Best Answering Service for Small Business in 2026 (Top 7 Reviewed)

For a small business, a ringing phone is often money on the line. If you don’t pick up, you might never get a second chance. In fact, about 85% of people whose calls go unanswered won’t call back; instead, they’ll reach out to a competitor. This is where an answering service for small businesses becomes invaluable. 

A good answering service means that every call gets picked up, even if the person phones after hours or when you’re tied up in meetings. And the best services go beyond the basics: many offer 24/7 live reception, bilingual agents, custom call scripts, and AI-assisted features that streamline customer communication.

In this complete guide, we review the seven best answering services for small businesses in 2026, comparing each provider’s pricing, features, and pros and cons. Our goal is to help you find the perfect fit for your business needs, whether you’re a startup that needs occasional call handling or a growing company seeking a full-service virtual receptionist team.

TL;DR Key Takeaways at a Glance

1. XBert AI – Best AI-powered answering service
2. AnswerConnect – Best overall service for lead management
3. Posh – Best for personalized customer service
4. VoiceNation – Best for 24/7 availability & quick setup
5. Ruby – Best for integrated chat & phone support
6. Abby Connect – Best for dedicated receptionist teams
7. Davinci Virtual – Best for startups needing admin support

👉 Jump straight to the top-rated answering service reviews.

What Does a Small Business Answering Service Do?

An answering service for small businesses manages incoming calls on your behalf, generally after hours, on weekends, or during high-volume periods. Trained agents answer calls, take messages, schedule appointments, and route inquiries to the right person or department. Many modern services also handle live chat, SMS, and lead capture.

Routing calls through a virtual receptionist keeps lines of communication open so that customers always reach a real person, even when you’re unavailable. That means fewer missed opportunities and more focus on growing your business. 

A typical call flow that includes an answering service might look like this:

1. A customer calls your business over the weekend while your team is off.
2. The call triggers an interactive voice response (IVR) menu that prompts the customer for a response.
3. The customer gives input.
4. The call routes to an answering service covering the caller’s intended destination.
5. The caller connects with a support agent from the answering service who notes the issue and sets up expectations for the next steps.
6. If needed, your team follows up with the caller when normal business hours resume, or via automated email or text.

Are answering services still a thing?

Yes, absolutely! AI supports live receptionists by enhancing how they work. Most leading answering service providers now use AI for:

• Call routing & prioritization: AI identifies caller intent or urgency before transferring to a live agent.
• CRM integration: AI automatically logs calls, messages, and appointment data to save agents time.
• Transcription & summaries: Speech-to-text tools instantly capture call details for better follow-up accuracy.
• Training & quality monitoring: AI analyzes recorded interactions to coach agents and improve consistency.

So although the frontline experience still comes from real human agents, much of the behind-the-scenes efficiency — from faster response times to smarter call handling — comes from AI.

Having an answering service leads to better customer service—and the longer they do business with you, the more money they spend. They might even send new business your way, too.

Answering Service vs. Virtual Receptionist: What’s the Difference?

An answering service focuses on handling inbound calls, taking messages, and forwarding information to your team, typically when your office is closed or during peak demand periods. 

A virtual receptionist service provides a higher level of service and integration. In addition to answering calls, a virtual assistant can schedule appointments, qualify leads, transfer calls directly to team members, and even handle basic customer service tasks. 

Answering Service vs. Call Center: What’s the Difference?

An answering service manages after-hours or overflow calls for small to midsize businesses so that customers always reach a live person rather than voicemail. 

A call center handles a broader range of customer interactions across multiple channels, including phone, email, chat, and sometimes social media. 

Comparison of the Best Answering Service for Small Businesses

Looking for the best answering service for a small business overview? Check out this table:

Answering service	Best for	Key services	Free trial	Starting price
XBert	Small and medium-sized businesses with valuable inbound calls.	24/7 availability, natural conversations, lead capture, calendar booking, omnichannel (voice, text, email) support, CRM integrations	❌ 30-Day Money Back Guarantee	$99/month for 100 conversations
AnswerConnect	Comprehensive lead management	24/7 Answering, Lead Capture, Appointment Scheduling, Web Chat	❌	$325/month
Posh	Personalized customer service	24/7 Answering, Outbound Calling, Bilingual Support	✅ (7 days)	$65/month
Moneypenny / VoiceNation	24/7 availability & quick setup	24/7 Answering, Order Processing, Emergency Dispatch	✅ (7 days)	$145/month
Ruby	Integrated chat & phone support	24/7 Answering & Live Chat, Mobile App, Lead Capture	✅ (7 days)	$245/month
Abby Connect	Dedicated receptionist teams	Dedicated Teams, Appointment Scheduling, Warm Transfers	✅ (14 days)	$329/month
Davinci Virtual	Startups needing admin support	Business Hours Answering, Admin Tasks, Virtual Office Address	❌	$129/month

Detailed Reviews: 7 Best Answering Services for Small Businesses (2026)

Let’s now look at the top solutions, reviewed and compared.

