Ruby Receptionists starts at $250/month for its 50-minute virtual receptionist plan, with tiers at $395/month (100 minutes), $720/month (200 minutes), and $1,725/month (500 minutes); live chat plans run $143–$520/month and bundled phone-plus-chat plans start at $115/month. Ruby charges no setup, activation, or onboarding fees, and every plan includes the same feature set — 24/7 live answering, scheduling, bilingual (English/Spanish) coverage, and HIPAA-compliant service. If you'd rather have a done-for-you AI agent answer calls and handle follow-up instead of per-minute human receptionists, Agents by AIQ builds and operates custom AI receptionists for small businesses on a month-to-month basis.
Bottom line: For businesses that want real humans answering every call around the clock, Ruby's transparent, all-inclusive per-minute plans are the established benchmark — 20+ years in, 15,000+ businesses, no hidden fees. The trade-off is cost: minutes are consumed quickly, and heavier call volumes push monthly spend to $720–$1,725+.
TL;DR
- Ruby's virtual receptionist plans start at $250/month for 50 minutes, $395/month for 100 minutes, $720/month for 200 minutes, and $1,725/month for 500 minutes.
- Live chat plans cost $143/month (10 chats), $335/month (30 chats), and $520/month (50 chats).
- Bundled phone-plus-chat plans start at $115/month (10 chats), $268/month (30 chats), and $416/month (50 chats) — a 20% savings versus buying chat separately.
- Ruby charges no fees for activation, onboarding, setup, customization, or coverage during certain periods.
- Every plan includes the same features: 24/7 live answering, scheduling, lead intake, payment collection, bilingual English/Spanish coverage, HIPAA compliance, robocall filtering, and AI-powered transcripts and sentiment analysis.
- Ruby reports a sub-10-second average answer time, 1.6M+ leads captured per year, and 20,000 robocalls filtered per month across 15,000+ businesses.
- Ruby positions its 500-minute plan ($1,725/month) against an in-house receptionist's average total monthly cost of $3,469 (salary plus benefits, taxes, and equipment).
Head-to-head
| Dimension | Ruby Receptionists | Agents by AIQ |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | From $250/mo (50 min); $395 (100 min); $720 (200 min); $1,725 (500 min); chat from $143/mo; bundled from $115/mowinner | Scoped per business; month-to-month |
| Coverage | 24/7 including after-hours, weekends, holidays; 720 hours/month vs 160 for an in-house receptionistwinner | AI receptionist answers calls on a real phone number; site voice agent is browser-based |
| Who answers | Trained human receptionists (120 hours of professional training) supported by AI call flowswinner | AI agents built and operated by AIQ Labs |
| Features | Scheduling, lead intake, payment collection, outbound calls, robocall filtering, number hosting, AI transcripts and sentiment analysis — all in every plan | AI receptionist, sales follow-up/SDR, support, email, marketing agents, appointment setters, workflow automation |
| Compliance | HIPAA-compliant services with HIPAA-trained receptionists and extra security measureswinner | Not specified |
| Setup | No activation, onboarding, setup, or customization fees; easy-to-update call handling options | Starts with a scoping call; AIQ Labs builds and connects the agents |
| Commitment | Monthly plans; larger custom offerings via sales | Month-to-month; the client owns everything |
Scores
Ruby Receptionists
ruby.com ↗Ruby is a live virtual receptionist service that has served small businesses for over 20 years, answering calls, chats, and managing appointments on behalf of 15,000+ businesses. Its receptionists are real people — hired with reception backgrounds and enrolled in 120 hours of professional training plus ongoing coaching — supported by AI-assisted call flows, AI-powered transcripts, and caller sentiment analysis. Ruby answers 24/7, including after-hours, weekends, and holidays, with bilingual English/Spanish coverage available around the clock. Plans are billed by receptionist minutes, and the company emphasizes an inclusive model: no extra charges for activation, onboarding, setup, customization, or coverage during certain periods. Beyond answering, Ruby handles appointment scheduling, lead qualification and intake, payment collection, outbound call assistance, robocall filtering, and business number porting and hosting. Ruby reports a sub-10-second average answer time, 1.1M+ conversations handled monthly, and 1.6M+ leads captured per year for customers ranging from law firms and doctors to roofers and salons.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Virtual receptionist — 50 minutes | $250/mo | 50 receptionist minutes/month; all features included; great for startups |
| Virtual receptionist — 100 minutes | $395/mo | 100 receptionist minutes/month; all features included; great for one-person businesses |
| Virtual receptionist — 200 minutes (most popular) | $720/mo | 200 receptionist minutes/month; all features included; great for small businesses of all kinds |
| Virtual receptionist — 500 minutes | $1725/mo | 500 receptionist minutes/month; all features included; great for larger and growing businesses |
| Live chat — 10 chats | $143/mo | 10 chats/month; great for startups |
| Live chat — 30 chats | $335/mo | 30 chats/month; great for solo practices and one-person businesses |
| Live chat — 50 chats (most popular) | $520/mo | 50 chats/month; great for organizations of all kinds |
| Bundled — 10 chats + receptionist plan | $115/mo | Up to 10 chats/month added to a virtual receptionist plan; 20% savings on chat |
| Bundled — 30 chats + receptionist plan | $268/mo | Up to 30 chats/month added to a virtual receptionist plan; 20% savings on chat |
| Bundled — 50 chats + receptionist plan | $416/mo | Up to 50 chats/month added to a virtual receptionist plan; 20% savings on chat |
Pros
- Fully published, transparent pricing with no activation, onboarding, setup, customization, or coverage-period fees
- True 24/7 live human answering, including weekends and holidays, with 24/7 bilingual English/Spanish availability
