Best answering services for small business in 2026

ComparisonsUpdated Oct 9, 2026ByLobbyStack Team

The best answering service for small business is PATLive if you want a person on every call, Smith.ai if you want AI with live agents behind it, and an AI receptionist such as AI-Receptionist.com, LobbyStack or Upfirst if cost comes first. At 40 three-minute calls a month, live plans cost $127 to $599 and AI plans $25.25 to $99.

Prices checked October 9, 2026 on each vendor’s own pricing page, in US dollars before tax. Businesses in France can compare euro-priced providers in our guide to outsourced phone answering in France. LobbyStack wrote this list and sells an AI receptionist, so it appears in the AI section, marked as ours.

What is the best answering service for small business?

For live answering, PATLive is the best all-round pick, with an 11-tier rate card and 6-second billing after the first minute. Specialty Answering Service bills by the second, and Ruby is the premium choice. Smith.ai and Abby Connect mix AI with people, and AI plans cost the least. Among them, pick the one whose billing unit fits your calls.

Quick picks by need

Our call pattern: 40 calls a month at 3 minutes each, or 120 minutes. The last column uses the cheapest published plan, or plan plus overage, that covers it. Per-call and per-caller plans assume 40 calls from up to 40 different numbers.

Best for	Service	Who answers	Entry price	Cost at 40 three-minute calls
Best overall live service	PATLive	People	$49/mo plus $2.99/min	$230.80
Billing by the second	Specialty Answering Service	People	$44/mo plus $1.54/min	$187.80
Lowest published live price	AnswerNet	People	$29/mo plus $1.15/min	$127
Premium 24/7 receptionists	Ruby	People	$250 for 50 min	$485
Long calls, billed per call	Smith.ai Virtual Front Desk	People	$300 for 30 calls	$415
AI with live agents behind it	Smith.ai AI Receptionist	AI, escalating to people	$0 for 25 calls	$45 on Free, $150 on Pro
People and AI on one plan	Abby Connect	People and AI	$165 for 50 Abby Minutes	$599
AI for callers in many languages, with booking (ours)	LobbyStack Starter	AI	$30 for 150 min	$30
AI billed per call	Upfirst	AI	$24.95 for 30 calls	$39.95
AI for repeat callers	Goodcall	AI	$79 for 100 unique callers	$79

For the last column, we added overage to the base plan. PATLive is $189 for 100 minutes plus 20 minutes at $2.09. SAS is $159 plus 20 minutes at $1.44. AnswerNet is $105 plus 20 minutes at $1.10. Smith.ai Virtual Front Desk is $300 plus 10 calls at $11.50. Smith.ai’s AI Free plan is $0 plus 15 extra calls at $3, and Upfirst is $24.95 plus 10 calls at $1.50. Ruby is $395 plus 20 minutes at $4.50, the overage rate its help center lists for the 100-minute plan. Abby Connect doesn’t publish an overage rate, so its figure is the smallest plan that covers all 120 minutes.

How do live, AI and hybrid answering services differ?

A live service puts a person on the call and bills by the minute or the call. An AI service answers with software and bills by the minute, the call or the unique caller. A hybrid answers with AI and hands calls to a person. Entry prices start at $29 plus $1.15 a minute for live (AnswerNet) and $14 for 75 minutes for AI (AI-Receptionist.com). For hybrid, Moneypenny’s AI plans hand calls to its people from $69 for 25 calls, and Smith.ai’s AI starts free.

Live answering services suit calls that need judgment: an upset customer, a long intake, a caller who wants a person. You pay for that time, and live plans in this list cost $127 to $599 at 40 calls.

AI answering services cost less at the same volume, from $25.25 to $99 at 40 calls for the AI and hybrid plans here. LobbyStack Starter costs $30 for 150 minutes, and its plans don’t limit how many calls it answers at once. The AI follows the rules you write, so decide when it should transfer a call or take a message.

