Virtual Receptionist Pricing for Salons
Virtual receptionist pricing is almost always a monthly meter: calls, minutes, or both. This page is the purchase comparison for a US nail salon. Numbers below are copied from public pages on September 22, 2026. AIVA is $200 one-time. Calendar is free for up to 3 staff. $20/month unlocks unlimited staff and customers, plus Reserve with Google. It does not answer the phone.
Contents · 6 sections
Read this as a bill, not a ranking
Three different products show up when you search virtual receptionist pricing. A human answers in your name and bills every month. An AI product bills per call on a monthly plan. A salon booking phone can be a one-time payment plus usage. They are not the same invoice, and they are not the same job. The longer explainer of those categories is virtual receptionist cost. What the job looks like on a nail floor is virtual receptionist. This page is the decision.
Public prices checked September 22, 2026
Competitor dollars are theirs, copied from the pages linked in the table. Bukkii dollars are from bukkii.ai/pricing the same day. Nothing in the competitor columns is a Bukkii price.
| Product | Published price | What the page says you get |
|---|---|---|
| Smith.ai human receptionist — Starter | $300/month | 30 calls. Overage $11.50/call. 1 free transfer destination. |
| Smith.ai human — Basic | $810/month | 90 calls. Overage $10.50/call. 2 transfer destinations. |
| Smith.ai human — Pro | $2,100/month | 300 calls. Overage $8.50/call. 10 transfer destinations. |
| Smith.ai human add-on | $1.50 per call | Book appointments, listed on the same human price page. |
| Smith.ai AI Receptionist — Free | $0/month | 25 calls, then $3.00/call. |
| Smith.ai AI — Pro | From $150/month | $2.00/call at the entry volume (~2–3 calls/day). Their table also lists 75, 150, and 300 calls/month at $2.00, $1.80, and $1.67 per real call. |
| Smith.ai AI — Enterprise | From $500/month | $1.67/call at the entry volume. Their table lists 300, 500, and 1,000+ calls, with $1.67, $1.60, and custom per real call. |
| Ruby virtual receptionist | $250/month | 50 receptionist minutes. |
| Ruby | $395/month | 100 minutes. |
| Ruby | $720/month | 200 minutes. |
| Ruby | $1,725/month | 500 minutes. |
| Bukkii AIVA — the phone | $200 one-time | No monthly plan fee. Dedicated number, training, calendar setup, forwarding, 100 voice minutes, 1,500 SMS. Then $0.35/min and $0.035/SMS. No free trial. |
| Bukkii Calendar — the book | Calendar is free for up to 3 staff. $20/month unlocks unlimited staff and customers, plus Reserve with Google. | Free includes the booking website. Does not answer the phone. |
Smith human plans are month-to-month on their page, with a 30-day money-back guarantee they describe (plan refund up to $1,000; overage excluded). Smith AI is month-to-month and they ask for 30 days’ notice to cancel. Ruby’s pricing page says there are no additional fees for activation, onboarding, setup, customization, or coverage during certain periods. Ruby does not print a per-minute overage dollar on that pricing page, so this article does not invent one. Modifier pages: Smith AI pricing and Ruby receptionist pricing.
What a year looks like before overage
- Smith human Starter: $300 × 12 = $3,600 before overage and before the $1.50 booking add-on.
- Smith AI Pro at the $150 entry: $150 × 12 = $1,800 before calls past that volume.
- Ruby at $250 for 50 minutes: $250 × 12 = $3,000 for 50 minutes a month. A five-minute fill inquiry is 10% of that bundle.
- AIVA: $200 once, then usage past the included 100 minutes and 1,500 SMS.
- Calendar Free is $0 for up to 3 staff. The $20 plan is $20 × 12 = $240 for unlimited staff and customers, plus Reserve with Google. Calendar never answers the phone, so it is not a receptionist price.
Smith’s $0 AI plan is a real published price for 25 calls a month. It is the lowest sticker on this table. It is still a call meter, and extra calls are $3.00. A shop that will live on the phone past a small sample is comparing monthly plans with a one-time phone, not hunting a $0 forever desk.
The salon test is the chair, not the logo
A 4-chair nail shop buys coverage while someone is in a set, and a Monday fill that was requested Saturday night. Gel, dip, fill, and acrylic have durations. If the calendar did not move, the monthly plan bought a message. AIVA is built as that phone layer for nail salons. Checkout can stay on Vagaro, Booksy, Setmore, Mangomint, or SimplePOS. We do not claim a native Vagaro webhook.
Optional card holds on long sets are a separate setup, not a second subscription: deposits and SMS. The line during a wet set: phone during a nail service.
Two offers: the phone, or the book
AIVA — $200 one-time
AIVA is the phone. She answers the shop line, books gel, dip, fill, acrylic, and the rest of the menu, 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.
Calendar
Calendar is free for up to 3 staff. $20/month unlocks unlimited staff and customers, plus Reserve with Google. It does not answer the phone. Start Calendar free. Both cards are on pricing.
Get AIVA — $200 if the phone has to book. Start Calendar free if you only need the booking site. Reserve with Google is on the $20 plan. Hear AIVA at (215) 791-6766.
FAQ
How much is a virtual receptionist for a small salon?
On public pages checked September 22, 2026: Smith.ai human receptionist Starter is $300/month for 30 calls. Smith.ai AI Receptionist Pro starts at $150/month. Ruby virtual receptionist plans start at $250/month for 50 minutes. Bukkii AIVA is $200 one-time for the phone, not a monthly receptionist plan. Calendar is free for up to 3 staff. $20/month unlocks unlimited staff and customers, plus Reserve with Google. It does not answer the phone.
Is AIVA cheaper than a monthly virtual receptionist?
For a small salon that wants the line covered without a monthly receptionist plan, AIVA is $200 one-time plus usage after 100 voice minutes and 1,500 SMS. A Smith human Starter year is $3,600 before overage. A Ruby 50-minute year is $3,000. Smith also publishes a $0 AI plan for 25 calls a month, then $3 per call. Cheapest depends on volume. The one-time price is the alternative to staying on a monthly meter.
What is included in the $200 AIVA payment?
A dedicated number, AIVA training, calendar setup, forwarding, 100 voice minutes, and 1,500 SMS. No monthly plan fee. No free trial. Extra usage is $0.35 per voice minute and $0.035 per SMS. Packs are listed on the pricing page and never expire.
What does the Calendar plan cost?
Calendar is free for up to 3 staff. $20/month unlocks unlimited staff and customers, plus Reserve with Google. It does not answer the phone. AIVA, the phone layer, is a separate $200 one-time payment with no free trial.
Do Smith or Ruby prices on this page include invented numbers?
No. Smith figures are from smith.ai/pricing/receptionists and smith.ai/pricing/ai-receptionist. Ruby figures are the visible plan prices on ruby.com/plans-and-pricing. All were checked September 22, 2026. We do not quote an overage rate Ruby does not print on that page.
