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How Much Does Ruby Receptionist Cost? From $250 a Month for 50 Minutes

By Sharrk Team · October 25, 2026

Ruby Receptionist costs from $250 a month for 50 live receptionist minutes up to $1,725 a month for 500 minutes, which works out to $3.45 to $5.00 per minute, according to Ruby's pricing page as checked on October 25, 2026. If you want every call answered 24/7 on a flat monthly plan, Sharrk Core is $99 a month and its credits cover roughly 315 AI call minutes, with AI voice agents that answer, book, transfer and follow up.

Below are Ruby's published plans, the billing rules that affect your real cost, and a side-by-side look at how Sharrk handles the same calls.

What are Ruby's receptionist plans and prices?

Ruby lists four virtual receptionist plans. Ruby says the plans differ only by the number of receptionist minutes, and every plan gets the same features. Prices below are from Ruby's pricing page (last modified March 18, 2026), checked October 25, 2026.

The per-minute column is simple division of the monthly price by the included minutes, assuming you use every minute. Ruby says larger volumes are available by talking to its team.

Ruby also sells live chat: 10 chats for $143, 30 for $335 and 50 for $520 a month, and says adding chat to a receptionist plan saves 20% on the chat price.

Does Ruby charge setup fees or require a contract?

Ruby's pricing page says there are no additional fees for activation, onboarding, setup, customization or coverage during certain periods. Ruby's FAQ answers "No way!" to whether a long-term contract is required; cancellation outside a guarantee or trial period takes effect at the end of the current monthly billing period.

Ruby offers a money-back guarantee to first-time users if they give notice within 21 days of purchase or before using 500 receptionist minutes, whichever comes first, per the same FAQ.

How does Ruby count minutes and charge overage?

These rules come from Ruby's help center article on billing basics (dated September 9, 2026):

• Rounding: receptionist minutes are billed in 60-second increments, and each call is rounded up to the next 60-second mark.
• What counts: receptionist time starts when the receptionist receives the call and includes hold time.
• Overage: extra minutes are billed at your plan's overage rate, in arrears after the billing period ends. Ruby's public pricing page does not list the overage rate, so ask for it in writing before you sign up.
• No rollover: unused minutes do not carry over to the next month.
• Plan changes: new customers get a three-billing-cycle calibration window. Upgrades can be made anytime; downgrades are eligible after three consecutive billing periods on the same plan.

Because every call rounds up to a full minute, a day of short calls uses more plan minutes than the talk time suggests. A 20-second call counts as one minute.

Does Ruby have an AI receptionist?

Ruby describes its AI as support for its human receptionists. Its AI page lists Call Nav (an AI assistant that pulls up business information for receptionists during calls), call and voicemail transcripts, sentiment analysis and robocall filtering, and says all AI features are included at no extra cost in every Ruby plan. Ruby's pricing page also lists 24/7 live answering, including after hours, weekends and holidays, plus Spanish and bilingual call handling.

How does Ruby's cost compare with Sharrk?

Ruby and Sharrk price calls differently. Ruby sells blocks of live receptionist minutes. Sharrk sells monthly credits that cover AI call minutes, texts and emails across one account.

Ruby details are from Ruby's pricing page, checked October 25, 2026. On Sharrk, credits also cover texts and emails, and each phone number uses 10,000 credits a month, so plan your minutes with your number included. For more on how live services and AI price their minutes, see our guide to answering service cost and the breakdown of a virtual receptionist vs. an answering service.

What do Sharrk's plans include?

Full details are on the Sharrk pricing page.

How do you estimate your monthly receptionist cost?

1. Pull last month's call log. Count calls and total talk minutes from your phone carrier or CRM.
2. Round each call up. On a per-minute plan that rounds to full minutes, a 40-second call counts as one minute. Add hold time.
3. Add after-hours and weekend calls. Those are often the calls a business misses today.
4. Match the total to a plan. Pick the plan that covers your busiest month, since unused minutes on Ruby do not roll over.
5. Price the follow-up. Count how many callers need a text, email or callback afterward, and whether your plan covers it.

Where does Mako fit in?

Mako is Sharrk's AI assistant. You describe what you want in plain English, such as "answer after-hours calls, book drain cleanings onto my calendar and warm-transfer emergencies to my cell," and Mako builds the voice agent, booking rules and transfer settings. Every change appears on an Apply card, Mako waits for your OK before anything changes, and you can Undo. You can build and test the whole setup on Sharrk Free before going live.

How Sharrk answers your calls

Sharrk's AI voice agents answer every call 24/7 in 35 languages, including a clone of your own voice if you like. They book onto Sharrk's calendar (with a confirmation email and text), Calendly, Cal.com or ServiceTitan arrival windows, and live-transfer to a person with a whisper brief or three-way intro when the caller needs one. Every call is logged with a transcript, recording and the fields you capture. New leads from Angi, Thumbtack, Networx, Jobber, ServiceTitan or your web forms get a reply in under 30 seconds, and Strikes keep following up by AI call, text and email until the lead replies or asks to stop. Keep your current number by forwarding calls at your carrier to your Sharrk number.

Start on Sharrk Free with 2,500 credits and no card, or schedule a demo to see it on your own calls.

Related on Sharrk: AI Receptionist · AI Answering Service · AI Receptionist Cost

Sources

• Ruby, "Ruby plans and pricing" (last modified March 18, 2026): https://ruby.com/pricing (checked October 25, 2026)
• Ruby Help Center, "Ruby Billing Basics" (September 9, 2026): https://rubyhelpcenter.helpjuice.com/billing/ruby-billing-basics (checked October 25, 2026)
• Ruby, "FAQs" (no date shown): https://www.ruby.com/faqs/ (checked October 25, 2026)
• Ruby, "AI can make customer service more human" (last modified September 24, 2026): https://ruby.com/ai (checked October 25, 2026)
• Ruby, "Per-minute vs. per-call virtual receptionist pricing" (published May 28, 2024; updated October 16, 2026): https://www.ruby.com/per-minute-vs-per-call-virtual-receptionist-pricing/ (checked October 25, 2026)

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