Best Answering Service in Massachusetts

Why Massachusetts Businesses Need an Answering Service

Massachusetts has over 700,000 small businesses that represent 99.5% of all employers in the state. Those businesses operate in an $828 billion economy, the 12th largest in the country with a GDP per capita of $110,561, second highest nationally. The state's workforce is the most educated in America, with 90.7% more doctorates and 55.9% more master's degrees than the national average. The expectations for professionalism are correspondingly high. When a biotech investor calls a Cambridge startup at 6pm, a patient calls a Brookline dermatologist at 8pm, or a client calls a Boston law firm at 7am, voicemail sends a signal that the business isn't operating at Massachusetts standards.

The problem compounds with the state's economic diversity. A fishing captain in Gloucester can't answer the phone while hauling lobster traps at 4am. A Cape Cod innkeeper can't field booking calls during a Saturday checkout rush in July. A biotech founder in Kendall Square can't leave a VC pitch to return a regulatory call from the FDA. A financial advisor in the Back Bay can't interrupt a client meeting to handle a new prospect inquiry. Massachusetts generates calls from every industry at every hour, and its 52.6 million annual visitors add another layer of volume that most businesses aren't staffed to handle.

An answering service catches those calls. The question is which one matches Massachusetts's particular blend of innovation, medicine, education, finance, and tourism.

What Makes Massachusetts's Business Environment Distinct

Massachusetts operates at the intersection of world-class institutions and small-business reality:

• Biotech and life sciences employ 143,000 people: Greater Boston hosts over 1,000 biotechnology companies with 41 million square feet of lab space, roughly double what existed in 2012. Cambridge's Kendall Square alone has 120+ companies, including Moderna, Biogen, Novartis, Pfizer, Sanofi, and Takeda. The sector grew nearly 80% from approximately 80,000 workers in 2010 to 143,142 in 2024, and it's projected to add 38,000 more jobs by 2033. Nearly $19 billion in venture capital flowed into Massachusetts life sciences over a recent 18-month period. These companies and their supply chains operate on regulatory timelines (FDA submissions, clinical trial milestones, patent deadlines) where missed calls from collaborators, investors, or agency reviewers carry consequences measured in months and millions.
• Healthcare accounts for 17.6% of all employment: Massachusetts hospitals directly employ 207,000 people at a median salary 36% above the state average. Mass General Brigham is the state's largest private employer, operating 16 hospitals with 3,300+ staffed beds. Together with Beth Israel Lahey Health, these two systems employ nearly 125,000 people. Boston Children's Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and dozens of affiliated practices create a healthcare ecosystem that draws $4.3 billion annually in federal research funding. The thousands of independent medical practices, dental offices, physical therapy clinics, and home health agencies across the state need HIPAA-compliant phone handling, after-hours patient routing, and precise documentation. A missed call from a patient with a medication reaction at 10pm is not a voicemail situation.
• Tourism spending reached $24.2 billion: Massachusetts welcomed 52.6 million visitors in 2024, generating $2.3 billion in state and local tax revenue and supporting 155,808 jobs. Boston alone draws approximately 17 million tourists annually. Cape Cod National Seashore saw 3.8 million visitors in 2024, and Barnstable County collected $2.78 billion in visitor spending. The Berkshires draw 2.2 million overnight visitors contributing $862 million in direct spending. Ocean City, the Islands (Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket), and the historic towns of the North Shore all experience dramatic seasonal call surges. A Provincetown bed-and-breakfast or a Berkshires resort goes from quiet winter months to booking inquiries arriving at every hour of the day from May through October.
• Higher education contributes $71 billion: Massachusetts has over 114 colleges and universities enrolling 474,595 students. Private institutions alone contribute $71.1 billion to the economy and support 321,000+ jobs. Harvard and MIT anchor the sector, with MIT-related companies employing 1.1 million people worldwide. The broader "Eds and Meds" sector produces $155.9 billion in economic activity supporting 858,000+ jobs. The student population, international visitors, faculty startups, and university-affiliated businesses all generate phone traffic. A tutoring center near BU, a student housing company in Allston, or a startup spun out of MIT's Lincoln Laboratory all need professional answering.
• Financial services generate roughly 8% of GDP: Fidelity Investments (77,000 employees globally), State Street Corporation ($5.4 trillion in assets under management, $51.7 trillion under custody), Liberty Mutual, MassMutual, and John Hancock anchor a financial sector employing approximately 173,000 people. These firms and the thousands of independent financial advisors, insurance agents, and wealth managers across the state handle sensitive client communications that demand professionalism. A high-net-worth client calling their advisor about a portfolio concern at 7pm expects someone to answer, not a recorded message.
• New Bedford is America's top fishing port: New Bedford has been the #1 U.S. fishing port by value for 21 consecutive years, landing $443.2 million in seafood in 2022 (84% from Atlantic sea scallops). The port generates approximately $11 billion in direct and induced economic output and supports 7,000 jobs. Gloucester remains a major lobster and groundfish port. Commercial fishing operations run on tides, weather, and market timing. A scallop buyer negotiating prices at 4am, a wholesale distributor confirming a shipment at 5:30am, or a restaurant owner placing a same-day order at 6am needs someone on the phone. The fishing industry doesn't operate on business hours.
• Defense generates $13.2 billion in economic activity: Hanscom Air Force Base generates $8.4 billion in economic activity and creates 18,000+ jobs. Natick Soldier Systems Center leads Army research. Joint Base Cape Cod covers 22,000 acres. RTX (Raytheon), with major operations in Andover, Tewksbury, and Woburn, is one of the world's largest defense contractors. The defense supply chain employs 57,000+ people statewide. These contractors need reliable, documented phone handling for government program communications.
• The Hispanic population is growing rapidly: At 13.5% statewide, with major concentrations in Lawrence, Springfield, Holyoke, Worcester, and Chelsea, roughly 8 in 10 new Massachusetts residents between 2014 and 2023 were Latino. Businesses across healthcare, legal services, construction, and hospitality increasingly need bilingual English/Spanish phone handling.

