SIAS vs Ruby: what 100, 200 and 500 minutes of live answering actually cost
Ruby charges $395 a month for 100 receptionist minutes. Special Interest Answering Service (SIAS) charges $159 every 4 weeks for 100 operator minutes, which works out to about $172 a month. Both answer 24/7 with live people, both offer Spanish, and neither charges a setup fee. The difference is price per minute, what is included beyond the phone, and who you are dealing with. Ruby's figures below were read from ruby.com/plans-and-pricing and ruby.com/faqs on October 26, 2026.
Ruby started in 2003 and says 15,000+ businesses use it, with virtual receptionist, live chat and bundled plans. SIAS has been a family-owned answering service in Joliet, Illinois since 1980, with US-based operators and plans built around operator minutes. SIAS is not affiliated with Ruby.
Side by side, as of October 26, 2026
| SIAS | Ruby | |
|---|---|---|
| Billing unit | Operator minute | Receptionist minute |
| Billing cycle | Every 4 weeks (13 cycles a year) | Monthly |
| Smallest plan | $159 for 100 minutes | $250 for 50 minutes |
| 100 minutes | $159 per 4 weeks | $395 per month |
| 200 minutes | $219 per 4 weeks | $720 per month |
| 400 to 500 minutes | $379 per 4 weeks (400 minutes) | $1,725 per month (500 minutes) |
| Price per included minute | $1.59 (Starter) to $0.95 (Business); $0.80 on Volume 1200 | $5.00 (50 minutes) to $3.45 (500 minutes) |
| Extra minutes | $0.99, $0.89 or $0.85 by plan | Rate not published on ruby.com |
| Setup fee | None | None |
| Contract | None, cancel any time | No long-term contract; cancellation takes effect at the end of the monthly billing period |
| Money-back guarantee | 14 days, new accounts | First-time users: cancel within 21 days or before 500 receptionist minutes, whichever comes first |
| Hours | 24/7/365 | 24/7 |
| Spanish | Bilingual English and Spanish operators, included | 24/7 Spanish and bilingual call handling |
| Live chat | Not offered | From $143 per month (10 chats); 20% off when bundled with a receptionist plan |
| Where the people answering are | Joliet, Illinois (US-based) | Not stated on ruby.com |
| Founded | 1980 | 2003 |
What you would pay
SIAS bills every 4 weeks, so a year has 13 SIAS cycles and 12 Ruby months. The SIAS column shows the 4-week price converted to a calendar month (times 13, divided by 12) so the two are compared fairly.
| Minutes a month | SIAS, monthly equivalent | Ruby | Difference over a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | $172 ($159 x 13 = $2,067 a year) | $395 ($4,740 a year) | $2,673 |
| 200 | $237 ($219 x 13 = $2,847 a year) | $720 ($8,640 a year) | $5,793 |
| 500 | $503 ($379 plan plus 100 extra minutes at $0.85 = $464 x 13 = $6,032 a year) | $1,725 ($20,700 a year) | $14,668 |
Ruby's 500-minute plan is its closest published plan to 400 to 500 minutes. Ruby does not publish an extra-minute rate, so a Ruby overage scenario cannot be shown.
Where Ruby may be the better fit
Ruby bundles more than the phone. Every Ruby receptionist plan lists phone service hosting, AI-powered call transcripts and sentiment analysis, outbound call assistance and payment collection, and Ruby sells live chat as an add-on at 20% off. If you want one vendor for phone, chat and a hosted business number, Ruby is built for that, and its 15,000-business footprint is why it shows up so often in recommendations.
Where SIAS is the better fit
Cost per minute. At 100 minutes SIAS is about 44% of Ruby's price; at 200 minutes, about 33%. SIAS publishes its extra-minute rates, adds up your seconds for the whole cycle and rounds down, and does not bill the minutes after a call is patched through to you. The same operators handle after-hours and emergency dispatch for plumbing, HVAC and property management accounts, HIPAA-compliant message handling for medical offices, order taking and bilingual calls on the same per-minute plan. At our 2026 average of 82 to 90 seconds of operator talk time per call, a 100-minute plan covers about 65 to 75 answered calls.
Questions people ask
Is SIAS cheaper than Ruby? For the same number of minutes, yes. 100 minutes is $159 every 4 weeks at SIAS (about $172 a month) and $395 a month at Ruby, as of October 26, 2026. 200 minutes is $219 at SIAS and $720 at Ruby.
How is Ruby's billing different from SIAS? Both bill by the minute. Ruby bills monthly; SIAS bills every 4 weeks, so a year has 13 SIAS cycles. SIAS publishes its extra-minute rates ($0.99, $0.89 or $0.85 by plan); Ruby's pricing page does not list one.
Does SIAS offer live chat like Ruby? No. SIAS is a telephone answering service. Ruby sells live chat plans from $143 a month and bundles them with receptionist plans at a discount.
Can I switch from Ruby to SIAS without a gap? Yes. Ruby has no long-term contract and cancels at the end of the monthly billing period. SIAS has no setup fee, no contract, and your account is live within 24 hours of sign-up, so you can start SIAS, forward your line, and let the Ruby period run out.
Is SIAS affiliated with Ruby? No. Special Interest Answering Service is an independent, family-owned answering service in Joliet, Illinois, founded in 1980. It is not affiliated with Ruby, Specialty Answering Service (SAS) or any other provider.
Ruby prices and terms were read from ruby.com on October 26, 2026 and can change at any time; check ruby.com for current figures. Ruby is a trademark of its owner. SIAS prices are on our Plans page and explained in full at Pricing and Plans Explained.
More comparisons
SIAS vs Smith.ai: per-call against per-minute billing, and the call length where the cheaper option flips. SIAS vs AnswerConnect: the closest match on paper, compared line by line.
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