· Prices checked · 6 min · AI receptionists · Humza Sheikh
AI Receptionist vs Virtual Receptionist vs Answering Service
What an AI receptionist, a virtual receptionist and an answering service each do on a call, what they cost, and which one fits your business.
The short answer: an answering service and a virtual receptionist are both people who answer your phone from somewhere else. An AI receptionist (also called an AI answering service) is software that answers in a natural voice, answers questions about your business and books the job itself. Choose people if most callers need judgement or a person every time. Choose an AI receptionist if your calls follow a pattern, like prices, availability and booking an estimate, and you want every call answered day and night for a flat monthly fee.
The names used to mean different things. An answering service took messages, and a virtual receptionist acted as your front desk. Providers now use both names for much the same service, so this guide compares what each one actually does, using the providers' own pages.
What's the difference between them?
| Answering service | Virtual receptionist | AI receptionist | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who answers | People at a call centre | People at a call centre, often a dedicated team | Software trained on your business |
| Typical job | Messages, screening, transfers | Your front desk: transfers, intake, scheduling | Answers questions, books jobs, hands off what needs a person |
| Usually priced by | Minute | Minute or call | Month (flat), minute or call |
| Price for about 150 calls a month | $534 to $621 | $1,440 to $1,725 | $79 to $500 |
| Hours | 24/7 on most plans | 24/7 on most plans | 24/7 |
The prices in the table come from our AI receptionist cost breakdown, which works out the same 150 calls a month on each provider's published US plans, checked 27 October 2026. It also has a calculator for your own call volume.
US prices from each provider's own pricing page, checked 27 October 2026, at 2.5 minutes a call. AI receptionists: Goodcall to Smith.ai Enterprise (ours is $499). Answering services: AnswerConnect and PATLive. Virtual receptionists: Smith.ai and Ruby.
What does an answering service do?
Traditionally, it takes messages. AnswerMTI, an answering service, says answering services "typically handle basic inquiries and message taking" (AnswerMTI). But the line has moved. PATLive's plans list call screening and transfers, message taking, lead collection, appointment scheduling and new client intake, with "100% human answering" (PATLive). AnswerConnect includes "24/7 live answering from real people" on every plan (AnswerConnect).
Both charge by the minute: PATLive from $49 a month plus $2.99 a minute, and AnswerConnect from $350 for 200 minutes. AnswerConnect rounds each call up to the next whole minute.
What does a virtual receptionist do?
The same thing, sold as your front desk rather than a message line. Ruby lists scheduling, bilingual answering and client intake, with 24/7 coverage by live people (Ruby). Smith.ai's receptionists include lead screening, qualification and intake, and plans come with transfer destinations (Smith.ai).
It costs more. Ruby is $720 a month for 200 minutes, and Smith.ai's receptionists are $810 a month for 90 calls.
What does an AI receptionist do?
It answers in a natural voice, answers questions from what it's been taught about your business, and books straight into a calendar. Rosie's Scale plan, for example, books appointments on your calendar and does warm transfers, briefing your team before connecting the caller (Rosie).
Ours does the same jobs for trades and local businesses:
- Answers every call and website chat, day and night, trained on your services, prices, hours and FAQs.
- Books the job into the calendar or CRM you already use. We've connected it to GoHighLevel, HubSpot, Zoho and clients' own systems.
- Hands off what needs a person. Hot leads, urgent jobs and anything unusual reach your team by text or email, with a summary of the call.
- Gets reviewed every month. We read the conversations and update its answers as your business changes.
Most AI receptionists are priced by the month, the minute or the call, and they cost the least of the three: $79 to $500 a month for 150 calls on the plans we checked. Ours is a flat $499 a month plus $999 set-up, with no call or minute cap, built and run for you.
Which one should you choose?
| Choose | If |
|---|---|
| An answering service | You mostly need messages taken by a person, your call volume is low, and you're happy to call people back. |
| A virtual receptionist | Callers expect a person every time: legal intake, sensitive conversations, or complex scheduling that needs judgement. |
| An AI receptionist | Your calls follow a pattern (prices, availability, booking an estimate or a delivery), you miss calls on the job or after hours, and you want a flat monthly price. |
| Nobody yet | You get a handful of calls a week. Your voicemail is enough for now. |
When we're the wrong choice: if every caller needs a person on the line, a human service fits better. If you want to configure everything yourself, a self-serve AI app costs less. We say the same on our AI receptionist page.
Can you combine people and AI?
Yes, and it's often the best value. Abby Connect, for example, sends each call to a person or to AI depending on the call type, and an AI minute counts as half on its plans (Abby Connect).
The simpler version: keep your own team on the phone in working hours, and let an AI receptionist take evenings, weekends and overflow. That's our after-hours plan, at $299 a month plus $499 set-up.
Common questions
Is a virtual receptionist the same as an answering service?
Mostly, today. Both are people answering your phone off-site. "Virtual receptionist" usually means a front-desk service with transfers, intake and scheduling, and "answering service" usually means message taking, but many answering services now offer scheduling and intake too. Compare what's included, not the name.
Is an AI receptionist the same as an AI answering service?
Yes. They're two names for the same thing: software that answers your phone, answers questions and books appointments.
Will callers know it's AI?
Ours introduces itself as your assistant, in words you approve. Anyone who asks for a person gets their message passed to your team straight away.
Which is cheapest?
For most call volumes, a self-serve AI app. For 150 calls a month on published US plans, AI receptionists cost $79 to $500, answering services from $534, and virtual receptionists $1,440 or more. The full working is in our cost breakdown.
Ready to hear it answer?
Our AI receptionist is built for your business, books into your calendar and comes with no contract. It works as agreed for its first 30 days, or we fix it free until it does. Clients who start before 1 February 2027 pay $399 a month with no set-up fee. Book a 15-minute call and we'll tell you honestly whether it fits.
Sources
Checked 27 October 2026, US pages.
- Answering services: PATLive pricing, AnswerConnect plans, AnswerMTI on answering services and virtual receptionists
- Virtual receptionists: Ruby pricing, Smith.ai receptionists, Abby Connect pricing
- AI receptionists: Rosie pricing
- Costs for 150 calls a month: What an AI receptionist costs in 2026