Top 5 Answering Services for Massachusetts Businesses

We evaluated these services against Massachusetts's specific demands: biotech regulatory timelines, healthcare HIPAA compliance, tourism seasonal surges, financial services confidentiality, fishing industry early hours, defense contractor documentation needs, and bilingual requirements for a 13.5% Hispanic population.

1. Zinng: Best Overall (AI-Powered)

Zinng answers every call with AI trained on your specific business. No hold times, no quality variation between a January Tuesday at noon and a July Saturday at midnight, and no staffing problems when Cape Cod tourism triples your call volume. For a state with over 700,000 small businesses competing for patients, clients, bookings, and contracts, answering every call instantly is the baseline for operating at the level Massachusetts expects.

Every call generates a complete transcript delivered by email with SMS alerts for urgent items. A biotech startup in Kendall Square gets documented details from an FDA reviewer calling at 5:30pm about a submission question. A scallop dealer in New Bedford gets exact quantities and pricing from a buyer calling at 4am. A medical practice in Worcester gets verbatim patient information from an after-hours call that needs morning follow-up. The transcripts replace operator notes and voicemails with an auditable record of every interaction.

• 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: Massachusetts businesses across biotech, healthcare, tourism, financial services, and professional services that need affordable, always-on coverage with exact call documentation.
• 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 Cambridge consulting firm handling 250 minutes monthly pays $67 with Zinng ($49 base + $18 overage). The cheapest traditional alternative for the same volume starts at $235+. In a state where the GDP per capita is $110,561 and office space in Boston or Cambridge runs $60+ per square foot, every operational dollar matters. Over a year, the savings from Zinng versus a traditional service fund a conference registration, a software license, or a research assistant for a week.

