The best AI receptionist for contractors in 2026, compared
Wakeman wrote this, and Wakeman is on the list. So every price below comes from the vendor’s own page, checked on September 24, 2026, and every entry — ours included — says who it suits. Where a vendor doesn’t publish something, it says “Not published”.
Which one fits your shop
- On Jobber Plus, with simple calls: Jobber’s AI Receptionist. It’s already included.
- On Housecall Pro: Housecall Pro’s CSR AI, sold separately.
- A larger ServiceTitan operator with a customer-service team: Avoca or Sameday.
- The lowest price, or Spanish-speaking callers: Dialzara from $29 or Rosie from $49; Rosie answers in Spanish on every plan.
- Live people behind the AI: Smith.ai. A person on every call: Ruby.
- A 2–15 truck plumbing, HVAC or electrical shop that wants trade questions, an on-call ring for dangerous calls, Jobber write-back and a published price: Wakeman.
Every option, side by side
| Price | How it bills | Books into | Who it suits (our read) | Worth knowing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avoca | Not published | Not published | ServiceTitan (a certified app) | Larger operators on ServiceTitan with a customer-service team | Starts with a demo |
| Dialzara | $29/mo (60 min); $99 (220); $199 (500); $349 (1,000) | Minutes; $0.35–$0.48 over | Google or Outlook calendar, on $99 and up | The lowest paid entry price on this list | Spanish and after-hours escalation on $99 and up; 7-day trial |
| Frontdesk | $99/mo (200 min), or $79 billed yearly | Minutes; about $0.25 a minute over, through credits | Not published | Small businesses wanting a general AI receptionist | 7-day free trial |
| Goodcall | $79 / $129 / $249 per agent per month | Unique callers: 100 / 250 / 500, then $0.50 each | CRM through Zapier | Small businesses with many short, repeat callers | Robocalls and silent callers don’t count |
| Housecall Pro CSR AI | Not published (“sold separately”) | Not published | Housecall Pro (its help article still lists booking as coming soon) | Housecall Pro shops | Spanish listed as coming soon |
| Jobber AI Receptionist | Included on Plus; otherwise an add-on at $29 or $99/mo (Jobber’s pages differ) | Conversations: 30 or 100 included (its help pages differ); one says $0.79 each after | Jobber, through Online Booking | Jobber Plus shops with simple calls | Runs on a Jobber phone number (US, Canada, UK) |
| RingCentral AI Receptionist | $49/mo standalone (100 min); $39 as a RingEX add-on | Minutes; $0.50 a minute over, in 30-second steps | Not published | Businesses already on RingCentral | Six languages; 14-day free trial |
| Rosie | $49/mo (250 min); $149 (1,000); $299 (2,000) | Minutes; moves you up a plan when you go over | Google Calendar or Calendly, on Scale and up; Zapier | A low monthly price, with Spanish on every plan | 7-day free trial |
| Ruby (people, not AI) | $250/mo (50 min) to $1,725 (500 min) | Minutes; each call rounded up to 60 seconds, hold time counts | Clio, JobNimbus, Zapier; Jobber not listed | Callers who must reach a person | Money-back: 21 days or 500 minutes |
| Sameday | From $449/mo (500 min); $789 (1,000) | Minutes; overage not published | Lists ServiceTitan, Jobber, Housecall Pro and others | Home-service businesses that want a demo-led setup | Starts with a demo; multilingual voices on Enterprise |
| Smith.ai | Free (25 calls); Pro from $150/mo (75 calls) | Per call; $2.17–$3.00 an extra call | Lists Jobber (via Zapier), ServiceTitan and Housecall Pro | Shops that want live people behind the AI | Can hand a call to a live receptionist, any hour |
| Wakeman | $149/mo (300 min); $349 (750); $829 (2,000) | Minutes; then $0.29–$0.59 a minute by plan | Jobber, once you switch booking on | 2–15 truck plumbing, HVAC and electrical shops that want trade questions and an on-call ring for dangerous calls. Not ServiceTitan shops, and not Spanish-speaking callers yet | Free for 14 days, no card |
Where these prices come from · checked September 24, 2026
Checked September 24, 2026. Prices and policies change; the links are the authority, not this page.
- Jobber pricing — and /features/, which lists $99
- Jobber help: Receptionist
- Housecall Pro CSR AI
- Avoca — no public pricing page
- Sameday pricing
- Rosie pricing — and its terms, for going over
- Smith.ai AI Receptionist pricing
- Goodcall pricing
- RingCentral AI Receptionist pricing
- Dialzara pricing
- Frontdesk pricing
- Ruby plans and pricing
Each option, in a paragraph
Avoca
Built for larger home-services operators, with a ServiceTitan certified app and emergency calls routed to the on-call tech. It publishes no price and starts with a demo, so allow for a sales process. A fit for a ServiceTitan shop with a customer-service team; not built for a two-truck shop that wants to start tonight.
Dialzara
The lowest paid entry price here: $29 a month for 60 minutes. Calendar sync, warm transfers, after-hours escalation and Spanish start on the $99 plan, so check which plan you actually need. A general small-business receptionist rather than one set up for the trades.
