AnswerForce is a live receptionist service across many industries. OnCrew is an AI phone agent configured for HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and roofing contractors. Compare current pricing, coverage, trade fit, and handoff workflow below.
Hear a call it answered
What you'll hear: the receptionist answers for a plumbing shop, triages a burst pipe leaking through a ceiling, captures the address and callback number, and sends the details to the on-call team. 50 seconds.
Recorded October 3, 2026, in a test call to our demo receptionist, before today's name and voice. The caller is simulated and the call is edited for length; no customer's call is in it. Call the demo line to hear her today.
Quick answer
| Factor | OnCrew vs AnswerForce |
|---|---|
| Pricing | OnCrew included-minute plans from $49/mo; confirm AnswerForce live-answering terms |
| Trade setup | Compare contractor scripts, intake fields, transcripts, and demo calls |
| Overage | OnCrew $0.49 to $0.99/min after included minutes; confirm AnswerForce minute overage |
| Urgent handoffs | Compare script rules, handoff channels, and acknowledgement workflow |
| Best fit | OnCrew for configured AI intake; AnswerForce for live operators |
AnswerForce has no pricing page. When we checked on October 2, 2026 (as on July 29 and August 15, 2026), answerforce.com/pricing opened the homepage, the plans page led to a lead form whose button reads "Show Plans", and no plan price appeared anywhere, so every comparison against AnswerForce starts with a quote request.
No published price
No price is published on that page, so there is nothing to put in this column. That is the finding, not a gap in our research.
Re-read October 2, 2026: unchanged since August 15, 2026.
Read from answerforce.com on October 2, 2026. Check it before you sign anything: vendors change plans and this page is a snapshot.
Billed per minute of answered calls
| Plan | Included | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | 150 minutes | $49/mo |
| Pro | 200 minutes | $149/mo |
| Multi-Truck | 500 minutes | $349/mo |
Minutes are added up over the month and rounded up once, not per call, and 2am costs the same as 2pm. OnCrew is young: a handful of contractors pay for it today, so treat this as a small company that publishes its numbers rather than a large one.
Worked example
answerforce.com/pricing resolves to the homepage, so every AnswerForce comparison starts with a quote request rather than a number. If you get one, ask whether it bills by the minute or by the call, and what happens on a 90-second call, because minute-billed plans usually round up. Ours bills minutes too, but it adds up the month's talk time and rounds once, so a 90-second call counts as 90 seconds: $49 for 150 minutes on Starter, $0.49 for each minute after.
Included-minute AI vs live answering, trade-specific setup questions, and the terms that show up on the contractor invoice.
| Feature | OnCrew | AnswerForce |
|---|---|---|
| Billing modelanswerforce.com, checked October 2, 2026 | Included minutes, then $0.49 to $0.99 per extra minute | Quoted, not published |
| Starting monthly priceanswerforce.com, checked October 2, 2026 | $49/mo Starter (150 minutes) | No published price |
| Overage rate | $0.49 to $0.99 per minute after the plan's minutes | Not verified |
| 24/7 coverage | Yes | Yes |
| Trade-specific intake | Configured for contractor trades | Not verified |
| Urgent-call handoffs | Configured team channel | Not verified |
| Texts to the caller | SMS Follow-Ups setting, on for new accounts: one confirmation after a call and one text-back after a silent hang-up, from OnCrew's texting number; no text conversation | Not verified |
| Spanish-speaking callersanswerforce.com/pricing, checked October 3, 2026 | English, plus Spanish (Latin American) you switch on in your dashboard at no extra charge; summaries stay in English | Bilingual Answering: English and Spanish receptionists |
| Human-receptionist warmth | No | Yes |
| Long-term contract | No | Not verified |
| Setup time | About 10 minutes, self-serve | Not verified |
| Channels supported | Phone plus configured handoffs | Not verified |
Rows with no AnswerForce value are terms we have not verified. AnswerForce showed no price we could read when we checked on October 2, 2026, so ask for them in writing before you compare.