2. Smith.ai: Best AI-Human Hybrid

Smith.ai, based in Los Altos, California, combines AI with live receptionists in a hybrid model. Their AI handles initial call screening and routing with 4 to 7 second answer times, and live receptionists take over for complex conversations. For Massachusetts law firms, financial advisors, and professional services businesses that want AI speed with human backup for nuanced calls, Smith.ai bridges the gap between full AI and full traditional service.

Smith.ai is particularly popular with law firms for lead qualification and new client intake. Their per-call pricing model (rather than per-minute) works differently from most competitors: you pay for the number of calls handled, not the duration. For Massachusetts practices that tend toward longer, detailed conversations (a 15-minute legal consultation or a complex financial inquiry), per-call billing can be more predictable than per-minute pricing. CRM integrations with Clio, Salesforce, HubSpot, and others push call data directly into existing workflows.

• Pricing: AI receptionist at $95/month for approximately 60 calls ($2.40/call overage). Live receptionist at $300/month for 30 calls ($11.50/call overage). Add-ons: $1.50 to book appointments, $1 for payment collection, $0.50 for Teams notifications.
• Best for: Massachusetts law firms, financial advisors, and professional services companies that want AI-first call handling with live receptionist backup for complex interactions.
• Key features: AI + live receptionist hybrid, lead qualification, new client intake, CRM integrations (Clio, Salesforce, HubSpot), 4-7 second answer times, appointment scheduling (add-on), payment collection (add-on).
• Drawback: The per-call pricing creates unpredictable costs at higher volumes. The live receptionist plan at $300/month for 30 calls works out to $10/call. A Boston personal injury firm receiving 60 calls per month would pay $300 + $345 in overage (30 calls at $11.50) = $645/month. Add-on fees for appointment booking ($1.50/call) and payment collection ($1/call) push the total higher. The AI-only plan at $95/month for 60 calls is more affordable, but lacks the human touch for sensitive legal or medical conversations. For a Massachusetts medical practice that needs empathetic patient handling, AI-only may not be appropriate for every caller.

3. Specialty Answering Service (SAS): Most Flexible Pricing

Specialty Answering Service (SAS), headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, offers the most flexible pricing structure of any traditional answering service. Their pay-as-you-go plan starts at $44/month with $1.54/min usage, while flat-rate plans range from $159/month for 100 minutes up to $10,599/month for 10,000 minutes. For Massachusetts businesses with unpredictable call volumes (a Cape Cod restaurant that fields 300 calls per week in August and 30 per week in February), SAS's range of plans means you can find a tier that matches your actual usage pattern.

SAS includes 24/7/365 live answering, bilingual English/Spanish support, HIPAA compliance, message taking, order processing, and appointment scheduling on every plan. Their 2-week free trial requires no credit card, making it one of the lowest-risk ways to test a traditional answering service. For Massachusetts healthcare practices that need HIPAA compliance and after-hours coverage, SAS covers the basics at a lower cost than most specialized medical answering services.

• Pricing: Pay-as-you-go at $44/month base + $1.54/min. Flat-rate plans from $159/month for 100 minutes to $10,599/month for 10,000 minutes. Volume discounts at higher tiers.
• Best for: Massachusetts businesses with variable call volumes that need flexible pricing and the ability to scale up or down by month.
• Key features: 24/7/365 live answering, bilingual English/Spanish, HIPAA compliant, message taking, order processing, appointment scheduling, 2-week free trial (no credit card).
• Drawback: The pay-as-you-go rate of $1.54/min makes moderate volume expensive. A Brookline dental practice handling 200 minutes monthly pays $352 ($44 + $308 in usage). The $159 flat-rate plan for 100 minutes is a better starting point, but going over by 100 minutes still adds up. Some customer reviews mention inconsistent call quality during overnight hours and a website that feels dated compared to newer competitors. SAS handles the basics competently, but the operator notes are summaries rather than verbatim transcripts, and the service lacks the CRM integrations that tech-forward Massachusetts businesses often expect.

