Ruby receptionist alternatives: five live and AI services, priced

Ruby receptionist alternatives at a glance

Five Ruby receptionist alternatives are Smith.ai and AnswerConnect, which use live receptionists, and My AI Front Desk, Rosie and Dialzara, which answer with an AI. Ruby's own plans are $250 a month for 50 receptionist minutes, $395 for 100 and $720 for 200, as read on October 23, 2026. Prices below are US dollars, billed monthly.

Ruby bills in 60-second steps, rounds each call up, counts hold time and prints no rate for minutes over the plan.

Smith.ai and AnswerConnect: other live receptionist services

Smith.ai bills by the call, not the minute. Starter is $300 a month for 30 calls, Basic $810 for 90 calls and Pro $2,100 for 300 calls. Smith.ai vs Ruby compares the two plan by plan.

Smith.ai says all plans carry a 30-day money-back guarantee, with overage calls excluded, though one FAQ line says the first two weeks. AnswerConnect sells a live answering service and shows no price outside its registration form.

AI receptionists that cost less a month than Ruby

My AI Front Desk, Rosie and Dialzara each start below Ruby's $250, and each counts a different unit. My AI Front Desk's one self-serve plan, Business-in-a-Box, is $99 a month billed monthly for 200 voice minutes, then 25 credits ($0.25) a minute. Rosie Professional is $49 for 250 minutes, rounded up to 60 seconds. Dialzara Business Lite is $29 for 60 minutes, counted to the second.

All three hand calls to your own team, not to staffed receptionists. Rosie's warm and live transfers start on Scale and Dialzara's Lite makes blind transfers only, while a My AI Front Desk Hot Transfer adds a spoken summary and backup numbers.

The My AI Front Desk pricing page offers a 7-day free trial; its terms add that usage fees still apply during it and that continuing starts the subscription automatically, charged to the payment method you provided. The My AI Front Desk review lists the plan's other limits.

HIPAA, chat and guarantees to weigh before you leave Ruby

Ruby says HIPAA-compliant service is opt-in at no additional charge, and its FAQ says Calendly cannot be used with it. Smith.ai's law-firm page says Smith.ai is not HIPAA-compliant and cannot handle calls that involve protected health information.

My AI Front Desk's home page says it signs business associate agreements, while another of its pages says certifications are in progress and none says which plan includes an agreement, so get the BAA in writing. Rosie's terms make the covered entity responsible for executing a HIPAA BAA with Rosie, and Dialzara's comparison page says it is HIPAA compliant on all plans. This is not legal advice.

Ruby also sells live chat: 10 chats for $143 a month, 30 for $335 and 50 for $520. My AI Front Desk's plan lists 100 chatbot conversations a month. How much does an answering service cost covers the fees beyond the plan.

On guarantees, Ruby's runs 21 days for first-time users, or until usage passes 500 receptionist minutes, whichever comes first. My AI Front Desk's terms say refunds are generally not provided.

Which Ruby alternative fits which buyer

• Smith.ai for live receptionists billed by the call, except for calls with protected health information, by its own statement.
• AnswerConnect for live receptionists on monthly minute plans, once you have its quote.
• My AI Front Desk for voice, texts and chat on one plan sized for 1 to 10 interactions a day.
• Rosie for 250 minutes at $49 a month.
• Dialzara for minutes counted to the second, from $29 a month.

Stay with Ruby when every call must reach a live person and its HIPAA option matters.