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Ruby alternatives
Ruby is a live receptionist service: trained people answer your calls around the clock. That's its strength. The usual reasons to look elsewhere are cost and minute-based billing. Here are the AI receptionists worth comparing, and what Ruby does that they don't.
Prices checked October 27, 2026 on each vendor's official pricing page. Vendors change pricing without notice, and taxes and add-ons aren't included. Confirm on the vendor's page before you sign up.
What Ruby offers
From Ruby's pricing page:
- 100% live receptionists, 24/7, with Spanish and bilingual answering
- Receptionist minute plans of 50, 100, 200 and 500 minutes a month
- Lead qualification and intake, scheduling, payment collection and outbound call help
- Robocall filtering and HIPAA-compliant services
- No activation, onboarding or setup fees
- Optional AI enhancements at no extra cost
| Ruby plan | Price | Included |
|---|---|---|
| 50 minutes | $250/mo | 50 receptionist minutes |
| 100 minutes | $395/mo | 100 receptionist minutes |
| 200 minutes | $720/mo | 200 receptionist minutes |
| 500 minutes | $1725/mo | 500 receptionist minutes |
Ruby says larger plans are available through sales. Its pricing page doesn't state a rate for minutes beyond your plan. Ruby also sells live website chat from $143/month for 10 chats, or $115 for 10 chats when added to a receptionist plan.
The short answer
- Closest to Ruby, but AI-first: Smith.ai AI Receptionist. AI answers, and complex calls go to a live North America-based receptionist.
- Flat bill, no minute counting: NextPhone, $199/month for unlimited inbound calls.
- Lowest cost at small volume: Upfirst, from $24.95/month for 30 calls.
- Spanish on every call: Rosie, from $49/month.
- Long calls or many repeat callers: Goodcall, billed per unique caller.
These picks are based on each vendor's published plans and features. We haven't run hands-on test calls yet.
Ruby alternatives compared
| Service | Type | Billed by | From | Entry plan includes | Trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ruby (live receptionists) | Live human | minutes | $250/mo | 50 receptionist minutes/mo | Not stated |
| Smith.ai AI Receptionist | AI + human backup | calls | $0/mo | 25 calls/mo (Free); 75 calls/mo (Pro) | Free plan (25 calls/mo) instead of a timed trial |
| NextPhone | AI | flat | $199/mo | Unlimited inbound calls | 7-day free trial |
| Upfirst | AI | calls | $24.95/mo | 30 calls/mo | 14-day free trial with full plan features |
| Rosie | AI | minutes | $49/mo | 250 minutes/mo | 7-day free trial; page says no credit card required to start |
| Goodcall | AI | unique callers | $79/mo | 100 unique customers/mo | Free demo agent; you pay when you connect a number |
What Ruby-sized usage costs on AI plans
Ruby sells minutes. To compare, we priced AI plans for the same minutes at list price, assuming a 4-minute average call and that every caller is a different person.
| Service | 200 min (50 calls) | 500 min (125 calls) |
|---|---|---|
| Rosie | $49.00 (Professional) | $149.00 (Scale) |
| Upfirst | $54.95 (Starter + 20 calls) | $94.95 (Premium + 35 calls) |
| Smith.ai AI Receptionist | $75.00 (Free + 25 calls) | $270.00 (Pro, 150 calls) |
| Goodcall | $79.00 (Starter) | $98.75 (Starter + 25 callers) |
| NextPhone | $199.00 | $199.00 |
| Ruby (live receptionists) | $720.00 (200 minutes) | $1,725.00 (500 minutes) |
Smith.ai's 150-call price is derived from the $1.80/call rate it shows. Ruby's figure assumes its receptionist minutes match your call minutes. Ruby doesn't publish a rate for minutes beyond the plan. Plug in your own volume with the cost estimator.
Alternatives worth a look
Smith.ai AI Receptionist AI + human backup
From $0/mo · Free plan: 25 calls/mo; Pro from $150/mo
Entry plan includes: 25 calls/mo (Free); 75 calls/mo (Pro) · Trial: Free plan (25 calls/mo) instead of a timed trial
The nearest middle ground: AI answers first and can transfer complex calls to a live receptionist, day or night. Lead qualification, Calendly scheduling and native Clio and Zapier integrations. Ask how live escalations are billed; the AI pricing page doesn't say.
