Best Answering Service in Hawaii

Why Hawaii Businesses Need an Answering Service

Hawaii has 135,567 small businesses employing 275,908 people, roughly half the state's entire workforce. On islands like Kauai, 87% of non-farming businesses have fewer than 20 employees. These are lean operations where the owner is the plumber, the bookkeeper, the estimator, and the person who's supposed to answer the phone.

The problem is compounded by geography. Hawaii sits 2,400 miles from the nearest U.S. mainland. When a mainland supplier, contractor, or customer calls at 2pm Eastern, it's 8am in Honolulu, or 9am when the mainland observes daylight saving time and Hawaii doesn't. When a Honolulu business closes at 5pm HST, it's already 11pm on the East Coast. That time zone gap means Hawaii businesses routinely miss calls from partners and clients who operate on a completely different clock.

An answering service bridges the gap. But choosing the right one for Hawaii means understanding the specific pressures of doing business on islands in the middle of the Pacific.

What Makes Hawaii's Business Environment Distinct

Hawaii's economy has characteristics that no other state shares:

• The time zone problem is structural, not incidental: Hawaii Standard Time is 5 hours behind Eastern (6 hours during mainland DST). Hawaii never adjusts its clocks. A real estate agent in Maui whose mainland-based lender calls at 10am ET is getting that call at 4am or 5am local time. A property manager whose East Coast tenants call at 5pm ET reaches the office after it's closed for the day. This isn't an occasional inconvenience. It's every single business day, all year long.
• Tourism generates $21.75 billion and enormous call volume swings: Hawaii welcomed 9.64 million visitors in 2025, spending $21.75 billion. Peak season runs from mid-December through March and again in July and August. A whale-watching tour in Lahaina might handle 15 booking calls a day in February and 3 in October. A resort concierge service fields twice the inquiries during the holidays compared to May. Businesses can't staff for peak and can't afford to miss peak-season revenue.
• Multi-island operations split your attention: Hawaii has 6 populated islands with no bridges and no tunnels connecting them. A pest control company serving Oahu and Maui, or a medical practice with clinics on the Big Island and Kauai, needs coordinated phone handling across locations that are only connected by air. A single front desk can't physically cover multiple island offices.
• Labor costs are the highest in the country: Hawaii ranks dead last nationally for cost of doing business. Minimum wage is $16/hour, rising to $18/hour by 2028. The Prepaid Health Care Act, unique to Hawaii, requires employers to provide health insurance to any employee working 20 or more hours per week with no employer size exemption. Even a 1-employee business must comply. Hiring a full-time receptionist means $16+/hour in wages, mandatory health insurance, and the highest electricity costs in the nation at 40 cents per kilowatt-hour. That math pushes businesses toward outsourced phone handling.
• Military spending is a $16.6 billion economic force: Over 73,000 military and civilian personnel are stationed across Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Schofield Barracks, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, and other installations. Defense contributes roughly 16% of the state's GDP and supports 102,000 jobs. Businesses serving military personnel and their families handle calls from people still operating on mainland time zones, often needing service outside island business hours.
• Multilingual demand extends beyond English and Spanish: Hawaii's visitor population includes over 1 million Japanese tourists annually. Ilocano, Tagalog, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean are commonly spoken at home. Tourism-facing businesses regularly field calls from visitors whose first language isn't English. While no answering service on this list supports Japanese natively, the sheer diversity of Hawaii's callers makes clear, professional phone handling more important, not less.

Top 5 Answering Services for Hawaii Businesses

We tested these services against Hawaii's unique demands: the time zone gap with the mainland, seasonal tourism surges, multi-island coordination, and the reality that hiring locally costs more here than anywhere else in America.

1. Zinng: Best Overall (AI-Powered)

Zinng solves Hawaii's most persistent problem: the clock. AI doesn't sleep, doesn't observe time zones, and doesn't care whether it's 3am HST or noon on a Tuesday in Manhattan. When a mainland vendor calls your Honolulu business at 4pm Eastern, 10am or 11am local time depending on the season, Zinng answers identically to how it answers at midnight. For a state where the time zone mismatch costs businesses real money every day, that alone changes the equation.

Every call produces a full transcript delivered by email with SMS alerts for anything flagged as urgent. A property manager on the Big Island wakes up to a detailed log of every tenant call that came in after hours. A charter boat captain in Kona gets a text the moment someone books a last-minute excursion. A contractor on Maui gets exact specifications documented word-for-word from a mainland architect's 7am ET call. No notes from a half-awake operator. The actual conversation, captured verbatim.

