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Compare

Where they beat us,in their own numbers.

Ten other ways to get your phone answered. What each one charges, what we charge against it, and the one thing each of them does better than we do.

That last column is why this page exists. A comparison where the author wins every row is an advertisement, and you already know how much one of those is worth. If you are here you have probably already demoed one of these. We would rather you find out from us than find out later.

How this was put together

Every price came off the vendor's own page, and the ones that are not published say so instead of being guessed at. Effective monthly costs assume a 3.5 minute average call, which is what trade calls run.

Every figure here is a monthly one. Several of these vendors headline the price you get only by paying for a year up front, so where that is the case both numbers are shown and the commitment is named. Ours is month to month and we publish no annual discount, which means on an annual basis some of them land lower than the monthly comparison suggests.

Researched 16 August 2026, with Rosie, Goodcall and Housecall Pro re-checked on 18 August 2026. Prices move. If one of these is wrong today, tell us and we will fix it here.

01

The short version

All ten, on one line each.

Instead of usWhat they chargeOursWhat they do better
Smith.aiHuman receptionists$2,100 a month at 300 calls, on their own Pro plan$249Real people handle the genuinely weird call better than any AI does today.
Ruby ReceptionistsHuman receptionistsBetween $720 and $1,725 a month at 300 calls$99Twenty years of brand trust, and receptionists who genuinely sound warm.
PATLiveHuman receptionistsAbout $1,584 a month at 300 calls, on their 1,000-minute plan plus overage$249Human agents, a 4.9 on Trustpilot, and an onboarding team people actually like.
AnswerConnectHuman receptionists$350 to $575 a month plus a $49.99 setup fee. Minute allowances are not published.$99Live humans around the clock and a strong review profile across the board, also 4.9 on Trustpilot.
RosieAI answering$49 for 250 minutes, $149 for 1,000, $299 for 2,000, paid monthly. Paying for the year is two months free, which puts the entry at about $41 a month.$99Their middle and top tiers still buy a few more minutes per dollar than ours, and their product is simpler to understand.
GoodcallAI answering$79, $129 and $249 per agent paid monthly, or $66, $108 and $208 paid annually, with unlimited minutes, capped at 100, 250 and 500 unique customers, then 50 cents each$99Unlimited minutes is a genuinely better fit for a shop whose calls run long.
Jobber ReceptionistBuilt into field service software$242.30 a month at 300 conversations on the add-on, which is their own $29 plus 270 at 79 cents. On Jobber Plus it is nothing extra, because Plus is $449 whether the phone rings or not.$249On Jobber Plus it is included with no conversation limit, and it is native to the tool you already open every morning.
Housecall Pro CSR AIBuilt into field service softwareAdd-on price not published. The platform is $79, $189 or $329 a month paid monthly, or $59, $149 or $299 a month if you pay for the year, and API access requires the top plan either way.$99Booking that happens natively inside Housecall Pro, with zero integration risk.
Podium AI EmployeeFront-office platform$399 or $599 a month, plus $30 per phone seat, plus a $500 setup fee per location, on a 12-month contract. The AI add-on price is not published.$249Reviews, payments, webchat and messaging in one place.
RingCentral AI ReceptionistPhone system add-onAbout $524 a month at 300 calls on their published pay-as-you-go rate. They also sell minute bundles, and do not publish what those cost.$249The $49 start is real, it works on your existing number by forwarding, and for a very low volume shop it is the cheapest legitimate way to stop missing calls.

02

One at a time

The long version

Human receptionists

Smith.ai

They charge

$300 for 30 calls, then $11.50 per additional call. Their Basic is $810 for 90 calls and their Pro is $2,100 for 300.

$2,100 a month at 300 calls, on their own Pro plan

smith.ai/pricing

Where we are better, and it is checkable

  • ✓Eight times cheaper at 300 calls a month, measured against their best plan for that volume rather than against overage on their smallest.
  • ✓Answers instantly at 2am with nobody in a queue ahead of you.
  • ✓Quotes from the price book you confirmed, so the caller hears a real number on the call instead of a promise that someone will get back to them.