1. XBert AI – Best AI answering service for automated customer engagement

XBert AI is a top-rated AI answering service that handles calls, texts, and chats for your business, ensuring no interactions go unanswered and no leads slip through the cracks. This automated answering service serves as a 24/7 digital concierge, greeting customers, capturing details, booking appointments, and escalating urgent issues to your team when needed. XBert delivers personalized, natural conversations that fully represent your brand, without the overhead of a human receptionist.

Built to work across channels, XBert manages voice, SMS, and email conversations while integrating with your CRM and calendar systems for seamless workflows and real-time updates. It learns your business from your website, FAQs, and internal documents so responses stay accurate and aligned with your brand. Companies of all sizes across industries trust XBert to improve customer experience and eliminate missed calls.

Unlike most voice AI tools, XBert requires no IT or coding skills or complex automation workflows. XBert can be up and running in minutes, complete with custom greetings and voice settings. Ongoing analytics and detailed transcripts give you visibility into every conversation, helping refine customer engagement and drive growth.

Features

Nextiva XBert offers a range of features built to handle high-stakes inbound calls.

• 24/7 AI answering: Always-on handling of incoming phone calls with omnichannel support (email and text).
• Appointment booking: Schedule meetings and service calls based on availability.
• Lead capture: Collect caller details and automatically qualify prospects.
• Smart handoff: Route complex requests to your team with full context.
• CRM & calendar integration: Sync communications with business systems.
• Transcripts & analytics: Full conversation records and performance insights.

Pros:

• Handles unlimited customer interactions 24/7.
• Improves customer experience with natural-language responses.
• Can reduce staffing costs compared to human receptionists.

Cons:

• No free trial
• Not a full replacement for complex human support

Pricing

XBert AI starts at $99/month for 100 inbound conversations. Additional conversations are $0.99 each with no contracts and a 30-day money-back guarantee. This simple pricing model helps XBert stand out as the best overall value for AI receptionist solutions.

Best for: Small to medium-sized businesses that thrive on inbound calls seeking automated, scalable customer engagement without hiring full-time reception staff.

“It is very easy to use, and implementing it for each agent is straightforward. The customer support is excellent, and I use it daily. It offers good features for connecting with customers, and its integration makes it simple to generate reports.” Shiju S. via G2

👉 Nextiva has a 4.5/5 rating. See more Nextiva reviews on G2.

2. AnswerConnect – Best overall service for lead management

AnswerConnect is a live answering and chat tool that offers bilingual (English, Spanish) support. Their support team can help you by taking messages, routing calls, and qualifying inbound leads. AnswerConnect can also help manage customer experience (CX) with personalization thanks to caller ID.

Features

AnswerConnect offers a range of features in addition to live answering:

• Caller ID to recognize repeat callers for better in-call personalization
• Inbound lead qualification so your sales team can hit the ground running
• Detailed message-taking so you don’t lose any important information
• Time-sensitive call routing depending on where your teams are located
• Appointment bookings to set up a future point of contact
• Overflow response system for busy hours to ensure no call goes unanswered

Pros:

• 24/7/365 live answering
• Live chat answering capabilities
• Integration with most CRM systems
• Bilingual Spanish and English receptionists

Cons:

• More expensive than some other competitors
• Call reports aren’t customizable

Pricing

AnswerConnect requires businesses to contact their sales team for pricing details and to discuss their business needs. Historically, there have been three main pricing options:

• 100 minutes included: $325 per month plus $2.95 per minute and a $75 set-up fee
• 300 minutes included: $425 per month plus $2.75 per minute and no set-up fee
• 450 minutes included: $825 per month plus $2.75 per minute and a $75 set-up fee 

Best for: Businesses looking for a comprehensive answering service with lead qualification and bilingual support.

“They respond very quickly to requests, call me to ensure the changes are correct. My clients like the people who answer the phones. They are accurate on taking the numbers and names. However, I would like to have an assigned person on my phone so they can answer more questions when people ask for the same thing.” Cynthia F. via G2

👉 AnswerConnect has a 4.5/5 rating. See more AnswerConnect reviews on G2.

3. Posh – Best for personalized customer service

Posh is a live answering service that offers outbound calling capabilities. Its knowledgeable agents specialize in customer service for businesses in health, wellness, real estate, and consulting. Most notably, its outbound capabilities mean it can help capture and qualify leads and convert initial customer inquiries.