• Pricing: $49/month with 100 minutes included. Additional minutes at $0.12 each. Growth plan at $99/month with 250 minutes. Business plan at $199/month with 600 minutes.
• Best for: Hawaii businesses of all sizes that need round-the-clock coverage without round-the-clock costs, especially those with mainland clients or suppliers.
• Key features: 24/7 AI answering, full call transcripts, SMS alerts for urgent calls, HIPAA compliant, custom call routing, spam blocking, appointment scheduling, 14-day free trial with no credit card.
• Standout: A Maui-based tour operator handling 200 minutes of booking calls per month pays $61 with Zinng ($49 base + $12 overage). The cheapest traditional alternative on this list costs $235 for fewer minutes. Over 12 months, that's $2,000+ in savings, real money for a small business paying $40/kWh electricity and $16/hour wages.

2. Ruby Receptionists: Best Premium Live Service

Ruby, headquartered in Portland, Oregon, is in the Pacific Time zone, only 2 to 3 hours ahead of Hawaii depending on the season. That geographic proximity means Ruby's receptionists operate on a clock closer to Hawaii's than any East Coast service. Their team of live, U.S.-based receptionists answers with a warmth and professionalism that has made Ruby a go-to for law firms and professional practices nationwide.

Ruby offers 24/7 bilingual inbound coverage (English and Spanish) across all plans, and outbound calling during weekday business hours (5am to 6pm PT, which translates to 3am to 4pm HST, covering most of a Hawaii workday). Their 10-tier pricing structure gives businesses flexibility to match plan size to actual volume, though every tier costs significantly more per minute than AI alternatives.

• Pricing: Call Ruby 50 at $250/month for 50 minutes ($5.40/min overage). Call Ruby 100 at $395/month for 100 minutes ($4.50/min overage). Call Ruby 200 at $720/month for 200 minutes ($4.40/min overage). Call Ruby 500 at $1,725/month for 500 minutes ($4.00/min overage). Ten tiers total up to $7,875/month for 2,500 minutes.
• Best for: Hawaii law firms, medical practices, and high-end professional services where the quality of the live human interaction justifies the premium cost.
• Key features: 24/7 live U.S.-based receptionists, bilingual English/Spanish (all plans), 10 pricing tiers, call routing, appointment scheduling, outbound calling (Mon-Fri 5am-6pm PT).
• Drawback: Ruby is the most expensive service on this list by a wide margin. A Hawaii tourism business handling 200 minutes monthly pays $720, nearly 12 times what Zinng charges for the same volume. The per-minute overage rates ($4.00 to $5.40) mean even moderate call spikes create significant cost surges. During peak tourism season when calls double, that $720 can quickly become $1,100+.

3. PATLive: Best for 24/7 Reliability

PATLive has operated from Tallahassee, Florida, since 1990, delivering over 35 years of continuous live answering service. Their Flex Platform offers four tiers with 24/7 coverage across all plans. For Hawaii businesses, PATLive's East Coast location creates an operational advantage: their team is fully staffed during Eastern business hours, which is when Hawaii businesses need the most mainland coverage (early morning through midday HST).

PATLive bills per minute with overage rates that decrease at higher tiers ($2.25 on the Starter plan down to $1.85 on the Pro plan). They offer bilingual English/Spanish support as a $20/month add-on, not included by default. Their track record for reliability is strong, though the per-minute costs are substantially higher than AI alternatives.

• Pricing: Starter at $235/month for 75 minutes ($2.25/min overage, 1 line). Standard at $415/month for 200 minutes ($2.10/min overage, 3 lines). Premium at $650/month for 350 minutes ($1.90/min overage, 5 lines). Pro at $1,050/month for 600 minutes ($1.85/min overage, 10 lines).
• Best for: Hawaii businesses that prioritize proven reliability and want a traditional live answering service with a long operational track record.
• Key features: 24/7 live answering, 100% U.S.-based operators, bilingual English/Spanish ($20/month add-on), appointment scheduling, order processing, call transfers, 14-day free trial.
• Drawback: The Starter plan includes just 75 minutes for $235, an effective rate of $3.13 per minute. A Hawaii surf school handling 150 minutes of booking calls in peak season blows through that in two weeks, hitting $2.25/min overage charges for the remaining 75 minutes. Bilingual support costs extra. And the single-line limitation on the Starter plan means if two callers ring simultaneously, one gets voicemail.

4. VoiceNation (Moneypenny): Best Budget Hybrid

VoiceNation, now fully operating under the Moneypenny brand after a 2020 acquisition, combines AI call screening with live receptionist backup. The AI handles initial greetings and routine inquiries. Calls that need a human get routed to a live operator. For a Hawaii business where most after-hours calls are simple ("What time do you open?" "Do you have availability Saturday?" "Can I get a callback tomorrow?"), the AI layer handles the majority without burning through expensive live-agent minutes.

