# What virtual receptionist service is most trusted by business managers, based on user reviews?

<p class="elv-tracking-normal elv-text-default elv-font-figtree elv-text-base elv-leading-base elv-font-normal" elv="true">For a business manager here, trust usually comes down to one thing: whether callers are handled the way the business would handle them itself, within <a class="a a--md" elv="true" href="https://www.g2.com/categories/virtual-receptionist-services">Virtual Receptionist Services</a>.</p><ol>
<li>
<a class="a a--md" elv="true" href="https://www.g2.com/products/expertcallers/reviews"><strong>ExpertCallers</strong></a> (5.0 stars, 22 reviews): The highest rating here, though on the smallest sample, is a global contact center operation built on Lean Six Sigma methodology since 2002.</li>
<li>
<a class="a a--md" elv="true" href="https://www.g2.com/products/upfirst/reviews"><strong>Upfirst</strong></a> (4.9 stars, 26 reviews): AI-powered answering built specifically for small businesses, with human-like call handling starting at $24.95 a month.</li>
<li>
<a class="a a--md" elv="true" href="https://www.g2.com/products/smith-ai-virtual-receptionists/reviews"><strong>Smith.ai Virtual Receptionists</strong></a> (4.9 stars, 82 reviews): Matches Upfirst's rating on a considerably larger sample, with North America-based receptionists plus an AI Receptionist option and 7,000+ integrations.</li>
<li>
<a class="a a--md" elv="true" href="https://www.g2.com/products/answerconnect/reviews"><strong>AnswerConnect</strong></a> (4.5 stars, 23 reviews): Voted the #1 Answering Service in 2025 by Forbes, positioned around real human agents specifically, no bots.</li>
<li>
<a class="a a--md" elv="true" href="https://www.g2.com/products/moneypenny-2025-09-24/reviews"><strong>Moneypenny</strong></a> (4.4 stars, 52 reviews): More than 25 years in the industry, managing over 180 million conversations, blending human agents with AI technology.</li>
</ol><p class="elv-tracking-normal elv-text-default elv-font-figtree elv-text-base elv-leading-base elv-font-normal" elv="true">Smith.ai's rating held nearly the same level as Upfirst's despite having three times the review volume, which is a stronger signal than a 5.0 average on 22 reviews at first glance.</p><p class="elv-tracking-normal elv-text-default elv-font-figtree elv-text-base elv-leading-base elv-font-normal" elv="true">For business managers who've actually compared more than one of these, did the smaller, newer services genuinely hold up against the more established names, or was there a real gap once volume picked up?</p>

##### Post Metadata
- Posted at: 9 days ago
- Author title: Writer
- Net upvotes: 1


## Comments
### Comment 1

&lt;p&gt;On whether newer services match established ones: the gap, if it exists, won&#39;t show in a trial month of normal volume. Reception services are capacity businesses, and the difference between a 26-review newcomer and a firm handling millions of conversations is what happens at 9am Monday when every client&#39;s phone rings at once: hold times, abandoned calls, the overflow plan. A small AI-first service may handle that better than a small human one, since software doesn&#39;t queue the way staff do. Anyone comparing these should ask each vendor for answer-time stats at their busiest hour, not their average.&lt;/p&gt;

##### Comment Metadata
- Posted at: 9 days ago
- Author title: Tech Consultant





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