Last reviewed: August 27, 2026
The quick answer
For a Canadian contractor, start with four questions: Is the price really in Canadian dollars? Can it handle the languages your callers use? What does setup include? Can the owner see and act on the call while the team is moving?
Clara appears first because its Canadian offer combines unlimited answered calls, English and French caller support, and verified native iOS and Android apps at CA$49.99 per month. Clara publishes this comparison and has a commercial interest in your decision. Treat the order as an editorial shortlist, not an independent award.
| Service | Public Canadian offer checked August 27, 2026 | Operating model | May fit when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clara | From CA$49.99/month, seven-day trial, unlimited answered calls | Self-serve app with configurable intake | An owner-operator or small team wants predictable billing and mobile call visibility |
| Business Pilot | From CA$349/month with 200 minutes | Managed call-flow setup and monthly minute plan | A trade or service company wants Canadian support and calendar or routing workflows |
| Recevo | CA$500/month with 500 minutes, plus CA$500 setup | Managed bilingual English-French receptionist | A service business, including one serving Québec, needs an explicitly bilingual flow and human transfer rules |
| Wardax | CA$500 to start, then CA$997/month | Founder-managed missed-call recovery with setup and testing | A higher-value trade business wants a hands-on call-flow build and ongoing changes |
| Handbuilt AI | From CA$1,500 one time, optional CA$99/month Care Plan | Custom build and handoff | A contractor prefers a scoped implementation over a standard monthly software plan |
These are not equivalent bundles. Clara is a self-serve subscription. Business Pilot and Recevo include managed configuration. Wardax prices an actively maintained service. Handbuilt AI sells a custom implementation with optional ongoing care. Compare the operating model before comparing the number.
Methodology
We included Canadian-facing services whose official pages documented a distinct contractor or service-business workflow and a public CAD price.
Evaluation criteria
We reviewed:
- CAD billing, setup fees, allowances, and overages
- English and French support where the vendor explicitly published it
- Existing-number and local phone setup
- How summaries, appointments, and urgent calls reach the team
- Self-serve software versus managed setup versus custom build
- Fit for owner-operators, seasonal trades, and larger teams
No competitor paid for inclusion. Vendor claims describe their own products only. They do not prove call quality, language accuracy, reliability, or business results.
How we ranked
Clara ranks first for the owner-on-the-go question because it has the lowest published standard monthly price in this shortlist, unlimited answered calls, English and French caller support, and native mobile apps. Business Pilot follows as a Canadian managed option specifically aimed at trades and service companies. Recevo is the clearest bilingual managed choice on the reviewed pages. Wardax offers a more involved and higher-priced setup-led service. Handbuilt AI is last in a subscription shortlist because it is a different buying model, but that one-time custom build may be exactly what some contractors want.
This is Clara’s editorial judgment. We did not run identical calls through every provider, so we do not assign numerical performance scores.
Clara - unlimited calls and mobile access
Clara’s Canadian pricing page lists the standard Clara plan at CA$49.99 per month, with a seven-day trial and unlimited answered calls. Contractors can forward an existing number or use a Clara number, configure intake questions, and receive written call summaries.
Clara publishes native iOS and Android apps for seeing callers and reviewing job details away from a desk. Clara supports caller conversations in English, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Chinese, and French. The Clara app interface is available in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Chinese.
May fit: an owner-operator or small field team that wants a lower-cost self-serve option, English and French caller support, and a mobile-first workflow.
Watch for: Clara does not diagnose jobs, decide safety, set an unapproved price, or dispatch emergency work without the team’s rules. Test both languages and the actual handoff process your business needs.
See Clara’s Canadian pricing or how Clara answers calls for Canadian trades.
Business Pilot - managed setup for Canadian service businesses
Business Pilot’s Pilot plan is CA$349 per month with 200 receptionist minutes. Pro is CA$549 with 350 minutes, and Premium is CA$799 with 500 minutes. Its official pricing page says it serves Canadian and US businesses and is designed for trades and service companies.
The public offer includes call answering, appointment booking, job-detail capture, urgent or VIP routing, summaries and transcripts, custom call flows, and support during setup.
May fit: a Canadian trade or service business that wants a managed call flow and is comfortable paying by included minutes.
Watch for: confirm setup fees, taxes, overage packs, exact calendar or CRM integration, number provisioning, and which languages are available for your selected voice.
Check Business Pilot’s current pricing.