Hybrid services come from companies that run both AI and live receptionists, so an upset caller or an unusual question can still reach a person. Smith.ai and Moneypenny sell per-call AI plans that hand calls to their people, and Abby Connect draws human and AI minutes from one plan.

If you’re comparing phone trees and voicemail add-ons, start with our guide to the automated answering service. For the full human versus software decision, read AI vs virtual receptionist.

What do these services cost at 40 calls a month?

At 40 three-minute calls a month, live plans in this list cost $127 (AnswerNet) to $599 (Abby Connect), before setup fees. AI and hybrid plans cost $25.25 (AI-Receptionist.com, with Booster minutes) to $99 (Moneypenny’s AI plan). We read every price on the vendor’s own page on October 9, 2026, in US dollars before tax.

Between those ends, live answering costs $174.80 at Ambs Call Center plus a one-time $85 setup fee, $177 at The Perfect Answer, $179 at MAP Communications, $187.80 at SAS and $213 at Answering Service Care plus a one-time $50 setup fee. Higher up, PATLive costs $230.80, Davinci Virtual $251.50 plus a one-time $95 setup fee, Moneypenny $307.40, Smith.ai Virtual Front Desk $415, Ruby $485 and Abby Connect $599. On the AI side, LobbyStack costs $30, Upfirst $39.95, Smith.ai’s AI Receptionist $45, Rosie $49 ($149 with calendar booking and transfers), Dialzara $57.80 and Goodcall $79.

We left three services out of these totals. AnswerConnect uses a quote form, though a price sheet it hosts, last modified September 30, 2025, lists $350 for 200 minutes plus a $49.99 setup fee. Nexa gives prices on request and charges a setup fee it doesn’t publish. Posh showed us only Canadian prices (CAD 215 for 100 minutes), so its US price isn’t confirmed.

We assumed 3 minutes a call and took the cheapest plan, or plan plus overage, that covers 120 minutes. If a vendor doesn’t publish an overage rate, we used the cheapest plan that covers all 120 minutes. We list setup fees on their own and leave out taxes, telecom fees and holiday fees. We’ll recheck every price in January 2027.

For full live rate cards, costs at 100 and 200 calls, and every fee, see what an answering service costs at 100 and 200 calls, with fees. That guide also shows how to work out whether a plan pays for itself. AI rate cards are in our guide to AI receptionist cost.

Best live answering services for small business

These five publish their prices, from the cheapest published live rate (AnswerNet) to premium 24/7 staff (Ruby).

PATLive: best overall live service

Price (checked October 9, 2026): $49 a month plus $2.99 a minute on pay as you go, or $189 for 100 minutes with $2.09 per extra minute. See PATLive pricing.
How it bills: the first minute in full, then 6-second increments. PATLive doesn’t bill after-call notes.
Setup and contract: no contract, a 14-day free trial and free porting. The only one-time fee is $50 to turn on texting.
Languages: English and Spanish at no extra cost. Its HVAC page lists Spanish-speaking receptionists from 8am to 10pm Eastern.
Where it falls short: it has the highest pay-as-you-go rate in the table below, and its terms don’t say how it bills spam voice calls.
Pick it if you want a person on every call, published overage at every volume and a trial first.

Specialty Answering Service: billed by the second

Price (checked October 9, 2026): $44 a month plus $1.54 a minute, or $159 for 100 minutes with $1.44 per extra minute. See SAS pricing.
How it bills: by the second. Patching a caller through to you adds $0.10 a minute.
Setup and contract: $0 setup, month to month, and a trial of 14 days or 200 minutes with no card.
Languages: Spanish-speaking agents are available, but its page lists their price two different ways, so ask.
Where it falls short: the holiday and weekend fee rows on its pricing table showed no amounts we could read, so ask before you count on those hours.
Pick it if your calls are short or uneven and you want no rounding on the bill.

