Two ways to cover a line you do not staff
An AI virtual receptionist and a human virtual receptionist answer the same kind of phone: the business line, when nobody at your address is free to pick up. The split is who speaks. Software speaks on the AI side. A live agent speaks on the human side. The agent works for the answering company, not on your floor.
That split is the whole page. The nail-salon product tour — what a fill sounds like, what the text says — is virtual receptionist for a nail salon. The category name for the software job is AI answering service. The phone on a number you already print is AI phone receptionist.
Side by side
| Human virtual receptionist | AI virtual receptionist | |
|---|---|---|
| Who speaks | A live agent | Software |
| Where they sit | The vendor’s desk | On the number you forward |
| How a public plan is billed | Monthly calls or minutes | AIVA is $200 one-time, then usage past included minutes and SMS |
| Best when | The call needs judgment, a live transfer, or intake you cannot script | The call is a known menu: a service, a person, and a time |
| Booking | Often an add-on on the human plan | AIVA writes the appointment and texts it |
Smith.ai publishes both kinds of desk. On September 25, 2026, the human page at smith.ai/pricing/receptionists listed Starter at $300/month for 30 calls, with booking appointments at $1.50 per call. The same day, their AI receptionist page listed a free tier and a Pro plan from $150/month. That AI plan is software with an optional live-agent backup, so it sits on the AI side of this table, not the human side. The full ladders, overages, and add-ons are on Smith.ai pricing. Ruby sells a live receptionist on a monthly plan; the figures are on Ruby receptionist pricing, and this page does not restate them. A wider price roundup is virtual receptionist pricing and virtual receptionist cost.
Sources: smith.ai/pricing/receptionists and smith.ai/pricing/ai-receptionist, fetched September 25, 2026. If those pages move, trust the live pages.
Choose the human desk when the call is not a menu
A live virtual receptionist earns the monthly plan when the caller needs a person who can pause, qualify, and transfer. Smith’s human page describes lead screening, intake questions, and live agents in North America, 24/7, on month-to-month plans. Law firms, medical intake, and any line where the next question depends on judgment are the fit they publish. If that is the phone you run, stay with a human desk. Switching to software to save the monthly bill will drop the calls their agents were hired to handle.
Owners comparing Smith specifically, including who should leave and who should stay, can read Smith.ai alternative. That page is the vendor compare. This page is the job compare: live agent versus software.
Choose the AI receptionist when the call is a booking
An AI virtual receptionist fits when the repeatable job is an appointment. The caller wants a named service, with a person who can do it, at a time that is open. A nail salon is that shape: gel, dip, fill, acrylic, pedicure. So is a lash fill or a haircut once the menu is trained. You want that coverage overnight and on Saturday without buying a bundle of calls. AIVA is $200 one-time. No monthly plan fee. No free trial. She answers 24/7, books, and texts. The payment includes a dedicated number, training, calendar setup, forwarding, 100 voice minutes, and 1,500 SMS. After that, voice is $0.35/min and SMS is $0.035. Get AIVA — $200. Hear her at (215) 791-6766. The product page is AIVA.
Hiring someone for your own desk is a third choice
A human virtual receptionist is not an employee at your front door. Hiring a person to greet walk-ins, watch the floor, and take payment is a payroll decision. The worksheets for that decision are hire a receptionist vs an AI and AI receptionist vs hiring a front-desk receptionist. Use those when the question is a chair at your desk. Use this page when the question is an answering company versus software.
Calendar is neither receptionist
Bukkii Calendar is $20/month. Unlimited staff. Unlimited customers. Booking website, email reminders, and Google Reserve. It does not answer the phone. It is the public book, not a virtual receptionist of either kind. Get Calendar — $20/mo. Both cards are on pricing.
Two offers: software on the phone, or the book
AIVA — the AI virtual receptionist — $200 one-time
AIVA answers the shop number, books the service, and texts the appointment. $200 one-time. No monthly plan fee. No free trial. Get AIVA — $200.
Calendar — the book — $20/month
Calendar is the booking website plus Google Reserve. $20/month. Unlimited staff. Unlimited customers. It does not answer the phone. Get Calendar — $20/mo.
FAQ
What is an AI virtual receptionist?
An AI virtual receptionist is software that answers business calls in a spoken conversation, without a live agent on the line. For an appointment business it should book a service and a time and text the result. AIVA is that product at $200 one-time, with no monthly plan fee and no free trial.
How is a human virtual receptionist different?
A human virtual receptionist is a live person employed by an answering company. They answer in your business name from their office, usually on a monthly plan billed by the call or the minute. Smith.ai’s human Starter plan, fetched September 25, 2026, is $300/month for 30 calls. Booking on that human price list is an add-on at $1.50 per call.
When is a human virtual receptionist the right buy?
Choose a live answering desk when callers need judgment you cannot script, a live transfer, or a long intake. Smith’s human plans are built around lead qualification, transfers, and intake questions. If that is the job, their monthly desk is the product. If the call is a known service and an open time, an AI receptionist is the closer fit.
Is this the same as hiring a receptionist for my front desk?
No. Hiring puts a person in your shop to greet walk-ins and handle the floor. A virtual receptionist, human or AI, covers the phone from somewhere else. The in-shop hiring worksheets are hire a receptionist vs AI and AI receptionist vs hiring.
Does Bukkii Calendar answer the phone?
No. Calendar is $20/month for a booking website, email reminders, and Google Reserve, with unlimited staff and unlimited customers. It does not answer the phone. It is not a virtual receptionist. The phone product is AIVA at $200 one-time.