The alternatives to VettedCalls fall into three groups: answering services that pick up your calls for you, apps that give you a second business number, and the screening already built into your phone. Each one tackles part of the same problem in its own way, so we've written a separate comparison for each, with prices and features taken from the other company's own pages.
Here's what we are, so the comparisons make sense. VettedCalls keeps the cell number your customers already have. Your cell forwards every call to us, we ask unknown callers who they are and why they're calling, and the ones who press 1 or 2 ring you in the Cloud Softphone app. Screening, the spam registry we share across every customer, and Priority Passthrough come with every plan. The plan decides what happens to a call you miss: voicemail on Pro, and on Receptionist an AI receptionist, except for priority calls and saved contacts, which go to voicemail.
Answering services
Services that put a receptionist, or an AI, on your line to answer for you.
- VettedCalls vs Ruby ReceptionistLive, US-based receptionists answering 24/7, billed by the receptionist minute. How their hold-and-ask screening compares with ours.
- VettedCalls vs Smith.aiHuman receptionists, or an AI Receptionist with a live backup, both billed per call. What counts toward the bill, and who each one suits.
- VettedCalls vs AnswerConnectPeople-only answering around the clock, sold in blocks of minutes. Its pricing page asks for your details first, so we list the plans from its pricing guide.
- Answering service for small businessNot sure which kind of answering service you need? Our guide puts live receptionists, AI answering and AI screening side by side.
Phone systems and second numbers
Apps that give your business its own number, with calling and texting on it.
- VettedCalls vs Google VoiceA free or low-cost second number that screens callers by name. Where it gets awkward for a business run from one cell phone.
- VettedCalls vs Quo (formerly OpenPhone)OpenPhone is now Quo: business numbers in an app, priced per user. A second number compared with screening the one you have.
- VettedCalls vs GrasshopperA separate business number with its own app for calling and texting, priced by plan. A new number compared with screening the one you already have.
Built into your phone
The screening that comes with your phone's software.
What stays the same on every page
Our plans are Pro at $29.99 a month and Receptionist at $99.99 (coming soon), and each one comes with a 14-day money-back guarantee. Our AI receptionist takes a caller's details and the days that work, and you confirm the appointment; it doesn't book on its own. We don't make outbound calls or give you a number to text customers from. Where another company does something we don't, the comparison says so.
The pricing page has the minutes on each plan, the features page covers everything else, and the AI receptionist page explains what ours will and won't say to a caller.