Frontdesk
A general AI receptionist at $99 a month for 200 minutes, or $79 billed yearly, with overage through credits at about $0.25 a minute and a 7-day trial. Its pages don’t say which field-service software it books into — ask before choosing it for a trades shop.
Goodcall
Priced per agent with unlimited minutes, but capped by unique callers — 100 on the $79 plan, then $0.50 each. Robocalls, blocked numbers and silent callers don’t count. Suits a business whose callers are few and repeat; it connects to CRMs through Zapier.
Housecall Pro CSR AI
Housecall Pro’s own AI, sold separately at a price it doesn’t publish. It answers around the clock, has a separate after-hours on-call number and always handles emergencies; Spanish is listed as coming soon, and one help article still lists booking as coming soon. The obvious first look if you run Housecall Pro.
Jobber AI Receptionist
Included on Jobber Plus; otherwise an add-on that Jobber’s own pages price at $29 or $99 a month. It books through your Online Booking settings, listens for keywords you set such as “no heat”, and runs on a Jobber phone number. If you’re on Plus and your calls are simple, try it first.
RingCentral AI Receptionist
$49 a month on its own for 100 minutes, or $39 as an add-on to RingCentral’s phone system, then $0.50 a minute in 30-second steps. Six languages and a 14-day trial. Makes most sense if your phones already run on RingCentral.
Rosie
From $49 a month for 250 minutes, with English and Spanish on every plan and a 7-day trial. Calendar booking (Google Calendar, Calendly) starts on the $149 plan, and going over your minutes moves you up a plan. A low price for a general AI receptionist that has a home-services page.
Ruby (people, not AI)
People, not AI: live receptionists from $250 a month for 50 minutes up to $1,725 for 500, with each call rounded up to 60 seconds and hold time counted. Choose it when callers must reach a person. It lists Clio, JobNimbus and Zapier, not Jobber.
Sameday
Built for home services, from $449 a month for 500 minutes and $789 for 1,000; overage isn’t published. It lists ServiceTitan, Jobber and Housecall Pro, and starts with a demo. A fit for a home-services shop that wants a guided setup and has the budget for it.
Smith.ai
An AI receptionist with live receptionists behind it, billed per call: a free plan with 25 calls, then Pro from $150 for 75. Known spammers aren’t counted, and you can remove up to 10% of calls as spam. It lists Jobber (through Zapier), ServiceTitan and Housecall Pro.
Wakeman
Built only for home-service trades: it asks the questions a plumber or HVAC tech would, gives safety steps written in advance for six hazards and rings your on-call phone during the call, and books into Jobber once you switch booking on. $149–$829 a month, free for 14 days. It doesn’t write into ServiceTitan, doesn’t answer in Spanish, and is early, with no customer count to quote.
How this list was compiled
Every price, plan and feature above comes from the vendor’s own pricing, product and help pages, checked on September 24, 2026. Where a vendor’s pages disagree with each other, both versions are shown. We have not run a hands-on test of every product here; “who it suits” is our read of what each vendor publishes, and it says so. Found something out of date? Email info@wakeman.ai and we’ll correct it and change the date at the top.
Six questions to ask any of them
- What is the overage rate once the included minutes, calls or conversations run out?
- Can the cheapest plan actually book a job, or does it only text the caller a link?
- Are spam and robocalls billed?
- How is a spend limit enforced — does the call that crosses it finish above it?
- Which field-service software does it write jobs into, and is that a direct connection or Zapier?
- What does it say to a caller who smells gas — and does it ring anyone while they’re on the line?
Then listen to it. Most of these services offer a trial or a demo number; call it with the kind of job your shop actually gets, and check what it wrote down.
Where Wakeman fits, and where it doesn’t
Honest limits
Head to head: Jobber · Avoca · Sameday · Rosie · Smith.ai · Ruby
Choosing an AI receptionist
What is the best AI receptionist for contractors?
It depends on the software you run and the size of the shop. On Jobber Plus, Jobber's own receptionist is included. Larger ServiceTitan operators with a CSR team usually look at Avoca or Sameday. For the lowest price, Dialzara starts at $29 and Rosie at $49, and Rosie answers in Spanish on every plan. Smith.ai suits shops that want people behind the AI. Wakeman is built for 2–15 truck plumbing, HVAC and electrical shops that want trade questions, an on-call ring for dangerous calls and a published price.
How much does an AI receptionist cost for a contractor?
General AI receptionists start at $29–$99 a month, with overage around $0.25–$0.50 a minute where it is published. Home-services specialists cost more: Sameday starts at $449 a month and Avoca publishes no price. Wakeman is $149, $349 or $829 a month. Prices from vendors' own pages, checked 24 September 2026.
Why is Wakeman on its own list?
Because we wrote it, and leaving ourselves off would be its own kind of spin. To keep it useful, every price comes from the vendor's own page with the date we checked it, and every entry — ours included — says who it suits and who it does not.
Somebody’s always awake.
Try it on your own phone tonight. About ten minutes, no card.