AnswerNet: lowest published live price

Price (checked October 9, 2026): $29 a month plus $1.15 a minute, or $105 for 100 minutes with $1.10 per extra minute. The prices are on AnsweringServicesUS.com, which calls itself “a service of AnswerNet”.
How it bills: the increment isn’t stated.
Setup and contract: $0 setup, billed monthly, cancel anytime. Holidays cost $10 each below the Platinum plan.
Languages: Spanish isn’t listed on the standard plans.
Where it falls short: it has no tier between 100 and 500 minutes.
Pick it if your callers speak English and you want the cheapest published live answering.

Ruby: premium 24/7 receptionists

Price (checked October 9, 2026): $250 for 50 minutes, $395 for 100 or $720 for 200. Extra minutes cost $5.40, $4.50 and $4.40 on those plans, per Ruby’s help center, checked October 10, 2026. See Ruby pricing.
How it bills: each call rounds up to the next 60 seconds, per its terms updated March 2026, and hold time and after-call notes count.
Setup and contract: no setup or activation fees, and plans renew every 30 days. First-time users get a refund if they cancel within 21 days or before 500 minutes.
Languages: Spanish 24/7 at no extra cost.
Also included: Ruby doesn’t bill robocalls its filter sends to voicemail, and its app alerts you at 85% and 100% of your minutes.
Where it falls short: at $485 for 40 calls, only Abby Connect costs more in this list, and 60-second rounding makes short calls expensive. Our Ruby pricing guide compares its plans with an AI alternative.
Pick it if callers expect a person at any hour, in English or Spanish.

Smith.ai Virtual Front Desk: priced per call

Price (checked October 9, 2026): $300 for 30 calls, then $11.50 a call. See Smith.ai receptionist pricing.
How it bills: per call, with no length cap on the pricing page. Smith.ai doesn’t bill spam when your forwarded lines pass Caller ID.
Setup and contract: no setup fees, month to month.
Add-ons: a dedicated Spanish line costs $1.00 a call, and booking costs $1.50 a call.
Where it falls short: a short call costs as much as a long one, and booking all 40 calls adds $60.
Pick it if your calls run long, such as legal or service intake.

Best hybrid answering services: AI with people behind it

Each of these vendors runs both AI and live receptionists. Smith.ai and Moneypenny sell AI plans that pass calls to their people, and Abby Connect draws human and AI minutes from one plan.

Smith.ai AI Receptionist

Price (checked October 9, 2026): the Free plan answers 25 real calls a month at $0, then $3 a call, and you can take it live on your business line. Pro costs $150 for 75 calls, then $2.50 a call. See Smith.ai AI pricing.
Escalation: Smith.ai charges no fee when the AI hands a call to a live agent. The page doesn’t say whether that works on Free, so confirm first.
Setup and contract: “No setup fees, no contracts to sign”, with 30 days’ notice to cancel.
Languages: English and Spanish.
Where it falls short: Free comes without live phone, email or chat support.
Pick it if you want to start on a free AI plan from a company that also runs live receptionists.

Abby Connect

Price (checked October 9, 2026): $165 for 50 Abby Minutes, $329 for 100 or $599 for 200. A human minute uses 1 Abby Minute, and an AI minute uses half of one. See Abby Connect pricing.
How it bills: 30-second increments, with no upcharge for nights, weekends or holidays.
Setup and contract: “No Setup Fee”, month to month, and a free trial on every plan.
Languages: English and Spanish 24/7, from people and AI.
Where it falls short: Abby doesn’t publish its overage rate in dollars, so 120 all-human minutes means the $599 plan, or $329 plus extra minutes at an unpublished rate.
Pick it if you want one receptionist team for people and AI, with AI minutes drawing half as much from your plan.

Moneypenny

As of October 9, 2026, Moneypenny charges $165 a month for 50 minutes of live answering, with $2.28 per extra minute. Its AI plans start at $69 a month for 25 calls, with $2.49 per extra call.

