12 Best Telephone Answering Service For Businesses In 2024

Let us explore the top Telephone Answering Services with features and pricing to select the best phone call answering service for your business:

As the name suggests, an Answering service basically means answering the phone calls for a business.

If you want to stay in business, satisfy your customers. In today’s times, there is a lot of scope for success. But that success requires dedication towards providing exceptionally best products and customer support services to maintain the goodwill of your company. Even well-established, renowned brands work a lot to maintain their goodwill.

An answering service provides you with agents who are specialized in sales and marketing tactics and can bring about profitable results through their customer service.

Answering Services

It plays an important role in making a good impression of your company because they act as representatives of your company. So you should always try to have the best Answering services provider, rather than looking for a cheap/affordable one.

Top features provided by answering services are as follows:

1. Taking calls on your behalf
2. Outbound calling, i.e., making outgoing calls, in order to increase sales
3. Mobile application for getting updates
4. Collecting useful data from the calls
5. Data analysis features
6. Call recording
7. Call scripting
8. Scheduling appointments
9. Call Routing/Forwarding
10. Order placing, billing, and taking payments on your behalf

In this article, we will talk about the best answering service providers in the industry, compare them and share minute details to help you choose the most suitable one for your company.

Our TOP Recommendations:

AnswerConnect	AnswerForce	RingCentral	Vonage
• Live Calling • 24/7 Live Chat • Manage Calls	• Lead Qualifying • Workflow Integration • Appointment Booking	• Campaign Management • API Integrations • Call Routing	• CRM Integration • Call Queue • IVR
Price: Quote-Based Trial version: NA	Price: Starts at $259/Month Free Trial: NA	Price: Starts $14.99 monthly Trial version: NA	Price: Starts $19.99 monthly Trial version: NA
Visit Site >>	Visit Site >>	Visit Site >>	Visit Site >>

List of the Best Telephone Answering Services

Here is the list of popular virtual answering service companies:

1. AnswerConnect (Recommended)
2. AnswerForce
3. LEX Reception
4. Talkroute
5. RingCentral
6. Ooma
7. Vonage
8. Saso
9. Abby Connect
10. Ruby
11. PATLive
12. VoiceNation
13. Answering Service.com
14. Map Communications
15. Davinci
16. Answering Service Care
17. P.T.A.S
18. AnswerFirst
19. HelloSells

Comparing Top Phone Call Answering Services

Detailed Reviews:

#1) AnswerConnect (Recommended)

Best for People-powered 24/7/365 live answering.

Keep your business human with 24/7 call answering from a team of real people. Customizable call scripts help you to capture the best opportunities. With over 20 years of experience, our professional virtual receptionists deliver exceptional service on every call.

Features:

• People-powered, professional, and friendly customer support.
• 24/7 call answering, live chat support, appointment scheduling, lead qualification, and more.
• Integrate with popular apps and platforms, e.g., Salesforce, Hubspot, and Zoho.
• Best-in-class mobile app to organize prospect and client communications.

Verdict: With over 700 top-rated reviews, AnswerConnect provides best-in-class service to clients from a wide range of industries.

Price: Contact directly for a price quote.

#2) AnswerForce

Best for Business growth with 24/7 live call and chat answering.

AnswerForce is the only answering service that is dedicated to growing the service industry 24/7, 365. AnswerForce offers fast, reliable, people-first call and chat answering, appointment scheduling and lead capture to help your businesses grow.

AnswerForce allows your team to focus on the job at hand, without worrying about missing any new opportunities.

Features:

• 24/7 live call and chat answering every day of the year.
• Lead qualifying and capture.
• Appointment booking, estimates, and callbacks.
• Bilingual (English/Spanish) answering.
• Direct integration into your workflow and business systems.
• An affordable, scalable alternative to additional staff.
• Flexible options for calls, overflow, after hours, and weekends.

Verdict: AnswerForce reviews speak for themselves. Rated as Excellent on TrustPilot with a score of 4.9/5 for over 480 reviews.

Price: All packages include call and chat support. Check the website for flexible pricing options.

#3) LEX Reception

Best for Giving lawyers more time with 24/7 legal answering services.

With Lex Reception, you get a 24/7 answering service that caters to the needs and requirements of legal firms. You are provided with skilled and eloquent receptionists who’ll receive calls on your legal firm’s behalf and build client relationships. You can count on these receptionists to generate lead information for your firm as well as follow up with your prospective clients. 

Features:

• Outbound calling
• CRM Integration
• Appointment setting
• Bilingual Team of receptionists

Verdict: Lex Reception provides the perfect service for legal firms that need receptionists to intercept calls at their behest. You get receptionists who can cater to both English and Spanish speaking clients round-the-clock. 

