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HVAC answering service: what it costs a year when your calls peak
1,260 calls in a heat-wave year
US$1,090 to US$3,038 a year for AI plans that list a transfer. The cheapest person-answered plan we could price costs US$5,112 a year.
Cheapest AI US$1,090 · cheapest person US$5,112
B2B Fees read each service's own pages (Oct 27, 2026 to Nov 4, 2026) and phoned two AI services with a no-heat call on Nov 4, 2026. How we test · How we are paid: no vendor has paid for this page or its order.
What a heat wave or a cold snap adds
The year: nine months at 60 calls and three at 240, 3 minutes a call. Each service on one plan for the whole year: the lowest 12-month total, where a month over the allowance pays that vendor's overage (the plan is out if none is printed). Under each bar, the same 1,260 calls spread evenly, 105 a month.
- GoodcallStarterUS$1,090 a year · spread evenly US$948 · the peak adds US$142
- UpfirstPremiumUS$1,169 a year · spread evenly US$899 · the peak adds US$270
- My AI Front DeskBusiness In A BoxUS$1,548 a year · spread evenly US$1,413 · the peak adds US$135
- RosieScaleUS$1,788 a year · spread evenly US$1,788 · the peak adds nothing
- DialzaraBusiness LiteUS$1,817 a year · spread evenly US$1,701 · the peak adds US$116
- MAP CommunicationsBusinessUS$5,112 a year · spread evenly US$5,066 · the peak adds US$46
- Specialty Answering Service220 MinutesUS$5,388 a year · spread evenly US$4,870 · the peak adds US$518
- US$6,204 a year · spread evenly US$5,196 · the peak adds US$1,008
- PATLive200 MinutesUS$7,292 a year · spread evenly US$6,088 · the peak adds US$1,204
- Moneypenny200 MinutesUS$8,792 a year · spread evenly US$8,362 · the peak adds US$430
Every service priced, peak year against an even spread
| Service | Peak year: plan and total | Same calls, spread evenly | The peak adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goodcall | US$1,090 (Starter) | US$948 | US$142 |
| Upfirst | US$1,169 (Premium) | US$899 | US$270 |
| My AI Front Desk | US$1,548 (Business In A Box) | US$1,413 | US$135 |
| Rosie | US$1,788 (Scale) | US$1,788 | nothing |
| Dialzara | US$1,817 (Business Lite) | US$1,701 | US$116 |
| RingCentral AI Receptionist | US$1,878 (Standalone) | US$1,878 | nothing |
| Moneypenny (AI) | US$2,765 (50 Calls) | US$2,519 | US$246 |
| Smith.ai AI Receptionist | US$3,038 (Pro 75) | US$2,700 | US$338 |
| MAP Communications (people) | US$5,112 (Business) | US$5,066 | US$46 |
| Specialty Answering Service (people) | US$5,388 (220 Minutes) | US$4,870 | US$518 |
| Answering Service Care (people) | US$6,204 (Pro) | US$5,196 | US$1,008 |
| PATLive (people) | US$7,292 (200 Minutes) | US$6,088 | US$1,204 |
| Moneypenny (people) | US$8,792 (200 Minutes) | US$8,362 | US$430 |
| Smith.ai (people) | US$13,950 (Starter) | US$11,610 | US$2,340 |
Service names link to each vendor's own site. US dollars, before tax; the call pattern is our scenario, not a market average. Estimates: monthly billing, per-minute services at 3 minutes a call; your own busiest month decides it. Prices read Oct 27, 2026 to Nov 4, 2026. Not priced: Ruby (no overage rate, so a 240-call month cannot be priced) and the Jobber Receptionist, which needs a Jobber plan.
What we saw when we called: one no-heat call, two AI services
How we know. Our test call, Nov 4, 2026: a person phoned Rosie once and Upfirst twice (the second a clock check) as a fictional homeowner whose furnace had stopped, and we read each vendor's own transcript and summary; we heard no audio. These are single runs on a thin setup, not a ranking and not a test of your business. Not tested: any person-answered service with an HVAC call, transfers, booking, texting, changing plan mid-year, and Dialzara, My AI Front Desk, Goodcall, RingCentral and Ruby. The Nov 3, 2026 plumbing calls are on the plumber page and are not HVAC results. Method, setup sheet and limits.
Setup. Our test calls used a deliberately thin setup, and vendors say results improve after a few rounds of tuning: budget about an hour to test and tune any AI service on your own calls. Full method and setup sheet.