What they do better than we do

Real people handle the genuinely weird call better than any AI does today. An angry customer, a confusing address, a call that needs judgment: a human wins that one.

Against them we would sell you $249 a month.

SaveTheJob vs Smith.ai, in full

Human receptionists

Ruby Receptionists

They charge

$250 for 50 minutes, $395 for 100, $720 for 200, $1,725 for 500

Between $720 and $1,725 a month at 300 calls

ruby.com/pricing

Where we are better, and it is checkable

  • ✓Thirteen times the included minutes at 40 percent of the price.
  • ✓24/7 with no after-hours surcharge.
  • ✓Books into your dispatch board, not into an email.

What they do better than we do

Twenty years of brand trust, and receptionists who genuinely sound warm. Their call quality is the benchmark the whole category gets measured against, including us.

Against them we would sell you $99 a month.

SaveTheJob vs Ruby Receptionists, in full

Human receptionists

PATLive

They charge

$49 pay-as-you-go at $2.99 a minute, then minute plans from $99 for 50 up to $6,899 for 5,000. The rate falls with volume, from $2.29 a minute to $1.49.

About $1,584 a month at 300 calls, on their 1,000-minute plan plus overage

patlive.com/pricing

Where we are better, and it is checkable

  • ✓About six times cheaper at real contractor volume.
  • ✓Their rate improves with volume but every tier is still an allowance you can overrun at a per-minute price. Ours caps at the plan price.
  • ✓Emergency triage written per trade instead of a generic script.

What they do better than we do

Human agents, a 4.9 on Trustpilot, and an onboarding team people actually like. Almost no public complaints about them exist, which is rarer than it sounds.

Against them we would sell you $249 a month.

SaveTheJob vs PATLive, in full

Human receptionists

AnswerConnect

They charge

$350 to $575 a month plus a $49.99 setup fee. Minute allowances are not published.

Where we are better, and it is checkable

  • ✓Published minute allowance and published overage, so there is no surprise.
  • ✓No setup fee.
  • ✓Quotes from the price book you confirmed and books the slot on the call itself.

What they do better than we do

Live humans around the clock and a strong review profile across the board, also 4.9 on Trustpilot.

Against them we would sell you $99 a month.

SaveTheJob vs AnswerConnect, in full

AI answering

Rosie

They charge

$49 for 250 minutes, $149 for 1,000, $299 for 2,000, paid monthly. Paying for the year is two months free, which puts the entry at about $41 a month.

heyrosie.com/pricing

Where we are better, and it is checkable

  • ✓Books straight onto your Google Calendar, or onto a calendar we give you. Rosie reaches your systems only through Zapier.
  • ✓Quotes only from the price book you confirmed, and never invents a number.
  • ✓Emergency triage written for the trade, not one script for every industry.

What they do better than we do

Their middle and top tiers still buy a few more minutes per dollar than ours, and their product is simpler to understand. If minutes are all you need, buy Rosie. We mean that.

Against them we would sell you $99 a month.

SaveTheJob vs Rosie, in full

AI answering

Goodcall

They charge

$79, $129 and $249 per agent paid monthly, or $66, $108 and $208 paid annually, with unlimited minutes, capped at 100, 250 and 500 unique customers, then 50 cents each

goodcall.com/pricing

Where we are better, and it is checkable

  • ✓Their cap counts unique customers, so a busy month of repeat callers can cost more than the tier looks like it costs.
  • ✓Emergency triage written for the trade, so a no-heat call at 2am is handled as an emergency and not as a booking.
  • ✓No price book the agent is bound to.

What they do better than we do

Unlimited minutes is a genuinely better fit for a shop whose calls run long. No allowance we publish can beat not having one.

Against them we would sell you $99 a month.

SaveTheJob vs Goodcall, in full

Built into field service software

Jobber Receptionist

They charge

$29 a month for 30 conversations, then 79 cents each, as an add-on. Included with unlimited conversations on Jobber Plus, which is $449 a month.

