28 Best Virtual Receptionist Services for Small Businesses

Every missed call is a customer who may call the next business on the list. For a small business, answering every call, chat and text can take more time than the team has. A virtual receptionist service takes that work off your plate, so you can stay focused on running the business.

A virtual receptionist answers your calls so you do not have to

Small businesses often lack the staff to cover phones all day. A virtual receptionist can answer calls and respond to messages 24 hours a day, seven days a week, depending on the plan. Many providers also offer bilingual receptionists.

Beyond answering the phone, providers can run live chat, screen leads, make warm transfers, take messages and schedule appointments. A good one makes a small business sound established and trustworthy, and it is often more flexible than hiring in-house.

AI receptionists are now part of the choice

Many providers now offer AI-powered receptionists, either on their own or combined with live agents. AI can handle routine calls at any hour, and live agents can step in for sensitive or complicated ones. When you compare services, ask how each one handles that handoff and what happens to calls that need a person.

Here are 28 virtual receptionist services your small business can consider. We have not tested every one, so confirm current services, coverage and terms on each provider’s own site before you decide.

#1 Smith.ai

Smith.ai was founded in 2015 and is based in Palo Alto, California. It combines AI receptionists with a network of live, North America-based receptionists who answer calls and chats, qualify leads, book appointments and transfer calls. It works with a range of industries, including legal, healthcare, real estate, ecommerce, hospitality and home services.

Smith.ai is our choice of top virtual receptionist service for small business

After research, we chose Smith.ai as our SmartSites Technology Partner for virtual receptionists. SmartSites Technology Partners are a short list of technology solutions that we consider best in their category, and we only recommend what we would want for our own clients.

Here are the main reasons we recommend Smith.ai:

1. A hybrid approach: an AI receptionist backed by live receptionists based in North America
2. 24/7 coverage for calls, live chat and text messages
3. Lead qualification and appointment booking, not just message taking
4. Ability to work with your CRM or appointment scheduling system
5. Plans built for small businesses, with options that scale with call volume

See Smith.ai’s current virtual receptionist plans through our partner page

#2 Nexa

Nexa is a Phoenix-based provider that has been answering business calls since 1982. It offers 24/7 live virtual receptionists and call answering, along with appointment scheduling, lead qualification and CRM integration.

Best for: professional practices, especially law firms and attorney-advertising campaigns, that want a long-established answering service for intake calls.

#3 Ruby Receptionists

Ruby Receptionists, based in Portland, Oregon, was founded in 2003 and focuses on small and mid-sized businesses. Its U.S.-based receptionists handle call answering, screening, message relay and appointment scheduling, and they can transfer calls to you when it matters.

Best for: small businesses and solo practitioners that want a polished, human front desk.

#4 Flatworld Solutions

Flatworld Solutions is an outsourcing company founded in 2006 and based in Princeton, New Jersey, with operations around the world. Virtual reception is one service among several, alongside call center support, live chat and transcription.

Best for: businesses in healthcare, education or manufacturing that want one outsourcing partner for several back-office functions, not only phone answering.

#5 PATLive

PATLive is a live answering service based in Tallahassee, Florida. Its virtual receptionists use customizable scripts to answer, screen and transfer calls, take messages and handle text messaging for your business.

Best for: businesses of any size that want a script-driven answering service tailored to their own call flow.

#6 Back Office Betties

Back Office Betties was established in 2014 and serves legal firms and other small businesses. Its receptionists handle warm transfers, give callers basic information and schedule follow-up calls.

Best for: small law firms that want help with intake calls and follow-ups from a smaller, specialized team.

#7 New Media Services

New Media Services is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, with offices in several other countries. Founded in 2007, it grew from consumer messaging into customer support, chat operator services and content moderation. Its virtual receptionist and contact center services run 24/7 and support multiple languages.

Best for: businesses that need round-the-clock coverage across time zones and languages.

#8 Unity Communications

Unity Communications is a business process outsourcing company founded in 2009 and based in Tempe, Arizona. It provides customer service, sales support, technical support and back-office services, with teams in the U.S. and other countries.

Best for: growing companies that need more than a front desk, such as order processing, troubleshooting and account management.

#9 Abby Connect Receptionists

Abby Connect has offered live, U.S.-based virtual receptionists since 2005. Its receptionists work remotely after training in phone etiquette, and they answer calls, collect caller details and route messages to your team.

Best for: legal, financial and professional services firms that want friendly, consistent call handling.

#10 Davinci Virtual Office Solutions

Founded in 2005, Davinci Virtual is a call answering company that serves small and mid-sized businesses in industries such as real estate and financial services. It is a common choice for after-hours and overflow calls, passing call details to your in-house team.

Best for: businesses that already have staff but miss calls after hours or during busy periods.

#11 Moneypenny

Moneypenny was founded in the UK in 2000 and operates in the U.S. from Charleston, South Carolina. Its U.S. operation now includes the former VoiceNation service. Moneypenny offers call answering, switchboard services, customer support and live chat.

Best for: businesses that want a well-known provider with both phone and live chat coverage, including after-hours support for hospitality and service companies.

#12 SupportYourApp

SupportYourApp is a customer support outsourcing company founded in 2010. It handles pre-sales questions, technical inquiries and general support, and is especially familiar with software and app businesses.

Best for: software and SaaS companies that need a support team more than a traditional receptionist.

