2026 Comparison
The answering service model is from 2015. This is 2026. See how predictable AI pricing stacks up against per-minute human answering services.
| Feature | Voxx AI | Ruby Receptionists | Smith.ai |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing Model | Base rate + included minutes (from $20/mo, overage $0.35/min) | Per-minute ($2.10–$2.60/min)1 | Per-call ($6–$12) or per-minute2 |
| Concurrent Calls | Unlimited | Limited by operator pool | Limited by operator pool |
| Answer Time | < 1 second | 10–25 seconds | 10–20 seconds |
| After-Hours | 24/7/365, same quality | 24/7 (premium tier) | 24/7 (premium tier) |
| CRM Integration | Native API sync (real-time) | Zapier/webhook (delayed) | Zapier/webhook (delayed) |
| Appointment Booking | Live calendar, books directly | Message-taking only | Basic booking via integration |
| Multilingual | Native, no surcharge | Available, surcharge | Available, surcharge |
| Volume Spikes | No degradation | Hold times increase | Hold times increase |
| Setup Time | 5 minutes | 1–2 business days | 1–2 business days |
| Cost (200 calls/mo, 4 min avg) | $250/mo (800 min within included 1,000) | ~$1,680–$2,0801 | ~$1,200–$2,4002 |
| Cost (500 calls/mo, 4 min avg) | $500/mo (2,000 min included on Business) | ~$4,200–$5,2001 | ~$3,000–$6,0002 |
Ruby and Smith.ai charge $2+ per minute from the very first call. Run a marketing campaign that doubles your call volume? Your answering service bill doubles too.
Voxx plans include 1,000–2,000 minutes at a predictable base rate. Even if you go over, overages are just $0.35/min — still 80%+ cheaper than human answering services. Your costs stay predictable, and even at peak volume you save thousands compared to per-minute billing.
When Ruby or Smith.ai operators are busy, your caller waits. 15 seconds. 25 seconds. Maybe 40. Call abandonment rates spike 300% after 20 seconds of hold time.3
Voxx answers in under 1 second. Every time. Whether it's handling 1 call or 50 simultaneously.
Ruby employs ~800 receptionists.4 Smith.ai employs a few hundred. These are real people who call in sick, need training, take vacations, and have capacity limits.
Voxx is software. It scales horizontally. When your business grows from 100 calls/month to 1,000, Voxx doesn't need to hire anyone. Your service quality doesn't degrade. And even at peak volume, Voxx costs a fraction of what human services charge.
Let's address this directly.
Voxx uses advanced conversational AI that adapts to your brand voice. Is it identical to a human? No. Is it better than the average answering service operator handling calls for 30 different companies simultaneously? Yes.
Voxx handles 85–90% of inbound calls end-to-end. For the remaining 10–15% that require human judgment, Voxx warm-transfers to your team with full context.
Voxx doesn't mishear names, misspell email addresses, or forget to ask qualifying questions. Human operators average a 12–15% error rate on intake data entry.5 Voxx's error rate is near zero.
Port your existing answering service number or set up call forwarding. Most businesses are live within 5 minutes.
Pricing and feature comparisons are based on publicly available information as of February 2026 and may not reflect promotions, negotiated rates, or recent changes. Visit Ruby’s pricing page and Smith.ai’s pricing page for current rates. Voxx AI performance metrics (answer time, comprehension accuracy, call handling percentages) are based on internal testing data.