Comparison · checked August 2026
An answering service has worked for decades. A real person answers, follows your script, and for out-of-hours cover it does the job.
What decides it. Who does the work afterwards. An answering service moves the task, it doesn't finish it. You still ring back, find a slot and hope they pick up. Clayta finishes it on the first call: the caller hangs up with a time, already in your calendar.
| a traditional answering service | Clayta | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | Typically $200 to $600/month | $99/month |
| What that buys | Priced per minute or per call, with rates rising after hours and on weekends, when a shop's phone rings most. | 150 minutes of answered calls |
| Free trial | Check their current offer | Free for 7 days, 35 minutes of calls on Starter and 140 on Growth, card at signup |
| After the call | You act on it | The appointment is already written |
| Booking | Varies by plan | Into Square or Google Calendar, live availability |
| Languages | Check current plans | English and Spanish |
| Several callers at once | Varies | Yes |
your calls need judgement a script cannot capture, or you want a human voice at any cost.
most of your calls are people wanting an appointment, and the return-call round trip is where you lose them.
Most are $200 to $600 a month at small-business volume, billed per minute or per call, with higher rates outside business hours.
For a nuanced conversation, a person is better. For "can I get a cut Friday afternoon", what matters is whether it ends in a booking.
Yes, on every call, along with the recording notice. That is not configurable while recording is on.