Alternatives · AI receptionists · Prices checked October 20, 2026 to October 22, 2026
Ruby alternatives (2026): 21 compared by price
Ruby starts at $250/mo (Call Ruby 50) (checked October 20, 2026). Here are 21 alternatives for the same job, each with its pricing as the vendor publishes it, the source and the date we checked it: 18 publish prices, 3 quote only, 2 have a free plan. Ordered by our data, never by payment.
Quick answer
- Ruby starts at: $250/mo (Call Ruby 50); our real-bill estimate at 300 calls: ≈ $3,128/mo (checked October 20, 2026, full listing).
- First in our order: Upfirst ($24.95/mo (Starter, monthly)), Goodcall ($79/mo (Starter)), NextPhone ($199/mo (Pro)).
- Lower estimated bill at 300 calls: Vapi ($74-116/mo + telephony + build time), Retell AI ($115/mo + build time), Bland AI ($126/mo + build time), Goodcall ($129/mo).
- Free plan: Smith.ai, Newo.ai.
- No public price: Loman, Numa, Sonant.
- Open source: 6 projects in the Hub for the same job.
Ruby pricing, for reference
- Call Ruby 50: $250/mo (50 receptionist minutes)
- Call Ruby 100: $395/mo (100 minutes)
- Call Ruby 200: $720/mo (200 minutes)
- Call Ruby 500: $1,725/mo (500 minutes)
- Call Ruby 750: $2,550/mo (750 minutes)
- Call Ruby 1,000: $3,350/mo (1,000 minutes)
Plan list and overage rates come from Ruby's own help center; ruby.com/pricing shows plan sizes but the minute prices did not render for us. Minutes are rounded up to the next 60 seconds and include hold time.
Source: vendor pricing page, checked October 20, 2026. Ruby: full listing.
All 21 Ruby alternatives, in our order
AI receptionists →-
Receptionist
Upfirst
Per-call AI receptionist with books-into-Clio, Square, Acuity and Calendly. Spam and sub-15-second calls aren't billed. Strongest review scores among self-serve tools.
$159.95/mo at 300 calls
Ranked in 9 industries$24.95/mo
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Receptionist
Goodcall
Self-serve AI phone agent billed per unique caller, not per minute. Integrations with home-service and booking tools such as Jobber, Housecall Pro and Square.
$129/mo at 300 calls
Ranked in 7 industries$79/mo
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Receptionist
NextPhone
Flat-rate AI receptionist with unlimited calls. Law-firm integrations (Clio, MyCase). Done-for-you setup on Growth.
$199/mo at 300 calls
Ranked in 6 industries$199/mo
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Receptionist
Rosie
Simple AI answering service aimed at home services and small offices. Trains itself from your Google profile and website; English and Spanish on every plan.
$149/mo at 300 calls
Ranked in 5 industries$49/mo
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Receptionist
Weave AI Receptionist
AI receptionist add-on to Weave's phone, texting and scheduling platform for dental, medical, optometry and veterinary practices. Books directly into Open Dental, Dentrix and Eaglesoft.
Ranked in 3 industries$199/mo
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Receptionist
My AI Front Desk
AI receptionist bundled with web chat, two-way SMS, a simple CRM and outbound automations. Flat plan plus credits for extra minutes.
≈ $264/mo at 300 calls
Ranked in 2 industries$99/mo
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Receptionist
Dialzara
Minute-based AI receptionist with low entry price and a built-in usage estimator. Separate outbound, SMS and chat products.
$352/mo at 300 calls
Ranked in 2 industries$29/mo
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ReceptionistFree tier
Smith.ai AI Receptionist
Per-call AI receptionist that can hand a call to Smith.ai's North America-based live agents. Strong lead-qualification focus and a native Clio integration, popular with law firms.
≈ $501/mo at 300 calls
Ranked in 2 industries$150/mo
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Receptionist
Allo AI Receptionist
Per-seat business phone system with an AI receptionist add-on. Good if you also want a new phone system with CRM sync.
$90/mo at 300 calls
Ranked in 1 industry$32/mo
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Voice platform
Retell AI
Pay-as-you-go platform for building voice agents. Cheapest per minute, but you (or an agency) build the receptionist yourself.
≈ $115/mo at 300 calls
Ranked in 1 industry$0.07/min
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Receptionist
Slang.ai
Voice AI for full-service restaurants that books reservations into OpenTable, Resy, SevenRooms and Yelp and captures private-event leads.
from $399/mo at 300 calls
Ranked in 1 industry$399/mo
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ReceptionistFree tier
Newo.ai
AI receptionist billed in 'units' (roughly one call each) covering calls, web chat and social messaging.
≈ $449/mo at 300 calls
Ranked in 1 industry$0 to start
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Receptionist
Arini
Dental-focused AI that answers inbound calls, runs reactivation and confirmation campaigns, and targets single practices through large DSOs.
