How is the cost different from a human answering service?

Human services charge per-minute ($1.50 to $3.00) or per-call ($1.50 to $4.00). For 200 calls a month, that is $300 to $800. Frontdesk is free to start, regardless of volume.

Are there hidden fees with AI answering services?

Sometimes. Some AI vendors charge per-minute on top of base. Frontdesk does not. The flat price includes the AI receptionist, transcription, CRM sync, calendar booking, and SMS.

When does the cost actually pay back?

Most teams pay back in the first month. A single missed lead worth $500 to $5,000 covers the free cost many times over.

What about per-call vs flat pricing?

Per-call services punish you for being successful. Marketing campaigns, seasonal spikes, viral moments. Flat pricing means you can run those campaigns without watching the meter.

vs Ruby

Ruby Receptionist Pricing Compared

Ruby starts at $285/month for 50 minutes, then $1.39/min. Real cost typically $400 to $1,000/month. Frontdesk is free to start with no overage.

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The problem

What you lose without Phone Answering Service Cost (vs Ruby).

Per-minute overage

$95 setup fee

CRM sync limited

How Frontdesk solves it

Phone Answering Service Cost tuned for vs Ruby.

Start for free, unlimited calls

vs Ruby pay one flat price. No per-minute charges, no overage fees, no per-seat tax. Compare to $1.50 to $3.00/minute on traditional services.

No setup fees

Setup is included. Train the AI on your business, port your number, go live. All on the flat plan.

No long-term contract

Month-to-month. Annual saves 20%. Cancel anytime, no penalty.

Includes calendar booking

Live appointment booking on the call. Smith.ai and Ruby charge extra for this.

Includes CRM sync

Native HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Zoho. Most human services require Zapier add-ons priced extra.

Spanish and 18 other languages included

Bilingual coverage is standard. Traditional services typically charge a premium tier for Spanish.

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