Ruby alternatives
Ruby is our escalation partner and, in our view, the most human and empathetic receptionist service available; if you are leaving it, the honest question is whether you need a person on fewer calls, or a different kind of person.
A disclosure first: Ruby is aiReceptionist’s partner. When our receptionist meets a call that needs a person, Ruby is one of the desks it can hand to, and we recommend it without reservation for the calls where warmth is the whole job. So this is not a page about why Ruby is bad. It is a shortlist for people whose call volume or budget has outgrown paying a person for every call, or who need something Ruby does not sell, a medical desk with signed BAAs, or an AI at a flat price, ranked as fairly as we can manage.
Example call
Incoming call
New caller
(757) 555-0134
Outerbanks HVAC line
Sent to voicemail. That is the call you lose.
- Thank you for calling Outerbanks HVAC. This is Eryn, an AI receptionist.
- I can help with scheduling service, questions about your heating or cooling system, or an existing appointment.
- How can I help you today?
- Hi. My AC stopped cooling this morning. Can someone come out today?
- I can help with that. Are you a new or an existing customer?
- New. I found you online.
- Welcome. May I have your name and the best number to reach you?
- Dana Reyes. 757-555-0134.
- Thanks, Dana. What is the address for the visit?
- 412 Bay Street, Chesapeake.
- Got it. Is this urgent, or is later this week fine?
- Urgent. It is 88 degrees in the house. Any time after 2 today works.
- Understood. The diagnostic visit is $89. I will send your details to the service team now, and they will confirm the window with you.
- Can I talk to a person before I hang up?
- Of course. Transferring you to the team now.
- Transferred to a person. The human desk is the backup on every call.
- Message sent to your inbox
- Transcript and recording saved
Answered by aiReceptionist. It says it is an AI at the start of every call.
The shortlist
Human virtual receptionists, an AI receptionist, and a hybrid of the two. Virtual receptionist plans are priced per call: Starter $300/month for 30 calls, Basic $810/month for 90, Pro $2,100/month for 300, month-to-month with no setup fees and a 30-day money-back guarantee. The AI receptionist is free for 25 calls a month and $3.00 per call after that, or $2.00 per call on Pro.
Best for: Firms that want to choose call by call between a North American live agent and an AI, on one account.
A US-based receptionist team with human and AI answering on the same plan. Plans from $165/month for 50 Abby Minutes to $1,380/month for 500; an AI-answered minute counts as half an Abby Minute. Month-to-month, no setup fee, free trial included with every plan, 24/7 available with custom hours.
Best for: Businesses that want people on some calls and AI on the rest without running two services.
An AI receptionist that answers every call itself, in your words, at any hour, and transfers the calls that need a person to one you name. Plans from $99/month with 200 minutes, additional minutes from $0.60, no long-term contract, and a free trial that includes everything in the plan you choose.
Best for: Businesses whose calls are mostly routine, hours, bookings, quotes, messages, and who want a flat, published price with a person as the backup.
24/7/365 live call answering with US-based receptionists. Pay-as-you-go from $49/month at $2.99 per minute, or minute bundles from $99/month for 50 minutes ($2.29 per additional minute) up to $1,499/month for 1,000 minutes. No contracts and a 14-day free trial; bilingual support, appointment scheduling and lead collection included.
Best for: Low or unpredictable call volume where you want a person on the line and no commitment.
A 24/7 human answering service with a public "People, Not Bots" pledge and receptionists working from home across the United States. Plans from $350/month for 200 minutes (Entry, $49.99 setup) to $575/month for 400 minutes (Standard); additional minutes $2.50 on Entry and $1.85 on the other plans; monthly rolling contracts.
Best for: Businesses that have decided they do not want AI on their phones at all.
A family-owned medical answering specialist, answering for physicians since 1932, with 100% US-based agents, signed business associate agreements and annual third-party HIPAA audits. Real People plans from $149/month for 100 minutes with an $85 setup fee; an AI Receptionist from $19/month and a Hybrid plan from $194/month.
Best for: Medical and other practices whose calls carry protected health information.
A self-serve AI receptionist with a single Business-in-a-Box plan: $99/month ($79/month billed annually) for 200 voice minutes, 100 chatbot conversations and 400 SMS messages, a 7-day free trial, no contracts, and overage at $0.25 per voice minute.
Best for: Solo operators who want to set up an AI receptionist in minutes and pay one small monthly fee.
When Ruby is still the right choice
Ruby is still the right choice when the caller’s experience of the call is the product. A skilled Ruby receptionist reads a mood, reassures, improvises and remembers to be kind, and no current AI, ours included, does that as well as a good person does. If your reputation rests on how callers are treated, if your callers would hang up on software, or if you are in a category where trust is everything, stay with Ruby and add an AI in front of it later only if the routine volume justifies it.
Ruby also covers phones and website chat around the clock with people, has a mobile app, and lists HIPAA-compliant receptionists. If those are the things you value, the alternatives below are mostly trading them for price, and you should know that before you move.
Questions people ask
- Why is a Ruby partner publishing a Ruby alternatives page?
- Because people search for it, and we would rather they read a fair list from us than an unfair one from someone else. Ruby is where we send the calls that need the most human touch; that does not change here.
- What does Ruby charge?
- Receptionist plans are $250/month for 50 minutes, $395 for 100, $720 for 200 and $1,725 for 500, with 24/7 coverage including after-hours, weekends and holidays. Live chat plans start at $143/month. Overage rates are not listed on the pricing page.
- Can I use Ruby and an AI receptionist together?
- Yes, and it is the setup we recommend for most businesses: the AI answers the routine calls at any hour, and Ruby takes the ones that need a person. You pay for human minutes only where they matter.
- Which alternative is the closest like-for-like?
- Smith.ai and Abby Connect are the nearest in shape, people on the call, with an AI option alongside. PATLive and AnswerConnect are people-only. AMBS is the pick if your calls carry patient information. aiReceptionist and My AI Front Desk are AI-first.
Try aiReceptionist on your own calls
The free trial includes everything in the plan you choose. Run it alongside what you have today.