risk and gas-leak calls
- Trade vocabulary capture (EPA-606, NFPA-70, etc.)
- On-call SMS handoff timing (sub-90 seconds)
- Pricing model (per-call vs per-minute)
- Recordings and transcripts (audit-ready)
- Concurrency under storm/freeze spikes
- Cancellation terms (month-to-month preferred)
A vendor that wins on pricing but fails on safety-first ordering loses the trade. The 8-point buyer test for HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and roofing is at the related-reading list below.
Related reading
- Smith.ai alternatives for contractors (2026)
- Best AI answering services for contractors in 2026
- How to choose an answering service for an HVAC company
- How to choose an answering service for an electrician
- Storm-week call surge playbook for roofers
- Freeze-week call surge playbook for plumbers
- Answering service vs call forwarding for contractors: decision framework
- OnCrew pricing
- Contractor answering service cost breakdown