Smith.ai vs. Ruby vs. an AI Receptionist: What Does a Trade Shop Actually Get for the Money?

If you have ever priced out phone coverage for a plumbing, HVAC, roofing, electrical, or garage door shop, you have probably run into Smith.ai and Ruby. They are two of the best-known names in remote receptionist services, and both are legitimate, well-run companies. You have also probably run into a pile of AI receptionist startups promising to do the same job for a fraction of the price.

This article puts real numbers side by side so you can see what a trade shop actually gets for the money. We are The AI Phone Guy, so we are one of the options here. To keep this honest, every competitor price and feature below comes from that company's own website, checked in October 2026, and is linked in the Sources section. If a vendor's site did not say something, we left it out.

What does Ruby cost, and what do you get?

Ruby's pricing page lists its virtual receptionist plans by monthly minutes:

Ruby is people. Its FAQ says plainly, "Ruby uses live, human receptionists," and that AI supports the experience behind the scenes with things like transcripts and AI-assisted call flows. The pricing page says live answering is 24/7, "including after-hours, on weekends, and holidays," and that optional AI enhancements are included in all plans at no extra cost. Ruby's FAQ also says Ruby receptionists can answer common questions, capture leads, and schedule appointments, and that English-Spanish bilingual answering is available 24/7.

On fees, Ruby's pricing page says, "There are no additional or hidden fees for activation, onboarding, setup, customization, or coverage during certain periods." Its FAQ says there are "no long-term contracts," and it also suggests asking which items may cost extra, listing "holiday coverage, bilingual answering, appointment scheduling, integrations, and setup." Our read: ask Ruby for a written quote that names your exact needs. We did not find overage rates or the method for counting minutes on Ruby's pricing page or FAQ, so ask about both.

What a trade shop gets with Ruby: a warm, trained human voice on every call, around the clock. The tradeoff is that you buy minutes, and trade calls are not always short. A homeowner describing a water stain on the ceiling can take a while.

What does Smith.ai cost, and what do you get?

Smith.ai sells two different things, and it is worth keeping them separate.

Smith.ai human-first virtual receptionists

Smith.ai's receptionist pricing page describes "Professional call answering by real people," "Live-staffed with expert agents 24/7":

Smith.ai lists "No setup fees," month-to-month billing with no long-term contract, 10% off for a 12-month subscription, and a 30-day money-back guarantee for new clients (up to $1,000, overage excluded). It also says, "Calls at 2 pm and 2 am cost the same," so there is no after-hours upcharge.

Booking is an add-on. The same page lists "Book appointments: $1.50" per call, plus other per-call add-ons such as SMS or Slack notifications ($0.50) and a dedicated Spanish line ($1.00).

Smith.ai AI-first AI Receptionist

Smith.ai's AI Receptionist pricing page is a different product and a much lower price:

Smith.ai describes Pro as "Set it up yourself with dedicated support," and Enterprise as "Full-service setup with custom AI prompting." The free plan includes 24/7 AI call answering, AI scheduling ("Calendly & more"), and native integrations ("Clio, Zapier & more"). Its FAQ says the AI Receptionist is month-to-month, with 30 days' notice to cancel.

The standout feature is the human backstop. Smith.ai says its AI Receptionist offers "on-demand escalation to Smith.ai's 24/7 Live Agent Network," so if a caller needs more than the AI can handle, it "can immediately transfer them to an experienced live agent at your discretion." We did not find what that escalation costs on the AI pricing page, so ask before you count on it.

What does the same month of calls cost with each option?

Here is a simple worked example. These are our numbers, not the vendors': we took each vendor's published price and did the arithmetic. Your actual bill depends on your call volume and which add-ons you use.

Say your shop takes 90 calls a month and you want every caller booked on the calendar.

• Smith.ai human Basic: $810 for 90 calls, plus $1.50 per call to book appointments ($135 if every call books). About $945 a month before any other add-ons.
• Ruby: Ruby bills by minutes, not calls. If your calls average three minutes (that is an assumption for illustration, not a Ruby figure), 90 calls is about 270 minutes, which is more than the 200-minute plan ($720) and less than the 500-minute plan ($1,725). Ask Ruby how overage minutes are billed for that in-between month.
• Smith.ai AI Receptionist Pro: the 150-call tier is $270 a month, set up yourself with dedicated support.
• The AI Phone Guy: $482 a month, no contract, no per-minute billing, set up for you.