4. AnswerForce: Best for Phone + Chat Bundle

AnswerForce, headquartered in Portland, Oregon, bundles live phone answering with live website chat on every plan. For Massachusetts businesses that field customer inquiries through both channels (a Berkshires resort handling a phone booking while a website visitor asks about availability, or a Cambridge SaaS startup managing inbound calls alongside support chat), AnswerForce handles both with human operators under one service.

All plans include 24/7 coverage, bilingual English/Spanish support, and the first 30 calls under 30 seconds each month free. AnswerForce offers six tiers from $259 to $1,179/month, with setup fees waived on plans at the Best Value tier ($359) and above. The included live chat credits add genuine value for tourism businesses, e-commerce companies, and SaaS firms in Massachusetts where web inquiries convert directly into revenue.

• Pricing: Intro at $259/month for 200 minutes + 50 chats ($1.80/min overage, $99 setup). Best Value at $359/month for 300 minutes + 100 chats ($1.70/min overage, no setup). Standard at $649/month for 500 minutes + 150 chats ($1.70/min overage). Premium at $959/month for 800 minutes + 250 chats ($1.60/min overage).
• Best for: Massachusetts tourism businesses, SaaS companies, and service providers that receive customer inquiries through both phone and website chat.
• Key features: 24/7 live answering, live website chat included (human operators), bilingual English/Spanish, first 30 short calls per month free, appointment scheduling, CRM integrations, lead capture.
• Drawback: The Intro plan's $99 setup fee and 90-day minimum commitment create a higher entry barrier than competitors offering month-to-month, no-setup alternatives. For Cape Cod seasonal businesses that might only need answering from May through October, the 90-day minimum limits flexibility. The included chat credits go unused for businesses without significant web traffic, meaning you pay for a bundled feature that doesn't apply. At $259/month for 200 minutes, the base plan costs more than four times what Zinng charges for the same call volume. A Nantucket property management company handling 200 minutes in peak season pays $259/month with AnswerForce versus $61/month with Zinng.

5. Davinci Virtual: Best Virtual Office Package

Davinci Virtual, based in Salt Lake City, Utah, combines live receptionist services with a full virtual office package. For the thousands of startups, consultants, and freelancers in Massachusetts's innovation economy (1.3 million workers in the Innovation Economy alone, the highest concentration of any state), Davinci provides a professional business address, local or toll-free phone number, live receptionist coverage, and online faxing. A biotech consultant who left Kendall Square to work from a home office in Newton gets the professional front-end of a staffed office without the $60+/sq ft Boston lease.

Live receptionists operate Monday through Friday, 8am to 8pm Eastern, which covers standard business hours and extends into the evening for West Coast calls. The Business plans start at $129/month for 50 minutes with a $95 one-time setup fee. The virtual office add-ons differentiate Davinci from pure answering services. For an MIT spin-off that needs a professional address and receptionist while operating out of a co-working space, Davinci packages everything together.

• Pricing: Business 50 at $129/month for 50 minutes ($1.75/min overage, $95 setup). Plans scale up to $649/month for 300 minutes. Premium plans available at $2.50/min overage.
• Best for: Massachusetts startups, consultants, and remote professionals who need a virtual office package with live receptionist coverage during business hours.
• Key features: Live receptionists (Mon-Fri 8am-8pm ET), free local or toll-free number, call forwarding and screening, online faxing, virtual business address options, voicemail-to-email.
• Drawback: No 24/7 coverage. Calls outside 8am to 8pm Eastern and all weekend calls go to voicemail. For Massachusetts tourism businesses where Saturday booking calls represent peak revenue, or medical practices where after-hours patient calls need routing, Davinci's limited hours are a disqualifying gap. The $95 setup fee adds to upfront costs. At $129/month for only 50 minutes, the effective per-minute rate is $2.58. A growing financial advisory practice in the Back Bay handling 200 minutes monthly would need a plan at $400+/month with no evening or weekend coverage, while Zinng provides 24/7 service for $61/month.

