The only one that collects the deposit before they hang up.
Answering services take a message. AI receptionists book a slot. KeeprSteady qualifies the lead, books the job, and collects the deposit — so the appointment actually shows up. Here’s how we stack up against the tools contractors compare us to.
KeeprSteady Missed-call → booked job | Numa AI receptionist | Goodcall AI phone agent | Jobber AI Receptionist add-on | Smith.ai Human + AI answering | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texts missed callers back automaticallyVoice-first tools may call or voicemail rather than open an SMS thread. | ✓ | ✓ | ◐ | ◐ | ◐ |
| Qualifies the lead to your specific tradeMost tools are general-purpose; KeeprSteady scopes each conversation to your trade. | ✓ | — | — | — | ◐ |
| Books the appointment on your calendar | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Collects a deposit at bookingA booked job with money down is a job that shows up. This is what we do that they do not. | ✓ | — | — | — | — |
| A human monitors & corrects the AISmith.ai is human-backed; the AI-only tools are unmonitored between calls. | ✓ | — | — | — | ✓ |
| Purpose-built for the trades | ✓ | — | — | ◐ | — |
| Starting price | $199/mo | from $49/mo | from $59/mo | from $99/mo | from $95/mo |
✓ included · ◐ partial / varies · — not a documented feature. Competitor details and pricing reflect publicly available information as of July 2026 and change frequently — please verify current details on each provider’s site.
Priced per booked job, not per answered call
A $49 tool that takes a message still leaves you chasing callbacks and eating no-shows. KeeprSteady delivers a confirmed appointment with a deposit down. One recovered $300–$1,500 job pays for months of Solo at $199/mo — the math works after a single missed call.
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Common questions
- Because you are not buying answered calls — you are buying booked jobs with a deposit already down. One recovered $300–$1,500 job pays for months of the $199/mo Solo plan. The cheaper tools take a message or book an unconfirmed slot; they do not lock in the money or filter the job to your trade.
- Not that we have found publicly documented as of July 2026. Deposit collection at booking is the core of what KeeprSteady does — it turns a soft "maybe" appointment into a committed job and cuts no-shows.
- No. KeeprSteady works over SMS after a missed call, which is where homeowners actually engage. You forward busy/no-answer calls to your KeeprSteady number and the AI takes it from there by text.
Why does KeeprSteady cost more than a $49 AI receptionist?
Do the other tools collect a deposit?
Is this a voice AI that answers the phone?
Still deciding? Book a 15-min demo and we’ll show you a live booking.