$499/mo at 300 calls
Ranked in 1 industry$499/mo
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Receptionist
Sameday AI
AI customer service rep for HVAC, plumbing and other home-service businesses, with 'pro scheduling' into ServiceTitan and similar tools.
$789/mo at 300 calls
Ranked in 1 industry$449/mo
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Receptionist
Loman
Restaurant phone AI that takes takeout/delivery orders into the POS, handles reservations and takes payment over the phone.
Ranked in 1 industryContact sales
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Receptionist
Numa
Voice AI and inbox for franchise dealership service departments, connected to the DMS. Not built for independent repair shops.
Ranked in 1 industryContact sales
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Receptionist
Sonant
AI receptionist for P&C insurance agencies that connects to the agency management system (EZLynx, Applied Epic, HawkSoft, AMS360).
Ranked in 1 industryContact sales
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Voice platform
Vapi
Developer platform: $0.05/min hosting plus pass-through model, speech and voice costs. Very flexible, very DIY.
≈ $74-116/mo at 300 calls
Pay per use$0.05/min
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Voice platform
Bland AI
Developer platform with all-in per-minute pricing (LLM, speech and voice included). Warm transfers and scheduling nodes are Enterprise-only.
≈ $126/mo at 300 calls
Pay per use$0.14/min
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Receptionist
ElevenLabs Reception
ElevenLabs' ready-made AI receptionist for small businesses (also branded Reception.ai). Paste your website, get a phone number and it answers calls, web chat and a booking page, with Google Calendar booking and 90+ languages.
$199/mo at 300 calls
Subscription$29/mo
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Receptionist
Synthflow
No-code voice-agent platform that has moved to enterprise contracts. Listed because it's widely recommended; it is not a small-office product at current pricing.
≥ $2,500/mo at 300 calls
Subscription$30,000/yr
How we ordered this list: how many of our 10 industry rankings include each product, then our estimate of the real bill at 300 calls a month. Only full listings (verified starting price with its source) in the same job category are included. We haven't tested these hands-on. How we rank.
Pricing compared
| Alternative | Type | Advertised | Real bill, 300 calls/mo | Free trial | Checked | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Upfirst | AI receptionist (self-serve) | $24.95/mo (Starter, monthly) | $159.95/mo | 14-day free trial | October 20, 2026 | Source |
 Goodcall | AI receptionist (self-serve) | $79/mo (Starter) | $129/mo | Free demo agent; pay when you connect a number | October 20, 2026 | Source |
 NextPhone | AI receptionist (flat rate) | $199/mo (Pro) | $199/mo | 7-day free trial | October 20, 2026 | Source |
 Rosie | AI receptionist (self-serve) | $49/mo (Professional) | $149/mo | 7-day free trial | October 20, 2026 | Source |
 Weave | Industry-specific (healthcare practice platform add-on) | $199/mo (Base plan; AI add-on not public) | $199 + AI add-on (not public) | No platform trial; new products offered to existing customers on trials (third-party report) | October 20, 2026 | Source |
 My AI Front Desk | AI receptionist + CRM bundle | $99/mo (Business-in-a-Box, monthly; $79 billed annually) | ≈ $264/mo | Account creation is free; trial terms 'depend on your chosen plan or offer' (check before signing up) | October 20, 2026 | Source |
 Dialzara | AI receptionist (self-serve) | $29/mo (Business Lite) | $352/mo | 7-day free trial | October 20, 2026 | Source |
 Smith.ai | AI receptionist with live-human backup | $150/mo (Pro plan entry price; a free 25-call plan also exists) | ≈ $501/mo | Free plan: 25 calls/mo | October 20, 2026 | Source |
 Allo | Business phone system + AI receptionist add-on | $32/mo (AI Receptionist add-on, billed yearly; also needs a seat) | $90/mo (usage caps not published) | 7-day free trial | October 20, 2026 | Source |
 Retell AI | Developer voice AI platform (build your own) | $0.07/min (Pay as you go, from) | ≈ $115/mo + build time | Free sign-up; pay for usage | October 20, 2026 | Source |
 Slang.ai | Industry-specific (restaurants) | $399/mo (Core, per location) | from $399/mo | not public | October 20, 2026 | Source |
 Newo.ai | AI receptionist (self-serve) | $0 to start (Pay As You Go) | ≈ $449/mo | 50 free units on Pay As You Go | October 20, 2026 | Source |
 Arini | Industry-specific (dental) | $499/mo (Starter per Capterra; unverified) | $499/mo (unverified) | Capterra lists a free trial (credit card required) | October 20, 2026 | Source |
 Sameday AI | Industry-specific (home services) | $449/mo (Launch) | $789/mo | not public (demo) | October 20, 2026 | Source |
 Loman | Industry-specific (restaurants) | Contact sales | Contact sales | not public (demo call) | October 20, 2026 | Source |
