What is the difference?
- A missed-call text back waits until you miss a call, then texts the caller from your business number within a minute: “Sorry we missed you, what can we help with?” You call back already knowing the job.
- An answering service picks up the call itself, either a live person or an AI receptionist, answers questions and takes a message or books the job.
What does each cost?
- Missed-call text back: many business phone apps include it. Ours is about $50 a month in software in your name, plus a setup price agreed first.
- AI receptionist: apps from about $29 to $95 a month with capped minutes or calls; ours is $199 a month including 300 minutes, set up and looked after for you.
- Live answering service: Ruby lists about $250 a month for 50 minutes and $720 for 200, with every call rounded up to the minute.
All three come in our packages, from Launch at $249 a month with no setup fee.
When is a text back enough?
- You can usually call back within the hour.
- Most callers want a quote, a booking or a question answered, not an emergency.
- You miss calls now and then, not most of the day.
When do you need the calls answered?
- Callers often need help right away: a burst pipe, a lockout, a same-day appointment.
- You miss a lot of calls, so call-backs pile up.
- Your callers are less likely to text, or you want jobs booked while you work.
A text back has limits: the call was still missed, and it can’t help someone who won’t text back. That is the gap answering fills.
Can you use both?
Yes, and it is a common setup: the AI receptionist answers after hours and when the line is busy, and any call that still goes unanswered gets a text. Our Launch package starts with the text and after-hours answering; Grow answers every call you can’t pick up.
How do I decide?
Count a typical week: how many calls you miss, and how many were new customers. Then try the missed call calculator. If the money lost is more than an answering service costs, answer the calls. If not, start with the text and add answering later.
Questions
Does a missed-call text back work with my current number?
Yes. It works with the number customers already call, and calls you answer ring through exactly as they do now.
Will callers be annoyed by an automatic text?
Most are glad to hear back quickly. Keep it short and from your business name, and call back soon. Our text templates show what works.
Is an AI receptionist the same as an answering service?
It does the same job, answering the call, but it is software instead of a person. It costs less and never puts callers on hold, and it should always say it is an assistant.
Not sure how much missed calls cost you? Put in your own numbers.
Try the missed call calculatorSources
Last checked October 4, 2026. Prices and rules change, so check each company’s own pages before you rely on them.