The honest summary: a live human service costs the most at trade call volumes. Smith.ai's AI Receptionist costs less than we do. We sit in the middle on price.

Are there other AI receptionists built for the trades?

Yes. Two worth knowing about, based only on what their own sites say:

• Sameday. Sameday's pricing page lists a Launch plan "from $449 per month" that starts with 500 minutes and three locations, and a Scale plan "from $789 per month" that starts with 1,000 minutes. Both mention "Pro scheduling (ServiceTitan etc)." Sameday lists HVAC, roofing, plumbing, electrician, garage door, and other trades, and says, "Most people can start taking calls in just 30 minutes." We did not find overage rates or contract terms on that page.
• Avoca. Avoca's homepage calls itself "The AI Front Office for Service Businesses," lists HVAC, plumbing, electrical, garage door, roofing, and other trades, and shows ServiceTitan as a "Certified App." We did not find public pricing; its calls to action are "Book a Demo" and "Talk to Us."

If your shop lives inside ServiceTitan, both are worth a look, and it is fair to ask each one for a live demo against your own call types.

What does a human receptionist do better than AI?

Credit where it is due. A trained human can calm down a panicked homeowner, follow a rambling story, and handle a truly one-of-a-kind question in a way that software still finds hard. If a large share of your calls are long, emotional, or unusual, a human service like Ruby or Smith.ai's receptionists may be worth the premium.

Human services also bring scale and polish that a small vendor cannot match. Both Ruby and Smith.ai list 24/7 live coverage, and both mention bilingual English-Spanish options on their sites.

We have a longer, vendor-neutral breakdown of this tradeoff in answering service vs. AI receptionist and AI receptionist vs. virtual receptionist.

What does an AI receptionist do better than a human service?

Two things matter most for a trade shop: cost at volume and speed.

On cost, per-call and per-minute pricing climbs with every call, which means your phone bill goes up in exactly the months you are busiest, like the first heat wave in DFW or the week after a hailstorm. A flat price, or a cheaper per-call AI rate, keeps that from punishing you for being in demand.

On speed, every option here answers live, which is the point. The research is clear about why that matters. Invoca's 2024 research on home-services businesses found 27% of calls go unanswered, and fewer than 3% of callers sent to voicemail leave a message. Ruby's own 2023 Call Trends Report found 80% of callers would rather hang up than leave a voicemail. The MIT lead-response study (Oldroyd, 2007), summarized in Harvard Business Review's "The Short Life of Online Sales Leads" (2011), found that responding within 5 minutes instead of 30 made a business 100 times more likely to reach a lead and 21 times more likely to qualify it. Any of these services beats voicemail. The question is which one fits your budget and your calls.

Where does The AI Phone Guy fit?

We are an AI receptionist for Dallas-Fort Worth home-service trades: HVAC, plumbing, roofing, electrical, and garage doors. It answers every call, qualifies the job, books it on your calendar, and texts you the details.

What separates us from the cheaper AI options is that we do the setup. We build it around your shop (your services, your service area, your hours, your rules for which calls ring your cell) and it is live in under 48 hours. You do not log into a builder or write prompts. If you want to see what that looks like, read how an AI phone answering service gets set up for a shop.

The price is $482 a month. No contract. No per-minute billing. Nights and weekends included.

Who should pick which option?

• Pick Ruby if a live human voice on every call is the priority and your volume fits its minute plans. It is the most traditional, human-first choice.
• Pick Smith.ai's human receptionists if you want live people, per-call (not per-minute) pricing, and a 30-day money-back guarantee to try it.
• Pick Smith.ai's AI Receptionist if you want the lowest price, you are comfortable setting it up yourself, and you like having a human escalation option behind the AI. At very low volume, its free plan (25 calls a month) is hard to beat.
• Look at Sameday or Avoca if your shop runs on ServiceTitan and you want an AI built around that workflow.
• Pick The AI Phone Guy if you are a DFW trade shop, you want AI answering at a flat monthly price, and you want someone local to build and maintain it for you instead of doing it yourself.

