How much does an AI receptionist cost for plumbers and law firms?
AnswerYou are buying the after-hours and weekend pickup, not a chatbot. Public 2026 prices sit in three layers: Ruby humans billed by the minute, Smith.ai billed per call (live or AI), and pure AI like Goodcall or Magic Agent billed by the month. Check the vendor pages, then run a pack in Market—How do market research packs work, and what do I edit after the model runs?. Named example: What is Magic Agent?.
Three meters. Do not mix them.
Ruby sells live-agent minutes. Public tiers: 50 minutes for $250, 100 for $395, 200 for $720, 500 for $1,725. Pricing: https://www.ruby.com/plans-and-pricing/ . When minutes run out you buy more. It is not priced per connected call.
Smith.ai sells calls. Live reception: 30 calls for $300, 90 for $810, 300 for $2,100, overage about $8.50–$11.50 per call, appointments +$1.50. Page: https://smith.ai/pricing/receptionists . AI receptionist: 25 calls free, then $3 per call; Pro $150, Enterprise $500. Page: https://smith.ai/pricing/ai-receptionist .
Pure AI is usually a monthly seat or a monthly pool. Goodcall is $79 / $129 / $249 per agent, with unique inbound caps of 100 / 250 / 500 and $0.50 extra. Page: https://www.goodcall.com/pricing . Magic Agent (Thareja) lists chat at $29 (~600 replies), SMS $99, phone Pro $150 (~150 calls, 1 credit ≈ 5 minutes), collections $299, Front Office $499 (~400), Everything $999 (~1,000); they write about 20% off yearly, a 14-day trial, and no per-call overage. Page: https://www.thareja.ai/pricing . Jobber’s AI Receptionist feature page does not publish a dollar price: https://www.getjobber.com/features/ai-receptionist/ .
Buyers care about the missed ring, not a chat widget
On ContractorTalk, trades people say callers hang up the moment an IVR starts. Thread: https://www.contractortalk.com/threads/my-business-losing-clients-for-not-answering-calls-need-some-tips.463618/ . On the law-firm side, a Clio-related mystery shop put pickup around 40%: https://familylawmarketing.com/intake/ .
The job is nights, weekends, and lunch: who answers, who books, who transfers to a person. That is not another site widget. Do not mark a number usable without an openable source—How do market research packs work, and what do I edit after the model runs?. If you want models to cite how you take calls, write a checkable line—How do you get cited in AI answers?.
Do this
- Open Market, name the product (AI receptionist, or Ruby / Smith.ai / Goodcall), pick a model.
- Check vendor pages against the three meters: minutes, per call, monthly. Unsourced numbers stay in review.
- Look inside your dispatch software before buying a second receptionist.
- Review, then spawn topics. Keep rival copy out of corpus.
Public prices (Aug 2026; vendor pages win)
| Product | Meter | Public tiers |
|---|---|---|
| Ruby live | Per minute | 50 min $250; 100 / $395; 200 / $720; 500 / $1,725 |
| Smith.ai live | Per call | 30 calls $300; 90 / $810; 300 / $2,100; overage $8.50–$11.50/call; appt +$1.50 |
| Smith.ai AI | Per call / month | 25 calls free, then $3/call; Pro $150; Enterprise $500 |
| Goodcall | Per agent / month | $79 / $129 / $249; unique inbound 100 / 250 / 500; extra $0.50 |
| Magic Agent | Monthly pool | Chat $29; SMS $99; phone Pro $150; collections $299; Front Office $499; Everything $999; they claim no per-call overage |
| Jobber AI Receptionist | No public USD price | Feature page lists no dollar figure |
Short answers
- Is a cheap AI receptionist the same purchase as Ruby?
- No. Ruby is live minutes. Smith.ai live is people billed per call. Goodcall, Magic Agent, and Smith.ai’s AI tier are models answering the phone. Budget, transfer, and liability are not one line item.
- I already use Jobber. Do I still buy another receptionist?
- Check whether the dispatch product already includes AI Receptionist or a similar pickup, and whether the price sits inside your plan. The feature page has no public dollar figure, so do not guess from someone else’s monthly fee. If it is missing, compare Goodcall, Smith.ai, and Magic Agent.