- Every plan unlocks the identical feature set — the only difference is minutes or chats
- Receptionists receive 120 hours of professional training plus ongoing coaching; deep bench means no coverage gaps from turnover
- Strong track record: 20+ years, 15,000+ businesses, sub-10-second average answer time, 1.6M+ leads captured per year
- HIPAA compliance available, plus robocall filtering and business number hosting that can eliminate a separate phone bill
Cons
- Per-minute billing means costs scale quickly — 500 minutes runs $1,725/month, and heavier volumes require talking to sales for larger plans
- Entry plan of 50 minutes can be consumed fast if calls routinely run 5–6 minutes, which Ruby itself notes is common for complex businesses
- Chat plans bought standalone are pricier per chat than bundled ($143 for 10 chats vs $115 bundled)
- You pay for receptionist time rather than a flat unlimited service, so call spikes after marketing campaigns increase spend
Agents by AIQ
agentsbyaiq.com ↗Agents by AIQ is the agent-focused arm of AIQ Labs. It designs, builds, connects, and runs done-for-you AI agents for small and mid-size businesses: AI receptionists and phone answering, voice agents, sales follow-up and SDR agents, customer support agents, email agents, marketing agents, appointment setters, and workflow automation — integrated with the tools the business already uses. The positioning is deliberately different from DIY AI toolkits: rather than handing over software, AIQ Labs builds the agents and operates them for you, on a month-to-month basis, with the client owning everything. The AI Receptionist-grade capability answers voice calls on a real phone number, while site voice agents work in the browser. Target buyers are owner-operators and small teams in trades, legal, healthcare, insurance, real estate, ecommerce, and professional services who are losing missed calls, suffering slow lead follow-up, and drowning in manual busywork. Engagements start by booking a call to scope the agent for the specific business.
Pros
- Done-for-you service: AIQ Labs designs, builds, connects, and runs the agents — no DIY setup burden
- Covers more than call answering: sales follow-up, support, email, marketing, appointment setting, and workflow automation in one engagement
- Agents integrate with the tools the business already uses
- Month-to-month with full client ownership — no long-term lock-in
- Backed by the team behind the AI Business Sites platform
Cons
- AI agents rather than human receptionists — callers who insist on a live person won't get one
- Pricing is scoped per business rather than published as standard tiers
- Requires an initial scoping call before the agent is designed and built
Ruby Receptionists pricing explained
How far do Ruby's minutes actually go?
Ruby vs. an AI agent alternative
Which should you pick?
FAQs
How much does Ruby Receptionists cost per month?
Ruby's virtual receptionist plans cost $250/month for 50 minutes, $395/month for 100 minutes, $720/month for 200 minutes (the most popular tier), and $1,725/month for 500 minutes. Standalone live chat plans run $143/month for 10 chats, $335/month for 30 chats, and $520/month for 50 chats. Bundled phone-plus-chat plans start at $115/month for 10 chats, $268/month for 30 chats, and $416/month for 50 chats — a 20% savings on chat versus standalone.
Does Ruby charge setup or onboarding fees?
No. Ruby states that its pricing model is transparent and inclusive, with no additional or hidden fees for activation, onboarding, setup, customization, or coverage during certain periods. The only difference between plans is the number of receptionist minutes or chats — every plan includes the same comprehensive feature set at no extra cost.
Is Ruby Receptionists available 24/7?
Yes. Ruby provides 24/7 live phone answering, including after-hours, weekends, and holidays, and its bilingual English/Spanish call handling is also available around the clock. Ruby reports a sub-10-second average answer time and handles 1.1M+ conversations per month across its customer base.
Is Ruby Receptionists HIPAA compliant?
Yes. HIPAA-compliant services are available on Ruby's plans, its receptionists are HIPAA-trained, and the company implements extra security measures to protect sensitive information. This makes it a common choice for healthcare, legal, and other compliance-sensitive small businesses.
Is Ruby cheaper than hiring an in-house receptionist?
By Ruby's own comparison, an in-house receptionist costs an average of $3,469 per month once the $41,622 average annual salary is combined with health insurance, payroll taxes, equipment, and training — and covers about 160 hours per month. Ruby's 500-minute plan costs $1,725/month with 720 hours per month of coverage, and eliminates hiring, training, turnover, and management overhead.
What is a lower-cost AI alternative to a human virtual receptionist?
Agents by AIQ builds and operates done-for-you AI agents for small businesses, including an AI receptionist that answers voice calls on a real phone number, plus sales follow-up, support, email, marketing, and appointment-setting agents integrated with your existing tools. Engagements are month-to-month, the client owns everything, and pricing is scoped to your business — you can book a call to scope the agent.
How do Ruby's minutes get consumed, and what happens if I run out?
Minutes cover the time receptionists spend working your calls. Ruby notes that simple message-taking runs about 1 minute per call while complex intake can take 5 to 6 minutes, so plan fit depends heavily on call complexity. Robocall filtering (about 20,000 robocalls filtered per month company-wide) protects your minutes from spam. If your volume outgrows a published tier, Ruby offers larger plans arranged through its sales team.
Sources
- Ruby Receptionist Pricing: Scalable Virtual Support
- Ruby plans and pricing
- Ruby plans and pricing
- Ruby: Virtual Receptionists & Live Chat for Businesses
- Live Virtual Receptionists | 24/7 Human Answering & Chat
- Virtual vs traditional receptionist cost guide 2026
- How Much Does an Answering Service Cost? Pricing Explained
- Hire a receptionist or outsource a virtual one?
- Agents by AIQ