Features

Posh offers several features to businesses of all sizes looking for telephone answering service capabilities:

• Live answering on every call so your customers never reach a voicemail on their first touchpoint
• Bilingual virtual receptionist to cater to more of your customers
• A mobile app so agents can help customers from where they’re at
• Unlimited users, so businesses don’t have to pay for more seats
• Integrations with 3,000+ business applications through its partnership with Zapier.

Pros:

• 24/7/365 live answering
• Wide variety of pricing plans
• Bilingual receptionists (Monday-Friday, 8 AM to 6 PM ET)
• HIPAA compliance

Cons:

• No live chat
• No call recording

Pricing

There are seven pricing tiers for Posh customers:

• 0 minutes included: $65 per month plus $2.25 per minute
• 50 minutes included: $125 per month plus $2.15 per minute
• 100 minutes included: $210 per month plus $2.10 per minute
• 200 minutes included: $410 per month plus $2.05 per minute
• 350 minutes included: $685 per month plus $1.95 per minute
• 500 minutes included: $950 per month plus $1.90 per minute
• 1,000 minutes included: $1,850 per month plus $1.85 per minute

Best for: Personal service-oriented businesses that need a flexible and easy-to-manage answering service.

“The virtual assistants are great. They are professional, easy to understand, and interact well with callers. It is saving me some time and getting me more bookings, which was the intended purpose. They don’t always follow my instructions. That could be better. But otherwise, I really like this service.” — Sheryl LaNoue via Trustpilot

👉 Posh has a 4.6/5 rating. See more Posh Virtual Receptionist reviews on Trustpilot.

4. Moneypenny – Best for 24/7 availability & quick setup

Moneypenny(formerly VoiceNation), is a live answering service provider and virtual receptionist solution. It provides agents with tech support know-how for small businesses without intensive resources. It also offers instant activation if you need an immediate live answering solution but don’t have the infrastructure to set it up quickly.

Features

Moneypenny offers several features, including:

• Unlimited long-distance calls so your customers get heard no matter where they are
• Live answering on every call so customers don’t reach voicemail on the first point of contact
• A mobile app so agents can help customers from where they’re at
• Custom call scripts to align with your brand
• Instant activation for easy out-of-the-box setup
• Free call patching ( warm transfers ) so you don’t rack up charges, making sure your agents are informed

Users can also take advantage of message delivery free of charge via channels like voicemail, email, or SMS.

Pros:

• 24/7/365 live answering
• No fees for holiday or after-hours calls
• Bilingual receptionists (English, Spanish)
• HIPAA compliance

Cons:

• The mobile app includes additional fees for calling
• Live chat is billed annually rather than month-to-month
• No dedicated account managers outside of the Enterprise plan

Pricing

Moneypenny pricing plans start from $145 per month, and you need to request a custom quote for more pricing details.

Best for: Small businesses needing to offer round-the-clock service with a quick and easy setup.

“We have been using voicenation for about a month. Everything seems to be going ok. My company is very happy with the customized scripting. My only issue is with occasional misspellings of information in the messages. Customer names, phone numbers as well as addresses have been recorded incorrectly.” — A VoiceNation customer via Trustpilot

👉 VoiceNation has a 4.7/5 rating. See more VoiceNation reviews on Trustpilot.

5. Ruby – Best for integrated chat & phone support

Ruby is a live answering and chat solution. Its agents are entirely based in the U.S. and have the expertise to assist with customer service, support, and even acquisition needs. Ruby handles outbound calls, qualifies and captures leads, and routes calls to the appropriate party.

Features

Ruby offers quite a few features:

• A mobile app so agents can help customers from where they’re at
• Third-party integrations to mesh with your existing tech stack
• Automatic inbound lead capture so your sales team can hit the ground running
• Call routing and forwarding to reach the right team member
• Appointment bookings to set up a future point of contact

Ruby is also known for exceptional customer service, a great option if you need outside help for a CX boost.

Pros:

• 24/7/365 live answering
• Live chat answering capabilities
• HIPAA compliance

Cons:

• More expensive than some other solutions
• Bilingual receptionists aren’t 24/7/365

Pricing

Ruby has four different live reception pricing tiers:

• 50 minutes included: $245 per month plus a per-minute fee
• 100 minutes included: $385 per month plus a per-minute fee
• 200 minutes included: $705 per month plus a per-minute fee
• 500 minutes included: $1,695 per month plus a per-minute fee

They also offer bundled plans and live chat plans.

Best for: Businesses with fluctuating call volumes and a need for both call and chat support.

“We have Ruby answer all incoming calls for our business so that our team can focus on the tasks that are important to our clients, and not have to field spam calls etc. Ruby does a great job being a gatekeeper, and giving legitimate callers a fantastic first impression. Sometimes we’ve had a client call in and say that the person who answered the phone wasn’t very friendly. However, thankfully this is a rare occurrence.” — A Ruby customer via G2

👉 Ruby has a 3.7/5 rating. See more Ruby Receptionists reviews on G2.

