What each option does with a 2 AM no-heat call, a Saturday drain call and a price shopper, and what each one costs a shop with two to fifteen trucks. Numbers are published list prices and the stats we cite everywhere on this site.
| Voicemail | Human answering service | Part-time receptionist | Front Office | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Answers nights and weekends | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Answers ten calls at once | No | Hold queue | No | Yes |
| Knows an emergency from a tune-up | No | Reads a script | Yes, if trained | Yes, your rule |
| Routes to on-call with caller on the line | No | Sometimes | Business hours | Yes, 24/7 |
| Quotes only your fee | No | Usually | Yes | Yes, only what you set |
| Schedules the job | No | Takes a message | Yes | Yes, your openings |
| Text summary after every call | No | Email, sometimes | No | Yes |
| Setup time | None | 1 to 2 weeks | Weeks to hire | 2 business days |
| Monthly cost | $0 and every lost job | $300 to $900, per minute | $1,500 and up | $299 to $449 flat |
| Contract | None | Often 12 months | Employment | None |
Human answering service pricing is the typical range for contractor plans at national services (per-minute or per-call); part-time receptionist is 20 hours a week at New Jersey wages plus payroll. Front Office pricing is our published list. Results vary by shop; no dollar figure is promised.
Against the big names
Human plus AI receptionists, strong with law firms and larger home-service companies, priced per call (about $1.60 to $10). Best if you want a person on some calls and a budget to match. Front Office is AI-only, flat rate, and built around trade emergencies.
Human receptionists with a polished brand, billed by the minute. Best for professional services where callers expect a conversation. For a plumber whose callers want a time slot and a callback, flat-rate AI does the same job at a fraction of the cost.
Good general-purpose AI receptionists at $50 to $400 a month, mostly self-setup. Front Office costs about the same, is set up for you by a working contractor, and ships with emergency routing, on-call transfers and trade scripts out of the box.
Competitor descriptions are from their public websites as of 2026-10-19 and may change. We are not affiliated with any of them.
FAQ
For most small contractors, yes on three counts: it answers every call at once with no hold queue, it costs a flat rate instead of per minute, and it follows your rules exactly on every call. A human service is better if your callers need long, empathetic conversations, which is rare in the trades.
Smith.ai is a large, well-reviewed service that mixes human receptionists and AI and prices per call, roughly $1.60 to $10 a call. Front Office is AI-only, built for home-service trades, priced flat by volume at $299 to $449 a month, and set up personally by a working contractor. If you want human receptionists, Smith.ai; if you want a flat-rate receptionist that knows HVAC, plumbing, electrical and roofing calls, Front Office.
If you already pay for one of those platforms, try their call features first; they are bundled. Front Office is for the shop that does not use them, or wants a receptionist that handles emergencies and after-hours calls the platform does not.
Fewer than 3% of callers sent to voicemail leave a message, and 85% of callers who get no answer never call back. Voicemail is free and costs the most.
Hear it before you decide
Call (609) 536-1044 and ask it anything a customer would. To start the trial, text your company name, trade, town and best number to (609) 451-7874. Live on your own after-hours line within two business days. Nothing is billed until day 14, and only if you keep it.
Or copy this and text it