AnswerConnect vs Wakeman: people on every call, or an AI built for the trades
Wakeman is an AI receptionist built only for home-service trades. It answers in your business’s name, asks the questions a plumber or HVAC tech would and checks the address, and for a gas smell or water near electrics it gives safety steps written in advance and tries your on-call phone during the call. AnswerConnect is a live answering service: “real people, not automated voices”, 24/7. It no longer publishes prices; its pricing page is a quote form. Plans are by the minute, counted over the whole time it takes to handle each call. Here are the two side by side, from each company’s own pages.
- A customer calls. You’re busy.
- Wakeman answers as your business.
- You get the job by text.
- A customer calls. You’re busy.
- Wakeman answers as your business.
- You get the job by text.
Side by side
| Wakeman | AnswerConnect | |
|---|---|---|
| Who answers | An AI, which says so at the start of every call | A person, 24/7 |
| Plans | Starter $49 (100 min) · Pro $149 (500 min) · Max $399 (1,500 min). Every plan answers day and night; any plan can be set to answer only while you are closed. | Not published: a quote form |
| What is counted | Minutes: each call is rounded up to the next whole minute | Minutes, over the whole time it takes to handle the call |
| Urgent calls | Gas, carbon monoxide, a downed power line, fire or smoke, water near electrics, a structural collapse, major flooding and sewage inside: safety steps, then Wakeman tries your on-call phone during the call. No heat, no cooling or an active leak is urgent and texted at once. A safety net, not 911 | A receptionist takes the call; emergency handling isn’t described on the pages checked |
| A person when needed | Puts the caller through to your own people: your on-call phone, then the owner’s if nobody picks up. It does this on a dangerous call, a complaint or an angry caller, or when someone asks for a person twice. The AI answers every call; there’s no call center | A person answers every call |
| Software it connects to | Jobber, built in on Pro and Max. Housecall Pro is not generally available yet | Zapier, Salesforce, Zoho, Zendesk, Slack and Setmore; Jobber isn’t named |
| Built for | Home-service trades only: plumbing, HVAC, electrical, roofing, restoration and their neighbours | Businesses of every kind |
| How you start | Free for 14 days or 500 minutes, whichever comes first. No card; choose a plan once you have seen it work | Ask for a quote |
Where these facts come from · checked October 20, 2026
Checked October 20, 2026. Prices and policies change; the links are the authority, not this page.
- AnswerConnect home page — 24/7 live people, minutes, integrations
- AnswerConnect plans — a quote form; no prices
Which one you need
Choose Wakeman if
- You run a 2–15 truck plumbing, HVAC or electrical shop and want a receptionist built only for the trades.
- A gas smell or water near electrics at 2am should get safety steps written in advance, while Wakeman tries your on-call phone during the call.
- You want the price on the page and a free trial before you pay: 14 days or 500 minutes, no card.
- You’re happy for an AI to answer, as long as it says so and puts the caller through to your own on-call phone when they need a person.
Choose AnswerConnect if
- Every caller must reach a person, whatever the call. Wakeman is an AI; AnswerConnect is people on every call.
- Your business isn’t a home-service trade. Wakeman is built only for the trades.
Common questions
Comparing more than two? Every option for contractors, on one page.
Is Wakeman a live answering service like AnswerConnect?
No. Wakeman is an AI: it answers every call itself and says so at the start, and there is no call center behind it. When a caller needs a person, on a dangerous call, a complaint, or a second ask for one, it puts them through to your own on-call phone, then the owner’s. AnswerConnect is people on every call, 24/7.
What does AnswerConnect cost?
AnswerConnect doesn’t publish prices any more: its pricing page is a quote form (checked October 20, 2026). Its plans are by the minute. Wakeman’s plans are on its pricing page: Starter $49, Pro $149, Max $399 a month with minutes included, free for 14 days or 500 minutes with no card.