aiReceptionist vs Smith.ai
Smith.ai sells AI, human and hybrid receptionist plans billed per call, with its own North America-based agents as the backup; aiReceptionist sells an AI receptionist billed per minute, with transfers to your own people included and the pricing on one page.
Both answer with AI first. The differences that matter are how you are billed, which add-ons cost extra, and whose humans take the calls the AI hands off. This page puts those side by side, quoting Smith.ai’s published prices as displayed on the date shown at the foot of the page.
Example call
Incoming call
New caller
(757) 555-0134
Outerbanks HVAC line
Sent to voicemail. That is the call you lose.
- Thank you for calling Outerbanks HVAC. This is Eryn, an AI receptionist.
- I can help with scheduling service, questions about your heating or cooling system, or an existing appointment.
- How can I help you today?
- Hi. My AC stopped cooling this morning. Can someone come out today?
- I can help with that. Are you a new or an existing customer?
- New. I found you online.
- Welcome. May I have your name and the best number to reach you?
- Dana Reyes. 757-555-0134.
- Thanks, Dana. What is the address for the visit?
- 412 Bay Street, Chesapeake.
- Got it. Is this urgent, or is later this week fine?
- Urgent. It is 88 degrees in the house. Any time after 2 today works.
- Understood. The diagnostic visit is $89. I will send your details to the service team now, and they will confirm the window with you.
- Can I talk to a person before I hang up?
- Of course. Transferring you to the team now.
- Transferred to a person. The human desk is the backup on every call.
- Message sent to your inbox
- Transcript and recording saved
Answered by aiReceptionist. It says it is an AI at the start of every call.
At a glance
| Row | aiReceptionist | Smith.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Who answers | An AI receptionist trained on your business; calls it should not handle transfer to your team | AI receptionist, human receptionists, or a hybrid, “you choose the mix” |
| Hours | Every hour of every day | 24/7 on both the AI and the human receptionist plans |
| How you are billed | Monthly plan with included minutes; overage per minute | Monthly plan with included calls; overage per call, plus per-call add-ons on receptionist plans |
| Entry price | $99/Month for 200 minutes (DIY: Self-Service) | AI Receptionist: Free plan with 25 calls a month; Pro $150/month. Human receptionists: Starter $300 / month for 30 calls |
| Human backup | Transfers to your own people are included; a partner human desk is on the roadmap | Their own “500+ North America-based receptionists”, offered on AI plans as a per-call add-on |
Capabilities, side by side
The aiReceptionist column reads from the same feature list as our pricing page, so it cannot say anything that page does not.
| Row | aiReceptionist | Smith.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Answers the phone | Included on every plan | Included, AI, human or hybrid plans |
| Books appointments during the call | Included on every plan | Included on AI plans (“AI Scheduling”); “Book appointments, $1.50” per call on receptionist plans |
| Transfers calls to your team | Included on every plan | Warm transfers on AI plans; receptionist plans include 1 to 10 transfer destinations, “Additional transfer destinations, $15.00” a month |
| Text messages | Included on every plan | “SMS/Slack notifications, $0.50” per call on receptionist plans; custom SMS branding on the AI Pro plan |
| Recording and transcription | Included on every plan | Included on AI plans; “Call recording & transcription, $0.25” per call on receptionist plans |
| Summary after every call | Included on every plan | “Instant call summary routing” on AI plans; instant call summaries on receptionist plans |
| Sentiment on each call | Included on every plan | Not stated on their site |
| Zapier and app integrations | Included on every plan | Zapier and Make, plus native Salesforce, HubSpot, Clio Grow, Clio Manage and Calendly |
| Custom integration built for you | Included on SMB and Enterprise | “Unlimited integrations” and “custom AI prompting” on the AI Enterprise plan |
| A human receptionist on the call | Transfer to your own people is included; a partner human desk is on the roadmap | Included, their own agents; on AI plans a per-call add-on, and “If the escalation is AI-initiated, there is no fee” |
| Looks up live data during the call | On the roadmap | Native CRM integrations are named; live lookup during the call is not stated on their site |
| You can listen in, steer or join | On the roadmap | Not stated on their site |
Pricing, like for like
aiReceptionist is priced per minute with a monthly allowance; Smith.ai is priced per call with a monthly allowance, and its human receptionist plans add per-call fees for tasks such as booking or recording. The two bases are shown as published and are not converted into each other.
