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autoants vs a traditional answering service
An answering service puts a live person on your calls. autoants texts back the calls you miss, follows up your quotes and books the job. Ruby’s plans run $250 to $1,725 a month1 and PATLive’s $49 to $6,899 a month2, priced by the minutes used. Our Never miss a job plan is $750 a month + $750 setup for our first 3 shops, with texts billed to your own phone account. If your callers need a human voice, an answering service is the better choice. If calls and quotes go unanswered, that’s what we fix.
Side by side
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| Ruby | PATLive | autoants | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | $250 a month for 50 minutes, up to $1,725 a month for 500 minutes (virtual receptionist plans)1 | $49 a month pay-as-you-go (no minutes included, $2.99 a minute), $99 for 50 minutes, up to $6,899 for 5,000 minutes2 $1.49 to $2.99 a minute over the plan, by tier2 | $750 a month + $750 setup for our first 3 shops (Never miss a job). Texts run on your own Twilio account, billed by Twilio. |
| What’s included | Live people answer calls 24/7, including after hours, weekends and holidays; scheduling, voicemail options, and Spanish and bilingual call handling are listed1 | US-based people answer every call, 24/7: message taking, appointment scheduling, call screening and transfers are listed on every plan; its page says it does not use AI to answer calls2 | Every assistant: missed calls answered, quotes followed up, appointments booked and reminded, reviews requested, Facebook and Instagram messages answered, plus the “book now” box. |
| Your hours per week | Not published1 | Not published2 | About 10 minutes a week, approving drafts by text, after about 45 minutes in week one |
| Who answers at 2 AM | A live person (24/7 coverage, by its page)1 | A live person (24/7, by its page)2 | No one picks up by voice. A text goes back to the missed caller’s number automatically, at any hour (a landline can’t receive it). A voice answer at night is our AI receptionist plan, which always says it’s an AI. |
| Setup time | No setup fee, by its page; time to start not published1 | 14-day free trial; time to start not published2 | First assistant live within 7 days of your go (for texting, within 7 days of the carriers’ approval) |
| Contract terms | Not published on its pricing page1 | No contracts; change plans or cancel anytime, by its page2 | 90 days, then month to month; cancel by email. You own every account, page and list. |
Facts about others come only from their own public pages or published price ranges, each linked below with the day we checked it. If something has changed, write to hello@autoants.com and we’ll fix it. Prices shown are for our first 3 shops. After our first 3 shops: Never miss a job is $1,000 a month + $1,500 setup.
When an answering service is the better choice
- Your callers expect a person every time, day or night. A text back is not the same as a voice.
- Calls need judgment on the spot: an upset customer, a complicated job, a caller who won’t text.
- You get only a few calls a month. PATLive lists a pay-as-you-go plan at $49 a month with no minutes included, then $2.99 a minute2: under our monthly price unless you use a lot of minutes.
- You want calls booked by a person, in Spanish too. Ruby lists scheduling and Spanish and bilingual call handling1.
- You already pay for a service that answers every call and books the work. Keep it.
When autoants fits
- Calls ring out while you’re on a job and nobody calls back. A text goes back to the missed caller’s number automatically, at any hour (a landline can’t receive it).
- Quotes go out and nobody follows up.
- You want booking, reminders and the review ask in one place, on your own accounts.
- You can use both: a live service for calls, and autoants for the text-back, the follow-ups and the booking.
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Is autoants an answering service?
No. An answering service has people answer your calls. autoants texts back the calls you miss, follows up your quotes, and books and reminds appointments. A voice answer is our AI receptionist plan, and it always says it’s an AI.
Which costs less?
It depends on your minutes. Ruby starts at $250 a month for 50 minutes1 and PATLive at $49 a month with no minutes included, then $2.99 a minute2. Never miss a job is $750 a month + $750 setup for our first 3 shops.
Can I use both?
Yes. Some shops keep a live service for calls and use autoants for the text-back, follow-ups and booking.
Do you promise results?
No. We count your calls and jobs for one real week before we start, then show you the same numbers every month.
Sources
- Ruby pricing page. https://www.ruby.com/pricing/. Checked October 20, 2026.
- PATLive pricing page. https://www.patlive.com/pricing/. Checked October 20, 2026.