People Answering: the next plan is $265 for 100 minutes, and each call rounds up to 30 seconds. See Moneypenny pricing.
AI plans: the next plan is $99 for 50 calls, with escalation to US-based receptionists. Its AI page says plans start “from $99”, but the AI plans page lists $69, so we used that.
Setup and contract: no contract, but one calendar month’s notice to cancel and a setup fee Moneypenny doesn’t publish.
Languages: English and Spanish on every People plan.
Where it falls short: it doesn’t publish its setup fee, and its two AI pages disagree on the entry price.
Pick it if you want warm transfers and CRM integrations on every People plan, with the option to start on AI.

Best AI answering services

An AI receptionist answers with software, then books, transfers or takes a message by your rules. Our AI answering service for small business page shows how LobbyStack handles a call. The five below run in order of cost at 40 calls. We didn’t profile Dialzara. It costs $29 for 60 minutes plus $0.48 per extra minute, or $57.80 at 40 calls, and answers in English and Spanish with no setup fees.

AI-Receptionist.com

Price (checked October 9, 2026): $14 a month for 75 minutes, then $0.25 per Booster minute. See AI-Receptionist.com pricing.
At 40 calls: $25.25 with 45 Booster minutes. You buy Booster minutes ahead in packs, and they don’t expire. Its FAQ says the receptionist stops answering new calls when your minutes run out unless you hold Booster minutes, so buy them before you need them.
Included: Google Calendar booking and transfers on the $14 plan, which takes 2 calls at once. Texts start on the $39 plan.
Languages and reach: 55+ languages, US and Canada only, and a 7-day trial with 30 live minutes and no card.
Where it wins: it has the lowest entry price we found, about $0.187 a minute, below LobbyStack Starter’s $0.20.
Pick it if you want the cheapest start and don’t need texts.

LobbyStack (ours)

Price (checked October 9, 2026): Starter is $30 a month for 150 minutes, then $0.20 a minute. See LobbyStack pricing.
How it bills: by the second, with no round-up, so a 90-second call uses 1.5 minutes. Calls under 10 seconds and calls the receptionist ends as spam don’t count.
Included: booking from your hours, services and staff into Google Calendar, confirmation and 24-hour reminder texts to US and Canadian numbers when the caller agrees, and 20 transfer attempts a month to one number.
Languages: each call opens in the business’s default language: English, French, Spanish, Serbian, German, Brazilian Portuguese, Italian or Dutch. The receptionist then answers in the caller’s language: 70+ languages on OpenAI GPT-Live, including Spanish and Serbian.
Numbers and setup: numbers in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand, or forward your current number. Plans don’t limit how many calls it answers at once. There’s no setup fee on any plan, and you can cancel anytime with no cancellation fees. The Free plan gives you 30 voice minutes a month and a US or Canadian number free for 14 days, with no card.
Where it falls short: no person on the line, Google Calendar only, and no practice-management or field-service software sync. Transfers are blind and go to one number. The AI doesn’t reply to texts, and LobbyStack makes no HIPAA claim.
Pick it if you want every call answered and booked for $30 a month, your own team takes the urgent transfers, and your callers speak many languages.

Upfirst

Price (checked October 9, 2026): $24.95 for 30 calls, then $1.50 a call. See Upfirst pricing.
Included on every plan: booking into Google, Outlook, Clio, Acuity, Calendly or Square, plus transfers, in-call texting and Zapier.
Not billed: spam, calls under 15 seconds and callers who never speak.
Languages and trial: 35+ languages and a 14-day trial with no card.
Where it wins: it connects more calendars than LobbyStack and puts booking, transfers and texting on its cheapest plan.
Pick it if you book outside Google Calendar or your calls run long.

Rosie

Price (checked October 9, 2026): $49 for 250 minutes, or $149 for 1,000. See Rosie pricing.
Limits: calendar booking, transfers and in-call texts start at $149, and the $49 plan texts booking links instead. Going over moves you to the next plan at its full price. Read how Rosie’s plans and limits work.
Languages and trial: English and Spanish, with a 7-day trial.
Where it wins: about $0.196 a minute at entry, under LobbyStack Starter’s rate, plus iOS and Android apps.
Pick it if you need messages taken more than bookings.

