Ruby vs Smith.ai (2026), and cheaper options
The short answer
Ruby bills live receptionist minutes, from $250 a month for 50, rounded up to the minute. Smith.ai bills calls: live receptionists from $300 for 30 calls, or software from $150 for 75, with a free 25-call plan. On calls under about two minutes Ruby costs less; on longer calls Smith.ai does. Cheaper options include PATLive, Rosie, Upfirst and CoveDesk.
Ruby and Smith.ai are two receptionist services small businesses often weigh against each other, and they bill in opposite ways. Which one costs less depends mostly on how long your calls run. Here are both, from their own pages, then the cheaper options a small shop usually ends up comparing them with.
Updated November 5, 2026. CoveDesk is one of the services on this page; other companies’ prices and features are from their own websites, linked below. How we check our facts
Quick picks: Ruby, Smith.ai and the cheaper options
- Ruby: best for short calls answered by a person, with Spanish included. $250 a month for 50 minutes. Extra minutes: rate not listed. Live receptionists. Contract: 30-day terms that renew. Trial: Length not given; 21-day refund for new customers.
- Smith.ai: best for long calls, since length doesn’t change the price, and a free software plan to start. Software: $150 a month for 75 calls, or free for 25. Live: $300 for 30 calls. Software, live people, or both. Contract: Month to month; 30 days’ notice on software plans. Trial: Free software plan; 30-day refund on live plans.
- CoveDesk (that’s us): best for a one-person business that wants it set up and run, without paying for a receptionist. $249 a month for 250 minutes, then $0.35 a minute. No setup fee. Software voice assistant, set up and run by our team. Contract: Month to month, cancel any time. Trial: Free 14-day pilot, live within 48 hours. 30-day money-back guarantee. It can’t book appointments or connect to Jobber yet.
- PATLive: best for live receptionists at well under Ruby’s per-minute price, with a 14-day trial. $99 a month for 50 minutes, then $2.29 a minute. Live receptionists. Contract: No contracts. Trial: 14 days free.
- Rosie: best for the lowest price for software minutes, if you set it up yourself. $49 a month for 250 minutes. Transfers from $149. Software, set up by you. Contract: Cancel any time. Trial: 7 days free.
- Upfirst: best for software billed by the call like Smith.ai’s, at a lower entry price. $24.95 a month for 30 calls, then $1.50 a call. Software, set up by you. Contract: Cancel any time. Trial: 14 days or 100 calls, no card.
Prices as published on each company’s own site on November 5, 2026, before tax. The table below has the rest, and the sources are at the end of the page.
Ruby vs Smith.ai, side by side
| What to compare | Ruby | Smith.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Who answers | Live receptionists, 24/7, every day of the year. Source (opens in a new tab) | Software, live receptionists, or software with live people on the calls you choose. Source (opens in a new tab) |
| Published price | $250 a month for 50 minutes, $395 for 100, $720 for 200, $1,725 for 500. Source (opens in a new tab) | Live: $300 for 30 calls, $810 for 90, $2,100 for 300. Software: free for 25 calls, $150 for 75. Live (opens in a new tab), software (opens in a new tab) |
| Going over | Extra minutes at a rate the pricing page doesn’t list. Source (opens in a new tab) | Live: $11.50, $10.50 or $8.50 a call by plan. Software: $2.50 a call on the $150 plan. Source (opens in a new tab) |
| How use is counted | Minutes, in 60-second blocks rounded up. Hold time and after-call work count. Source (opens in a new tab) | Calls, whatever their length. Known spam is filtered before software answers and isn’t counted. Source (opens in a new tab) |
| Spanish | Included at no extra cost. Bilingual service runs weekdays, 8 AM to 9 PM Eastern. Source (opens in a new tab) | English and Spanish. On live plans, a Spanish line is $1.00 a call. Source (opens in a new tab) |
| Booking | Receptionists book appointments in your online calendar. Source (opens in a new tab) | Live plans: $1.50 a call. Software plans schedule through Calendly and others. Source (opens in a new tab) |
| Setup fee | None for activation, onboarding, setup or customization. Source (opens in a new tab) | None on live plans. Its software page lists onboarding on the $150 plan. Source (opens in a new tab) |
| Contract and cancelling | 30-day terms that renew on their own. Cancel before your next invoice; it ends with the billing period. Source (opens in a new tab) | Month to month. Live plans bill through the current cycle; software plans need 30 days’ notice. Source (opens in a new tab) |
| Trial and refunds | First-time customers can get a full refund within 21 days, or before 500 minutes. Source (opens in a new tab) | A free software plan. Live plans: 30-day money-back guarantee for new clients, up to $1,000. Source (opens in a new tab) |
| Card payments | Its terms add 3.0% on credit cards, not on debit, ACH or checks. Source (opens in a new tab) | Not stated on the pages we read. |
“Not stated” means only that the pages we read didn’t say. Smith.ai’s terms page showed no text when we checked, so its terms column comes from its pricing pages.
