Four meters are sold under one word

Per call, per minute, per receptionist minute, per location, per unique customer. The meter decides your bill far more than the headline rate does, and it is the thing every pricing page in this category buries. These are the published figures, read from each vendor’s own page, with the date on every one.

by Vandial 4 min read

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What it costs, and what it is Which one Against a named vendor

What it costs, and what it is

Written for somebody who has decided the category might work and now wants the numbers.

The headline rate is not the number that decides your bill

Per call, per minute, per receptionist minute or flat. The model decides your bill far more than the headline rate. Real published prices, read this month.

What it actually costs →

An answering service answers. That is a lower bar than it sounds

A plain explanation of the category: who answers, what they can see, what they hand back to you, and the one limitation almost every provider shares.

The category, explained →

Answering the phone is the easy half. Almost everyone stops there

It answers with a synthetic voice. That is the easy part and it is where most stop. Here is the line between a nicer voicemail and something that books.

AI receptionist, defined →

Human or machine is the wrong question

Human against machine is the wrong axis. The line that decides which one you need is whether the thing on the phone can see your calendar.

AI vs answering service →

Every demo call you will be shown was designed to go well

Most trials show you a demo call that was designed to go well. Here is what to actually test, and exactly what Vandial's free tier does and does not include.

Trials, honestly →

Which one

Several vendors, ranked with reasons. We are not first on both of these, which is the point of publishing them.

The best answering service for small business, compared on the meter

Eleven answering services for small business compared on the meter that decides your bill. Published prices, re-read this month, and what each is best at.

Best for small business →

The best AI receptionist for small business, tested on three questions

Ten AI receptionists compared on published price, the meter, whether they book into a real calendar and what they say when they do not know. Re-read this month.

Best AI receptionist →

The best answering service for propane companies, compared on the run-out call

Seven answering services for propane and heating oil dealers compared on published price and on the one call that matters: a run-out with the heat off.

Best for propane companies →

The best answering service for cleaning companies, compared on the quote

Eight answering services for cleaning companies compared on published price and on whether they can quote a clean from bedrooms, bathrooms and frequency on the first call.

Best for cleaning companies →

Against a named vendor

One competitor per page, with their published figures and a section on what they are genuinely better at.

Smith.ai is $10.00 a call. The question is what you get for it

Smith.ai's human plans are $10.00 a call at the entry rung. Here is what that buys, where it is worth it, and where a flat meter costs less.

Smith.ai alternative →

Ruby sells receptionist minutes. That is the whole comparison

Ruby bills receptionist minutes and does it well. Here is what that means for your invoice, and when a flat plan that books appointments costs less.

Ruby alternative →

Their pricing page is a form asking for your phone number

AnswerConnect will not show you a price without your name, email and phone. Here is a comparison that starts with published figures instead.

AnswerConnect alternative →

Goodcall is cheaper than us, and it is the same meter

Goodcall publishes a $79-a-month entry plan based on unique customers. Vandial Standard is $150 a month for 1,000 AI conversations, with channel-provider usage separate. Compare the different billing units and the workflow your business needs.

Goodcall alternative →

$399 a location is fine for one location

Slang.ai is $399 a month per location and deeply integrated with restaurant reservation platforms. Here is when the per-location meter stops working.

Slang.ai alternative →

Avoca does not publish a price. Its SERP is other people's pages

Avoca is built for home services and sits in the ServiceTitan marketplace. It publishes no pricing. Here is the comparison on what can actually be verified.

Avoca AI alternative →

Revenue workflows and buying guides

Every competitor figure on these pages was read from that vendor’s own public pricing page and carries the date it was read. Prices in this category change without notice; where one of these is stale, their page is right and ours is wrong.

Vandial builds AI agents for service businesses, from the first inquiry to the next appointment.