Comparison · Checked September 20, 2026

PATLive alternatives for home service businesses

Looking for PATLive alternatives? PATLive sells plans by the minute, and says live receptionists answer 100% of calls. ServiceHawk AI answers with an AI receptionist on a flat monthly plan. Here is how the two compare for a plumber, an HVAC company or any other trade, using PATLive's own published numbers as of September 20, 2026.

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.

Quick verdictSeptember 20, 2026

Want a person on every call? PATLive says it is fully human, no AI.

Tired of the minute meter? ServiceHawk AI is $99 a month with 400 minutes included.

Same $99 price tag. On PATLive it is $99 per month for 50 minutes. On ServiceHawk AI it is 400 minutes, answered by AI.

Sourced to PATLive's pagesArithmetic shownNo affiliate links

Why owners go looking for PATLive alternatives. Usually it is the meter.

Read this the way you would read any vendor's comparison. We sell ServiceHawk AI, so we are one of the options. Every PATLive figure comes from PATLive's own public pages, read on September 20, 2026 and listed at the bottom. We did not talk to PATLive, and this page has no affiliate links. How we check these numbers.

PATLive answers your phone with people. Its pages describe the service as fully human, no AI. If that is what you want, stay a minute, because there are real reasons to keep PATLive. The reasons people leave are mostly about how the bill is built.

The meter runs on every call.PATLive sells plans by included minutes. Past your plan, minutes cost $2.29 per additional minute on the 50-minute plan and $1.99 per additional minute on the 200-minute plan. On pay as you go it is $2.99 per additional minute.

A slow month banks nothing.PATLive's FAQ says that package minutes do not roll over from one month to the next, so the minutes you skipped in July are gone by August.

Short calls still cost a full minute.PATLive bills talk time like this: first minute in full, then 6-second increments. A quick wrong number still costs you at least that first minute.

Texting is its own charge.To turn on business texting, PATLive lists a $50 one-time fee to activate texting. Its pricing page also notes that listed prices exclude taxes and fees.

None of that is hidden. It is all on PATLive's own pages, linked at the bottom. It is just a different way to pay for an answering line than a flat plan, and for a home service business with a busy season the difference adds up fast.

PATLive pricing and terms next to ServiceHawk AI

Everything in the PATLive column comes from PATLive's own pages, as of September 20, 2026. The ServiceHawk AI column is our own published plans.

PATLive vs ServiceHawk AI, published terms as of September 20, 2026
	PATLive	ServiceHawk AI
Who answers	PATLive says live receptionists answer 100% of calls. It also says it is fully human, no AI.	An AI receptionist named Bella. Real emergencies transfer live to your phone.
Entry price	$49 per month on pay as you go, with no included minutes.	$99 a month on the Answer plan, with 400 minutes included.
Plans with minutes	$99 per month for 50 minutes $189 per month for 100 minutes $349 per month for 200 minutes $479 per month for 300 minutes $759 per month for 500 minutes Larger plans: $1,499 per month for 1,000 minutes up to $6,899 per month for 5,000 minutes. The page also has a link labeled Show larger plans.	Answer: $99 a month, 400 minutes included. Book: $149 a month, 1,000 minutes included.
Past your minutes	$2.29 per additional minute on the 50-minute plan. $1.99 per additional minute on the 200-minute plan. $1.89 per additional minute on the 300-minute plan. $2.99 per additional minute on pay as you go.	$0.25 a minute. We email you at 80% of your included minutes.
Contract	FAQ: no contract, upgrade, downgrade or cancel anytime. Terms: bills month-to-month and auto-renews each month until you cancel.	Month to month, cancel anytime. There is no contract and no notice period.
Hours	24/7 and 365 days a year, with no extra charge for overnight, weekend or holiday calls.	24/7 on a dedicated number.
Booking	Scheduling: appointment scheduling included with every plan.	The Book plan books appointments into your calendar.
Texting	$50 one-time fee to activate texting.	Text follow-up to the caller is included on Book and is $29 a month on Answer.
Languages	English and Spanish at no extra charge.	Answers in up to 5 languages.
Second phone number	$5 per month per additional number.	$19 a month.
Free trial	14-day free trial on any plan. The trial converts to a paid account unless you cancel.	7 days free, then your plan price. Card required, cancel before day 7 and you pay nothing.
Job software	PATLive's home services page says it integrates with Jobber and ServiceTitan.	Booking works with Google Calendar, Outlook, iCloud and Jobber by pasting the calendar's private link. We do not list a ServiceTitan integration.