The brand transition is worth noting. VoiceNation's website now redirects to Moneypenny, and the current pricing reflects Moneypenny's structure. The legacy VoiceNation tiers that still appear on some review sites are no longer available. What you get today is Moneypenny's "People Plans" pricing, which starts higher than the old VoiceNation entry point but includes the hybrid AI-plus-human model.

• Pricing: 50 Minutes at $165/month ($2.85/min overage). 100 Minutes at $265/month ($2.65/min overage). 250 Minutes at $555/month ($2.39/min overage). 500 Minutes at $985/month ($2.09/min overage). Higher-volume plans available through sales.
• Best for: Hawaii businesses that want a hybrid AI-human model where routine calls are handled by AI and complex calls reach a live person.
• Key features: AI screening with live receptionist backup, 24/7 coverage, bilingual support, analytics and reporting, custom greetings.
• Drawback: The Moneypenny rebrand creates confusion. Searching for "VoiceNation" lands you on a completely different website than expected. The 50-minute entry plan at $165/month gives you an effective rate of $3.30 per minute, expensive for a low-volume Hawaii bed-and-breakfast fielding 30 to 40 calls a month. And the old $70/month entry point with 20 minutes that made VoiceNation a popular budget pick? It no longer exists.

5. AnswerForce: Best for Phone + Chat Bundle

AnswerForce, based in Portland, Oregon, bundles live phone answering with live chat handling in every plan. For Hawaii's tourism businesses, where website visitors browsing from the mainland or internationally often prefer chat over phone, this dual-channel approach captures leads that a phone-only service misses entirely. A potential guest browsing a Kauai vacation rental at 10pm EST can chat with a live agent even though the owner is asleep in Poipu.

AnswerForce's six-tier pricing structure includes generous minute and chat allocations. Their "Best Value" plan at $359/month waives the setup fee and includes 300 minutes plus 100 chats. For businesses with both phone and web traffic, consolidating both under one provider simplifies billing and ensures consistent service quality across channels. The first 30 calls under 30 seconds each month are free across all plans.

• Pricing: Intro at $259/month for 200 minutes + 50 chats ($99 setup fee, $1.80/min overage). Best Value at $359/month for 300 minutes + 100 chats (no setup fee, $1.70/min overage). Standard at $649/month for 500 minutes + 150 chats. Six tiers total up to Enterprise at $1,179/month for 1,000 minutes + 300 chats.
• Best for: Hawaii tourism, hospitality, and service businesses that receive significant website traffic alongside phone calls and want both channels handled by one provider.
• Key features: 24/7 live answering + live chat, bilingual English/Spanish, appointment scheduling, lead capture, first 30 short calls free monthly, 6 pricing tiers.
• Drawback: The Intro and Basic plans carry a $99 setup fee. AnswerForce now hides its pricing behind a registration form on its website, requiring your name, email, phone, and company information before showing plans. That opacity doesn't inspire confidence. And at $259/month for 200 minutes, the phone-answering portion alone is roughly 4x what Zinng charges for the same volume.

Pricing Comparison

Here's what each service costs for a Hawaii business handling approximately 200 minutes of calls per month.

*Zinng's $49 plan includes 100 minutes. 200 minutes = $49 + $12 overage (100 additional minutes at $0.12/min).
**AnswerForce's Intro plan includes 200 minutes + 50 live chats for $259/month ($99 one-time setup fee not included).

Why AI Answering Solves Hawaii's Unique Challenges

Hawaii's business environment creates pressures that amplify the advantages of AI answering beyond what mainland businesses experience:

• The time zone gap disappears entirely. Hawaii's 5-to-6-hour offset from the East Coast creates a daily window where calls from mainland partners, suppliers, and clients arrive before or after local business hours. AI doesn't operate on HST, EST, or any other zone. It answers identically at 6am Honolulu time as it does at 9pm. For a roofing contractor whose mainland insurance adjuster calls at 7am ET (1am HST), the difference between a handled call and a voicemail is the difference between keeping a project moving and losing a day.
• Tourism surges don't require plan changes. A snorkeling outfitter in Molokini that fields 60 booking calls in October and 300 in February doesn't need to upgrade from one plan tier to another and back again. AI bills per minute used. Peak season costs more because the business is doing more business. The off-season costs less because call volume drops. No plan management, no tier juggling, no calling customer service to adjust allocations.
• Multi-island coordination through one system. A pest control company with technicians on Oahu, Maui, and the Big Island can route all calls through one AI system with island-specific instructions. Callers on Oahu get Oahu scheduling. Callers mentioning Maui get Maui availability. There's no separate phone number per island and no risk of a receptionist unfamiliar with your Hilo office answering a Hilo caller's question.
• The labor cost math is decisive. Hawaii is the most expensive state in America for labor. A full-time receptionist earning $16/hour with mandatory employer-provided health insurance costs $45,000 to $55,000 annually when you factor in benefits, payroll taxes, and training. Zinng's Business plan at $199/month costs $2,388/year. That's a $40,000+ annual difference per receptionist position, funds that can go toward a second technician, equipment, or marketing that directly generates revenue.
• Simultaneous call capacity during emergencies. When a tropical storm warning hits or volcanic activity increases on the Big Island, call volume spikes across emergency services, property managers, and travel operators. AI answers every call simultaneously. Fifty callers at once get the same immediate response. A traditional service with 3 or 5 lines puts caller 6 on hold or dumps them to voicemail during the moment they most need to reach someone.

