Jobber Receptionist alternative for contractors who buy leads

What Jobber Receptionist is and who it is built for

Jobber is field-service software that a lot of home-service shops use for quotes, scheduling, invoicing and payments. Receptionist is its AI assistant for the phone. Jobber says it "answers calls and texts 24/7, books visits, takes requests, and escalates to you when needed." When a job can't be booked on the spot, it creates a work request or turns the message into a task in Jobber.

Because it lives inside Jobber, it runs on data you've already set up: your services, request forms and online booking settings. Jobber's help center says "Receptionist uses your Online Booking form to schedule jobs in your calendar." It logs every call and text with a summary, transcript and recording, can transfer urgent calls based on keywords you pick, and can send a text back to callers who hang up before a conversation starts.

It's built for shops that already run on Jobber. You can keep your existing business number and forward calls to your Jobber number, though Jobber notes that a dedicated phone number in Jobber is still required. You can switch Receptionist on or off separately for calls and texts, including only after hours.

Jobber Receptionist's real strengths

• Native booking in Jobber. Visits land straight on your Jobber schedule and new callers land in your client list. No sync, no second calendar, no copying details from one place to another.
• Little setup. It uses the services, forms and booking rules you already have in Jobber, so there is no script to write from scratch.
• Calls and texts. It answers both, and you can watch a text conversation live and take over from the AI.
• Low add-on cost. On plans where it's an add-on, it's $29 a month with 30 conversations included. On Jobber's Plus plan it's included with unlimited usage.
• Control over what it does. Actions you've switched off wait for your approval, and urgent calls can be transferred to you or flagged by text.

Jobber Receptionist vs HelloSetter at a glance

Where HelloSetter is different

Jobber Receptionist waits for the phone to ring. HelloSetter makes the call. When a homeowner fills in your website form, or a lead lands from Angi, Thumbtack or Google LSA, that person isn't calling you. They're waiting to hear back, often from two or three contractors at once. The first one to get them on the phone has the best shot at the estimate.

HelloSetter calls that lead by AI voice within 60 seconds. In our testing, the call starts about a second after the lead arrives. It qualifies the lead, handles the common objections homeowners raise, and books an estimate on the HelloSetter Calendar. You subscribe to that calendar with an iCal link, and HelloSetter reads your own calendar link so it doesn't book over a job you already have.

If nobody picks up, voicemail detection kicks in and HelloSetter tries again, up to 16 times over several days, only inside calling hours. If the lead calls back, a local number answers. It only calls leads who gave consent, and you get an email summary after every call, so you know what was said before you show up.

It doesn't need Jobber, and it doesn't book into Jobber

That cuts both ways. HelloSetter works whether you run Jobber, another tool or a paper calendar. Lead sources are connected on a 30-minute setup call: website forms, Google Sheets, and webhook or Zapier feeds from Angi, Thumbtack, LSA or Facebook. But estimates land on the HelloSetter Calendar, not your Jobber schedule. If you live in Jobber all day, you'd be checking two places, or relying on the calendar subscription on your phone.

Priced by lead, not by conversation

Jobber's add-on counts conversations. HelloSetter counts leads: 75, 150 or 400 a month depending on the plan, and $2 for each one past that. A lead that takes four call attempts and a long conversation still counts as one lead.

What HelloSetter won't do

To be clear about the limits: HelloSetter doesn't text leads, doesn't answer your main business line, doesn't run campaigns to past customers, and doesn't push bookings into ServiceTitan, Jobber or Housecall Pro. It's a lead caller. If any of those gaps is a deal-breaker for you, the next section is the one to read.

Where Jobber Receptionist is the better choice

If you already run on Jobber, its Receptionist has some clear advantages. It's likely the better pick if:

• Most of your work comes from people calling you. HelloSetter isn't a receptionist for every inbound call. Jobber Receptionist is built for that.
• You want bookings to land in Jobber. Receptionist books visits straight onto your Jobber schedule. HelloSetter has no native Jobber integration and books onto its own calendar.
• You want texting. HelloSetter doesn't send SMS. Jobber Receptionist answers texts and can text back callers who hang up.
• You're on Jobber Plus. Receptionist is included with unlimited usage, so turning it on costs nothing extra.
• Budget is tight. On select plans the add-on is $29 a month. HelloSetter starts at $197 a month at the founding rate.

Plenty of Jobber shops could reasonably use both: Receptionist on the main line so inbound calls get answered, and HelloSetter on the web-lead feed so no form sits for hours. They touch different things, so they don't get in each other's way.

Pricing compared

Jobber's help center says "Receptionist is included on the Plus Plan with unlimited usage." On select other plans it's an add-on at $29 a month, which includes 30 conversations. Past that, Jobber charges $0.79 per extra conversation, billed on your next monthly invoice. Calls marked as spam, or with no real interaction, don't count. A text conversation stays open for up to 24 hours, and messages inside that window count as one conversation.

The add-on sits on top of a Jobber plan. On Jobber's pricing page, plans with no commitment run from $49 a month (Core, 1 user) to $699 a month (Plus, 15 users), with lower monthly rates on a 1-year commitment or annual billing. Plus, the plan that includes Receptionist, starts at $499 a month with no commitment, or $399 a month billed annually, for 5 users.

Costs to check

• The Jobber plan itself. If you aren't on Jobber yet, the real price of Receptionist is the add-on plus a plan.
• Conversations past 30. At $0.79 each, a month with 100 conversations on the add-on would be $29 plus 70 extra conversations, about $84 in total.
• Which plans can add it. Jobber says "select plans," so confirm yours is one of them.
• The phone number. Jobber says a dedicated Jobber phone number is still required, even if you forward your existing line.

HelloSetter: $197 / $347 / $697 a month at the founding rate (regularly $297 / $497 / $997) for 75 / 150 / 400 leads, and $2 for each lead over your plan. No setup fee, month-to-month, and a free 14-day pilot after the setup call. There are no per-minute or per-conversation charges, and you don't need any other software to run it.

On price alone, Jobber Receptionist costs less, especially if you already pay for Jobber. But the two are doing different jobs. Compare the Jobber add-on against the inbound calls you miss now, and compare HelloSetter against what one extra booked estimate a month from your paid leads is worth to you.

How to switch, or try both

Since one tool answers your phone and the other works your lead feed, you can run both at the same time:

1. Count last month's inbound calls and web leads separately, and note how long each web lead waited for a first call.
2. If you're on Jobber, turn on Receptionist for calls, texts or after hours, and forward your business line to your Jobber number.
3. Book the HelloSetter setup call and connect your website form, sheet or Zapier feed. It takes about 30 minutes.
4. Run the free 14-day pilot on new web leads only. Leave your Jobber setup as it is.
5. At the end, compare leads reached and estimates booked, and keep whichever earned its cost, or both.

If your web leads only come in through Jobber's own request form, bring that up on the setup call. HelloSetter takes leads from website forms, Google Sheets and webhook or Zapier feeds, so the lead needs to reach one of those.

For more on why the first minutes after a form fill matter, see our guide to speed to lead for contractors.

Hear it yourself

Call (307) 414-8089 to talk to the HelloSetter AI, or tap "Call me now" on the homepage and it will call you, the same way it calls a new lead. Jobber has a Receptionist demo on its feature page too. Try both and listen for yourself.