Sources for the PATLive column: its pricing page, FAQs and terms of use. The full list is at the bottom of this page.

What a month of calls costs on PATLive and on ServiceHawk AI

Sticker prices mean little until you set your own call volume against them. This table uses PATLive's published plans and our two. The PATLive sums are ours, not theirs. For each row we took the cheapest way to cover those minutes across all 11 plans on PATLive's pricing page, adding the overage rate for any minutes above a plan's allowance. It counts talk time only and leaves out taxes and fees. Our homepage assumes a typical service call runs three to four minutes, so 400 minutes is roughly 100 to 130 calls.

Monthly cost by minutes of calls, PATLive at its published rates, as of September 20, 2026
Minutes of calls a month	PATLive	ServiceHawk AI
10 minutes	Pay as you go: $49 per month plus 10 minutes at $2.99 per additional minute (our arithmetic: $29.90), so $78.90. That is $20.10 less than our $99.	$99 a month (Answer)
50 minutes	$99 per month for 50 minutes. Same price as our $99, with 50 minutes against our 400.	$99 a month (Answer)
200 minutes	$349 per month for 200 minutes. That is $250 more than our $99.	$99 a month (Answer)
400 minutes	$479 per month for 300 minutes plus 100 extra minutes at $1.89 per additional minute (our arithmetic: $189), so $668. That is $569 more than our $99.	$99 a month (Answer, 400 included)
500 minutes	$759 per month for 500 minutes. That is $610 more than our $149 Book plan.	$149 a month (Book, 1,000 included)

Another way to see it is to divide each plan by its included minutes: $99 per month for 50 minutes (about $1.98 a minute); $189 per month for 100 minutes (about $1.89 a minute); $349 per month for 200 minutes (about $1.75 a minute); $479 per month for 300 minutes (about $1.60 a minute); $759 per month for 500 minutes (about $1.52 a minute). Ours works out to about a quarter a minute on Answer ($99 for 400 minutes) and about 15 cents on Book ($149 for 1,000).

Pay as you go is where PATLive is cheaper. At $49 per month plus $2.99 per additional minute, it stays under our $99 until about 16 minutes of talk time a month, which is four or five calls. If your phone rings fewer times than that, read the next section twice.

When PATLive is the better fit

We sell the other option, so here is the honest list. PATLive is the better fit in these cases.

✓

You want a person on every call.PATLive says live receptionists answer 100% of calls and that it is fully human, no AI. If your customers expect a human voice on the line, that is what PATLive sells and Bella is not.

✓

Your phone barely rings.On $49 per month with no included minutes, pay as you go can cost less than our $99 when you use under about 16 minutes a month.

✓

You want receptionists in the United States.PATLive's FAQ says it has receptionists all located in the United States.

✓

You want a longer free trial.PATLive offers a 14-day free trial on any plan. Ours is 7 days.

✓

You want a listed Jobber or ServiceTitan integration.PATLive says it integrates with Jobber and ServiceTitan. Our booking works by pasting a calendar's private link, and we do not list a ServiceTitan integration.

✓

You need extra phone numbers on the cheap.PATLive lists $5 per month per additional number. A second number on ServiceHawk AI is $19 a month.

When ServiceHawk AI makes more sense

ServiceHawk AI makes more sense if these sound like your shop.

✓

Your call volume is real.Answer includes 400 minutes a month and Book includes 1,000. At the three to four minutes we assume for a service call, that is roughly 100 to 130 calls on Answer and 250 to 330 on Book.

✓

You want one number to budget.It is $99 or $149 a month. Past your included minutes it is $0.25 a minute, and we email you at 80% so a busy month is never a surprise.

✓

You want jobs booked, not just messages taken.On Book, Bella books appointments into your calendar and texts the caller a follow-up. It works with Google Calendar, Outlook, iCloud and Jobber by pasting the calendar's private link. See how it sounds on a plumbing call or an HVAC call.

✓

You want to leave the door open.There is no setup fee, no contract and no notice period, and you cancel anytime. New customers also get a 30-day refund policy if they are eligible. The terms have the details.

✓

Your callers speak more than one language.Bella answers in up to 5 languages.

What ServiceHawk AI does not do

Nobody should sign up for a phone answering service on the good news alone. These are the limits.