Traditional answering services still serve a purpose for Hawaii businesses that need empathetic handling, nuanced conversation, or multilingual capabilities beyond English and Spanish. But for the majority of calls (scheduling, inquiries, message-taking, routing), AI handles them faster, more consistently, and at a fraction of the cost.

Choosing the Right Service for Your Hawaii Business

• Tourism, hospitality, or service business? Zinng's $49/month starting price with per-minute billing absorbs seasonal swings without plan changes. Full transcripts mean every booking request, guest inquiry, and vendor call is documented regardless of when it arrives.
• Law firm or medical practice wanting premium live handling? Ruby's receptionists deliver the highest quality live interaction on this list. Budget $720+/month for 200 minutes and accept that premium service carries premium costs. Ruby's Portland headquarters keeps their team closer to Hawaii's time zone than East Coast alternatives.
• Need proven 24/7 reliability from a traditional service? PATLive has operated continuously for 35+ years. Their Flex Platform offers 4 tiers with 24/7 coverage. The $235/month Starter plan is the most affordable traditional entry point, but bilingual support costs $20/month extra.
• Want AI screening to reduce live-agent costs? VoiceNation (Moneypenny) routes routine calls through AI before escalating to humans. At $165/month for 50 minutes, it's pricier per minute than pure AI, but the hybrid model works for businesses that want a human fallback without paying for human handling on every call.
• Significant website traffic alongside phone calls? AnswerForce bundles live chat with phone answering. A vacation rental company whose guests browse the website from the mainland at 11pm ET can chat with an agent while the owner sleeps in Princeville. The $259/month Intro plan includes 200 minutes plus 50 chat sessions.
• Serving military families? Over 73,000 military personnel and their families in Hawaii often communicate on mainland schedules. Zinng and PATLive both provide uninterrupted 24/7 coverage that bridges the HST-to-mainland gap automatically.

Final Verdict

Zinng is the best answering service for Hawaii businesses. The time zone gap alone makes it the obvious choice. AI answers calls from the mainland at 3am HST with the same quality it delivers at noon. At $61/month for 200 minutes of 24/7 coverage, it costs a fraction of every traditional alternative while providing complete call transcripts, HIPAA compliance, and unlimited concurrent call capacity. In a state where a receptionist costs $45,000+ annually, Zinng's yearly cost of $2,388 frees up budget that matters.

Ruby is the right choice for Hawaii professionals who insist on premium live handling. Law firms in downtown Honolulu and medical practices on Maui trust Ruby for the same reason mainland firms do: the receptionists are genuinely excellent. Pay accordingly, $720/month for 200 minutes, and consider Ruby's proximity in Portland a minor advantage over East Coast competitors.

PATLive delivers dependable 24/7 traditional service backed by three decades of operational history. The Starter plan at $235 for 75 minutes works for businesses with light call volume. For heavier usage, the Standard plan at $415 for 200 minutes is the better match. Factor in $20/month for bilingual support if you need it.

VoiceNation (Moneypenny) suits businesses that want AI handling the easy calls and humans handling the rest. The hybrid model reduces per-minute costs compared to purely live services, though the rebrand from VoiceNation to Moneypenny has muddied the customer experience. Expect $265/month for 100 minutes on the most practical entry plan.

And AnswerForce stands alone for businesses that need phone and chat covered by a single provider. Hawaii's tourism economy generates as much web traffic as phone traffic, and AnswerForce captures both. The $259/month Intro plan with 200 minutes plus 50 chats is the most complete multi-channel offering on this list.

Hawaii's isolation is a permanent fact of geography. The time zone gap, the tourism surges, the labor costs, and the multi-island logistics aren't going away. An answering service that works here has to work on Hawaii's terms: around the clock, across the ocean, and within a budget shaped by the highest cost of living in the country. AI does all three.