Ruby Receptionist Pricing Explained: Plans, Overage and Exit
On Ruby's smallest plan, 50 minutes for $250 a month, a 147-minute month adds 97 overage minutes at $5.40 each, for $773.80 before tax. This page starts with what to do about it, then walks through Ruby's published plans and overage rates, how its minutes are counted, and how to leave.
What to do about it
- Pull your last three months of minutes from the Ruby app or your invoices, and compare them with Ruby's recommended ranges in the table below.
- Move up early if you are over. Under Ruby's Terms, upgrades take effect immediately and apply to the current billing period and at least the next two. Downgrades are allowed only after three consecutive billing periods on a plan, so moving down takes planning. New customers get a 90-day calibration window in which plan changes can be made at any time.
- Watch the short calls. With rounding up to a full minute, 30 ten-second hang-ups are billed as 30 minutes. Ask Ruby how your screening is set up.
- Pay by debit or ACH. The Terms put the 3.0% surcharge only on credit card payments.
- Compare per-minute rates directly. On the four plans below, Ruby's overage runs $4.00 to $5.40 a minute.
How to leave Ruby
Ruby's Terms set a 30-day contract that renews automatically, which you can cancel before your next invoice date. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current monthly billing period, and payments are generally not refunded, including for partly used periods. The exception is Ruby's introductory money-back guarantee: the Terms make cancellation immediate if you cancel within 21 days of sign-up, provided you have not yet used more than 500 receptionist minutes or 50 billable chats.
- Cancel by phone or email. Call 866-611-7829. Ruby's FAQ says to email staff@ruby.com, and its Terms name billing@ruby.com, so send your notice to both. Ask for written confirmation of the end date.
- Port your number out while your account is in good standing. The Terms allow a port-away when the account is current. Ruby may release numbers not ported away within three months after termination.
- If you only forwarded calls to Ruby, change the forwarding at your carrier on your switch day.
Ruby's current pricing (checked November 2026)
Ruby sells live human receptionists. Its AI page says all AI features are included at no extra cost on every plan, and its FAQ says Ruby is not an automated virtual receptionist. Prices come from Ruby's pricing page. Overage rates and the usage ranges Ruby recommends come from its help center article dated December 11, 2025.
| Plan | Monthly price | Minutes included | Overage per minute | Ruby recommends it for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Call Ruby 50 | $250 | 50 | $5.40 | 0 to 76 minutes |
| Call Ruby 100 | $395 | 100 | $4.50 | 77 to 172 minutes |
| Call Ruby 200 | $720 | 200 | $4.40 | 173 to 311 minutes |
| Call Ruby 500 | $1,725 | 500 | $4.00 | 472 to 706 minutes |
The help center article lists more plan sizes, from 350 to 2,500 minutes, with overage rates from $4.25 down to $3.30 a minute. Those plans are not priced on the pricing page.
How Ruby counts a minute
From Ruby's Terms of Use (body marked "Last Updated: March 2026") and its help center article on billing basics, dated September 9, 2026:
- Minutes are billed in 60-second increments, and calls are rounded up to the next 60-second mark. A 10-second call is billed as a full minute.
- Hold time counts. Talk time after a call is transferred to you or your voicemail does not.
- Outbound calls count, including the time spent sending the follow-up email.
- Unused minutes do not roll over.
- Ruby alerts you at 85% and 100% of your plan's minutes.
- Credit card payments carry a 3.0% surcharge.
The 147-minute month, plan by plan
| Plan | Math | Before tax | Paid by credit card (+3%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Call Ruby 50 | $250 + 97 minutes x $5.40 | $773.80 | $797.01 |
| Call Ruby 100 | $395 + 47 minutes x $4.50 | $606.50 | $624.70 |
| Call Ruby 200 | $720, with 53 minutes unused | $720.00 | $741.60 |
The same 147 minutes can cost anywhere from $606.50 to $773.80 depending only on the plan. Ruby's own table puts this usage on Call Ruby 100.
What customers report
Ruby's reviews are mixed: 3.9 out of 5 across 11 Capterra reviews and 2.0 across 29 ConsumerAffairs reviews. The BBB rates Ruby C minus, citing no response to the three complaints filed in the last three years. Each report below is one customer's account, paraphrased, as shown on the source page in November 2026.