$242.30 a month at 300 conversations on the add-on, which is their own $29 plus 270 at 79 cents. On Jobber Plus it is nothing extra, because Plus is $449 whether the phone rings or not.

help.getjobber.com, Receptionist powered by Jobber AI

Where we are better, and it is checkable

  • ✓Their meter starts after 30 conversations and never stops, and it counts the wrong number and the tyre-kicker the same as the booked job. Ours is minutes included in the plan, and a hard ceiling at twice those minutes, so a freeze week cannot run the bill past a number you were told in advance.
  • ✓The call ends with a price and a slot. Jobber's receptionist opens a work request for you to quote later; ours quotes from the price book you confirmed and books against it.
  • ✓Emergency triage written per trade, so a burst main and a dripping tap are not the same conversation.
  • ✓Reports what the booked jobs invoiced, not how many conversations happened. Nobody billing you 79 cents a conversation has a reason to build that report.

What they do better than we do

On Jobber Plus it is included with no conversation limit, and it is native to the tool you already open every morning. If you are already paying for Plus, start there. Genuinely: nothing we sell beats a receptionist that costs you nothing more and is already looking at your schedule.

Against them we would sell you $249 a month.

SaveTheJob vs Jobber Receptionist, in full

Built into field service software

Housecall Pro CSR AI

They charge

Add-on price not published. The platform is $79, $189 or $329 a month paid monthly, or $59, $149 or $299 a month if you pay for the year, and API access requires the top plan either way.

housecallpro.com/pricing

Where we are better, and it is checkable

  • ✓Our price is published. Theirs is not, so the only way to find out what CSR AI costs you is to get on a call with someone whose job is to find out what you will pay.
  • ✓The call ends with a price and a slot. CSR AI answers and captures; ours quotes from the price book you confirmed and books against it.
  • ✓Emergency triage written per trade, so a burst main and a dripping tap are not the same call.
  • ✓No requirement to upgrade to the $299 tier just to get the integration.

What they do better than we do

Booking that happens natively inside Housecall Pro, with zero integration risk. Nothing beats being built into the tool. If you are on Housecall Pro and the add-on price they quote you comes in under ours, take it. You would be buying the shorter path to the same booked job.

Against them we would sell you $99 a month.

SaveTheJob vs Housecall Pro CSR AI, in full

Front-office platform

Podium AI Employee

They charge

$399 or $599 a month, plus $30 per phone seat, plus a $500 setup fee per location, on a 12-month contract. The AI add-on price is not published.

podium.com/pricing

Where we are better, and it is checkable

  • ✓No annual contract that restarts when you change plans.
  • ✓No per-location setup fee.
  • ✓Published, capped overage instead of a quote.

What they do better than we do

Reviews, payments, webchat and messaging in one place. If what you want is a whole front office, Podium is a platform and we are not.

Against them we would sell you $249 a month.

SaveTheJob vs Podium AI Employee, in full

Phone system add-on

RingCentral AI Receptionist

They charge

$49 a month standalone including 100 minutes, then 50 cents a minute, billed in 30-second increments

About $524 a month at 300 calls on their published pay-as-you-go rate. They also sell minute bundles, and do not publish what those cost.

ringcentral.com

Where we are better, and it is checkable

  • ✓At 300 calls a month they cost about $524. The $49 headline inverts fast.
  • ✓Their 30-second rounding inflates every short call.
  • ✓No price book the agent is bound to. Ours quotes only from the one you confirmed.

What they do better than we do

The $49 start is real, it works on your existing number by forwarding, and for a very low volume shop it is the cheapest legitimate way to stop missing calls.

Against them we would sell you $249 a month.

SaveTheJob vs RingCentral AI Receptionist, in full

The only comparison that counts is yours.

Put in your website. In about a minute you get an agent built from your own trade, your own towns and your own hours, and you talk to it in the browser. Then go do the same with whoever else you are looking at.

No email. No card. No phone number handed out.

Start

One Truck$39 a monthStart the setupCrew$99 a monthStart the setupFleet$249 a monthStart the setup

No card on that page. We build the agent from your site, you correct it, and billing is set up with you before your number goes live.

Built for these trades

Every comparison on this page applies to the trades we actually built this for. Trade-specific triage, emergency handling, and price refusal logic ships for all sixteen.

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