Comparison hub · Updated September 20, 2026

Compare AI receptionists and live answering services for home service pros

This is the comparison hub for home service businesses. Are you leaving a live answering service, weighing another AI receptionist, or trying to decide between the two? Find the company below. Each page sets its own published plan next to ours and shows the date we read it.

Pick a plan

7 days free, then your plan price each month. No setup fee. Card required, cancel before day 7 and you pay nothing.

Hear it first: (954) 417-1740. Bella answers as your business.

Where to startSeptember 20, 2026

Leaving a live answering service? Start with PATLive, AnswerConnect or Ruby.

Weighing another AI? Try Rosie or Goodcall.

Looking at Smith.ai? See alternatives or pricing.

Not sure an AI is right? Read AI vs. human answering.

Competitor figures are quoted from each company's own page and dated.

9 comparison pagesSourced and datedNo affiliate links

Pick the page that matches your situation. Nine to choose from.

You do not have to read all nine. Find the company you are weighing, or the question you are stuck on, and start there.

Leaving a live answering service

PATLive alternatives for home service businessesPATLive says live receptionists answer 100% of calls. This page sets its published plans and terms beside a flat AI plan, and says plainly when PATLive is the better fit.

AnswerConnect alternatives for home service prosAnswerConnect says it offers real people, not automated voices. This page covers its plans, setup fees and contract terms, and says when AnswerConnect is the better fit.

Ruby receptionist alternatives for home service prosRuby's pricing page lists 100% live receptionists. This page covers its plan sizes, its contract and cancellation terms, and how its optional AI differs from an AI receptionist.

Weighing another AI receptionist

Rosie AI alternatives for home service businessesRosie calls itself an AI answering service, so the choice comes down to plan size, what happens past your minutes and which features sit on the plan you can afford. The page says when Rosie is the better fit.

Goodcall alternatives for home service businessesGoodcall offers an AI phone agent. This page compares how each of you meters a busy month, and says when Goodcall is the better fit.

Looking at Smith.ai

Smith.ai alternatives for law firmsSeven alternatives to Smith.ai, written from a law firm's point of view. Home service owners can still use it for the questions to ask. Figures are dated August 2026.

Smith.ai pricing: what it costs in 2026Smith.ai's receptionist and AI plans and its add-on fees, as published in August 2026, plus when an alternative fits better.

Price checks and the big question

Ruby receptionist pricing, explainedRuby's published plans laid out in plain words, with the cost per minute worked out. Dated August 2026. Read it if price is the one thing you are checking.

AI vs. human answering: how to decideA plain way to decide between a person and an AI on your phone: when live agents win, when AI wins, and when a mix makes sense. Dated August 2026.

At a glance. Who answers the phone.

Whether a person or an AI picks up is the first thing to settle. Here is how each company's own pages describe it, as of September 20, 2026.

Who answers, per each company's own pages, as of September 20, 2026
Company	Who answers
PATLive	Live receptionists answer 100% of calls
AnswerConnect	Real people, not automated voices
Ruby	100% live receptionists, plus optional AI enhancements at no extra cost
Smith.aiSmith.ai pricing	Receptionist plans: live-staffed by expert agents 24/7. AI plans: AI answers first; complex calls can be transferred to a live North America-based receptionist.
Rosie	AI answering service
Goodcall	AI phone agent
ServiceHawk AISee the plans	An AI receptionist named Bella. Real emergencies transfer live to your phone.

If you want a person on every call, the live services above are built for that, and the pages dated September 20, 2026 say so. If you want every call answered at any hour on one flat monthly plan, an AI receptionist is built for that. The AI vs. human answering page goes through the trade-off.

How we compare. Sourced, dated and honest about our own limits.

We sell ServiceHawk AI, so we are one of the options on every page here. Read these pages the way you would read any vendor's comparison, and check the sources yourself. The pages dated September 20, 2026 follow every rule below. The pages dated August 2026 were written earlier and show their own dates.

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Every competitor figure comes from that company's own page.We quote it from the company's public pricing or terms page. The pages dated September 20, 2026 list every source link at the bottom, so you can open the same page we did.

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Every page shows the date it was read.The pages dated September 20, 2026 were read on that day. The pages dated August 2026 show that month. Plans change without notice, so check the date before you trust a number.

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No guessing.On the pages dated September 20, 2026, when a company does not publish a price, the page says so instead of making one up.

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We do not rate anyone's service.On the pages dated September 20, 2026 we report published plans and terms and say when the other option fits your case. We do not rate another company's service, quote reviews or use logos. None of the links on this page are affiliate links.

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We say when the other company is the better fit.Each page dated September 20, 2026 has a section on that, and another on where ServiceHawk AI falls short.

Where ServiceHawk AI fits, and where it does not.

ServiceHawk AI is an AI receptionist for home service businesses. Bella answers your phone 24/7 on a dedicated number, captures every caller, transfers real emergencies live to your phone and emails you a summary after every call.

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Answer, $99 a month.400 minutes included, live transfer to your phone for real emergencies, a summary emailed after every call, and answers in up to 5 languages.

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Book, $149 a month.Everything in Answer, plus appointment booking into your calendar and a text follow-up to the caller, with 1,000 minutes included. Booking works with Google Calendar, Outlook, iCloud and Jobber when you paste the calendar's private link.

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Past your minutes, $0.25 a minute.We email you at 80% of your included minutes. A second phone number is $19 a month, and text follow-up on Answer is $29 a month.

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Leave whenever you like.There is no contract and no notice period.

What Bella is not. She is software, not a person. She does not promise a technician or a response time you have not authorized. If a human voice on every call matters more to you than the price, a live answering service is the better fit, and the pages above say so.

How switching works

Pick a plan and pay. The plans are on the plan page.

Check your email. You get your new number and 9 quick questions about your business.

Forward your line. Conditional forwarding works, so she can answer only the calls you miss. You are live the same day.

Quick answers before you click.

Which AI receptionist or answering service should a home service business compare first?

There is no single best one. It depends on what you are leaving. If you want a person on every call, a live answering service is built for that. If you want every call answered at any hour on one flat monthly price, an AI receptionist is. Pick the page above for the company you are weighing and compare the numbers on the same date.

How do I compare AI receptionists?

Line up five things: the monthly price, the minutes or calls included and what happens past them, whether a person or an AI answers, what booking and texting cost, and how you cancel. The five pages dated September 20, 2026 put those side by side and show where each number came from.

Should I choose an AI receptionist or a live answering service?

A live service puts a person on every call, and that is worth paying for if your customers expect it. An AI receptionist answers at any hour on a flat monthly plan. A mix of the two is possible as well. The AI vs. human answering page above goes through when each one wins.

Are the prices on the comparison pages current?

They were current on the date printed on each page. Five of the pages were read on September 20, 2026, and the other four show August 2026. Companies change plans without notice, so click through to the company's own page before you decide.

How much does ServiceHawk AI cost?

Answer is $99 a month with 400 minutes included, and Book is $149 a month with 1,000 minutes included. Past your included minutes it is $0.25 a minute. There is no setup fee and no contract.

Is ServiceHawk AI the right choice for every business?

No. Bella is an AI receptionist, not a person, and she does not promise a technician or a response time you have not authorized. If you need a human voice on every call, the other company is the better fit, and each page dated September 20, 2026 says when.

Next step

Judge the voice yourself.

A price table only tells you half of it. Call the demo line and Bella answers as your business, so you hear what your customers would hear. Then line her up against the company you are weighing.

Flat plans from $99 a month