The best AI receptionist for home services: HVAC, plumbing and more
AI receptionists for HVAC, plumbing, electrical and pest control companies, ranked by whether they book into ServiceTitan, Jobber or Housecall Pro and what they cost.
At a glance
| Service | Billing | Included | Try it free | Books appointments | Transfers live calls | Texts callers | Human backup | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sameday AI | $449/mo | Per minute | 500 min | Not stated | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not stated | |
| Avoca | – | Custom quote | – | Not stated | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| NextPhone | $199/mo | Flat rate | Unlimited | Free trial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not stated | |
| Upfirst | $24.95/mo | Per call | 30 calls | Free trial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not stated | |
| Quo | $19/mo | Per call | 10 calls | Free trial | Not stated | Yes | Yes | Not stated |
In the trades, the phone rings when you’re under a sink or on a roof, and the customer with a burst pipe calls the next company if you don’t pick up. An AI receptionist answers every call, books the job and texts the customer, day or night.
The question that splits this market is where the job lands. Some tools book straight into your field-service software, so the job appears on the dispatch board. Others book into Google Calendar or text you a summary, and someone retypes it. We ranked tools that list home services or trades among the businesses they serve, putting field-service booking first, then price, then how emergencies reach a person.
Prices below assume 200 calls a month at about 3 minutes each (600 minutes).
1. Sameday: best for shops on field-service software
Sameday is built for HVAC, plumbing, pest control, roofing and cleaning companies. It books jobs directly into ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro, Jobber, FieldRoutes and Service Fusion, texts the customer, and hands the call to your staff with a summary when your rules say so (AI CSRs). It also comes with a business phone system, outbound follow-up campaigns and an iOS app.
It publishes prices, which is rare in this niche. Launch is $449 a month for 500 minutes, so 600 minutes goes over by 100 at an overage rate Sameday doesn’t publish; Scale at $789 covers 1,000 minutes (pricing). Every plan starts with a demo, and contract terms aren’t published. It’s priced for a shop with trucks and an office, not a one-person outfit. Read our Sameday review.
2. Avoca: best for large ServiceTitan shops that want human backup
Avoca is a certified ServiceTitan app that also books into Housecall Pro and FieldRoutes, recognizes callers from your CRM and routes emergencies to the on-call tech (Avoca). Its edge is a team of trained human CSRs that take the calls its AI can’t finish, by warm transfer with the full context (Human in the Loop).
It doesn’t publish prices. A competitor’s survey of shared quotes puts the entry tier at about $1,100 a month for 1,000 minutes, then $1.15 a minute, plus a $600 setup fee (Upfirst). That’s for an established company with a call center, not a small crew.
3. NextPhone: flat price for busy seasons
NextPhone charges a flat monthly price with unlimited calls, which suits trades whose volume doubles in the first heat wave or freeze. Pro is $199 a month at any volume. On Growth at $299, NextPhone’s team builds the agent and connects your CRM, such as Jobber (pricing).
On Pro it books into Google, Outlook, Calendly and similar calendars rather than your field-service software. It answers in 14 languages and transfers calls with a spoken introduction.
4. Upfirst: cheapest self-serve option for small crews
Upfirst lists HVAC, plumbing, pest control, landscaping, contractors and restoration among the businesses it serves (Upfirst). It answers around the clock, books into Google, Outlook, Calendly, Acuity or Square, warm-transfers urgent calls to you, and texts the caller.
At 200 calls the Pro plan costs $159.95 for 300 calls; a one-truck business taking 60 calls a month pays $59.95. You set it up yourself with a 14-day trial and no card. It doesn’t name any field-service software, so jobs land in a calendar and you dispatch from there.
5. Quo: phone system plus AI for small teams on Jobber
Quo is a business phone app for small teams, and its AI agent, Sona, answers missed, after-hours or every call. Sona can create a request in Jobber from the call and text the caller a booking link (Sona actions), and Quo also integrates with Housecall Pro and JobTread (pricing).
It’s the cheapest pick at 200 calls: one Starter seat at $19 plus Sona’s $99 tier for about 250 calls, so $118. But Sona only works on Quo numbers, so you move your line to Quo, and Quo documents no calendar it books into; scheduling means texting that link. Each extra person on the phone system is another seat.
How to choose
- Running ServiceTitan with a dispatcher and 1,000+ minutes: Sameday, or Avoca if you want human CSRs behind the AI.
- A few trucks on Jobber or Housecall Pro: NextPhone Growth for the integration, or Quo if you also need a phone system.
- One or two people, Google Calendar: Upfirst.
Whichever you pick, set an emergency rule on day one: a no-heat or flooding call should ring your on-call phone, not end as a message. All five can transfer calls. For the bill at other volumes, see the cheapest AI receptionists.
Best picks
Our pick
$449/mo
An AI phone answering service for home service businesses that books jobs into ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro or Jobber, from $449 a month.