| Row | aiReceptionist | Smith.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Billing unit | Minutes | Calls |
| Plans | $99/Month (200 minutes), $350/Month (500 minutes) or $1,000/Month (1,500 minutes) | AI Receptionist: Free ($0, 25 calls), Pro ($150/month), Enterprise ($500/month). Virtual receptionists: Starter $300 / month (30 calls), Basic $810 / month (90 calls), Pro $2,100 / month (300 calls) |
| Rate on the AI plans | Included in the plan minutes | Free: “$3.00/call after that”; Pro: “$2.00/call”; Enterprise: “$1.67/call” |
| Overage | $0.60 per additional minute; $0.50 on Enterprise | Receptionist plans: “$11.50/call over 30”, “$10.50/call over 90”, “$8.50/call over 300” |
| Per-task add-ons | None, AI, telephony and integrations are included in the plan | Receptionist plans: appointments $1.50, complex call routing $1.50, accept payments $1.00, recording $0.25, SMS/Slack notifications $0.50, dedicated Spanish line $1.00, each per call |
| Contract | No long-term contract | Month-to-month; 30 days’ notice to cancel on AI plans; 30-day money-back guarantee on receptionist plans |
When Smith.ai is the better choice
Smith.ai is the better choice when you want a North America-based human receptionist on every call, or on the calls that matter most, from the same vendor that runs the AI. Their receptionist plans put a person on the line 24/7, and the hybrid plan escalates from AI to one of their own agents mid-call, we hand off to your people, and a partner desk behind our AI is still on the roadmap.
It is also the stronger fit for a law firm: the receptionist service is built around legal intake, with native Clio Grow and Clio Manage integrations, conflict checks and payment collection as published add-ons, and a bilingual English and Spanish line. If Spanish-speaking callers are a large share of your day, that alone may settle it.
Finally, if your calls are long, consultations rather than bookings, per-call billing can suit you where per-minute billing does not. Compare your own average call length against both rate cards before deciding.
What switching actually involves
- Check your Smith.ai plan terms: the AI Receptionist plans state 30 days’ notice to cancel, so time the switch so you are not paying twice for a month.
- Download your call history, transcripts and summaries from the Smith.ai dashboard while you still have access; we do not import them for you.
- Rebuild your intake in aiReceptionist: the questions you ask, what to capture, your hours, and the answers to your most common questions.
- Set your escalation rules, which calls transfer to which colleague, since transfers to your own people are included on every plan.
- Change the forwarding on your existing number to your aiReceptionist number, or forward only after hours to run both during the trial.
- If you rely on Smith.ai’s human receptionists for some calls, you can keep a receptionist plan as your human backup and route only those calls to it.
Questions people ask
- Is Smith.ai an AI receptionist or a human answering service?
- Both. Smith.ai publishes AI Receptionist plans, human virtual receptionist plans staffed by North America-based agents, and a hybrid where the AI answers first and escalates to a live agent. aiReceptionist is AI-first with transfers to your own team.
- How does Smith.ai pricing compare with aiReceptionist?
- Smith.ai bills per call: its AI Receptionist plans are Free (25 calls a month), Pro at $150/month and Enterprise at $500/month, and its human receptionist plans run from $300 / month for 30 calls. aiReceptionist bills per minute: $99/Month for 200 minutes, $350/Month for 500 and $1,000/Month for 1,500, with overage at $0.60 a minute ($0.50 on Enterprise).
- Does Smith.ai charge extra for appointment booking?
- On its human receptionist plans, yes: appointment booking is listed at $1.50 per call, alongside other per-call add-ons such as call recording at $0.25 and complex routing at $1.50. On its AI plans, AI Scheduling is listed as included. aiReceptionist includes booking, recording and transcription on every plan.
- What happens when the AI cannot handle a call?
- With aiReceptionist it follows the escalation you set, transfer to you or a colleague, or take a message. With Smith.ai the AI can escalate to one of its own live agents; its site states there is no fee when the AI initiates that escalation.
- Can I keep my phone number if I move from Smith.ai?
- Yes. You keep your number and change where it forwards. Nothing needs to port.
- Does either service handle Spanish-speaking callers?
- Smith.ai publishes English and Spanish call handling on its AI plans and a dedicated Spanish line as a per-call add-on on its receptionist plans. We do not publish a language list on our pricing page; ask us before you rely on it.
Try aiReceptionist on your own calls
The free trial includes everything in the plan you choose. Run it alongside what you have today.