Specialty Answering Service review
A mature human answering service for teams that need screening, scheduling, and dispatch.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Sep 2026
Specialty Answering Service provides live telephone answering and virtual receptionist services for small businesses and larger organizations. Human receptionists answer calls around the clock, take messages, qualify leads, route or transfer callers, dispatch urgent requests, and schedule appointments. Custom call scripts, call paths, on-call schedules, recordings, text and email dispatch, and mobile account management support more structured call handling. Its workflows also cover medical answering and emergency response, making it a fit for teams that need people handling calls rather than an automated receptionist.
Pricing is organized around monthly plans that scale by call volume. Economy starts at $44 per month. The 100 Minute plan is $159 monthly, followed by 220 Minute at $269, 500 Minute at $649, 1,000 Minute at $1,199, 2,500 Minute at $2,929, 5,000 Minute at $5,649, and 10,000 Minute at $10,599. The published minute tiers include their stated allowances, bill additional minutes by the second, and reduce the additional-minute rate as volume increases. A 14-day free trial is available, but there is no free plan.
The service stands out when call handling needs to extend beyond message taking. Lead capture, qualification, warm screening, cold transfers, appointment scheduling, emergency dispatch, and call review create a broad operating layer for reception teams. Salesforce, Google Calendar, Lexicata, and Zendesk integrations support common workflow connections, while web, iOS, and Android tools provide account access. Choose Specialty Answering Service if your organization needs 24/7 human coverage and scalable minute tiers. Smaller teams with light call volume or buyers seeking a free option may prefer a narrower or lower-commitment service.
Specialty Answering Service pros and cons
- Where it wins
- 24/7 human receptionists handle routing, screening, and lead qualification
- Scheduling, emergency dispatch, recordings, and custom call paths
- Web, iOS, and Android access with Salesforce and Zendesk integrations
- Where it doesn't
- No free plan; the service is fully paid
- Higher tiers require substantial monthly commitments
- Per-call Essentials plan pricing is not publicly listed
Specialty Answering Service fact sheet, pricing and score →
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