Goodcall

Price (checked October 9, 2026): $79 for 100 unique callers a month, then $0.79 per extra caller, with minutes unmetered. See Goodcall pricing.
Not counted: spam and wrong numbers. A number that calls five times in a month counts once.
Trial: a free demo agent, and you pay when you connect a number. Goodcall doesn’t publish its languages and bills monthly only.
Where it wins: repeat callers and long calls add nothing to the bill.
Pick it if the same customers call you often.

What is the cheapest way to have a real person answer the phone?

The cheapest way to have a real person answer is a pay-as-you-go live plan: a $29 to $49 monthly base plus $1.15 to $2.99 a minute, as of October 9, 2026. AnswerNet is lowest at $29 plus $1.15. At 40 calls a month, though, a small bundle costs less than paying by the minute.

Pay-as-you-go live plans

Service	Monthly base	Per minute	Billing increment	Setup fee
AnswerNet	$29	$1.15	Not stated	$0
Answering Service Care	$40	$1.75	Whole minute, including after-call work	$50 one-time
Specialty Answering Service	$44	$1.54	1 second	$0
The Perfect Answer	$47	$1.37	Whole minute, plus a $.024 telecom fee per call	None
MAP Communications	$49	$1.37	Whole minute, including after-call work, plus a $.024 telecom fee per call	Not stated
PATLive	$49	$2.99	First minute in full, then 6 seconds	None ($50 only to turn on texting)

When a small plan beats pay-as-you-go

At 120 minutes a month, every service in the table costs less on a bundle:

AnswerNet: $167 on Bronze ($29 plus 120 minutes at $1.15), or $127 on Silver ($105 plus 20 minutes at $1.10).
Specialty Answering Service: $228.80 on Economy ($44 plus 120 minutes at $1.54), or $187.80 on the 100 Minute plan ($159 plus 20 minutes at $1.44).
PATLive: $407.80 on pay as you go ($49 plus 120 minutes at $2.99), or $230.80 on the 100-minute plan ($189 plus 20 minutes at $2.09).

The Perfect Answer, MAP Communications and Answering Service Care follow the same pattern. If you don’t need a person, the AI plans in this list cover the same 40 calls for $25.25 to $99.

How to choose an answering service for your small business

Decide first who must answer: a person, AI, or AI with a person behind it. Then check these points on each vendor’s own pages. Trades that dispatch technicians after hours should also read our list of the best HVAC answering services.

Match the billing unit to your call length

Per-minute plans favor short calls, per-call plans favor long ones (Smith.ai, Upfirst), and per-caller plans favor repeat callers (Goodcall). Rounding changes the bill too. SAS, Davinci Virtual and LobbyStack bill by the second, and PATLive in 6-second steps after the first minute. Abby Connect, Ambs Call Center and Moneypenny round to 30 seconds, Ruby to 60 seconds, and MAP Communications, The Perfect Answer and Answering Service Care to whole minutes. With 60-second rounding, a 40-second call costs a full minute.

Check coverage hours and languages

Ruby, PATLive and Abby Connect charge nothing extra for nights, weekends or holidays. Davinci Virtual’s FAQ puts its live team on weekdays from 8am to 8pm Eastern, while its live-receptionists page says 24/7, so ask before you count on nights. Most live services here answer in English and Spanish. Among AI services, Upfirst lists 35+ languages and AI-Receptionist.com 55+, and LobbyStack answers in the caller’s language across 70+ after opening in your choice of eight languages.

Ask what booking, transfers and texts cost

Smith.ai’s human receptionists charge $1.50 a call to book, and Davinci Virtual books only on Premium plans from $249. SAS charges $0.10 a minute and Ambs Call Center $0.06 a minute while a caller is patched to you. PATLive charges $50 once to turn on texting. LobbyStack texts booking confirmations and reminders to US and Canadian numbers, but its AI doesn’t reply to texts.

