A missed call costs a small business more than a large one. There is no second receptionist to pick up, and the caller who hears voicemail usually dials the next name on the list. An answering service closes…
Live, 24/7, after-hours and virtual receptionist services for small businesses and startups, ranked.
Medical, dental, real estate, property management and home services answering, with emergency routing and booking built in.
AI-first and hybrid answering, plus services that book appointments straight into your calendar.
Law firm answering services, AI receptionists for attorneys and the wider call center market.
English and Spanish answering in the US, plus British telephone answering services.
What outsourced call handling costs by the hour, the minute and the seat.
Ranked Lists
Our editorial rankings of live answering services, virtual receptionists and AI receptionists, by business type and industry.
An answering service is a team of receptionists, or an AI receptionist, that answers your business calls in your company name. It takes messages, books appointments, screens callers and passes urgent calls to you or your on-call staff.
A live answering service puts a trained person on every call, which works best for upset, sensitive or high-value callers. An AI receptionist answers instantly and costs less, which suits routine questions and bookings. Hybrid services use AI first and hand complex calls to people.
Live answering usually costs a few hundred dollars a month and is billed per minute or per call. AI receptionists often start under one hundred dollars a month. Check whether nights, weekends, holidays and bookings cost extra.
For live answering at every hour, AnswerConnect, Ruby and PATLive are strong starting points. Smith.ai and Abby Connect suit owners who want AI with human backup. See our full small business ranking for details.