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Rosie, one callvendor transcript and summary
Took every detail and invented nothing
Answered in about 3 s Asked for the address Invented nothing
- Asked name, address, callback number, email and "Is this an emergency?"
- Quoted the US$129 call; "I don't have a separate after-hours rate"
- Said the team would call back about the furnace emergency
Details
Answered with the configured greeting; every detail was logged correctly and the email was read back. We did not ask for an arrival time on this call (on the plumbing call it said it had no arrival times).
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Upfirst, two callsvendor transcript and summary; the second a clock check
Said it offered no same-day service and no after-hours callouts, neither in its setup
Answered in about 2 s Address not scored Said something it was not told
- Right time of day; offered "the earliest possible appointment tomorrow"
- Quoted the US$129 call
- Booked nothing; said "I'm not able to send texts"
Details
It filed the call under a remembered name and an earlier address, and did not ask this caller's name or address (it only confirmed the callback number). Upfirst's HVAC calls came from the same phone number as its plumbing calls, so its name and address capture cannot be judged fairly, and we do not score it on that.
It said "we don't offer after-hours callouts" (our sheet said only that after hours the office takes a message) and later "we don't offer same-day service" (our sheet was silent on same-day). Its clock was right, so "tomorrow" was not a clock error.
Smith.ai was not called. A card is required to start its free plan, so we did not test calls. Its checkout page (read Nov 4, 2026) says the card reserves your dedicated number and verifies your business, with no charge today. After the 25 free calls each month, extra calls ring your own phone unless overage is switched on.
Job software and transfers: see the plumber page
A no-heat night turns on whether a call can reach your phone after hours, and an HVAC shop on Jobber, Housecall Pro or ServiceTitan needs to know what each service can hand over. The matrix of what each service states (job software, transfers, texts, after hours) is on the plumber page; for a no-heat night read its transfer and after-hours columns. Smith.ai's docs, for one, state that outside working hours no transfers are attempted.
Which fits you
- Every missed call captured at the lowest price: an AI plan. In our peak-year scenario, AI plans with a listed transfer run US$91 to US$253 a month, averaged over the year.
- A caller with an emergency must reach a person: check the transfer and after-hours columns and ask what happens out of hours. Person-answered plans start at US$5,112 a year; we called none about HVAC.
- You book jobs in Jobber: Jobber's own Receptionist (it needs a paid Jobber plan) and Smith.ai state a Jobber booking; Rosie only logs calls.
- Your calls spike in a heat wave or a cold snap: price your busiest month, not the average.
- Under about 30 calls a month: Smith.ai's AI has a US$0 plan with 25 calls a month. It asks for a card at sign-up (no charge today), and calls past 25 forward to your own line unless you turn overage on at US$3 a call. Upfirst's trial is 14 days or 100 calls, whichever comes first, no credit card.
- You need a firm dispatch promise: none of the AI services we called knew a technician's arrival time.
- Mostly existing customers asking for a named technician: a plain voicemail or a forwarded line may be enough.
- You are in Canada: these are US prices; see the Goodcall note for its numbers.
Quick answers
How much does an HVAC answering service cost?
In our scenario (60 calls a month for nine months, 240 for three, 3 minutes a call), AI plans with a listed transfer cost US$91 to US$253 a month averaged over the year; the cheapest person-answered plan we priced costs US$426.
What does a heat wave or cold snap do to the cost?
A peak quarter costs more than the same calls spread evenly, because a plan sized for ordinary months pays overage in the peak, or the shop buys a bigger plan all year. Upfirst comes to US$1,169 a year in the peak scenario against US$899 spread evenly. The cheapest AI plan is US$49 a month at 60 calls and US$126 at 240. Ask the vendor whether you can change plan for a busy month and back.
Is an AI answering service or a person better for HVAC emergencies?
On quality we have single runs only. On our no-heat call Rosie took the details and invented nothing, while Upfirst said it offered no same-day service and no after-hours callouts, neither in the setup we gave it. On a plumbing call the person-answered service took about 8 seconds to connect plus a hold of about 30. We called no person-answered service about HVAC, so we cannot rank AI against people for a no-heat emergency.
What should an answering service ask on a no-heat call?
The caller's name, a callback number repeated back, the address, what has stopped (heating, cooling, both), whether anyone vulnerable is in the home, and when it stopped. Check that the service you choose asks these. A gas smell or a carbon monoxide alarm is a 911 or gas-utility call, not a message for a technician.