For businesses · compared
The best after-hours answering services in 2026, compared
Twelve services that answer your phone when you can't: people, AI, or AI with people behind it. Every price below comes from the company's own pricing page, read on 6 November 2026, and links to it. Where a company keeps its price behind a sales call, we say so.
We make one of the twelve, Odile After Hours. So we sorted them by what each is best for, and we put our method and the places ours falls short on the page.
Quick picks
- A person on every call: Ruby, from $250 a month for 50 minutes, or PATLive, from $99 a month for 50 minutes with a 14-day free trial.
- AI first, people when it matters: Smith.ai. Its AI receptionist is free for 25 calls a month; its live receptionists start at $300 for 30 calls.
- The fewest dollars for a few calls: Upfirst at $24.95 a month for 30 calls, or Rosie at $49 for 250 minutes.
- One flat price, no meter running: NextPhone at $199 a month for unlimited calls, or Odile After Hours at $199 a month for 400 calls, free until it books your first job.
- Callers who don't speak English: Odile After Hours answered in the caller's language on 5 of 5 calls in our 18 October test. Upfirst lists 35+ languages; we have not tested it.
All twelve at a glance
| Service | Who answers | Starts at | What that covers | Languages | Try it first |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ruby | People | $250 a month | 50 receptionist minutes | English, plus 24/7 Spanish and bilingual handling | No trial stated; talk to sales |
| PATLive | People | $49 a month plus $2.99 a minute, or $99 for 50 minutes | About 20 calls on the $99 plan | English, with bilingual support | 14 days free, no contract |
| AnswerConnect | People | Shown only after a contact form | Not published | Not stated | Not published |
| AnswerFirst | People | $30 a month plus $1.60 to $1.95 a minute | Every minute, billed by the second | Not stated | 30 days risk-free, no contract |
| Smith.ai | AI, or people | AI: $0 for 25 calls. People: $300 for 30 calls | AI: $3 a call after 25. People: $11.50 a call after 30 | English and Spanish (a Spanish line is $1 a call on live plans) | Free AI plan; 30-day money-back on live plans |
| Upfirst | AI | $24.95 a month | 30 calls, then $1.50 a call | 35+ listed | 14 days free, no card |
| Rosie | AI | $49 a month | 250 minutes | English and Spanish | 7 days free |
| Goodcall | AI | $79 a month | 100 different callers, then 79¢ each | Not stated | Free demo agent |
| Dialzara | AI | $29 a month | 60 minutes, then $0.48 a minute | 10 | 7 days free |
| My AI Front Desk | AI | $99 a month, or $79 billed yearly | 200 voice minutes, then $0.25 a minute | 20+ | 7 days free |
| NextPhone | AI | $199 a month | Unlimited calls and users | 14 | 7 days free |
| Odile After Hours (ours) | AI | $199 a month, or $29 on Solo | 400 calls; Solo up to 40 | 32 | Free until it books your first job; Solo's first 14 days free |
What 60 after-hours calls a month cost
One month of 60 after-hours calls, priced on each company's cheapest plan for it. Where a plan counts minutes, we assume 3 minutes a call, so 180 minutes.
| Service | 60 calls a month | How we got it |
|---|---|---|
| Rosie | $49 | Professional covers 250 minutes |
| Upfirst | $59.95 | Premium covers 90 calls |
| Goodcall | $79 | Starter covers 100 different callers |
| Dialzara | $86.60 | Business Lite $29, plus 120 extra minutes at $0.48 |
| My AI Front Desk | $99 | 200 voice minutes cover 180 |
| Smith.ai AI receptionist | $105 | Free plan: 25 calls, then 35 at $3 |
| NextPhone | $199 | Pro, unlimited calls |
| Odile After Hours | $199, and $0 until it books your first job | 400 calls included |
| AnswerFirst | $318 to $381 | $30, plus 180 minutes at $1.60 to $1.95 |
| PATLive | $349 | The 200-minute plan |
| Smith.ai live receptionists | $645 | Starter $300, plus 30 calls at $11.50 |
| Ruby | $720 | The 200-minute plan |
| AnswerConnect | Not published | Price shown only after a contact form |
Our arithmetic from each company's published prices, billed monthly, before taxes and add-ons, taking the cheapest plan at this volume. Goodcall counts different callers, so repeat callers cost nothing extra.