Source: https://smith.ai/pricing/ai-receptionist, checked October 27, 2026
Visit Smith.ai ↗Smith.ai also sells a fully live receptionist service as a separate product (Smith.ai receptionists pricing). We don't track its prices.
NextPhone AI
From $199/mo · About $166/mo billed annually
Entry plan includes: Unlimited inbound calls · Trial: 7-day free trial
Unlimited inbound calls for a flat monthly price, so call length never matters. Warm and announced transfers, and integrations including Clio, MyCase, HubSpot and GoHighLevel. On the $299 Growth plan, NextPhone builds and tunes the agent for you.
Source: https://www.getnextphone.com/pricing, checked October 27, 2026
Visit NextPhone ↗Upfirst AI
From $24.95/mo · $20/mo billed annually
Entry plan includes: 30 calls/mo · Trial: 14-day free trial with full plan features
Per-call billing with the same core features on every plan: booking, warm transfers and in-call texting. Spam and very short calls aren't billed. BAAs for HIPAA-regulated businesses are listed on its Custom plan.
Source: https://www.upfirst.ai/pricing, checked October 27, 2026
Visit Upfirst ↗Rosie AI
From $49/mo · Annual billing: 2 months free
Entry plan includes: 250 minutes/mo · Trial: 7-day free trial; page says no credit card required to start
English and Spanish on every call, and setup that learns from your Google profile and website. Calendar booking and live transfers start on the $149 Scale plan.
Source: https://heyrosie.com/pricing, checked October 27, 2026
Visit Rosie ↗Goodcall AI
From $79/mo
Entry plan includes: 100 unique customers/mo · Trial: Free demo agent; you pay when you connect a number
Billed per unique caller with no per-minute charges, and repeat calls from the same number count once. A good fit for long calls that would eat a minute bucket.
Source: https://www.goodcall.com/pricing, checked October 27, 2026
Visit Goodcall ↗What you give up by leaving Ruby
- A person on every call. Smith.ai's AI-first plan is the only option here with live receptionist backup built in.
- Payment collection. Ruby lists payment collection on its plans. If you take payments by phone, confirm support with any AI vendor before switching.
- HIPAA. Ruby offers HIPAA-compliant services. Among AI options, Upfirst lists BAAs on its Custom plan, and Allo lists a HIPAA BAA add-on (Allo pricing). Confirm terms before handling patient information.
- Outbound calls on your behalf. Ruby lists outbound call assistance. Most AI receptionists here focus on inbound calls.
How to choose
- Look at your Ruby bills. Note your plan, minutes used and any overage. That's your baseline.
- Sort your calls. Routine calls (hours, booking, messages) suit AI. Sensitive or complicated calls may still need a human.
- Pick a billing model. Long calls favor per-call (Upfirst, Smith.ai), per-caller (Goodcall) or flat (NextPhone) billing over per-minute.
- Keep a human path. Set transfer rules to your team, or choose Smith.ai for live backup.
- Check compliance needs first if you handle health or legal information.
- Run a trial alongside Ruby. Forward overflow or after-hours calls to the AI service for a week before switching fully.
FAQ
What is the cheapest alternative to Ruby? For about 200 minutes a month, Rosie Professional ($49) and Upfirst ($54.95 with overage) are lowest at list price in our math. Smith.ai's free plan covers 25 calls a month.
Is there a Ruby alternative with real people? Smith.ai's AI Receptionist can hand complex calls to a live receptionist. Smith.ai also sells a separate live receptionist service.
Does Ruby use AI? Ruby's pricing page lists optional AI enhancements at no extra cost and AI-powered transcripts, but calls are answered by live receptionists.
Can I keep my phone number? Usually. NextPhone says you can keep your own number, and Upfirst offers free call forwarding and porting help (Upfirst pricing).
See all comparisons, or check what missed calls cost you with the missed-call calculator.