Pricing Comparison

Here's what each service costs for a Massachusetts business handling approximately 200 minutes of calls per month (or equivalent call volume for per-call services).

*Zinng's $49 plan includes 100 minutes. 200 minutes = $49 + $12 overage (100 additional minutes at $0.12/min).
**Smith.ai uses per-call pricing. AI plan: $95/mo for ~60 calls. Live plan: $300/mo for 30 calls + $11.50/call overage. Cost depends on call count, not minutes.
***SAS pay-as-you-go: $44 base + 200 minutes at $1.54/min = $352. The $159 flat-rate for 100 minutes + 100 overage is also an option.
****Davinci's 50-minute plan at $129 + 150 overage minutes at $1.75/min = $391.50. Business hours only (Mon-Fri 8am-8pm ET).

Why AI Answering Fits Massachusetts's Economy

Massachusetts combines innovation-driven industries, world-class healthcare, seasonal tourism, and institutional density. AI answering addresses all of them:

• Biotech operates on regulatory time, not business time. When the FDA sends a request for information on a submission, the clock starts ticking regardless of whether it's 5pm on a Friday. A biotech company in Kendall Square with AI answering gets the call captured with exact details at any hour. The transcript documents who called, what they asked, and the timeline communicated. A traditional answering service at $1.54 to $11.50 per interaction delivers an operator's summary that may miss the specific regulatory language. For an industry where a single FDA approval is worth hundreds of millions, the quality of call documentation matters as much as the cost.
• Healthcare calls need HIPAA-grade handling at every hour. With 207,000 hospital employees and thousands of independent practices across the state, after-hours patient calls are constant. AI produces verbatim transcripts that satisfy HIPAA documentation requirements. A patient calling a Brookline dermatologist at 9pm about a reaction gets their exact words recorded, not an operator's paraphrase. For the medical practices already dealing with 4,227 unfilled hospital positions at some health systems, AI doesn't add to the staffing problem. It solves the phone problem while the practice focuses on hiring clinicians.
• Tourism seasonality is manageable at flat rates. Cape Cod's 5 million+ annual visitors, the Berkshires' 2.2 million overnight trips, and Boston's 17 million tourists create call volume swings that are expensive to handle with per-minute traditional services. AI absorbs a July booking surge at $0.12/min. A Chatham inn that fields 400 minutes in August pays $85 with Zinng ($49 + $36 overage). The same volume with SAS at $1.54/min costs $660. That's $575 in monthly savings during the four busiest months of the year, totaling $2,300 that goes back into the business.
• The fishing industry starts before dawn. New Bedford's scallop fleet and Gloucester's lobster boats operate on tidal schedules. Wholesale buyers, distributors, and restaurant purchasers call at 4am, 5am, and throughout the predawn hours. AI answers a 4am call about pricing with the same quality as a noon inquiry. Traditional services charge the same per-minute rate at 4am, but overnight operators are less alert and more likely to miss details. For a scallop dealer handling $443 million in annual value from one port, precise morning communication sets the day's business.
• Financial services demand confidentiality at scale. With Fidelity, State Street, and thousands of independent advisors in the state, phone calls often involve account details, portfolio concerns, and sensitive financial information. AI produces verbatim transcripts that can be secured and archived. No operator listens to the conversation, reduces the risk of information leakage, and creates a verifiable record. For a wealth manager handling high-net-worth clients in Wellesley or a hedge fund in the Back Bay, the confidentiality advantage is built into the technology.
• Massachusetts's cost of living makes outsourcing essential. The GDP per capita of $110,561 reflects a high-cost economy. Office space in Boston's Financial District or Cambridge runs $60 to $80 per square foot. A full-time receptionist costs $50,000 to $65,000/year before benefits. Zinng's Business plan at $199/month costs $2,388/year for 600 minutes of 24/7 coverage. The receptionist works 40 hours per week. AI works 168. For the 700,000+ small businesses operating in one of the most expensive states in the country, the arithmetic consistently favors AI for routine call handling.