Visit Sameday AIStrengths
- Published prices: $449 a month for 500 minutes or $789 for 1,000, which most home-service AI tools hide
- Books jobs directly into ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro, Jobber, FieldRoutes and Service Fusion
- English and Spanish on every plan
- Hands calls to your staff with a summary, on triggers you set such as job value or time of day
- Includes a business phone system, outbound campaigns, call coaching and an iOS app
- Keep your number by forwarding or porting it
Weaknesses
- No self-serve signup: every plan starts with a demo call
- Overage is billed per minute, but the per-minute rate isn't published
- Only Enterprise adds languages beyond English and Spanish, and API access
- No free trial mentioned
An AI front office for home service companies that answers calls 24/7, books jobs into ServiceTitan, and hands hard calls to human CSRs.
Visit AvocaStrengths
- Certified ServiceTitan app that books jobs live and recognizes callers from CRM data
- Human CSRs trained by Avoca take the calls the AI can't finish, by warm transfer with full context
- Routes emergency calls to your on-call tech
- Answers calls, texts and web chat, and runs outbound campaigns and speed-to-lead
- Call scoring and coaching for your own CSRs
- SOC 2 Type 2 certified
Weaknesses
- No public pricing: you book a demo to get a quote
- Third-party quotes put it around $1,100 a month and up, plus a $600 setup fee
- Coaching, outbound and scheduling add-ons are priced separately, according to the same third party
$199/mo
An AI receptionist for law firms and service businesses with unlimited calls at a flat $199 a month, no per-minute fees and a 7-day free trial.
Visit NextPhoneStrengths
- Flat $199 a month for unlimited inbound calls, with no per-minute charges, overage fees or setup fee
- Self-serve signup with a 7-day free trial, month-to-month with no contract
- Answers in 14 languages, switching when the caller does, with 30 voices to choose from
- Books into Google, Outlook, Calendly, Acuity, Cal.com and OnceHub and texts the caller a confirmation
- Says it never trains AI on your calls and has opted out of training with every AI provider it uses
Weaknesses
- Doesn't sign BAAs, and its terms forbid use with protected health information
- Hasn't completed a SOC 2 audit of its own
- CRM updates and Zapier, Make and API access start at the $299 Growth plan
- 2-way texting and calling from your business number need the $599 Scale plan
- No toll-free numbers
$24.95/mo
An AI receptionist that answers calls and texts 24/7, books appointments and blocks spam, from $24.95 a month for 30 calls.
Visit UpfirstStrengths
- Cheap entry point: $24.95 a month for 30 calls, or $20 billed annually
- Every feature on every plan, including booking, warm transfers, texting, recordings and 35+ languages
- Spam, robocalls and calls under 15 seconds don't count toward your calls
- 14-day trial (up to 100 calls) with no credit card, and month-to-month plans
- Books into Google Calendar, Outlook, Calendly, Acuity, Square and Clio Manage, with Zapier and Make for the rest
Weaknesses
- Small plans fill up fast: 30 calls on Starter, then $1.50 per extra call
- No refund if you prepay a year and cancel
- BAAs for compliance are only on the custom Enterprise plan
- No native mobile app; the web app can be saved to a phone's home screen
- Each extra agent, for another location or business line, adds $9.95 a month
$19/mo
Sona, the AI agent in the Quo (formerly OpenPhone) phone system, answers calls 24/7. Plans from $19 a user include 10 calls; more cost $25 to $199 a month.
Visit QuoStrengths
- Cheap to start: every Quo plan includes about 10 Sona calls a month, and 600 calls cost $199 a month on top of the phone plan
- Per-call pricing with an overage switch: leave it off and Sona never bills beyond your tier, or turn it on at $0.45 to $1.00 a call
- A full business phone system comes with it: numbers, free porting, shared inboxes, texting, phone menus and apps on every device
- Sona transfers callers, texts links mid-call and logs every call with a recording, transcript and summary
- Answers in English, Spanish or French, and a HIPAA BAA is available on Business and Scale
Weaknesses
- Works only inside Quo: your calls have to come through a Quo number, so you can't add Sona to another phone system
- Answers inbound calls only; Sona can't make outbound calls
- Scheduling means texting the caller a booking link; Quo documents no calendar that Sona books into
- The phone plan is priced per user, so a larger team pays for every seat on top of Sona's tier
- Starter only gets summaries and transcripts for Sona-handled calls, and call summaries are always in English
Features
| Sameday AI | Avoca | NextPhone | Upfirst | Quo | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starts at | $449/mo | – | $199/mo | $24.95/mo | $19/mo |
| Billing | Per minute | Custom quote | Flat rate | Per call | Per call |
| Free plan | No | No | No | No | No |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated | 7 days, cancel before it ends and you aren't charged | 14 days or 100 calls, whichever comes first, plus 25 texts; no credit card | 7-day free trial of Quo with all AI features, Sona included; paid Quo customers can also get a one-time 7-day Sona trial with unlimited calls that converts to paid unless canceled |
