SkipCalls vs Upfirst
The short answer
- SkipCalls costs least: $19.99 a month for 100 calls and $176.50 for 500.
- Pick SkipCalls if you want Spanish.
- Pick Upfirst if you want a signed HIPAA agreement (from the Custom plan).
 SkipCallssolo trades and service businesses that miss calls while on the jobVisit site |  Upfirstsmall businesses whose phone goes unanswered while the owner is out on the jobVisit site | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | ||
| At 100 calls a month | SkipCalls$19.99Lowest | UpfirstNot priced yet |
| At 500 calls a month | SkipCalls$176.50Lowest | UpfirstNot priced yet |
| Advertised from | SkipCalls$19.99 a month | Upfirst$24.95 a month |
| The advertised plan covers | SkipCallsThe $19.99 plan covers all 100 calls. | UpfirstNot counted |
| Bills | SkipCallsper call | Upfirst |
| Keeps answering past your allowance | SkipCallsPartlyNothing is cut off or auto-charged past the call allowance on Starter and PRO | UpfirstYesCalls past the allowance keep being answered |
| Free trial or plan | SkipCallsPartlyA seven-day free trial lets you run it on your real line before paying | UpfirstPartlyYou can put it on your real line before paying, but only for the fourteen-day trial |
| Month to month, cancel online | SkipCallsYesMonth-to-month with no contract, cancellable from the app without contacting anyone | UpfirstYesMonth to month with cancellation, upgrade or downgrade at any time and no call required |
| On the call | ||
| Books appointments | SkipCallsYesThe agent checks live calendar availability during the call and writes the event itself | UpfirstYesIt checks the connected calendar during the call, offers open times |
| Transfers to a person | SkipCallsYesBoth warm and cold transfers are offered | UpfirstYesRule-based transfers to a person, department or extension, and warm transfers brief you on |
| Human receptionists as backup | SkipCallsNoThere is no vendor-staffed human answering tier | UpfirstNoUpfirst supplies no human agents for calls |
| After-hours rules | SkipCallsYesAnswering runs nights, weekends and holidays | UpfirstYesCoverage is a choice per account: all calls, overflow only, or after hours only |
| Urgent calls escalated | SkipCallsYesYou define keyword triggers per agent | UpfirstYesEmergencies are recognized from what the caller describes and handled by your own rules |
| Texts your callers | SkipCallsPartlyAutomatic SMS follow-ups come on every plan | UpfirstPartlyIt can text the caller mid-call on every plan with no extra charge |
| Call summary by text | SkipCallsYesSummaries are pushed by text as well as email and the dashboard | UpfirstYesA summary of the key details goes out by text or email the moment the call ends |
| Language, privacy and trying it | ||
| Languages | SkipCallsYes10 languages | UpfirstYes35+ languages |
| HIPAA, with a signed BAA | SkipCallsNoThe vendor states plainly on its transcription page | UpfirstPartlyA Business Associate Agreement is listed only in the Custom tier's feature set |
| Hear it before you buy | SkipCallsYesA public demo number answers without signup | UpfirstYesA public number answered by its own AI receptionist is published on the site |
| What it connects to | ||
| Google Calendar | SkipCallsYesGoogle Calendar, Outlook/Microsoft 365, Calendly, Cal.com, Apple Calendar, TidyCal | UpfirstYesGoogle Calendar, Outlook, Calendly, Acuity, Square |
| Outlook | SkipCallsYesGoogle Calendar, Outlook/Microsoft 365, Calendly, Cal.com, Apple Calendar, TidyCal | UpfirstYesGoogle Calendar, Outlook, Calendly, Acuity, Square |
| Calendly | SkipCallsYesGoogle Calendar, Outlook/Microsoft 365, Calendly, Cal.com, Apple Calendar, TidyCal | UpfirstYesGoogle Calendar, Outlook, Calendly, Acuity, Square |
| Your trade’s software | SkipCallsPartlyHousecall Pro and Jobber are supported for home-services scheduling and job creation | UpfirstPartlyField service tools such as ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro |
| Keep your number | SkipCallsYesYou keep your number and carrier and switch on forwarding | UpfirstYesEvery plan includes an Upfirst number and you keep your existing line |
| In short | ||
| What it is | SkipCallsSkipCalls is an AI receptionist and answering service for small businesses that answers calls on a forwarded or SkipCalls number, books appointments, screens spam and sends summaries. It is run from an iOS, Android or web app.All answers for SkipCalls | UpfirstUpfirst is an AI receptionist that answers a small business's phone around the clock, answers caller questions from the owner's own information, books appointments and transfers urgent callers. Plans are sold by monthly call allowance and set up self-serve from the business website.All answers for Upfirst |
| Checked | SkipCallsOctober 14, 2026 | UpfirstOctober 16, 2026 |
Costs are for 100 or 500 calls a month of 2½ minutes each, on the cheapest public plan. How we price