Conduit vs Ruby: human receptionists vs the AI front office
Ruby is the best-known human virtual-receptionist service in the US — real people answering your line, billed by the minute: published plans run $250/mo for 50 receptionist minutes, $395 for 100, $720 for 200, and $1,725 for 500, with AI features included as enhancements (August 2026, per ruby.com; check their site for current pricing). If what you're buying is human warmth, Ruby delivers it. If what you need is every call answered, booked, and texted back at a price that doesn't scale with talk time, that's a different product — and it's the one Conduit is.
| Ruby-class human reception | Conduit | |
|---|---|---|
| Who answers | Trained human receptionists (with AI-powered enhancements) | One named AI assistant that always discloses it's AI |
| Pricing shape | Per minute: published entry plan $250/mo for 50 minutes | Flat monthly with included minutes — spam free, no overage billing, ever |
| Warmth on a hard call | A skilled human is still the gold standard | Good and disclosed as AI — emergencies hand off to YOUR humans fast |
| Around the clock | Coverage per your plan and their staffed hours | 24/7 by default — 2am is answered the same as 2pm |
| Two calls at 7:05am | Depends on receptionist availability | Both answered |
| Books directly into your schedule | Message-taking and transfers; scheduling depends on setup | Built in — real availability, conflict-checked, confirmation and reminders texted |
| Missed-call text-back & lead capture | Message relay to you | Included — every missed caller texted in seconds once carrier registration clears, every lead captured |
| Knows your business | A briefed team working from your instructions | Your live services, hours, and policies — updated by you, effective immediately |
Ruby-class human reception pricing and features are drawn from publicly available information as of August 24, 2026 and may change — check their own website for current details. Comparisons reflect general plan categories, not every tier. Ruby is a trademark of its respective owner; references here are for identification and comparison only.
Ruby's receptionists are genuinely good, and some callers simply deserve a human — if that's your clientele, buy Ruby and don't look back. But by the minute, human warmth is expensive: at published rates, 200 minutes a month runs $720. For a trades or local-service business whose callers mostly need an answer, a booking, and a text confirmation, Conduit does the whole job at a flat software price — and hands the genuinely human moments to you.
Compare further: the best AI receptionists, ranked honestly · what an AI receptionist costs · Conduit pricing
Common questions
How much more does Ruby cost than Conduit?
It depends entirely on talk time — that's the point of per-minute billing. Ruby's published plans start at $250/mo for 50 receptionist minutes and reach $1,725 for 500 (August 2026, per ruby.com). Conduit's plans are flat with included minutes and no overage billing of any kind — a busy month costs the same as a quiet one.
Won't my customers prefer talking to a real person?
Some will, and Conduit is honest about it: every call opens with an AI disclosure, and pressing for a human always works — the assistant takes a message or escalates to you rather than trapping anyone. What most service-business callers actually want at 8pm is simpler: an answer now and a booked time. Measured against voicemail — where most callers hang up — a good AI that answers instantly wins.
Can I use Conduit and still keep a human touch?
That's the intended shape. The assistant handles the routine 80% — answering, booking, texting back, reminders — and escalates emergencies and judgment calls straight to you and your backup. Your customers get you at the moments that matter, without you carrying the phone all day.
Facts on this page last verified August 24, 2026