What is the next step?

Call the demo lines before you sign anything. Ours is (817) 670-9689: tell it your trade and company name, then call in a real job and try to trip it up. You can also hear it on our demo page. Do the same with any other vendor on your list and compare how each one handles the same call.

If we are the right fit, book a discovery call and we will map your call flow and get you live. If another option fits better, take it. The goal is the same either way: stop sending paying customers to voicemail.

Frequently asked questions

How much does Ruby cost per month?

As listed on ruby.com/pricing in October 2026, Ruby's live virtual receptionist plans are $250 a month for 50 minutes, $395 for 100 minutes, $720 for 200 minutes, and $1,725 for 500 minutes. Ruby says coverage is 24/7 with live human receptionists, and its FAQ says there are no long-term contracts.

How much does Smith.ai cost per month?

Smith.ai has two lines. Its human-first virtual receptionist plans are $300 a month for 30 calls, $810 for 90 calls, and $2,100 for 300 calls, with per-call overage and a $1.50 per-call add-on for booking appointments. Its AI-first AI Receptionist has a free plan with 25 calls a month and Pro plans of $150, $270, and $500 a month for 75, 150, and 300 calls. Prices as listed on smith.ai in October 2026.

Is Smith.ai's AI Receptionist cheaper than The AI Phone Guy?

At lower call volumes, yes. Smith.ai's AI Receptionist Pro is $150 a month for 75 calls and $270 for 150 calls, versus $482 a month flat for The AI Phone Guy. Smith.ai Pro is set up yourself with dedicated support. The AI Phone Guy is set up for you, in under 48 hours, with no per-minute billing.

When is a human receptionist service like Ruby or Smith.ai worth the extra cost?

When a live human voice matters more than cost, when your calls are often long, emotional, or unusual, or when you need a human to handle things like bilingual calls with a person on the line. Both Ruby and Smith.ai's human plans are staffed 24/7 according to their own sites.

Do Sameday or Avoca publish prices?

Sameday's pricing page lists a Launch plan from $449 a month with 500 minutes and a Scale plan from $789 a month with 1,000 minutes. Avoca's homepage does not show public pricing; its calls to action are to book a demo or talk to the team.

Sources

Prices and features as listed on vendor sites, checked October 19, 2026.

• Ruby, Pricing (minute plans and prices, 24/7 live answering, no fees for activation, onboarding, setup, customization, or coverage periods, optional AI enhancements). ruby.com/pricing
• Ruby, FAQ (live human receptionists, no long-term contracts, appointment scheduling, bilingual answering, items to ask about). ruby.com/faq
• Smith.ai, Virtual Receptionist Pricing (human-first plans, overage, 24/7, no setup fees, month-to-month, money-back guarantee, $1.50 booking add-on). smith.ai/pricing/receptionists
• Smith.ai, AI Receptionist Pricing (Free, Pro, Enterprise tiers, $3.00 per call over free plan, self-serve Pro, live agent escalation, month-to-month with 30 days' notice). smith.ai/pricing/ai-receptionist
• Sameday, Pricing (Launch and Scale plans, minutes included, ServiceTitan scheduling, 30-minute start, industries). sameday.ai/pricing
• Avoca, Homepage (positioning, industries, ServiceTitan Certified App, no public pricing). avoca.ai
• The AI Phone Guy, Hear It (price: $482 a month, no contract, no per-minute billing). theaiphoneguy.com/hear-it
• Invoca, "How Much Do Missed Sales Calls Cost Home Services Businesses?" (2024). invoca.com
• Ruby, "2023 Call Trends Report" (2023). ruby.com
• J. Oldroyd, MIT / InsideSales Lead Response Management Study (2007).
• J. Oldroyd, K. McElheran, D. Elkington, "The Short Life of Online Sales Leads," Harvard Business Review (2011). hbr.org