Ruby receptionist pricing and alternatives for trade businesses
The short answer
Ruby’s published plans start at $250 a month for 50 receptionist minutes, with a larger plan at $720 a month for 200 receptionist minutes (as of October 27, 2026), answered by live receptionists 24/7. Alternatives with lower published prices include PATLive and MAP Communications (live receptionists) and Dialzara and Rosie (software voice assistants).
Ruby is a well-known live receptionist service. Here are its published plans, and the alternatives trade businesses compare it with, using each company’s own prices.
Updated October 27, 2026. CoveDesk is one of the services on this page; other companies’ prices and features are from their own websites, linked below.
Ruby’s published plans
| Plan | Price | Includes | Extra use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 receptionist minutes | $250 /month | 50 receptionist minutes a month | Not listed |
| 200 receptionist minutes | $720 /month | 200 receptionist minutes a month | Not listed |
Ruby answers with live receptionists, 24/7, and has a page for home services businesses. Its pricing page doesn’t list a rate for extra minutes; ask before you sign.
Why owners compare alternatives
- Budget: live receptionist minutes cost more than software-answered ones, and at Ruby’s published prices a busy month adds up.
- Call volume: seasonal trades can use a month of minutes in a busy week.
- What you need: some owners only need the details and urgent calls put through, not a full receptionist.
Alternatives and their published prices
| Service | Who answers | Entry plan (as published) | A bigger plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| PATLive | Live receptionistsLive receptionists, 24/7/365. PATLive says it doesn’t answer calls with software. | $99 · 50 minutes 50 minutes a month. Extra: $2.29 per minute.PATLive pricing page (opens in a new tab), as of October 27, 2026 | $349 · 200 minutes 200 minutes a month. Extra: $1.99 per minute.14-day free trial. Also a pay-as-you-go plan: $49 a month with no minutes included, $2.99 a minute. Bilingual receptionists 8 AM to 10 PM Eastern, per its home services page. |
| MAP Communications | Live receptionistsLive answering with 24/7 coverage. | $179/mo · Business 125 minutes. Extra: $1.30 per additional minute.MAP Communications pricing page (opens in a new tab), as of October 27, 2026 | $339/mo · Enterprise 250 minutes. Extra: $1.28 per additional minute.Also Pay As You Go: $49 a month with no minutes included, $1.37 a minute. Its pricing page says custom scripts can cost extra. |
| AnswerConnect | Live receptionistsLive answering from real people, 24/7, on every plan. | $350 per month · Entry 200 minutes. Extra: $2.50 per additional minute.AnswerConnect pricing page (opens in a new tab), as of October 27, 2026 | $395 per month · Growth 300 minutes. Extra: $1.85 per additional minute.Entry plan: $49.99 setup fee. Growth plan: no setup fee. Prices are from AnswerConnect’s plans page; its main pricing link asks for a quote, so prices may differ. |
| Moneypenny | Live receptionists or software (you choose)Live receptionists on its People Answering plans (the prices shown here); it also sells software-answered plans. | $165/mo · People Answering, 50 minutes 50 minutes. Extra: $2.85 per extra minute.Moneypenny pricing page (opens in a new tab), as of October 27, 2026 | $422/mo · People Answering, 200 minutes 200 minutes. Extra: $2.39 per extra minute.24/7 service. |
| Abby Connect | Live receptionists or software (you choose)Live receptionists, a software voice assistant, or a mix by type of call. | $164/mo · Starter 50 Abby Minutes. Extra: Billed at the plan’s minute rate (no dollar figure listed).Abby Connect pricing page (opens in a new tab), as of October 27, 2026 | $599/mo · Professional 200 Abby Minutes. Extra: Billed at the plan’s minute rate.No setup fee, month to month. Free trial: 14 days or 500 minutes; a card is required. Software-answered calls use half as many Abby Minutes. |
| Answering Service Care | Live receptionists or software (you choose)Live operators on its Live plans (the prices shown here); it also sells software-answered plans. | $179/ Monthly · Live Small Business 100 minutes. Extra: $1.70 per additional minute.Answering Service Care pricing page (opens in a new tab), as of October 27, 2026 | $329/ Monthly · Live Pro 250 minutes. Extra: $1.60 per additional minute.$50 one-time setup on Live plans. Also Live Starter: $40 a month, pay as you go at $1.75 a minute. |
