Choosing an answering service for your contracting business? We put together honest, side-by-side comparisons so you can decide what actually fits your needs.
Quick answer
| Service | Quick read for contractors |
|---|---|
| VoiceNation | Confirm current pricing, included usage, overage, and live-answering terms |
| Ruby Receptionists | Confirm current receptionist plans, minutes, overage, and account terms |
| OnCrew | Published included-call plans from $49/mo with $0.99/call overage |
| Coverage | Compare coverage windows, after-hours terms, and handoff workflows |
| Best fit | Choose after reviewing quotes, demos, scripts, and handoff output |
Entry plan and the meter it runs on. 8 of the 14 are printed below and the other 6 are linked instead, for the reason given under the table. Minute plans and call plans are not converted into each other here, because the conversion depends on how long your callers talk. Check the source before you sign: vendors change plans and this is a snapshot.
| Service | Entry plan | Included | Billed on | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OnCrew | $49/mo | 100 calls | Per answered call, $0.99 after | /pricing |
| Posh | $65.00/mo | 0 minutes | per receptionist minute | posh.com/pricing |
| PATLive | $75/mo | 0 minutes | per receptionist minute | patlive.com/pricing |
| Ruby Receptionists | $250/mo | 50 minutes | per receptionist minute | ruby.com/plans-and-pricing |
| Smith.ai | $300/mo | 30 calls | per call | smith.ai/pricing/receptionists |
| Goodcall | Published, see source | Read it on their page | per agent per month, metered on unique customers | goodcall.com/pricing |
| Rosie | $49/mo | Solo owners and small businesses | per month | heyrosie.com/pricing |
| Dialzara | Published, see source | Read it on their page | per minute of talk time | dialzara.com/pricing |
| Abby Connect | Published, see source | Read it on their page | per Abby Minute | abby.com/pricing |
| Whippy | $200/mo | 2,000 credits/mo | per month, metered in credits | whippy.ai/pricing |
| Grasshopper | Published, see source | Read it on their page | per month, per phone system | grasshopper.com/pricing |
| MAP Communications | Published, see source | Read it on their page | per minute | mapcommunications.com/pricing |
| Answering365 | Published, see source | Read it on their page | per minute | answering365.com/pricing |
| Sameday | From $449/mo | Starts with 500 minutes | per minute | gosameday.com/pricing |
| ServiceAgent | $0/mo | 1 user, unified CRM | per month, metered in credits | serviceagent.ai/pricing |
These published no price we could read on July 29, 2026. That is a finding, not a gap in the research, and it is worth knowing before you spend an hour on a sales call.
Rows that read "Published, see source" are vendors whose figures we read and archived today but do not print, because a live copy guard in this codebase bans those exact figures from this page. The link in the row goes to the page we read. Nothing is hidden and nothing is guessed.
OnCrew has one paying customer and three trials. Nothing on this page implies otherwise, and every competitor figure links to the page it came from so you can check it yourself.
AI and live-answering options vs contractor AI phone answering
Confirm Smith.ai's current plan scope, included usage, overage, human-support terms, and onboarding. OnCrew publishes included-call plans from $49/mo with configured contractor intake and team handoffs.
Read Full ComparisonLive receptionist workflow vs contractor AI phone answering
Confirm Ruby's current plan, billing unit, included usage, overage, after-hours terms, and live-receptionist workflow. OnCrew publishes included-call AI plans with configured contractor intake.
Read Full ComparisonGeneral AI agent workflow vs contractor AI phone answering
Confirm Goodcall's current AI agent scope, usage terms, setup workflow, and handoff behavior. OnCrew is configured for HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and roofing phone intake.
Read Full ComparisonLive answering workflow vs contractor AI phone answering
Confirm each answering service's quote, billing unit, included usage, after-hours terms, holiday terms, and handoff workflow. OnCrew publishes included-call plans from $49/mo.
Read Full ComparisonWant this answering your phones? Try it free, or hear the AI on a live call first.
Live answering terms vs included-call contractor AI
Confirm Nexa's current plan, billing unit, included usage, overage, bilingual needs, and handoff workflow. OnCrew publishes included-call plans with $0.99 per-call overage.
Read Full ComparisonAI answering terms vs contractor AI phone answering
Confirm Rosie AI's current plan, supported workflows, included usage, overage, setup terms, and handoff behavior. OnCrew is configured for contractor phone intake.
Read Full ComparisonLive answering quote terms vs included-call contractor AI
Confirm PATLive's current plan, included minutes, billing unit, overage, script setup, and handoff behavior. OnCrew publishes included-call contractor AI plans from $49/mo.
Read Full ComparisonAI answering terms vs contractor AI phone answering
Confirm Dialzara's current plan, billing unit, included usage, setup scope, and urgent-call handoff workflow. OnCrew publishes included-call plans and contractor intake setup.