Each one, in short
Ruby
Live receptionists, sold as monthly bundles of minutes: $250 for 50, $395 for 100, $720 for 200 and $1,725 for 500. Scheduling and lead intake are included, with 24/7 Spanish and bilingual handling, and there are no setup fees. Best for a business that wants a person on every call. Watch: the page does not say what a minute costs past your bundle. ruby.com
PATLive
Live receptionists with a published price at every size: $49 a month plus $2.99 a minute, or bundles from $99 for 50 minutes (about 20 calls) to $6,899 for 5,000 minutes, with extra minutes from $2.29 down to $1.49. Appointment scheduling, intake and emergency dispatch come with every plan, and it lists Jobber among its integrations. Best for trying live answering with no contract: 14 days free. Watch: taxes and fees come on top. patlive.com
AnswerConnect
Live answering around the clock, with appointment scheduling among its services. Its prices appear only after you give your name, email and phone, so we could not compare them. answerconnect.com
AnswerFirst
Live answering billed by the second: $30 a month plus $1.60 to $1.95 a minute depending on how much you use, with no plan tiers, no overage fees, no contract and 30 days risk-free. Best when call volume swings month to month. Watch: the page does not say which usage earns which rate. answerfirst.com
Smith.ai
Two products. The AI receptionist is free for 25 calls a month, then $3 a call; Pro is $150 for 75 calls; English and Spanish come on every plan. Live receptionists start at $300 for 30 calls ($11.50 a call after that), with booking, text alerts and recordings sold as per-call add-ons and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Best for AI first with people available. smith.ai
Upfirst
An AI receptionist priced per call: $24.95 a month for 30 calls ($1.50 each after), $59.95 for 90, $159.95 for 300 and $299 for 600; paying yearly saves 20%. It lists 35+ languages and books into Google Calendar, Outlook, Calendly, Square and others. Best for low volume on a budget. We have not tested its languages. upfirst.ai
Rosie
AI answering by the minute: $49 for 250 minutes, $149 for 1,000 and $299 for 2,000, in English and Spanish. It books straight into your calendar from the $149 plan; the $49 plan texts a booking link. In our 18 October test, Rosie's own information line answered 1 of 5 non-English calls in the caller's language. heyrosie.com
Goodcall
An AI agent priced per different caller: $79 a month for 100 callers (79¢ each after), $129 for 500 and $299 for 2,000. It books into a connected calendar and texts you the lead as the call ends. Best when the same customers call often. Watch: the site lists no languages. goodcall.com
Dialzara
An AI receptionist priced by talk time: $29 for 60 minutes ($0.48 a minute after), $99 for 220, $199 for 500 and $349 for 1,000, in 10 languages, with calendar sync from the $99 plan. You edit its script yourself. In our 18 October test, Dialzara's own receptionist answered 0 of 5 non-English calls in the caller's language. dialzara.com
My AI Front Desk
Voice, web chat, texts and a CRM in one plan: $99 a month, or $79 billed yearly, with 200 voice minutes and $0.25 a minute after that, in 20+ languages. In our 18 October test, its demo line answered 0 of 5 non-English calls in the caller's language. myaifrontdesk.com
NextPhone
An AI receptionist at one flat price: $199 a month for unlimited calls and users, with no per-minute charges, or $299 if they build the agent for you. It speaks 14 languages, books into Google Calendar, Outlook, Calendly and others, and connects to Jobber, HubSpot and other CRMs. Best when you want no meter at all. getnextphone.com
Odile After Hours (ours)
$199 a month covers 400 answered calls, and it is free until it books your first job: if it books nothing in 30 days, you pay nothing. Solo is $29 for up to 40 calls, first 14 days free. It answers in 32 languages and follows a caller who switches mid-call, books into Google Calendar, Square Appointments or its own calendar, texts you each call as it ends with emergencies marked URGENT, and connects to HubSpot, Pipedrive, LeadConnector and Jobber. Where it falls short: at 60 calls a month, six of the AI plans above cost less, and it does not dispatch or quote prices. After Hours · pricing
Questions people ask
What does an after-hours answering service cost?
On the published plans above, 60 calls a month costs $49 to $199 with an AI service and $318 to $720 with live receptionists. Live answering costs more because a person is paid by the minute.
AI or a live person?
A person handles unusual calls and upset callers better. AI answers at once at any hour, books and texts you, and costs a fraction as much. Smith.ai sells both, if you want to start with AI and keep people on hand.
Can it book jobs?
Most of these can book into a calendar, but check which plan includes it: Rosie from $149, Dialzara from $99, and Smith.ai's live receptionists charge $1.50 a call for booking.
How did you compare them?
We read each company's pricing page on 6 November 2026, and a second reader checked every number against the page. Prices are monthly, before taxes. We did not test call quality for this page; our language test from 18 October 2026 is on the languages page, with every transcript.
Start freeHVAC shops: the HVAC roundup
Sources, read 6 November 2026: ruby.com, patlive.com, answerconnect.com, answerfirst.com, smith.ai AI receptionist, smith.ai pricing, upfirst.ai, heyrosie.com, goodcall.com, dialzara.com, myaifrontdesk.com, getnextphone.com. One by one: Smith.ai, Goodcall, Upfirst, Rosie, Dialzara, My AI Front Desk. Product names are their owners' trademarks.