Price: Contact directly for a price quote.

#4) Talkroute

Best for: Unlimited calling and messaging.

Talkroute is an excellent virtual phone system that’ll help you communicate over the internet across multiple smartphone and desktop devices. This software will help make and receive calls, send and receive messages, as well as hold video conferences with up to 100 participants. You can also count on Talkroute to get local, 800, and toll-free numbers. 

Features:

• Call forwarding
• Text messaging
• Video conferencing
• Call stacking
• Call recording

Verdict: Talkroute is widely hailed among businesses as one of the finest virtual phone systems of today for a plethora of good reasons. It comes in the form of an app for almost all operating systems. It is easy to set up, affordable, and comes equipped with advanced features. 

Price: Talkroute offers the following subscription plans:

• Basic: $19/month
• Plus: $39/month
• Pro: $59/month
• Custom enterprise plan

#5) RingCentral

Best for virtual meetings feature, which is available for free.

RingCentral provides its virtual service across 56 countries. They layout for your remote agents and provide you tools for organizing video conferences so that everyone can work from home and you do not have to delay your business deals because of the ongoing situation of pandemics.

Features:

• You can communicate with your customers using instant messages, calls, or video conferences.
• Lets you route calls so that your experts can receive them from anywhere.
• API integrations with Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, etc.
• Lets you monitor your calls, meetings, quality of calls through a single interface and provide actionable reports.
• Advanced campaign management and outbound dialing capabilities.

Verdict: Users of RingCentral complain about their customer service and constantly increasing prices. But the variety of features that they offer is commendable.

Price: Contact directly for a price quote.

#6) Ooma

Best for business phone features catering to Small Businesses.

Ooma is a telephone answering service made keeping the needs of small businesses in mind. It is very easy to get started with Ooma and will cost you little to nothing when acquiring a new phone number from them. You get over 50 features that aim to smoothen up your business’s communication infrastructure.

It comes with a virtual receptionist feature that automatically directs calls to the right extension. This way Ooma will make sure you never miss a call and there is always someone to respond to your customer’s queries.

Furthermore, Ooma acquaints you with a desktop and mobile app to make communication with your team or customers considerably more efficient.

Features:

• Virtual Receptionist
• Video Conferencing
• Free Toll number
• Low international calling rates
• HD Calling
• Free Local Phone numbers

Verdict: Ooma’s virtual receptionist alone makes it one of the best telephone answering services you can try today. It is simple to use and will barely hurt your pockets, which makes it an ideal option for small businesses.

Price:

• Essential plan costs $14.95 per user per month
• Office Pro costs $19.95 per user per month
• Office Pro Plus costs $24.95 per user per month.

#7) Vonage

Best for Automatic Call Routing to Virtual Receptionist.

Vonage boasts of, by far, one of the best telephone answering capabilities. Most of its popularity can be attributed to the custom phone menu that you get with an intuitive IVR attached. This makes sure no calls go unanswered as there is a virtual receptionist to answer calls, regardless of whether it’s lunch hours, holidays, or after-work hours.

Features:

• Customizable IVR
• Queue customers in virtual waiting rooms
• Forward calls to several extensions
• Integrate with CRMs like Salesforce, Zendesk, etc.

Verdict: Vonage, thanks to its AI-based virtual assistant and automatic call routing capabilities, allows businesses to receive customer calls even when there aren’t any agents available to answer them. This is why Vonage makes it so high on our list of the best telephone answering services.

Price: Mobile plan: $19.99/month, Premium: 29.99/month, Advanced: 39.99/month.

#8) Saso

Best for delivering affordable 24/7 live services.

Saso, or Specialty Answering Service, provides an affordable call answering service that is best suitable for small businesses. They offer customer care services with 300 employees, always ready to pick up the phones on your behalf. They have ISO27001 certification, which ensures the security of your personal information.

Features:

• Outbound calling to your potential clients for growing sales.
• 24/7 services.
• Lets your callers leave a voice message or talk to a live representative.
• The receptionists are bilingual, can speak English or Spanish.
• ISO27001 certification, which assures you of the security of your personal data.

Verdict: Saso is probably the best in this field. They offer 8 flexible and scalable plans to choose from, provide 24/7 live services with the help of 300 employees who are always there to pick up the calls on your behalf.

Price: There is a 14-day free trial. Price plans are:

• Economy: $34 per month
• 100 minute: $128 per month
• 220 minute: $219 per month
• 500 minute: $539 per month
• 1000 minute: $999 per month
• 2500 minute: $2400 per month
• 5000 minute: $4599 per month
• 10,000 minute: $8599 per month

*Additional charges for each additional minute.

