Example feed— what your call log looks like│
11:42pmEmergency dispatch booked — AC out, infant in home$1,20002:18amBurst pipe routed to on-call plumber within 90 sec$89005:51amWater heater quote sent via SMS$2,45006:04amDrain clog scheduled for 7am window$32007:13amTune-up booked into ServiceTitan for Thursday$12907:28amOutside service area — caller messaged + map sent08:01amRecall campaign converted lapsed customer$1,80011:42pmEmergency dispatch booked — AC out, infant in home$1,20002:18amBurst pipe routed to on-call plumber within 90 sec$89005:51amWater heater quote sent via SMS$2,45006:04amDrain clog scheduled for 7am window$32007:13amTune-up booked into ServiceTitan for Thursday$12907:28amOutside service area — caller messaged + map sent08:01amRecall campaign converted lapsed customer$1,800
Comparison

AnswerCrew vs Smith.ai

Hybrid human + AI receptionist service, broad professional vertical (lawyers, agencies, ecommerce).

AnswerCrew
$199–$799/mo

Flat tiers. No per-minute or per-call gotchas.

  • Flat $399/mo, 500 calls included — won't spike during busy season
  • Trained on HVAC and plumbing call patterns specifically
  • Native dispatch logic (on-call rotation, emergency triage)
  • Sub-second response — never makes a caller wait
Smith.ai
From $292/month for 30 calls — overage at $7–10 per call.

Built for: Lawyers, marketing agencies, and SaaS companies that want a human voice but accept high per-call cost.

Strengths
  • Trusted brand with humans in the loop
  • CRM integrations across many verticals
  • Bilingual support
Where it falls short for trades
  • Per-call pricing scales painfully fast for trades (60+ calls/wk)
  • Generic scripts — no native HVAC / plumbing terminology
  • Human transfers introduce latency

Bottom line

Smith.ai is a fine choice if you fit its primary audience: lawyers, marketing agencies, and saas companies that want a human voice but accept high per-call cost. AnswerCrew is the right call when your business is HVAC, plumbing, or another service trade — vertical specialization matters more than horizontal polish when an emergency call comes in at 2am and a tech needs to be on the road in under 15 minutes.

Pricing

One tenth the cost of a real receptionist.

Human receptionists cost $3,000–$4,500/month and clock out at 5pm. AnswerCrew doesn't. Pick a tier — switch any time.

Starter
$199/ month

Solo plumber or single-truck side hustle.

  • 1 phone line
  • 200 calls / month included
  • Business hours coverage
  • English only
  • Daily email summary
  • Email support
Book a demo
Most contractors
Pro
$399/ month

Most contractors. Everything you need to never miss a call.

  • 1 phone line
  • 500 calls / month included
  • 24/7 coverage including weekends
  • English + Spanish
  • Calendar + Jobber + ServiceTitan sync
  • Emergency on-call routing
  • SMS confirmations & quotes
  • Priority chat support
Book a demo
Multi-Crew
$799/ month

5–20 person shops with multiple locations.

  • Up to 3 phone lines / locations
  • 1,500 calls / month included
  • On-call rotation with dispatch logic
  • Custom voice + script per crew
  • Direct PMS integrations
  • White-label PDF reports
  • Dedicated onboarding
Talk to us

Overage: $0.40 per call beyond included quota. One-time setup ($99 Pro, $299 Multi-Crew) covers number porting + script training. 30-day money-back: if AnswerCrew doesn't book at least $1,000 in extra jobs in your first month, you owe us nothing.

Book a demo

Hear it answer
your number.

10-minute call. We connect AnswerCrew to a test number, you call it, and try to break it. If you like it, we go live the same day.

→Live demo on a real phone number
→Plain-English pricing — no sales script
→Founder takes the call. (No SDR.)

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