Comparison · updated May 2026
Best answering service in 2026.
Smith.ai vs Ruby Receptionists vs AnswerConnect vs PATLive vs Abby Connect vs Morthn AI. Real published pricing. Side-by-side on the criteria that actually matter for a small service business.
| Service | Starting price | Included | Per call after | Hours | Voice | Calendar | CRM sync | Setup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morthn (Sarah) | $99/mo | 1,000 conversations + 600 voice min | ~$0.10 | 24/7 | AI | Google Calendar, Cal.com, webhook to any | Zapier + native webhook | 60 seconds (crawl your website) |
| Smith.ai | $285/mo | 30 calls included | $8/call after included | M–F 5am–9pm PT (24/7 add-on) | Human | Calendly, Acuity, HubSpot, Salesforce | Native HubSpot + Salesforce, Zapier | 1-3 days |
| Ruby Receptionists | $319/mo | 100 calls included | $2.85-3.25/call after included | M–F 5am–9pm ET (24/7 add-on) | Human | Calendly, MS Bookings, Acuity | Zapier only | 3-5 days |
| AnswerConnect | $179/mo | 20 minutes included | ~$1.85/min after included | 24/7 | Human | Zapier-only | Salesforce, HubSpot via Zapier | 1-2 days |
| PATLive | $199/mo | 75 minutes included | $1.95/min after included | 24/7 | Human | Limited — manual | Limited | 2-5 days |
| Abby Connect | $329/mo | 100 minutes included | $2.69/min after included | M–F + Sat partial | Human | Outlook, Google Calendar, Calendly | Zapier | 2-3 days |
Pricing pulled from each provider's public pages on 2026-05-28. Volume math uses each provider's own published rates.
FAQ
Picking the right service.
Which is best — AI or human?
It depends on call complexity and budget. For standard booking, qualification, and FAQ-style calls (most service-business inbound), AI is materially cheaper and faster. For high-stakes consultative sales (>$10K per matter), enterprise B2B, or grief/medical intake where empathy and judgment are critical, human-answered services still earn their cost.
How accurate is this comparison?
All prices were pulled from public pricing pages as of 2026-05-28. Per-call and per-minute economics use each provider's own published rates and the included-volume math.
Why doesn't Morthn just charge per-call like the others?
AI cost is tied to compute, not headcount. We don't need to charge per-call because each call costs us fractions of a cent. The $99/mo Solo tier covers 1,000 conversations — most small businesses don't exceed that.
Can I try Morthn before paying?
Yes. Free tier with no card. Or paste your URL at /preview and talk to a Sarah trained on your website in 60 seconds — no signup at all.