Calls you do not want to miss
Ava asks what you approved, then texts you. She does not invent a price.
AI receptionist vs answering service
Voicemail, a call center, or software that texts you the lead.
“Answering service” usually means people who pick up and take a message. “AI receptionist” means software that holds the conversation you scripted. Ava is the second one. The useful comparison is what happens to the caller and what you pay, not a slogan about replacing staff.
Free 7-day trial, then $79, $149, or $299 a month. $0 setup.
Texts you the lead 24/7 if you forward the line Cancel anytime
THE CALLS
Built around owners comparing an answering service with an AI receptionist.
Human answering services often price after a sales call, by the minute or by the seat. Voicemail is cheap and loses the callers who will not leave a message. A receptionist on payroll is a different product entirely: the median pay was $37,230 a year in May 2024, and that person does work Ava does not do.
After-hours coverage
Ava asks what you approved, then texts you. She does not invent a price.
Overflow while you are with someone else
Ava asks what you approved, then texts you. She does not invent a price.
The same questions every day
Ava asks what you approved, then texts you. She does not invent a price.
Emergencies that need a rule, not improvisation
Ava asks what you approved, then texts you. She does not invent a price.
SIDE BY SIDE
What you are actually buying.
Voicemail
The caller decides whether to talk. You get whatever they remember, often without an address. Cost is whatever your phone plan already charges. Nobody asks your qualifying questions.
Human answering service
A person follows a script and sends a message. Quality depends on the agent and the script. Pricing is usually a quote, not a page like this one. They can be a fit if you want a human on every call and will pay for that.
Ava
Software answers in the voice and questions you approve, then texts you. You can hear a sample and try a live browser demo before checkout. She will get calls wrong sometimes. You review the texts and edit the rules. She is not a licensed dispatcher, lawyer, or clinician.
WHAT YOU GET BACK
A lead, not a vague voicemail.
Details worth a callback
- Name and number
- What they need
- Where the job or appointment is
- How urgent it is, using your rules
- A text you can act on
Put the prices next to each other without a fake percentage
Ava’s prices are on this site: $79, $149, and $299 a month after a 7-day trial, $0 setup, with 300, 800, or 1,800 included minutes. Overage is $0.28, $0.24, or $0.20 a minute. A human answering service will give you its own quote. A W-2 receptionist at the May 2024 median is about $3,103 a month in wages alone. Example, not a forecast: 6 missed calls in a week, you assume 1 in 4 would have become a callback you would have made, and you put that job at $300. The arithmetic is about $1,950 a month (6 × (1/4) × 300 × 52 ÷ 12). Change the inputs on the missed-call calculator. This is not a promise and not an industry average. Use the calculator so the missed-call side is yours.
PRICING
Free 7-day trial. $0 setup.
Checkout is Stripe. After the trial, the plan you picked bills monthly. Included minutes reset each month. Overage uses the rate on the card.
Starter
For smaller shops that need affordable after-hours and overflow coverage.
$79/mo after trial
300 minutes · $0.28/min after included usage- Ava AI receptionist
- 24/7 answering
- Lead qualification + summaries
- Lead texts to your phone
- Business-specific greeting & FAQs
Growth
For teams that live on inbound estimates and cannot miss after-hours calls.
$149/mo after trial
800 minutes · $0.24/min after included usage- Everything in Starter
- More custom call flows
- Multiple service types
- Advanced lead qualification
- Advanced routing
Pro
For higher-volume shops that want a deeply configured front desk.
$299/mo after trial
1,800 minutes · $0.20/min after included usage- Everything in Growth
- Multiple call experiences
- Advanced routing logic
- Priority customization
- Deeper business configuration
FAQ
Questions before you forward the phone.
Is Ava cheaper than an answering service?
Ava’s price is published. Theirs may not be, until you ask. Compare the quote they send with $79, $149, or $299 a month and the included minutes. Do not trust a chart that says “save 80%” without showing both invoices.
Can Ava transfer to a person?
You can write escalation rules for urgent calls. Live phone provisioning is still finished with Cole after checkout. The product does not buy your phone number automatically.
Which one should a contractor start with?
If you want to hear the call yourself tonight, play the sample and use the browser demo, then start the Stripe trial. If you already have a human service you like, stay. This page is not a reason to cancel something that is working.
Try the demo, then start the trial in Stripe.
The sample call is a landscaping estimate. The live demo is in the browser. Checkout opens Stripe for the plan you pick. Starter is $79 a month after the trial.