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Ruby receptionist pricing and alternatives

Ruby puts a live person on your calls and bills by the minute. SvarKlar is an AI receptionist, run by its founder, that answers your calls and messages.

By SvarKlar on July 22, 2026, updated October 31, 2026, for home service and trade business owners

A reception counter with a tulip in a glass vase, a clipboard and a pen

What Ruby plans cost

Prices as of October 2026. Larger plans go up to 2,500 minutes at $7,875 a month.

Plan Included minutes Price a month Each extra minute
Call Ruby 5050$250$5.40
Call Ruby 100100$395$4.50
Call Ruby 200200$720$4.40
Call Ruby 350350$1,210$4.25
Call Ruby 500500$1,725$4.00

A month on the 50 plan with 70 minutes of calls costs $250 plus 20 extra minutes at $5.40, which is $358 (Ruby Help Center).

Ruby alternatives

  • Smith.ai: live receptionist plans run $300 a month for 30 calls up to $2,100 for 300, and it also publishes AI plans. Fits shops whose callers need a person.
  • RingCentral: its AI Receptionist is $49 a month standalone or $39 a month on top of RingEX, with 100 minutes included. Fits shops that want to keep or choose their own phone system.
  • SvarKlar: $295 a month, setup free, cancel any time. Fits shops that want one founder running it for them.

How they compare

What you are comparing SvarKlar Ruby
What it is An AI receptionist, run by its founder, that answers your calls and messages. US-based human receptionists, supported by AI tools. Ruby FAQ Ruby AI page
Published pricing $295 a month. Setup free. Cancel any time. As of October 2026: $250 a month for 50 minutes up to $1,725 for 500, with plans to 2,500 minutes. Extra minutes cost $4.00 to $5.40 on the 50 to 500 plans, billed in 60-second increments that round up. Live chat is $143 to $520 a month separately, or 20% off when bundled. Ruby plans and pricing Ruby Help Center
Human or AI AI writes the replies and a person checks them. Ruby describes AI features that support its human receptionists. Ruby AI and human receptionists
Hours Replies in seconds. Receptionists are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year (Ruby FAQs). Ruby reports an average answer time under 10 seconds (Ruby receptionists).
Channels Answers calls, texts back missed callers and replies to texts and messages. Phone calls and live chat. Outbound call assists are available Monday to Friday, 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. Pacific. Ruby receptionists Ruby FAQs
Booking and lead capture Job questions, quotes and booking. Books and manages appointments, captures lead details, and can take payment on the call. Ruby Booking and lead capture details
Contracts and fees Month to month, setup free, leave any time. No long-term contract. Cancelling takes effect at the end of the billing period, or at once during the money-back guarantee. Downgrades are allowed after three billing periods on the same plan. Ruby lists no setup, activation or onboarding fees. Ruby cancellation FAQ Ruby plan fees Ruby plan changes
Guarantee A person checks every reply until it gets them right. Getting it to answer right is included in the price. First-time customers can request a refund within 21 days of their purchase or before reaching 500 receptionist minutes or 50 billable chats, whichever comes first. Ruby first-time customer refund rules
Integrations SvarKlar sits in front of your business's tools and claims no sync or integration. Ruby names Calendly, Clio, FieldPulse, and HubSpot among its integrations. Ruby integrations
Scale and attention Frederik is one founder and takes only work he can support. Each customer deals with him directly. Ruby has provided receptionist services since 2003 and now has a larger team. About Ruby
Built for US service businesses: trades, home services, local firms. Legal, home services (roofers, plumbers, HVAC contractors, landscapers), healthcare, financial services, and general business services. Ruby Built for details

Prices and features checked October 2026. We checked key public details; plans and order terms can differ.

Ruby is a live receptionist service billed by the minute (Ruby pricing). SvarKlar is a founder-run AI receptionist that answers your calls and messages.

Two decades of live people answering phones

Ruby has provided receptionist service since 2003 (About Ruby). Its US-based receptionists answer calls around the clock (Ruby FAQs).

How Ruby counts minutes

Billing starts when a receptionist picks up and ends when the call is transferred, sent to voicemail or disconnected. Hold time and the time spent writing up call details after the caller hangs up count too (Ruby FAQs). Because each call rounds up to the next full minute, ten 20-second calls bill as 10 minutes. Ruby's app alerts you at 85% and 100% of your plan's minutes (Ruby FAQs).

Where the AI actually sits

Ruby describes AI features, including Call Nav, that support its human team during calls (Ruby AI page). If a live person on every call is the requirement, Ruby's receptionist plans are the fit (Ruby pricing).

An AI employee instead of a per-minute meter

SvarKlar has no per-minute charges. It answers calls and handles the channels in your written order. $295 a month. Setup free. Cancel any time.

What happens when included minutes run out

Ruby's live plans have fixed monthly prices and included minutes, and extra minutes are billed at your plan's rate (Ruby Help Center). A quiet month still costs the monthly plan price. If your calls often run over, compare the next plan up with the overage, since the larger plan's rate per extra minute is lower.

When a live voice is worth paying for

Ruby serves legal, home service, healthcare, and other businesses (Ruby homepage). Count last month's call minutes, round each call up to the next minute, and match the total to a plan in the cost table. First-time customers can cancel for a full refund within 21 days of purchase, or before reaching 500 receptionist minutes or 50 billable chats, whichever comes first (Ruby money-back terms).

What we'd tell a trade owner

Our view, and we sell SvarKlar: if your callers must reach a person, pay for Ruby and pick the plan that covers your real minutes. If your lost jobs are missed calls that never get a reply, SvarKlar's text-back at $295 a month covers that without per-minute charges.

Frederik runs SvarKlar for your shop himself.

Curious which setup actually catches what you're losing today? Book a call or see how SvarKlar works.

Sources

Ruby is a trademark of its owner. SvarKlar is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by Ruby. See more pages like this on the comparisons hub.

Next step

A call is a quick look at what's actually slipping through today, whether that needs a live voice or an AI employee. Frederik will tell you plainly if Ruby fits your shop better.

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