#9) Abby Connect

Best for streamlined receptionists who can transform your callers into customers.

Abby Connect is a phone answering service provider which has a dedicated team to answer the calls on your behalf. They guarantee you increased returns on investment and save your time so that you can focus on other important tasks.

Features:

• They offer you custom answering hours or 24/7 service, as per your needs
• Bilingual Receptionists
• Lets your customers book their appointments
• Voicemail solutions

Verdict: Abby Connect is a highly recommended telephone service provider. The users appreciate how efficiently the receptionists help their clients and thus save much of their time.

Price: There is a 14-day free trial. Price plans that follow are as follows:

• $2.79 per minute
• $2.49 per minute
• $2.18 per minute

#10) Ruby

Best for Ruby mobile application

Ruby is a highly trusted call answering service provider which has around 13,000 clients. They help you grow your sales by giving personalized experiences to your customers, 24/7/365.

Features:

• The dedicated team helps you grow your business by alluring your callers towards sales.
• Receptionists are available 24/7 so that you do not disappoint your potential customers.
• Ruby mobile app can forward calls to virtual receptionists, take messages, voicemails, etc.
• Provides learning material on how to grow your business.

Verdict: Ruby is one of the best companies for telephone services out there. The receptionists from Ruby are known to be polite and warm. Most of the users are recommending Ruby to small businesses because of its usefulness in the growth process.

Price: Price plans are as follows:

• Call Ruby 100: $319 per month (100 minutes)
• Call Ruby 200: $599 per month (200 minutes)
• Call Ruby 350: $999 per month (350 minutes)
• Call Ruby 500: $1399 per month (500 minutes)

#11) PATLive

Best for fast and friendly answer service.

PATLive offers you friendly receptionists to answer the calls on your behalf. They have been in the business since 1990 and deliver 24/7 customer services so that you can save time and grow your business simultaneously.

Features:

• 24/7/365 Live answering
• Mobile application that keeps you updated, through notifications.
• Takes messages on your behalf and schedules appointments for your customers.
• Helps in processing your orders with billing and payment support.

Verdict: The users of PATLive applaud the services rendered to them, especially the mobile application. A few of them complain about the receptionists for behaving like they do not know what the caller is talking about.

Price: There is a 14-day free trial. Price plans are as follows:

• Basic: $39 per month
• Starter: $149 per month
• Standard: $269 per month
• Pro: $629 per month
• Pro+: $999 per month

*Additional charges for extra minutes

#12) VoiceNation

Best for data analyzing feature

VoiceNation is one of the best answering service companies in the industry, which was established about 17 years ago. They provide 100% U.S. based agents, 24/7/365 service, and have served over 75,000 entrepreneurs till now.

Features:

• You can make scripts for how your calls should be answered.
• 24/7 Live answering.
• A mobile application that helps you get messages instantly.
• A dedicated account manager to help you out in setting up your account.
• They collect data from your calls to make valuable data insights.

Verdict: The number of awards and the recognition achieved by VoiceNation are evidence that it offers quality service to its users.

Price: There is a free trial for 7 days. Then pay as per the following plans:

• Basic (20 minutes): $49 per month
• Business (50 minutes): $99 per month
• Pro (150 minutes): $249 per month
• Executive (300 minutes): $449 per month
• Enterprise (600 minutes): $799 per month

#13) Answering Service.com

Best for scalable solutions.

Answering Service.com offers you 24/7 receptionists to take your calls so that you never miss an important call. They offer services for businesses of all sizes.

Features:

• You can take calls and messages on any number you want.
• The text-to-speech feature reads out messages for you.
• You can set instructions or write proper scripts on how you want the receptionists to talk to your customers.
• 24/7 Live answering service.

Verdict: Answering Service.com provides an affordable answering solution for small businesses. The features they come up with are scalable. The quality of services is also appreciated by the users.

Price: There is a 7-day free trial. Price plans are as follows:

• Answer Standard: $20 per month
• Answer 25: $59 per month
• Answer 50: $105 per month
• Answer 100: $189 per month
• Answer 200: $369 per month

#14) Map Communications

Best for affordable, scalable solutions.

Map Communications provides affordable business packages for small to medium-sized businesses and call center services for big enterprises. Their receptionists are bilingual, professional and offer 24/7 speedy services to your customers.

Features:

• Bilingual receptionists can answer in English or Spanish.
• Call center services for large businesses include High-class CRM tools.
• They can dispatch your messages to your customers/clients.
• Appointment scheduling and call routing feature help in making your business a success.