- Capterra, August 24, 2023. An owner who used Ruby for three to five years says about 15% of inbound calls reached silence, that those calls were billed, and that he left after a $660 invoice for 147 minutes. That is where the 147-minute example comes from. His review does not say which plan he was on, and Ruby's rates may have changed since then.
- Capterra, July 21, 2026. A CFO says Ruby's price does not scale with call volume, so a business has to watch usage closely, and reports a fee when the company left. Ruby's published Terms do not list an exit fee.
- Capterra, January 2, 2025. On the positive side, a marketing director calls Ruby's receptionists accurate and prompt and says they represent the firm well.
Ruby and Keepdesk side by side
| Ruby (checked November 2026) | Keepdesk | |
|---|---|---|
| Who answers | Live human receptionists, supported by AI | An AI receptionist |
| 147 minutes a month | $606.50 to $773.80 depending on plan | $149 on Starter (300 minutes included) |
| Overage | $4.00 to $5.40 a minute on the plans above | $0.25 a minute |
| Short and spam calls | Rounded up to a full minute | Spam, robocalls, hang-ups and calls under 15 seconds never billed |
If a live person on every call is what you need, Ruby offers that and we do not. If you mostly need calls answered, messages taken and urgent ones transferred, the per-minute math above is the comparison to make.
About Keepdesk
Keepdesk is an AI phone receptionist that we set up for you.
- Plans. Starter: $149 a month, 300 minutes. Front Desk: $297 a month, 800 minutes, adding calendar booking, live emergency transfer, English and Spanish, and a weekly calls-to-look-at email. Executive: $497 a month, 1,500 minutes, with everything in Front Desk, plus up to three lines, priority phone support, and a monthly tuning call.
- Setup. $297 one time, done for you on one 30-minute call. Setup is free if you are switching from another answering service or phone platform, such as Podium, Birdeye, Weave, Thryv or Jobber.
- Overage. $0.25 a minute, with a text alert at 80 percent of your plan. Spam, robocalls, hang-ups and calls under 15 seconds are never billed.
- Commitment. Month to month, no contract. Cancel from the billing page, same day, no exit fee. We revert your forwarding the same day.
- Your number. You keep your number. If you leave, it goes with you, free. Most clients keep their number with their own phone company and forward calls to us.
- Support. Our AI assistant, Sam, answers your Keepdesk line 24/7. A real person answers support email within one business day, usually the same day. Same-day help if your line stops working.
- How the AI handles callers. It tries twice to understand, then takes a message or transfers. It never invents prices.
- Texting. Missed-call text-back is coming soon; it is not available today.
- 60-day promise. If Keepdesk does not pay for itself in recovered jobs within the first 60 days, cancel and keep the setup work.
Not sure yet? We offer a free missed-call audit: we call your line the way a customer would and show you what we find. Request your free missed-call audit.
Keepdesk was founded by Vince Sandlin, who spent 21 years in commercial flooring in the Dallas area, the last 11 as founder and CEO of a high-volume contracting firm.
Hear a sample call at (469) 535-7496; it answers as a sample garage door company. Start at getkeepdesk.com/start, call us at (945) 523-3430, or email vince@keepdesk.net.
Sources
Every page below was re-opened November 12, 2026.
- Ruby pricing page (plan prices and minutes)
- Ruby help, "Am I on the right billing plan?" (overage rates, recommended ranges; dated December 11, 2025)
- Ruby help, "Ruby Billing Basics" (rounding, hold time, rollover, card fee, alerts; dated September 9, 2026)
- Ruby Terms of Use (minutes, contract, refunds, money-back guarantee, plan changes, surcharge, porting, billing email)
- Ruby FAQ (alerts, how to cancel, not automated)
- Ruby AI page (AI included at no extra cost)
- Capterra reviews for Ruby (rating; August 24, 2023, January 2, 2025, July 21, 2026)
- ConsumerAffairs reviews for Ruby (rating)
- BBB profile for Ruby Receptionists (rating, complaint count)