#13 AnswerConnect

AnswerConnect is a contact center and answering service based in Portland, Oregon. It provides live phone answering and live chat for businesses across many industries, including customer service for security-focused and IT companies.

Best for: small and mid-sized businesses that want live answering and chat from a single provider.

#14 Specialty Answering Service

Specialty Answering Service has been in business since 1985 and is based in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. It provides call center services, including after-hours answering and dispatch support for companies that coordinate deliveries or field crews.

Best for: businesses that need dispatch-style call handling, not just message taking.

#15 Answering Service Care

Answering Service Care provides live answering for small businesses in real estate, legal and medical fields. It handles incoming calls, answers general questions and passes messages to the right person.

Best for: small offices that want straightforward, ongoing call coverage.

#16 Verbatim Virtual Receptionists

Verbatim Virtual Receptionists was established in 1997 and offers call answering, virtual receptionists and lead generation support. It is often used for overflow call answering and logging calls when your own team is busy.

Best for: small businesses that want a small, long-running team to cover overflow calls.

#17 MAP Communications

MAP Communications is a live answering service headquartered in Chesapeake, Virginia. It provides 24/7 call support and bilingual service for clients in education, business, real estate and healthcare.

Best for: organizations that need around-the-clock live answering with bilingual support.

#18 Answering Legal

Answering Legal, based in Nesconset, New York, was created in 2013 for the legal sector. Its services include virtual receptionists, customer support and scheduling of inbound appointments.

Best for: solo attorneys and small law firms that want intake calls answered by people who understand legal practices.

#19 Remote CoWorker

Remote CoWorker is a virtual receptionist and outsourcing company based in Hollywood, Florida, established in 2013. Besides phone answering, it offers accounting, HR and other back-office support, and has served real estate, IT and telecommunications clients.

Best for: small businesses that want one team to answer calls and take on routine administrative work.

#20 AnswerFone

AnswerFone is a live answering service based in Little Rock, Arkansas, in business since 1925. It serves business, medical and government clients with call answering, appointment scheduling, call screening, overflow coverage and voicemail management.

Best for: businesses that want a very established provider with flexible options for low call volumes.

#21 Sound Telecom

Sound Telecom is a telephone answering service that has operated since 1986 and serves businesses nationwide. It offers bilingual answering, virtual reception, medical answering, live chat and call center programs, with calls answered by live agents.

Best for: small businesses and medical offices that want live answering with bilingual coverage.

#22 Bottleneck Distant Assistants (formerly Bottleneck Virtual Assistants)

Based in Springfield, Missouri, Bottleneck now operates as Bottleneck Distant Assistants. It places dedicated full-time assistants in roles such as executive assistant, customer service representative, bookkeeper and social media coordinator, rather than answering calls on a per-call basis.

Best for: owners who want a dedicated remote assistant for daily administrative work, with phone support as part of the role.

#23 LexReception

LexReception was established in 2011 and focuses on the legal sector. It provides 24/7 answering, appointment scheduling and bilingual receptionists for law firms.

Best for: law firms that want legal-specific call handling around the clock.

#24 CrewBloom

CrewBloom, based in New York and founded in 2016, connects businesses with remote professionals for customer support, virtual assistance, sales and virtual reception. Its team members are recruited from several countries.

Best for: companies that want a remote team member to handle inbound leads and follow-ups, such as calling free-trial users.

#25 Stateside BPO

Stateside BPO is a Florida-based contact center that provides phone, email, chat and SMS support through a fully remote team. It is also known for its mission of creating work-from-home jobs for people with disabilities and disabled veterans.

Best for: retail, consumer products, telecommunications and nonprofit organizations that want a U.S.-based customer care team.

#26 AnswerForce

AnswerForce is an answering service based in Tualatin, Oregon. Its virtual receptionists serve businesses in many industries and provide 24/7 coverage that helps absorb overflow when inquiries spike.

Best for: fast-growing local service companies that cannot keep up with incoming inquiries.

#27 AnswerFirst

AnswerFirst is a Tampa, Florida answering service that supports healthcare, real estate, IT, legal and financial clients. It handles after-hours answering and high call volumes, and can set up customized hold announcements.

Best for: businesses with high daily call volume, including law firms and medical practices.

#28 Vozova

Vozova is a business process outsourcing company headquartered in Washington, Utah. It provides call center agents for customer service, sales, lead generation and retention, including outbound calling.

Best for: financial, education and business services companies that need outbound campaigns as well as inbound call handling.

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Match the service to how your business takes calls

Providers vary a lot in how they work. Before you sign up, check these points:

• Coverage: Do you need 24/7 answering, after-hours only, or overflow for busy periods?
• Industry fit: Legal, medical and home service calls have different intake needs, so look for experience in yours.
• Integrations: Can the service connect to your CRM, calendar or scheduling software?
• Languages: Do your customers need bilingual support?
• AI and live agents: Ask how the service balances automation with real people.
• Contract terms: Compare how each provider bills and how easy it is to change plans or cancel.

Some providers we previously listed have changed. VoiceNation is now part of Moneypenny in the U.S., and Numa now focuses on automotive dealerships, so we removed them from this list.

Pick one provider, test it and keep what works

Answering every inquiry quickly gives a small business a real edge over competitors that let calls go to voicemail. Use this list to shortlist two or three providers, ask each for a trial or a clear sample of how they would answer your calls, and choose the one that sounds most like your business.

Start with Smith.ai, our choice of best virtual receptionist company for small business