Try it on a real call first
Call the demo line and hear how OnCrew handles a live call, or start the trial and test it on your own number. Starter is $49/month with 150 included minutes after the trial, then $0.49/min overage.
Emily answers as a sample plumbing company. Talk to her like one of your customers would.
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Contractor calls vary in length, especially after hours. Compare AnswerForce's current included minutes, rounding, and overage against OnCrew's included-minute plans and $0.49 to $0.99 per-minute overage after the plan's minutes.
Live receptionists can work well when the script is specific. Test no-heat, leak, electrical, roofing, estimate, and warranty calls before relying on any answering workflow.
Ask where urgent-call details go, whether transcripts are included, and what happens if no one acknowledges the message. OnCrew sends configured handoffs to the team channel you choose.
OnCrew publishes Starter at $49 a month with 150 included minutes. AnswerForce had no pricing page when we checked on October 2, 2026, so ask for its base plan, included minutes, add-ons, and transfer fees in writing before comparing monthly cost.
Contractor teams need caller name, address, problem, timing, and urgency context in a reviewable format. Demo the exact AnswerForce message format and compare it with OnCrew transcripts and handoffs.
Storm season, heat waves, and cold snaps can change call volume. Model AnswerForce and OnCrew minute overage against your busiest months, not just an average week.
The exact flow that replaces a per-minute live answering service.
Keep your number. Forward your line full-time or only after-hours and on overflow. OnCrew picks up only when your team cannot.
The caller hears a configured greeting in your business name. The AI asks your trade-specific intake questions and captures name, address, and problem.
OnCrew can flag configured urgent categories such as no heat, active leaks, electrical hazards, and roof damage for team review. Routine calls queue for normal follow-up.
Intake plus transcript lands in the channel you chose. A person on your team calls back and decides next steps. OnCrew does not promise dispatch times.
Contractor calls vary by job type, caller stress, and after-hours urgency. Some calls are short. Some require enough context for your team to decide the next step.
That is why the invoice comparison should use real call logs. Confirm AnswerForce included minutes, rounding, overage, and add-ons, then compare them with OnCrew's included minutes, rounded up once a month rather than per call, and $0.49 to $0.99 per-minute overage after the plan's minutes.
AnswerForce serves home services as one of many industries. For a contractor shop, the practical question is how specifically the script captures no-heat, active leak, panel, roof, estimate, and warranty calls.
OnCrew can be configured around contractor call patterns. The intake fields are designed to capture the details a dispatcher or owner needs before deciding the callback priority.
AnswerForce can follow urgent-call instructions when those instructions are written into the script. Verify what counts as urgent, what message is sent, which channels are supported, and what happens if no one acknowledges the handoff.
OnCrew uses configured trade paths to flag urgent calls for review and send the intake plus transcript to your chosen team channel. Routine calls queue for normal follow-up.
If your business genuinely needs a live receptionist experience for concierge service, complex appointment booking with judgment calls, or sensitive client conversations, AnswerForce or a similar live receptionist service can be a fit.
For contractors who mainly need consistent intake, transcripts, and configured handoffs to the actual service team, compare OnCrew's published included-minute pricing against your current AnswerForce quote.
OnCrew has three published included-minute plans. Confirm AnswerForce's current live-answering terms before comparing monthly cost.
OnCrew Starter
Solo contractors
$49/mo
150 minutes of answered calls included
Then $0.49/min overage
OnCrew Pro
Growing contractor teams
$149/mo
200 minutes of answered calls included
Then $0.99/min overage
OnCrew Multi-Truck
Multi-truck operations
$349/mo
500 minutes of answered calls included
Then $0.99/min overage
AnswerForce
No published price
AnswerForce had no pricing page when we checked on October 2, 2026: answerforce.com/pricing opened the homepage and the plans page led to a lead form. Ask whether a quote bills by the minute or by the call, and for the included usage, overage, and add-ons, in writing before comparing.