| Month to month | Not stated | Not stated | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Setup fee | Not stated | Not stated | None | Not stated | Not stated |
| Phone number included | Not stated | Not stated | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Keep your number | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Transfers live calls | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Books appointments | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not stated |
| Texts callers | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Call summaries | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Call recording | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Outbound calls | Yes | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | No |
| Spam filtering | Not stated | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not stated |
| Human backup | Not stated | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| HIPAA | Not stated | Not stated | No | Yes | Yes |
| Languages | English, Spanish | English, Spanish | English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, Arabic, Hindi, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese | English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Korean, Russian, Vietnamese | English, Spanish, French |
| Calendars | ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro, Jobber, FieldRoutes, Service Fusion | ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro, FieldRoutes | Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook, Calendly, Acuity Scheduling, Cal.com, OnceHub | Google Calendar, Outlook, Calendly, Acuity Scheduling, Square, Clio Manage | Not stated |
| Integrations | ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro, Jobber, FieldRoutes, Service Fusion, FieldPulse, AccuLynx, JobNimbus, Maid Central, Thumbtack, Google Local Services, Angi | ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro, FieldRoutes, Google Local Services Ads | Clio Manage, Clio Grow, MyCase, Lawmatics, PracticePanther, HubSpot, Salesforce, GoHighLevel, Jobber, ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro, Zapier, Make, Slack, Webhooks | Zapier, Make, Clio, Custom API actions, MCP server | Jobber, HubSpot, Salesforce, Zoho CRM, Pipedrive, Attio, Clio, HighLevel, Housecall Pro, JobTread, Gong, Slack, Google Contacts, Zapier, Make |
| Industries | HVAC, Plumbing, Electrical, Pest control, Roofing, Garage door, Landscaping, Locksmith, Restoration, Solar, Cleaning | HVAC, Plumbing, Electrical, Roofing, Pest control, Garage door, Restoration, Home improvement, Auto repair, Energy and fuel delivery, Movers, Junk removal | Legal, Financial services, Professional services, Real estate, Construction and trades, Home services, Beauty and personal care, Wellness and fitness, Food and dining, Automotive | Real estate, Law firms, Property management, Chiropractors, Contractors, Emergency restoration, Financial services, Franchises, HVAC, Insurance, Landscaping, Pest control, Plumbing, Restaurants, Salons, Towing, Veterinary | Home services, Law firms, Property management, Healthcare, Education |
Sources
Sameday AI
- Sameday homepageChecked Nov 8, 2026
- Sameday pricingChecked Nov 8, 2026
- Sameday: AI CSRsChecked Nov 8, 2026
- Sameday: Avoca alternatives (its own plans, languages and integrations)Checked Nov 8, 2026
- Sameday AI on the App StoreChecked Nov 8, 2026
Avoca
- Avoca homepageChecked Nov 8, 2026
- Avoca: Inbound AI CSRChecked Nov 8, 2026
- Avoca blog: Why Avoca has a Human in the Loop programChecked Nov 8, 2026
- Upfirst (a competitor): Avoca AI alternatives, with Avoca prices from shared customer quotes, Aug 18, 2026Checked Nov 8, 2026
- Avoca Help Center: Call forwarding overviewChecked Nov 8, 2026
- Avoca Help Center: Configure Responder functionality (spam blocklist)Checked Nov 8, 2026
- Avoca API: Stream a call recordingChecked Nov 8, 2026
- Avoca Help Center: Spanish language support demoChecked Nov 8, 2026
NextPhone
- NextPhone homepageChecked Nov 8, 2026
- NextPhone pricing and FAQChecked Nov 8, 2026
- NextPhone security (AI training, SOC 2, BAAs)Checked Nov 8, 2026
- NextPhone industriesChecked Nov 8, 2026
- NextPhone: AI Receptionist on the App StoreChecked Nov 8, 2026
Upfirst
- Upfirst homepageChecked Nov 8, 2026
- Upfirst pricing and FAQsChecked Nov 8, 2026
- Upfirst Help Center: pricing FAQsChecked Nov 8, 2026
- Upfirst integrationsChecked Nov 8, 2026
- Upfirst documentation: MCP server and custom actionsChecked Nov 8, 2026
- Upfirst privacy policyChecked Nov 8, 2026
- Upfirst Help Center: adding Upfirst to your phone's home screenChecked Nov 8, 2026
Quo
- Quo pricing (plans, Sona credit tiers, integrations, add-ons, FAQ)Checked Nov 8, 2026
- Quo: Sona AI agent (capabilities and FAQ: pricing, trial, languages, inbound only)Checked Nov 8, 2026
- Quo help: Sona pricing (credits, tiers, overages, eligibility)Checked Nov 8, 2026
- Quo help: Sona setup and configuration (call flows, voices, languages)Checked Nov 8, 2026
- Quo help: Sona actions (send SMS, transfer call, create Jobber request)Checked Nov 8, 2026
- Quo help: Sona job guide (scheduling by booking link)Checked Nov 8, 2026
- Quo help: HIPAA compliance (BAA on Business and Scale)Checked Nov 8, 2026
- Quo help: Managing your trial (7 days, includes Sona)Checked Nov 8, 2026
- Quo help: Install apps (web, Mac, Windows, iOS, Android)Checked Nov 8, 2026
- Quo help: Call transfer (manual transfers need Business or Scale)Checked Nov 8, 2026