Smith.ai review
An AI receptionist with humans in the loop: complex calls can go to a live North America-based receptionist, day or night.
Verdict
Smith.ai costs more per call than any other AI receptionist here, and it says so itself: the premium pays for humans in the loop, lead qualification and a free plan you can keep. Pick it if a fumbled intake call costs you a client (law firms, high-ticket services); skip it if you mostly need messages and bookings on a budget.
The catch
Per-call pricing is high: $150 buys 75 calls on Pro, and extra calls cost $2.50 each.
What it does well
- Live human backup on complex calls, any time
- Free plan with 25 calls a month, forever
- Native Clio and Zapier integrations, Calendly scheduling
- Human receptionists as backup, day or night (brand statement)
- Quality Studio to test the agent before it goes live (brand statement)
- Billed per call, not per minute (brand statement)
Who it is for, and who should skip it
Good pick if:
- Law firms and professional services where intake quality is everything
- Businesses that want to try for free with 25 real calls a month
- Teams on Clio or Calendly
Skip it if:
- High-volume, low-value calls
- Anyone who needs more than English and Spanish
Plans and per-call prices
Smith.ai bills its AI Receptionist by the call. The Free plan includes 25 calls a month, then $3 a call. Pro starts at $150 for 75 calls ($2 a call, $2.50 per extra call), or $270 for 150 calls ($1.80 a call). Enterprise starts at $500 for 300 calls with full-service setup and custom prompting. Smith.ai lets you remove up to 10% of calls from the bill as spam each cycle, and blocks known spam numbers.
For our reference month (about 80 calls), Pro at 75 calls plus 5 extra comes to $162.50, the second-highest bill among the AI-first services we compared.
Why it costs more
Smith.ai's own FAQ is blunt: "Our AI answering service costs a little bit more because it does a lot more." Every call is handled by the AI first, and if something complex comes up it can go to a live North America-based receptionist, any time. It also qualifies leads, books with Calendly and more, routes warm transfers with context, and handles English and Spanish.
Contract and support
The service is month-to-month with 30 days' notice to cancel. Pro adds dedicated onboarding, live phone, email and chat support and a dedicated account manager. A Quality Studio lets you test the agent with simulated calls before it goes live.
Smith.ai plans and prices
Prices checked on November 11, 2026 on Smith.ai's pricing page. US dollars, billed monthly.
| Plan | Price | Included | Extra | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 25 calls | $3.00/call | 25 calls a month, $3 per call after that |
| Pro | $150/mo | 75 calls | $2.50/call | 75 calls ($2 a call), $2.50 per extra call |
| Pro 150 | $270/mo | 150 calls | $2.30/call | 150 calls ($1.80 a call), $2.30 per extra call |
| Enterprise | $500/mo | 300 calls | $2.17/call | 300 calls ($1.67 a call), full-service setup |
A 6-month plan with rollover calls is offered through sales.
Overage: $2.50 per extra call on Pro (75 calls); up to 10% of calls can be removed from the bill as spam.
Specs
- Entry price
- $150/mo
- 200-minute month
- $162.50
- Included on entry plan
- 75 calls
- Extra minute
- $1.00
- Calendar booking
- On the entry plan
- Call transfer
- Warm transfer
- Languages
- 2
- Free trial
- Free plan
- Setup
- Self-serve
- Integrations
- Native integrations
- Human backup
- Yes
- HIPAA (brand statement)
- Not stated
- Contract
- Month-to-month, 30 days' notice to cancel
- Booking details
- AI scheduling with Calendly and more, from the Free plan
- Transfer details
- Warm transfers with context; complex calls can go to a live North America-based receptionist
- Languages stated
- English and Spanish
- Integration details
- Native integrations (Clio, Zapier and more); custom integrations on Enterprise
- Setup details
- Free plan is self-serve with a test studio; Pro adds dedicated onboarding
Sources: smith.ai/pricing/ai-receptionist, smith.ai/ai-receptionist.
How Smith.ai scores: 8.7/10
Very good in our formula, No. 8 of 12. Each criterion is scored out of 10 from the brand's own pages; a criterion the brand doesn't state scores 2/10.
| Criterion | Weight | Score /10 |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of a 200-minute month | 25% | 4.4 |
| Entry price | 10% | 3.8 |
| Price of an extra minute | 10% | 2.0 |
| Appointment booking | 12% | 10.0 |
| Call transfer | 10% | 10.0 |
| Languages | 8% | 5.0 |
| Free trial or free plan | 8% | 10.0 |
| Setup effort | 10% | 10.0 |
| Integrations | 7% | 10.0 |
Also ranked in: Best AI receptionist for small business (No. 8 of 11), Best AI answering service (No. 6 of 12), Best AI receptionist for plumbers, HVAC and home services (No. 4 of 9), Best AI receptionist for law firms (No. 3 of 7).
Compare with rivals
The closest alternatives on price for a 200-minute month:
CloudTalk
Sales and support teams that want 70+ languages and real CRM integrations
$99/mo for 200 minutes
Checked Nov 11, 2026
My AI Front Desk
Owners who want calls, texts, web chat and a simple CRM in one $99 plan
$99/mo for 200 minutes
Checked Nov 11, 2026
Head-to-heads: Smith.ai vs Ruby, Rosie vs Smith.ai, CloudTalk vs Smith.ai. Or build your own in the comparison tool.
