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.
7-day free trial, no charge until day 8 · See full pricing
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.