Which costs less: it depends on how long your calls run
Ruby’s smallest plan works out to $5.00 a minute. Smith.ai’s smallest live plan works out to $10.00 a call. So a two-minute call costs about the same at either. Shorter calls favor Ruby, and longer ones favor Smith.ai. Ruby rounding each call up to the minute, and billing hold and after-call time, moves that point lower.
| Your month | Ruby | Smith.ai live receptionists |
|---|---|---|
| 25 calls of 2 minutes (50 minutes) | $250, the 50-minute plan | $300, the 30-call plan |
| 20 calls of 5 minutes (100 minutes) | $395, the 100-minute plan | $300, the 30-call plan |
| 100 calls of 2 minutes (200 minutes) | $720, the 200-minute plan | $915: 90 calls for $810, plus 10 at $10.50 |
| 40 calls of 5 minutes (200 minutes) | $720, the 200-minute plan | $415: 30 calls for $300, plus 10 at $11.50 |
Our sums from list prices, before tax, add-ons and rounding, and assuming each call lasts exactly that long. Add Smith.ai’s $1.50 for each booked call or $1.00 for each Spanish call if you need them. Try your own numbers in the cost calculator.
Cheaper options for a small or one-person business
| Service | Published price | Who answers | Books into | Contract | Free trial | Languages |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RubyPricing page: Ruby (opens in a new tab) | $250 a month for 50 minutes. Extra minutes: rate not listed. | Live receptionists | Your online calendar. | 30-day terms that renew. | Length not given; 21-day refund for new customers. | Spanish included, weekdays 8 AM to 9 PM Eastern. |
| Smith.aiPricing page: Smith.ai (opens in a new tab) | Software: $150 a month for 75 calls, or free for 25. Live: $300 for 30 calls. | Software, live people, or both | Calendly and others; $1.50 a call on live plans. | Month to month; 30 days’ notice on software plans. | Free software plan; 30-day refund on live plans. | English and Spanish; $1.00 a call on live plans. |
| CoveDeskCoveDesk pricing | $249 a month for 250 minutes, then $0.35 a minute. No setup fee. | Software voice assistant, set up and run by our team | Takes the details and texts them to you to call back. No calendar booking yet. | Month to month, cancel any time. | Free 14-day pilot, live within 48 hours. 30-day money-back guarantee. | English, plus Spanish at no extra cost if you turn it on: it greets in English, then switches when the caller speaks Spanish. |
| PATLivePricing page: PATLive (opens in a new tab) | $99 a month for 50 minutes, then $2.29 a minute. | Live receptionists | Scheduling on every plan; Jobber shown. | No contracts. | 14 days free. | Spanish at no extra cost. |
| RosiePricing page: Rosie (opens in a new tab) | $49 a month for 250 minutes. Transfers from $149. | Software, set up by you | Booking links by text; your calendar from $149. | Cancel any time. | 7 days free. | English and Spanish. |
| UpfirstPricing page: Upfirst (opens in a new tab) | $24.95 a month for 30 calls, then $1.50 a call. | Software, set up by you | Google Calendar, Outlook, Calendly, Acuity, Square. | Cancel any time. | 14 days or 100 calls, no card. | 35+ languages. |
For a one-person trade business, either one can cost more each month than the jobs it catches. PATLive answers with live receptionists for $99 for 50 minutes. Rosie and Upfirst answer with software you set up yourself, from $49 for 250 minutes and $24.95 for 30 calls.
A $49 app costs less than CoveDesk. Here’s why. With an app, you set it up and keep it right. Our team sets CoveDesk up, writes your script, runs it and makes a test call with you before it goes live. Questions go to people: talk to us.
What CoveDesk doesn’t do yet. No calendar booking yet. Job software integrations: none yet. How CoveDesk’s answering service works.
How we checked this
We make CoveDesk, so we’re not neutral, and this page isn’t a review. Every fact about Ruby and Smith.ai comes from their own websites, read on November 5, 2026 and linked in the table and below. We haven’t bought either service. Each has its own page with more detail: Ruby alternatives and Smith.ai alternatives.
Common questions
Is Smith.ai cheaper than Ruby?
Do Ruby and Smith.ai answer in Spanish?
Which is better for a one-person HVAC or plumbing business?
Can I cancel Ruby or Smith.ai any time?
Is CoveDesk a live receptionist service?
Sources
What this page says about other companies comes from their own websites, read on November 5, 2026:
- Ruby: https://www.ruby.com/plans-and-pricing/ (opens in a new tab)
- Ruby: https://www.ruby.com/faqs/ (opens in a new tab)
- Ruby: https://www.ruby.com/terms/ (opens in a new tab)
- Smith.ai: https://smith.ai/pricing/receptionists (opens in a new tab)
- Smith.ai: https://smith.ai/pricing/ai-receptionist (opens in a new tab)
- Smith.ai: https://smith.ai/ (opens in a new tab)
- PATLive: https://www.patlive.com/pricing/ (opens in a new tab)
- Rosie: https://heyrosie.com/pricing (opens in a new tab)
- Upfirst: https://upfirst.ai/pricing (opens in a new tab)
Prices and terms change, so 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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