Ruby Receptionist is a live answering desk
Ruby Receptionist, as of September 25, 2026, is a live virtual receptionist. We opened ruby.com/plans-and-pricing that day. The page says you get the same team of trained receptionists on every plan, and that the only difference between plans is how many receptionist minutes you get. Features listed on every plan include 24/7 live answering, including after hours, weekends, and holidays. Scheduling, bilingual answering, and client intake are described as available options. The page also says there are no additional fees for activation, onboarding, setup, customization, or coverage during certain periods.
A line on that page says optional AI enhancements are available in all plans, at no extra cost. The feature list names AI-powered transcripts, sentiment analysis, and AI-assistant-supported call flows. Those sit next to live answering. Calling Ruby “just an answering machine,” or calling it an AI-only product, would both be false.
This page is the overview. The minute-by-minute bill, including the chat add-on, is Ruby receptionist pricing. If you already know the bundles and want the nail-phone alternative, that page is Ruby receptionist alternative.
Who Ruby says it serves
The same pricing page groups customers as legal, home services, business services, healthcare, financial services, and freelancers and small teams. Nail salons are not a named group there. HIPAA-compliant services are listed. So is 24/7 Spanish and bilingual call handling. A law office or a clinic reading that list is the reader Ruby wrote the page for.
A nail salon can still buy minutes. Scheduling is on the feature list, so we do not claim Ruby cannot book an appointment. The comparison is the shape of the product: a monthly minute bundle staffed by live receptionists, versus software on the shop line that is trained on gel, dip, fill, and acrylic.
Published receptionist plans
These are the virtual receptionist prices printed on the page as of September 25, 2026. Plans above 500 minutes are “talk to us,” and no dollar is printed for them, so none is printed here.
| Visible plan | Price | What the page states |
|---|---|---|
| 50 receptionist minutes | $250/month | Labeled for startups. |
| 100 receptionist minutes | $395/month | Labeled for one-person businesses. Marked most popular on the receptionist grid. |
| 200 receptionist minutes | $720/month | Labeled for small businesses. |
| 500 receptionist minutes | $1,725/month | Labeled for larger and growing businesses. |
Source: ruby.com/plans-and-pricing, as of September 25, 2026. Standalone live chat on the same page is $143/month for 10 chats, $335 for 30, and $520 for 50. Adding chat to a receptionist plan is listed at $115, $268, and $416, which they call a 20% savings. The overage dollar past a minute bundle is not printed on the page, so it is not in this table. Detail stays on Ruby receptionist pricing.
What that means beside a nail chair
Fifty minutes is the smallest visible bundle. A shop in the middle of a set does not experience a minute balance. It experiences a ringing line. If those minutes go to hours, directions, and “do you take walk-ins,” the bundle still did the greeting. The booking version of a salon line is an answering service that books and the phone during a nail service.
Smith.ai is a different monthly desk, priced per call on their own cards. We do not paste those dollars here. They are checked on Smith AI pricing. Both monthly desks together sit on virtual receptionist pricing and virtual receptionist.
Ruby, AIVA, and Calendar
| Job | Ruby Receptionist | Bukkii |
|---|---|---|
| Who answers | Live virtual receptionists, 24/7, with optional AI enhancements at no extra cost | AIVA, software on the shop line, $200 one-time |
| How the phone is billed | Minute bundles from $250/month for 50 minutes | No monthly plan fee. Included usage, then $0.35/min voice and $0.035 per SMS |
| Scheduling | Listed as an available feature | AIVA books the service and texts it. Calendar is the separate public book |
| Public booking site and Google Reserve | Not the product on this pricing page | Calendar, $20/month, unlimited staff, unlimited customers, Google Reserve included |
| Nail menu | Not named on the who-we-serve list we fetched | Trained on the shop’s services, including gel, dip, fill, and acrylic |
Checkout can stay on the POS you already run. We do not claim a native webhook into Vagaro, Booksy, or Square. The keep-your-register note is keep your nail salon POS.
Related guides
- Ruby receptionist pricing — the minute and chat table
- Ruby receptionist alternative — when the minute plan is the wrong shape
- Smith AI pricing
- Virtual receptionist
- Virtual receptionist pricing
- Virtual receptionist cost
- AI phone receptionist
- Best AI receptionist for a small business
- Cheapest AI receptionist
- Pricing — Calendar $20/mo and AIVA $200
Two offers: AIVA on the phone, Calendar on the book
The calendar and the receptionist solve different leaks. Buy the one you are missing, or buy both. Calendar does not answer the phone.
AIVA — the phone layer — $200 one-time
AIVA is the AI receptionist for inbound calls. She answers the shop number, books the service, and texts the appointment. $200 one-time. No monthly plan fee. No free trial. Included on that payment: a dedicated number, training, calendar setup, forwarding, 100 voice minutes, and 1,500 SMS. After that, usage is $0.35/min voice and $0.035 per SMS. Get AIVA — $200. Hear her at (215) 791-6766.
Calendar — the booking layer — $20/month
Calendar is the booking website plus Google Reserve — the Book Online button on Google Maps. $20/month. Unlimited staff. Unlimited customers. It does not answer the phone. Get Calendar — $20/mo. Both cards are on pricing.
FAQ
What is Ruby Receptionist?
Ruby Receptionist is a live virtual receptionist service. On ruby.com/plans-and-pricing, checked September 25, 2026, every receptionist plan includes 24/7 live answering, and the page says optional AI enhancements are included at no extra cost. Scheduling, bilingual answering, and client intake are listed as available features. The plans differ by receptionist minutes.
How much does Ruby Receptionist cost as of September 25, 2026?
On ruby.com/plans-and-pricing as of September 25, 2026, the visible virtual receptionist plans are $250/month for 50 minutes, $395/month for 100 minutes, $720/month for 200 minutes, and $1,725/month for 500 minutes. Larger plans are a sales conversation, with no dollar printed. The longer minute write-up is the Ruby receptionist pricing article.
Is Ruby an AI-only receptionist?
No. Ruby’s pricing page describes trained live virtual receptionists and 100% live, personalized communication on the bundled plans. The same page says optional AI enhancements, including AI-powered transcripts and assistant-supported call flows, are available at no extra cost. Live people are the product. AI is listed beside them.
Does Ruby name nail salons as a customer type?
The who-we-serve block on the pricing page we opened names legal, home services, business services, healthcare, financial services, and freelancers. It does not name nail salons. Scheduling is still listed as an available feature, so a salon can ask Ruby whether a chair menu fits. That question belongs on Ruby’s sales line, which the page prints as 844-311-7829.
What does Bukkii charge for the phone and the book?
AIVA is $200 one-time for the inbound shop line. No monthly plan fee. No free trial. Calendar is $20/month for a booking website and Google Reserve, with unlimited staff and unlimited customers. Calendar does not answer the phone.