Verdict: Most of the clients of Map Communications have reported that they are happy with the services they received from Map Communications and are, in fact, recommending them to others.

Price: There is a 7-day free trial. Price plans are as follows:

• Standard: $39 per month
• Business: $149 per month
• Executive: $249 per month

#15) Davinci

Best for virtual business addresses

Davinci is known to be a provider of modern solutions for your business. Some of their very cool features include virtual business addresses from global locations, live answering services, real spaces for meetings, and catering services.

Features:

• Features to run businesses from home.
• A virtual business address, virtual conference rooms, and more.
• Live answering services done by bilingual receptionists
• You can book real spaces for meetings and conferences, instantly, priced at a per-hour basis.

Verdict: Davinci offers you modern solutions for your business requirements. They help you save your invaluable time with solutions available at cheaper prices as compared to their counterparts.

Price: Price plans are as follows:

• Business 50: $99 per month
• Business 100: $239 per month
• Premium 50: $249 per month
• Premium 100: $319 per month

#16) Answering Service Care

Best for professional and compassionate answering services.

Answering Service Care is a renowned and well-established company, offering live answering services since 1974. They schedule appointments for your customers, offer email marketing features, bilingual receptionists, and much more.

Features:

• 24/7 services
• Mobile application for instant notifications and other features.
• Bilingual answering service with appointments scheduling.
• Call recording, that can be used for improvement in the services and for the collection of data for analysis.

Verdict: Answering Service Care is known for their friendly and compassionate behavior with the callers and have got some very nice reviews from their clients. Most of their clients state that choosing this service has been advantageous for them.

Price: Price plans are as follows:

• Starter: $49 per month
• Small business: $49 per month
• Business: $229 per month
• Corporate: $449 per month
• Enterprise: $859 per month
• Supreme: $3899 per month

#17) P.T.A.S

Best for live answering services and SSL certification

P.T.A.S or Personal Telephone Answering Service has been serving businesses with its efficient answering services since 1961. They offer features like appointments scheduling, calls screening, SSL certificates, and much more.

Features:

• SSL certificate to ensure the safety of your personal data
• Temporary services for short periods
• Appointments scheduling and call screening
• You can set proper instructions or scripts on how to greet your customers.

Verdict: P.T.A.S are providing their telephone answering service to a broad section of business enterprises including consultancy firms, healthcare services, real estate, engineering departments, and many more. The positive reviews by the users are evidence that the quality of services is up to the mark.

Price: Contact directly for a price quote.

#18) AnswerFirst

Best for top-quality answering service

AnswerFirst is a U.S. based answering service provider, which renders 24/7 live services, takes your messages, schedules appointments with your customers, and helps in the order processing process.

Features:

• 24/7 service and contact center
• Order taking and processing
• Appointment scheduling
• Live call transfer service

Verdict: AnswerFirst is the leading phone service provider in the industry. Some of their drawbacks are a) Lack of a free trial, which is provided by most of the service providers, b) They bill every 28 days, so you have to pay your monthly bills, 13 times a year!

Price: $30 per month + Pay per minute ($0.80 – $1.25 per minute)

#19) HelloSells

HelloSells is a 24/7 lead capture service for small businesses looking to grow. Their team of dedicated receptionists handle your calls and chats, qualify your leads, input details into your CRM, and schedule appointments.

With HelloSells answering your calls and capturing your leads, you’ll never miss an opportunity.

Features:

• 24/7/365 call handling & lead qualification
• Appointment booking software
• Lead follow-up
• Live chat response
• CRM + sales tech integrations

Verdict: HelloSells offer a flexible approach to its plans, allowing customers to move up or down depending on their needs. Each plan comes with an array of tech – free of charge to help run your business.

Price: Contact directly for a quote.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Based on our study on what an Answering service is, and after comparing and reviewing the best answering service companies, we can now make the following comments:

• Saso, Abby Connect, PATLive, Davinci, Answering Service Care, and Ruby are the overall best service providers, based on the reviews and the number of features they offer.
• Some companies like Ruby, Answering Service Care, and others are offering a mobile application with their service. It can be very beneficial, as you can receive instant notifications about calls or messages.
• Call recording or call scripting or data collecting and analyzing features are something worth taking into consideration while opting for an Answering service for your business.

Also Read =>> Top Help Desk Outsourcing Services

Research Process:

• Time taken to research this article: We spent 15 hours researching and writing this article so you can get a useful summarized list of tools with a comparison of each for your quick review.
• Total tools researched online: 25
• Top tools shortlisted for review: 12