6. Abby Connect – Best for dedicated receptionist teams

Abby Connect offers live answering, chat, and virtual receptionist services. While live receptionists aren’t available on holidays through Abby Connect, live chat is available around the clock, 365 days a year.

Features

The features that Abby Connect offers include:

• Dedicated receptionist teams that stay with your account for consistency
• Appointment bookings to set up a future point of contact
• Call announcements for transparency and clear communication
• Call transfers to reach the right team member
• A mobile app so agents can help customers from where they’re at
• Zapier integration for compatibility with more than 3,000 third-party apps.

Pros:

• Bilingual receptionists (English, Spanish)
• Customizable greetings
• Free trial

Cons:

• Live answering 24/7 is an add-on feature
• Separate charges for human and AI support (which can raise total costs)

Pricing

Abby Connect has three live answering pricing packages:

• 100 minutes included: $329 per month, with a per-minute rate of $3.29
• 200 minutes included: $599 per month, with a per-minute rate of $2.99
• 500 minutes included: $1380 per month, with a per-minute rate of $2.76

Abby also offers live chat as well as bundled reception and chat options.

Best for: Businesses that want a dedicated account manager and a consistent team of receptionists.

“I have been using Abby for over a year now to handle all of my appointment scheduling. I tried other companies first, and Abby has made it the easiest. Their call centers are in Las Vegas, so there is no language issue when they handle your calls.” — Chelsea Woodworth via Trustpilot

👉 Abby Connect has a 4/5 rating. See more Abby Connect reviews on Trustpilot.

7. Davinci Virtual – Best for startups needing admin support

Davinci Virtual is a comprehensive business solution that includes live receptionist services. It’s a relatively affordable answering service offering businesses administrative services, like providing a physical address, customer support resources, and live receptionists. Rather than compensate for business off-hours and holidays, Davinci takes over call support for extremely small teams.

Features

Davinci Virtual’s Business plans prioritize their live answering services and offer quite a few features, like:

• Free local or toll-free phone number, depending on your needs
• Call forwarding and screening to reach the right team member
• Unlimited long-distance calls so your customers get heard no matter where they are
• Online faxing for the transfer of important documents and information

Live answering with Davinci is only available during standard business hours, and not 24/7/365, so callers may sometimes reach voicemail.

Pros:

• Less expense than alternatives
• Live receptionist
• Business administrative services

Cons:

• Live answering isn’t 24/7/365
• No notifications for new messages
• Minimum six-month commitment with no month-to-month option

Pricing

Davinci has two answering service pricing tiers:

• Business 50 minutes included: $129 per month plus $1.75 per minute
• Business 100 minutes included: $239 per month plus $1.75 per minutes

Best for: Solopreneurs and startups looking for an affordable answering service with additional administrative support.

“Maddi is excellent. She is wonderful to deal with and super professional. However, the company you use for remote notary services isn’t apt; their software (user experience) is appalling. — Michael Preston via Trustpilot

👉 Davinci Virtual has a 4.5/5 rating. See more Davinci Virtual reviews on Trustpilot.

How to Choose the Best Answering Service for Your Small Business

The answering service you choose will be the first impression for callers contacting your business. Here are some factors to consider when deciding on an answering service:

• Customizable: Look for a business phone system that offers customizable solutions, like the ability to tailor scripts and call handling procedures to align with your brand.
• Available 24/7: Opt for a service that can handle calls around the clock (even on weekends and holidays) to ensure you’re always accessible to customers.
• Scalable: Pick a service that can scale with your business. That means handling increasing call volumes and adapting to rapid changes.
• Cost-effective: Select a service that balances affordability and quality, ensuring you get the best value for your money. When evaluating answering service cost, look beyond the base price, consider what’s included, such as call handling, message delivery, and integration capabilities, to assess true value.
• Able to integrate: Go for a service that seamlessly integrates with your tech stack, like CRM software, to streamline call handling and data management.
• Reputable: Single out testimonials and reviews from other small businesses. A reputable service with a track record of satisfied customers is more likely to meet your expectations.

Be There Every Time Your Customers Call with Nextiva

When every missed call can mean a missed opportunity, you need to be available when customers reach out: day or night, on weekdays or weekends, on holidays or business days. With an answering service, your business can provide professional call handling around the clock.  

Keep in mind, though, that even if an answering service covers your calls, you still need a reliable system to route and manage them. As an all-in-one business phone and virtual call center solution, Nextiva lets you seamlessly connect to third-party answering services, manage call flows, and track performance—all from a single platform.

Small Business Answering Service FAQs

Check out these frequently asked questions.