 Numa | Industry-specific (car dealerships) | Contact sales | Contact sales | not public | October 20, 2026 | Source |
 Sonant | Industry-specific (insurance agencies) | Contact sales | Contact sales | not public | October 20, 2026 | Source |
 Vapi | Developer voice AI platform (build your own) | $0.05/min (Hosting fee, plus providers) | ≈ $74-116/mo + telephony + build time | $5 free credits | October 20, 2026 | Source |
 Bland AI | Developer voice AI platform (build your own) | $0.14/min (Start plan) | ≈ $126/mo + build time | 2 free credits, no card | October 20, 2026 | Source |
 ElevenLabs Reception | AI receptionist (self-serve) | $29/mo (Basic) | $199/mo | 14-day free trial (30 phone minutes, no card) | October 22, 2026 | Source |
 Synthflow | Voice AI platform (enterprise) | $30,000/yr (Enterprise minimum) | ≥ $2,500/mo (contract minimum) | None public | October 20, 2026 | Source |
Prices are copied from each vendor's public pricing page on the date shown. "not published" or "Contact sales" means the vendor doesn't publish a price; we don't guess. Real bill = our estimate from public pricing: 300 calls/month, average 3 minutes per call (900 talk minutes), billed monthly (not annual), US local number, no add-ons. Prices change; confirm with the vendor.
Open-source Ruby alternatives from the Hub
Free, open-source agents, skills, MCP servers and recipes for the same job, from the AITeamGuide Hub. You run them yourself.
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Skill
Knowledge Work Plugins
Anthropic's plugins (skills plus connectors) for sales, customer support, marketing, legal, finance, productivity and more.
Sales · Customer support★ 32k
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Agent
Pipecat
A Python framework for real-time voice agents: speech-to-text, the model and text-to-speech wired into a phone or web call.
Customer support · Sales★ 17k
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Agent
LiveKit Agents
A framework for building voice and video AI agents that join real-time calls, including phone calls through SIP.
Customer support · Sales★ 15k
-
Playbook
Pipecat examples
Example voice apps built with Pipecat, including a phone bot on Twilio and other telephony examples.
Customer support · Healthcare admin★ 399
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PlaybookBy AITeamGuide
Answer missed calls and book appointments for a dental office
Catch the calls your front desk misses, offer the next open slots and text the patient a confirmation, with a person approving anything clinical.
Healthcare admin · Customer support4 steps
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PlaybookBy AITeamGuide
Follow up on property inquiries and book showings
Answer listing inquiries fast by phone or text, offer showing times and keep every lead in a CRM so none go cold.
Real estate · Sales4 steps
FAQ
What are the best Ruby alternatives in 2026?
We list 21 alternatives to Ruby for the same job (answer the business phone), each with pricing checked on the vendor's own site. Ordered by our data (how many of our 10 industry rankings include each product, then our estimate of the real bill at 300 calls a month), the first three are Upfirst ($24.95/mo (Starter, monthly)), Goodcall ($79/mo (Starter)) and NextPhone ($199/mo (Pro)). We haven't tested them hands-on, and no vendor can pay to change this order.
Is there a cheaper alternative to Ruby?
Ruby advertises $250/mo (Call Ruby 50) and our estimate of its real bill at about 300 calls a month is $3,128/mo (checked October 20, 2026). 15 alternatives have a lower estimated bill at that volume: Vapi ($74-116/mo + telephony + build time), Retell AI ($115/mo + build time), Bland AI ($126/mo + build time), Goodcall ($129/mo) and Rosie ($149/mo) and others in the table. Our estimate assumes 300 calls/month, average 3 minutes per call (900 talk minutes), billed monthly (not annual), US local number, no add-ons; your bill depends on your call volume.
Is there a free alternative to Ruby?
Smith.ai and Newo.ai have a free plan or free tier, according to their public pricing pages (checked October 20, 2026 to October 22, 2026).
Is there an open-source alternative to Ruby?
The AITeamGuide Hub lists 6 open-source projects for the same job that you run yourself, for example Knowledge Work Plugins, Pipecat and LiveKit Agents. They need setup and hosting, unlike Ruby.
Can a vendor pay to rank higher here?
No. The order comes from our data only. Paid placements are always labelled "Sponsored" or "Featured", sit outside the list and never change the order.
Related guides
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- Best AI receptionists 202622 compared by price
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- Smith.ai alternatives21 compared by price
- ElevenLabs Reception alternatives21 compared by price
Work at Ruby? Vendors can claim their listing for free or feature it with a label that says "Sponsored"; paid status never changes the order on this page. Building a different agent? List it here.
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