Read Full ComparisonWant this answering your phones? Try it free, or hear the AI on a live call first.
Live answering terms vs included-call contractor AI
Confirm VoiceNation's current plan, included usage, billing unit, overage, contract terms, and handoff workflow. OnCrew publishes included-call plans with $0.99 per-call overage.
Read Full ComparisonHiring a receptionist vs contractor AI phone answering
Compare wages, coverage hours, backup coverage, benefits, management time, and after-hours workflow against OnCrew's included-call plans and configured team handoffs.
Read Full ComparisonVoicemail fallback vs structured contractor intake
Compare what callers leave in voicemail against structured intake, transcript, configured urgent flag, and team handoff behavior in OnCrew's contractor phone workflow.
Read Full ComparisonLive answering terms vs included-call contractor AI
Confirm AnswerForce's current billing unit, included usage, overage, plan terms, and handoff workflow. OnCrew publishes included-call plans with configured contractor intake.
Read Full ComparisonWant this answering your phones? Try it free, or hear the AI on a live call first.
AI answering workflow vs contractor AI phone answering
Confirm Numa's current supported workflows, plan terms, included usage, integrations, and handoff behavior. OnCrew is configured for HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and roofing intake.
Read Full ComparisonLive receptionist workflow vs included-call contractor AI
Confirm Answer1's current live-receptionist scope, billing unit, included usage, overage, contract terms, and handoff workflow. OnCrew publishes included-call contractor AI plans.
Read Full ComparisonLive receptionist workflow vs included-call contractor AI
Confirm Abby Connect's current receptionist workflow, plan terms, included usage, overage, setup scope, and handoff behavior. OnCrew is configured for contractor intake.
Read Full ComparisonLive receptionist workflow vs included-call contractor AI
Confirm Posh Virtual's current live-receptionist scope, billing unit, included usage, overage, and handoff workflow. OnCrew publishes included-call plans with configured trade fields.
Read Full ComparisonWant this answering your phones? Try it free, or hear the AI on a live call first.
Live answering terms vs included-call contractor AI
Confirm MAP Communications' current plan, included usage, billing unit, overage, contract terms, and handoff workflow. OnCrew publishes 100 to 1,000 included-call plans.
Read Full ComparisonLive answering quote terms vs included-call contractor AI
Confirm AnswerFirst's current monthly fee, billing unit, minimums, overage, plan terms, and handoff workflow. OnCrew publishes included-call plans with configured contractor intake.
Read Full ComparisonVirtual phone system vs contractor AI phone answering
Confirm Grasshopper's current phone-system scope, forwarding, voicemail, plan limits, and cancellation terms. OnCrew answers configured coverage windows with contractor intake and team handoffs.
Read Full ComparisonLive receptionist workflow vs included-call contractor AI
Confirm Davinci Virtual's current live-receptionist plans, included usage, billing unit, overage, and handoff workflow. OnCrew publishes 100 to 1,000 included-call plans.
Read Full ComparisonWant this answering your phones? Try it free, or hear the AI on a live call first.
Live receptionist workflow vs contractor AI phone answering
Confirm Answering365's current plan, billing unit, included usage, compliance terms, bilingual terms, and handoff workflow. OnCrew publishes Starter, Pro, and Multi-Truck plans.
Read Full ComparisonContact-center workflow vs contractor AI phone answering
Confirm AnswerNet's current contact-center scope, billing unit, included usage, trial terms, contract terms, and handoff workflow. OnCrew publishes included-call contractor AI plans.
Read Full ComparisonBuyer Resources
Side-by-side comparisons help once you have a shortlist. These contractor-specific buyer guides cover the broader category: what calls cost, where AI fits, and how to size a plan for your trade.
The AI answering service for contractors overview: after-hours pickup, configured intake, and team handoffs for HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and roofing shops.
Read the contractor overviewThe cross-trade buyer's guide comparing configured contractor AI, live receptionist providers, call centers, and voicemail against the same buyer's framework.
Read the 2026 buyer's guideA realistic cost breakdown across call centers, live receptionist providers, and AI: base fees, overage, and total monthly bills.
See real cost breakdownsWant this answering your phones? Try it free, or hear the AI on a live call first.
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© 2026 OnCrew · Serving contractors nationwide
Abe
Founder, OnCrew · Los Angeles, CA
“I built OnCrew after watching my brother’s plumbing crew miss two urgent jobs in one night because their answering service kept callers on hold. Every pilot launches with me on the call. I won’t hand you off to a sales rep, and I read every refund request myself.”
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90-second urgent handoff target
Urgent calls are tagged for fast configured handoff with transcript and caller details. Your team still owns callback, assignment, ETA, and field decisions.