She is not a person.Bella is an AI receptionist. You tell her what counts as urgent for your trade, and she follows that rule on the call instead of guessing. If you want a human making the judgment calls, PATLive, which describes itself as fully human, no AI, is the better fit.

She does not promise a technician.Bella does not promise a technician or a response time you have not authorized. On a real emergency she rings your phone with the caller still on the line, and your team is responsible for the response.

Two things cost extra.Text follow-up on the Answer plan is a $29 a month add-on, and a second phone number is $19 a month.

How to switch from PATLive without missing a call

Hear Bella first. Call (954) 417-1740. Tell her what your business does and she answers as your business on that same call.

Pick a plan and pay. Choose Answer or Book at the plans page. You get an email with your new number and 9 quick questions. Reply in your own words.

Forward your line. Forward every call, or use conditional forwarding so she answers only the calls you miss. You are live the same day. If you like, start with missed calls and compare her emailed summaries with what you get today.

Then cancel PATLive. PATLive's terms say it bills month-to-month and auto-renews each month until you cancel. Check those terms for how to cancel before your next renewal.

More PATLive alternatives to look at

There are two other kinds of alternative. We wrote up both with the same rules: published numbers only, dated, with sources.

✓

Another live answering service.Read AnswerConnect alternatives or Ruby receptionist alternatives for their plans and terms next to ours.

✓

Another AI receptionist.See the best AI receptionist for home services for AI options side by side, and the AI receptionist cost guide for what they charge.

✓

Not sure AI or people is right?AI vs human answering walks through the trade-off, and the comparison hub lists every page like this one.

Questions owners ask about PATLive alternatives

What is the best PATLive alternative for a home service business?

It depends on what you want to change. If the per-minute bill is the problem, an AI receptionist on a flat plan is the closest fix, and ServiceHawk AI starts at $99 a month with 400 minutes included. If you want a person on every call, look at other live answering services, and see our write-ups of AnswerConnect and Ruby. If a human voice is your priority, PATLive says it is fully human, no AI.

How much does PATLive cost per month?

PATLive's pricing page shows 11 plans, from pay as you go up to $6,899 per month for 5,000 minutes, and a link labeled Show larger plans. The ones nearest a home service business are $49 per month on pay as you go, then $99 per month for 50 minutes, $189 per month for 100 minutes, $349 per month for 200 minutes, $479 per month for 300 minutes and $759 per month for 500 minutes. That is as of September 20, 2026. PATLive also notes that listed prices exclude taxes and fees.

Does PATLive have a contract?

PATLive's FAQ answers the question this way: no contract, upgrade, downgrade or cancel anytime. Its terms of use add that PATLive bills month-to-month and auto-renews each month until you cancel. Read the terms for the exact cancellation steps before you decide.

Is there an AI alternative to PATLive?

Yes. 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. Call (954) 417-1740 and she answers as your business, so you can judge the voice yourself.

Can I keep my phone number if I leave PATLive?

You keep the number your customers already dial. ServiceHawk AI gives you a dedicated number and you forward your line to it. Conditional forwarding works, so Bella can answer only the calls you miss. If your line currently forwards to PATLive, you point that forwarding at Bella's number instead.

How much do 400 minutes a month cost on PATLive?

By our arithmetic, the cheapest way to cover 400 minutes on PATLive's published plans is $479 per month for 300 minutes plus 100 extra minutes at $1.89 per additional minute, which makes $668 in all. ServiceHawk AI's Answer plan is $99 a month and includes 400 minutes. It is not a perfect like for like, since PATLive describes itself as fully human, no AI and Bella is AI, but the minutes are the same.

Where every PATLive number came from

Every PATLive claim on this page sits next to the page it came from. Here is the full list. If PATLive changes a number, its own page wins over ours.

PATLive pricing page · read on September 20, 2026
PATLive FAQs · read on September 20, 2026
PATLive terms of use · read on September 20, 2026
PATLive live phone answering page · read on September 20, 2026
PATLive home services page · read on September 20, 2026

Your move

Hear Bella before you decide.

Call the demo line and tell her what your business does. She answers as your business on the same call, so you hear what your customers would hear. If it sounds right, pick a plan.

Answer, $99 a month: 400 minutes, live transfer for emergencies and a summary emailed after every call.
Book, $149 a month: everything in Answer, plus calendar booking and a text follow-up to the caller, with 1,000 minutes.

Flat plans from $99 a month

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.

Or hear Bella first: (954) 417-1740

30-day refund policy for eligible new customers. Read the terms.
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