| Dialzara | Software voice assistantA software voice assistant with 24/7 answering. | $99/month · Business Pro 220 minutes. Extra: $0.45 per minute.Dialzara pricing page (opens in a new tab), as of October 27, 2026 | $199/month · Business Plus 500 minutes. Extra: $0.40 per minute.No setup fees. 7 days free. Also Business Lite: $29 a month for 60 minutes. |
| Rosie | Software voice assistantA software voice assistant, available 24/7/365. | $49 per month · Professional 250 minutes. Extra: Not listed.Rosie pricing page (opens in a new tab), as of October 27, 2026 | $149 per month · Scale 1,000 minutes, calendar booking, call transfers. Extra: Not listed.7-day free trial. Call transfers start on the Scale plan. |
| Goodcall | Software voice assistantA software voice assistant that answers every hour of every day. | $79 a month · Starter 100 unique customers a month (Goodcall says about 150 calls). Extra: 79¢ per extra unique customer.Goodcall pricing page (opens in a new tab), as of October 27, 2026 | $129 a month · Growth 500 unique customers a month (about 750 calls, per Goodcall). Extra: 26¢ per extra unique customer.Counts unique callers, not minutes or calls. |
| CoveDesk | CoveDesk’s phone answering service: a trained voice assistant, set up and run by our team, in your business’s name, day or night. Not live receptionists. | $249/mo · Front Desk 250 front desk minutes a month included, then $0.35 a minute.CoveDesk pricing | No setup fee. Month-to-month, cancel any time. 30-day money-back guarantee. We set it up, write the script for your trade and run it. |
Who each is best for
Ruby
Owners who want every call handled by live receptionists and are comfortable paying a premium per minute.
PATLive
Owners who want live receptionists, take fewer calls, and use Jobber or ServiceTitan.
MAP Communications
Contractors who want live answering at a lower per-minute rate than most live services.
AnswerConnect
Busier offices that want live answering around the clock and use a few hundred minutes a month.
Abby Connect
Plumbing and home service shops that want live receptionists and use ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro or Jobber.
Dialzara
Owners who want the lowest per-minute price and will set up and adjust it themselves.
Rosie
Owners on a tight budget who want calls picked up and are fine setting it up themselves.
CoveDesk
Owner-run trade businesses that want every call picked up and the details by text, set up and run for them, at a monthly price with minutes included, and don’t need a live receptionist on every call.
Common questions
How much does Ruby cost?
What’s a cheaper alternative to Ruby?
Is CoveDesk a live receptionist service?
Sources
Prices, plans and features of other companies, as shown on their own websites on October 27, 2026:
- Ruby: https://www.ruby.com/plans-and-pricing/ (opens in a new tab) and https://www.ruby.com/industries/home-services/ (opens in a new tab)
- PATLive: https://www.patlive.com/pricing/ (opens in a new tab) and https://www.patlive.com/industries/home-services-trades/ (opens in a new tab)
- MAP Communications: https://www.mapcommunications.com/pricing/ (opens in a new tab) and https://www.mapcommunications.com/industries/contractors/ (opens in a new tab)
- AnswerConnect: https://www.answerconnect.com/plans-direct (opens in a new tab) and https://www.answerconnect.com/industries/service-providers/residential-services (opens in a new tab)
- Moneypenny: https://www.moneypenny.com/us/pricing (opens in a new tab) and https://www.moneypenny.com/us/home-services-answering-services (opens in a new tab)
- Abby Connect: https://www.abby.com/pricing/ (opens in a new tab) and https://www.abby.com/industries/plumbing/ (opens in a new tab)
- Answering Service Care: https://answeringservicecare.com/pricing/ (opens in a new tab) and https://answeringservicecare.com/industries/home-services/ (opens in a new tab)
- Dialzara: https://dialzara.com/pricing (opens in a new tab)
- Rosie: https://heyrosie.com/pricing (opens in a new tab) and https://heyrosie.com/industries/home-services (opens in a new tab)
- Goodcall: https://www.goodcall.com/pricing (opens in a new tab)
- CoveDesk: our pricing page
Prices and features change; check each company’s website before you buy. Company names are the trademarks of their owners and are used only to identify their services; none of them is affiliated with or endorses CoveDesk. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we’ll fix it.
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