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Missed-call text-backor an answering service?
An answering service puts a person on your calls, from about $250 a month for 50 minutes or $300 for 30 calls. Missed-call text-back sends every caller you miss a text within seconds, so the conversation starts before they ring someone else.
Why a missed call costs a job
Most people who reach voicemail do not leave a message. In a survey commissioned by Moneypenny, a company that sells answering services, 69% of callers who got voicemail hung up without leaving one. The figure is from 2016 and from a vendor, so treat it as direction, not proof.
The pattern is easy to recognise for anyone in the trades. A caller who hits voicemail usually dials the next number on the list. Both options on this page exist to stop that.
How they compare
| Answering service | Missed-call text-back | |
|---|---|---|
| What the caller gets | A receptionist who answers live, takes a message or books the job | A text within seconds, which they can reply to right away |
| Who talks to the caller | A trained receptionist working from your script | You, as soon as you are free. The text holds the conversation until then |
| Typical price | Ruby from $250 a month for 50 minutes. Smith.ai from $300 a month for 30 calls, then $11.50 per call | Part of our $297-a-month plan, together with the website, follow-up and review requests |
| Cost when calls go up | Rises with minutes or calls | Flat |
| Best for | Businesses where every caller expects a human, such as legal intake or medical practices | Trades and service businesses whose callers mostly want a quote or a booking |
When an answering service is the better choice
If your callers expect to talk to a person straight away, or a call can be urgent in a way a text cannot handle, pay for live answering. A text-back does not replace a receptionist. It replaces voicemail.
If most of your calls are people asking for a price or a time slot, a fast text does the same job for less, and the conversation lands in one pipeline with your web and WhatsApp enquiries.
[ FAQ ]
Good questions.
Is missed-call text-back the same as an answering service?
No. An answering service answers the call with a person. Missed-call text-back only steps in when you cannot pick up: it texts the caller within seconds so they can reply, and you take over the conversation when you are free.
What does an answering service cost in 2026?
On their own pricing pages in October 2026, Ruby started at $250 a month for 50 minutes and Smith.ai at $300 a month for 30 calls, with extra calls at $11.50 each. Larger plans cost more and the price grows with your call volume.
Do I have to change my phone number?
No. With our plan you get a dedicated business number that forwards to your existing phone. Missed-call text-back runs on that number, and your current number keeps working as it always has.
[ Sources ]
Prices and figures checked October 2026.
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