Check the setup fee

Davinci Virtual charges $95 to set up live answering, Ambs Call Center $85 and Answering Service Care $50, and AnswerConnect’s 2025 price sheet lists $49.99. Moneypenny and Nexa charge a setup fee without publishing the amount. Most others state none, and LobbyStack has none on any plan.

Frequently asked questions

Which answering services answer in Spanish?

Ruby, PATLive and Abby Connect include Spanish-speaking receptionists at no extra cost, and Moneypenny, MAP Communications, The Perfect Answer, Ambs Call Center and Answering Service Care list Spanish on every plan. Smith.ai charges $1 a call for a Spanish line, and AnswerConnect’s 2025 price sheet lists Spanish as an add-on. LobbyStack opens each call in the business’s default language (English, French, Spanish, Serbian, German, Brazilian Portuguese, Italian or Dutch), then answers in the caller’s language, across 70+ languages including Spanish.

Can I keep my business phone number?

Yes. With most services, you set your carrier to forward calls to a number the service gives you, so callers keep dialing the number they know. PATLive and Upfirst also port numbers for free. With LobbyStack, you forward your existing number to your LobbyStack number, or contact the team if you’d rather port it.

Do answering services require a contract?

Most don’t. PATLive, SAS, Smith.ai, Abby Connect, Upfirst and Goodcall run month to month, and Ruby renews every 30 days. Davinci Virtual needs 30 days’ written notice to cancel, Moneypenny one calendar month and Smith.ai’s AI plans 30 days. LobbyStack lets you cancel anytime from billing settings, with no cancellation fees.

Can an answering service book appointments?

Yes, though the price varies. Smith.ai’s human receptionists charge $1.50 per booked call, Davinci Virtual books only on Premium plans from $249, and Rosie books into a calendar from $149. Upfirst, AI-Receptionist.com and LobbyStack book on their cheapest paid plans. LobbyStack books into Google Calendar, the only calendar it connects to.

Do answering services charge for spam calls?

Some don’t. Smith.ai’s receptionists don’t bill spam when your lines pass Caller ID, and its AI filters known spammers before answering. Ruby doesn’t bill robocalls its filter sends to voicemail, and The Perfect Answer, Upfirst and Goodcall leave spam off the bill. LobbyStack doesn’t count calls under 10 seconds or calls its receptionist ends as spam. Ambs Call Center counts solicitor calls against your minutes.

Is there a free answering service for small businesses?

No live service in this list is free. Smith.ai’s AI Free plan answers 25 real calls a month at $0, then charges $3 a call. LobbyStack Free gives you 30 voice minutes a month and a US or Canadian number free for 14 days, with no card, and Goodcall offers a free demo agent. Our guide to AI receptionist cost, including free plans and trials lists the rest.

Verdict

Pick by who must answer your phone.

A person on every call: PATLive for a published rate card and a 14-day trial, Specialty Answering Service for per-second billing and low overage, or Ruby for premium 24/7 staff with Spanish included. AnswerNet is the cheapest published option if your callers speak English.
AI with people behind it: Smith.ai if you want to start free, or Abby Connect if you want one team running both.
AI only: LobbyStack if you want every call answered and booked into Google Calendar for $30 a month, your own team takes the urgent transfers, and your callers speak many languages. AI-Receptionist.com has a cheaper paid plan ($14), Upfirst connects more calendars, and Goodcall suits repeat callers.

If you need a person on every call or sync with practice-management or field-service software, LobbyStack isn’t the right fit. Pick a live service or one built for your industry.

Try LobbyStack free. Add your business details and greeting, then test the receptionist with 30 voice minutes a month and a US or Canadian number free for 14 days, no card needed. To keep the number, Starter costs $30 a month with no setup fee, and you can cancel anytime. Compare plans on LobbyStack pricing.