Human answering services retain value for Massachusetts businesses needing empathetic patient interactions, complex legal intake, or a dedicated receptionist team. But for the majority of calls (scheduling, inquiries, routing, documentation), AI delivers faster response, exact transcripts, and a cost structure that works for a Kendall Square biotech and a Gloucester fishing operation alike.

Choosing the Right Service for Your Massachusetts Business

• Biotech, healthcare, or any growing business? Zinng's $49/month plan with per-minute billing gives you 24/7 coverage with verbatim call transcripts. HIPAA compliant. No contracts. The 14-day free trial costs nothing to evaluate against your actual call patterns.
• Law firm or professional practice that wants AI speed with human backup? Smith.ai's hybrid model combines AI screening (4-7 second answers) with live receptionists for complex calls. Per-call pricing works well for practices with fewer but longer calls. Budget $95 to $645/month depending on volume and plan type.
• Variable call volume and need maximum pricing flexibility? SAS's pay-as-you-go plan at $44/month with $1.54/min lets you pay only for what you use. The 2-week free trial (no credit card) is the lowest-risk entry into live answering. Graduate to flat-rate plans once you know your volume.
• Need phone and website chat under one service? AnswerForce bundles live chat with every phone plan. The Best Value plan at $359/month for 300 minutes + 100 chats waives the setup fee. A strong fit for tourism businesses, SaaS companies, and retailers with active websites.
• Startup or consultant needing a virtual office? Davinci Virtual's receptionist + address + phone package gives solopreneurs and early-stage companies a professional front end. The $129/month starting price covers business-hours answering with virtual office infrastructure.
• Serving Massachusetts's Hispanic communities? Zinng, SAS, and AnswerForce include bilingual support at no extra charge. Smith.ai offers it on select plans. Davinci does not offer bilingual receptionists. With 13.5% Hispanic population statewide and concentrations above 40% in Lawrence and Springfield, bilingual capability is essential for many Massachusetts businesses.

Final Verdict

Zinng is the best answering service for Massachusetts businesses. At $61/month for 200 minutes of 24/7 coverage, it costs a fraction of every traditional alternative while delivering complete call transcripts, HIPAA compliance, and unlimited simultaneous call capacity. Whether you're fielding investor calls in Kendall Square or booking whale watches in Provincetown, the service operates identically at every hour and every volume level.

Smith.ai offers the best hybrid option for Massachusetts law firms and professional practices. The AI-first approach with live receptionist backup suits firms that want speed on routine calls and a human touch on complex ones. Per-call pricing works for practices with fewer, longer conversations, though costs escalate at higher volumes.

SAS delivers the most flexible traditional pricing. The pay-as-you-go model and 2-week free trial make it the lowest-risk way to test live answering. HIPAA compliance and bilingual support are included. A solid choice for Massachusetts businesses that want live operators without committing to a high monthly base.

AnswerForce fills a specific niche for businesses that need phone and website chat handled by the same service. The bundled live chat credits add real value for tourism operators, e-commerce companies, and SaaS businesses in the Massachusetts market. Budget $259+/month for 200-minute phone coverage with chat included.

And Davinci Virtual serves Massachusetts's innovation economy professionals who need a virtual office more than they need 24/7 answering. The receptionist + address + phone package makes it the right choice for consultants, freelancers, and early-stage startups that want to project professionalism without leasing office space in one of the most expensive real estate markets in the country.

Massachusetts runs on ideas, institutions, and a workforce that expects precision. From the biotech labs of Cambridge to the fishing docks of New Bedford to the resorts of the Berkshires, the phone is where business happens. The right answering service ensures that when Massachusetts calls, someone always picks up.