OnCrew Starter is $49 a month with 150 included minutes and $0.49 per-minute overage after the plan's minutes. For the broader category overview, read the Best answering service for contractors: 2026 buyer's guide buyer guide.
No contract and no cancellation fee: plans are month to month, and your plan price plus any extra minutes or texts past it is all OnCrew bills. The account owner cancels on the Billing page in three screens (a reason, an offer to pause instead that you can skip, a confirm), with no phone call and no email.
Cancelling stops the next charge, and your line keeps answering until the end of the month you already paid for. A business number you forward to OnCrew never leaves your carrier. A number OnCrew provides for you can be moved to another carrier at your request, at no charge from OnCrew, and if you cancel we hold it for 90 days.
The 14-day trial needs no card and ends on its own if you never add one. If OnCrew does not earn its keep in your first 30 days as a paying customer, email hello@oncrew.ai and we refund your subscription fee for that period. A person replies within one business day, once per company. The details on our pricing page.
Some will, on any line. Over the 30 days to November 1, 2026, 15% of calls to our paying customers' business numbers ended within 20 seconds with no more than a hello (22% if every silent call our robocall filter was unsure about was a real caller). On the voice system every line has used since October 27, it was 21% (31% counting the unsure ones) in its first 5 days. Robocalls and sales calls we could identify are left out; wrong numbers and pocket dials are still in it.
It runs higher, 50% (62% counting the unsure ones), on cell phones that forward to OnCrew only after ringing out: those callers have already waited through the rings. If you forward the calls you miss, set your phone to forward after a few rings.
Callers who ask usually stay. When a caller asks, she says she is an automated assistant and that a person from the business will call them back. In the 60 days to November 1, 2026, a caller asked whether they were talking to a real person in 21 calls: in 17 the caller then left their details, agreed to be called back or was put through to someone, and in 1 the caller hung up right after.
Your greeting is yours to write, and it can tell callers up front that they are talking to an automated assistant. On our lines a short greeting reaches its question in about 5 to 6 seconds, against 8 to 10 for the longest. And a caller who hangs up without a word can get one text back with your business name, so they can reply instead of calling the next company.
Confirm AnswerForce's current live-answering plans, included minutes, overage, transfer terms, and add-ons before comparing quotes. OnCrew Starter is $49 a month for 150 included minutes, Pro is $149 for 200 minutes, Multi-Truck is $349 for 500 minutes, with $0.49 per-minute overage on Starter, $0.99 on Pro and Multi-Truck after the plan's minutes.
AnswerForce serves many industries, including home services. Contractors should compare how each service configures scripts, transcripts, urgent-call flags, and team handoffs. OnCrew is configured around HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and roofing intake patterns.
AnswerForce uses live receptionists who follow your call-handling instructions, so verify urgent-call scripts and handoff channels during a demo. OnCrew can flag urgent contractor calls using configured trade paths and send the handoff to your chosen team channel.
OnCrew is an AI service, while AnswerForce uses live receptionists. If a live human voice is the priority, AnswerForce may be a fit. If your priority is published included-minute pricing, contractor intake fields, transcripts, and configured urgent-call handoffs, compare OnCrew against AnswerForce using real call logs.
Most contractors are live within days. You keep your existing business number. Forwarding rules either point your line at OnCrew full-time or only after-hours, depending on how you want to use it.
OnCrew answers in English, and Spanish (Latin American) is a setting you switch on in your dashboard at no extra charge; your summaries stay in English. AnswerForce offers bilingual receptionist options as well; confirm the current plan, coverage window, and any add-on terms before comparing.
No charge today. No contracts. Configured for contractor phone lines.
Send a few details and Abe will email you setup help for your number, voice, and urgent-call rules.
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. Setting up your line takes about 10 minutes on your own. If you get stuck, reply to any OnCrew email and I’ll walk you through it. I won’t hand you off to a sales rep, and I read every refund request myself.”
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If OnCrew doesn’t earn its keep in your first 30 days as a paying customer, email hello@oncrew.ai and we refund your subscription fee for that period. No phone tree.