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Best AI answering service for contractors (2026): Rosie vs Smith.ai vs Goodcall vs Ruby
Every missed call can be a lost job. Here's what each call-answering service charges and offers, read from the vendors' own pricing pages on Oct 17, 2026. We list unknowns as unknown.
| Rosie | Smith.ai AI Receptionist | Goodcall | Ruby | ServiceAgent.ai | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | AI answering | AI answering | AI answering | Live human receptionists | AI answering |
| Starting price | From $49/mo (Professional, 250 minutes) | Free (25 calls/mo); paid from $150/mo | From $79/mo (Starter) | From $250/mo (live receptionists) | Free (Launch); paid from $49/mo |
| Plans & pricing | Professional $49/mo (250 min), Scale $149/mo, Growth $299/mo. Minutes for Scale/Growth were 1,000 / 2,000 per earlier research (Pressure Test, 2026-10-04). | Free: 25 calls/mo ($3/call after). $150/mo (~$2/call); $500/mo done-for-you (~$1.67/call). Higher tiers listed. | Starter $79/mo, Growth $129/mo, Scale $299/mo. Free demo agent; you pay when you connect a phone number. | Receptionist plans $250 / $395 / $720 / $1,725 per month; chat plans from $115/mo (10 chats). | Launch $0; Core $49 monthly / $39 billed annually; Growth $119 / $95; Franchise $349 / $279. Plans include usage credits. |
| Free plan | No | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Free trial | 7 days; unknown | Not stated | Free demo agent (pay when you connect a number); unknown | Not stated | Not stated |
| Spanish | English & Spanish on every call | Unknown / not published | Unknown / not published | 24/7 Spanish and bilingual call handling available | Unknown / not published |
| Integrations (vendor-claimed) | Zapier | Zapier | Zapier | Unknown / not published | Unknown / not published |
| Price checked | 2026-10-17 | 2026-10-17 | 2026-10-17 | 2026-10-17 | 2026-10-17 |
Which one fits
Test it for $0: Smith.ai or ServiceAgent.ai
Smith.ai's AI receptionist has a free plan with 25 calls/month ($3/call after). ServiceAgent.ai has a $0 Launch plan. Good for finding out how many calls you actually miss before paying.
See Smith.ai free plan →Spanish-speaking callers: Rosie
Rosie says it handles English & Spanish on every call, from $49/mo (250 minutes), with a 7-day free trial.
Try Rosie → 50% off your first month through our linkPredictable flat tiers: Goodcall
$79 / $129 / $299 per month. Instead of a trial, Goodcall lets you build and test a free demo agent and pay only when you connect a number.
See Goodcall →Callers expect a real person: Ruby
Live receptionists from $250/mo, with 24/7 Spanish and bilingual call handling available (vendor). Costs the most, and it's the only human option here.
See Ruby plans →Already using a job app or business phone?
- Jobber sells an AI Receptionist add-on for $29/mo (included in its Plus plan). It's the cheapest option if you're already on Jobber.
- Quo (formerly OpenPhone) includes its "Sona" AI agent with 1,000 credits (about 10 calls); more credits cost $0–$199/mo (vendor).
- Workiz (Genius Answering), Markate (Kate AI Receptionist, $1/call) and Roofr (AI receptionist add-on, $99/mo or $85 billed yearly) also sell built-in answering.
What we couldn't verify
- Whether a card is required for Rosie's, Ruby's or the paid Smith.ai trials.
- Minutes included on Rosie's Scale and Growth plans: an earlier third-party roundup listed 1,000 / 2,000; not confirmed on the vendor page.
- Call quality. We haven't run test calls yet.
- Goodcall's Scale price: the vendor shows $299/mo, while a third-party roundup listed $249 on 2026-10-04 (see the price log).
Sources (vendor pages, checked Oct 17, 2026): Rosie · Smith.ai AI Receptionist · Goodcall · Ruby · ServiceAgent.ai. Integrations and language support are vendor claims we have not tested. No vendor paid for this page; see our disclosure.
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