Recevo - managed English-French call handling
Recevo’s official page says it serves businesses across Canada, including Québec, with English and French calls. The Starter service is CA$500 per month with 500 AI call minutes and CA$0.75 per additional minute. Getting started costs CA$1,000, which the page describes as a CA$500 setup fee plus the first month.
Recevo describes configured lead capture, appointment booking, notifications, and human handoff paths. It also notes that regulated, emergency, and other specialized uses may require review or may not be accepted.
May fit: a contractor or service business that needs an explicitly bilingual managed receptionist and wants setup and transfer rules handled with the provider.
Watch for: test English and French with your real terminology. Confirm Québec availability for your business type, integration scope, taxes, overages, and responsibility for urgent or regulated calls.
Review Recevo’s current offer.
Wardax - setup-led missed-call recovery for trades
Wardax lists CA$500 to start, covering setup and the first 30 days, then CA$997 per month. Its page positions the service for owner-operated trade businesses and includes call-flow design, a personal setup call, testing, SMS lead summaries, emergency and transfer rules, and ongoing changes.
Wardax says it tests scenarios such as emergency calls, price shoppers, spam, appointments, and summary delivery before launch. Higher tiers and multi-location work are quote-led.
May fit: an HVAC, plumbing, or other higher-value trade business that wants a person to design and maintain the call workflow rather than configuring software alone.
Watch for: the monthly commitment is much higher than a self-serve app. Confirm call-volume expectations, location coverage, phone lines, integrations, taxes, cancellation timing, and exactly which changes are included.
Check Wardax’s current pricing.
Handbuilt AI - a one-time custom implementation
Handbuilt AI lists a contractor AI receptionist from CA$1,500 one time, with an optional CA$99 per month Care Plan for ongoing adjustments. Its process includes a discovery call, fixed-scope proposal, build and testing, then handoff. The official page describes job-detail capture, calendar booking, confirmation texts, and summaries to the contractor.
May fit: a contractor that wants a custom implementation and documented handoff instead of subscribing to a standard packaged receptionist.
Watch for: ask what third-party telephony, hosting, voice, messaging, and maintenance costs remain after handoff. Confirm ownership, credentials, monitoring, failure response, data location, taxes, and what happens when an integration changes.
Review Handbuilt AI’s contractor offer.
Choose by province, language, and season
A useful Canadian comparison needs more than a monthly price:
- Language: decide whether callers need English, French, both, or another supported language. Test trade terms, place names, and mixed-language calls.
- Province and number: confirm local number availability, forwarding, portability, recording disclosures, and any rules that apply to your business. Get legal advice where needed.
- Seasonality: size the allowance for the busiest heating, cooling, storm, landscaping, or renovation month, not the annual average.
- Handoff: document who owns urgent requests, unclear details, price questions, and callers who ask for a person.
- Mobile work: choose how the field team will receive, review, and assign each call outcome.
The best fit can differ between a solo electrician in the truck, a bilingual Québec service desk, and a multi-location HVAC company.
A practical bilingual and seasonal test
Before forwarding the main number, test the situations your team actually sees:
- The same ordinary inquiry in English and French
- A second version of the same call in the other language
- A rural address or local place name
- A caller outside the service area
- A busy-season request when the calendar is full
- An urgent issue that must follow a written escalation rule
- A caller asking for a price or diagnosis the system should not invent
- A repeat customer, supplier, spam call, and wrong number
- A call that needs a person
- A weak mobile connection
Review the transcript, summary, notification, booking, and escalation. Language availability on a pricing page is not proof of accuracy for your callers.
Testing status
Clara capabilities were checked against Clara’s current public pages. Competitor facts are vendor-reported. We did not independently test competitor calls, English or French performance, latency, uptime, Canadian phone provisioning, integrations, support, or outcomes.
Limitations
Vendor pages and prices can change. Confirm that every amount is in Canadian dollars, whether taxes and setup are extra, and what happens beyond the included allowance. Get critical scope and handoff responsibilities in writing.
Sources
- Clara Canadian pricing and Canadian product page - accessed August 27, 2026
- Business Pilot pricing - accessed August 27, 2026
- Recevo product and pricing - accessed August 27, 2026
- Wardax pricing - accessed August 27, 2026
- Handbuilt AI contractor receptionist - accessed August 27, 2026
Updates and corrections
We review this page every 30 days and when a provider reports a material change. Email [email protected] with the page URL and a primary source. We recheck the table, source ledger, structured list, and review date.
