comparison
Smith.ai Alternatives for Service Businesses, Compared
Smith.ai (smith.ai) pairs an AI receptionist with live North America-based receptionists, and it now publishes per-call prices for both. VantaWeb makes Anna, which is AI only, so VantaWeb sits in its own table below, separate from Smith.ai and unranked, and this page does not place it first. It shows Smith.ai's own terms, when Smith.ai is still the right pick, and other options.
Short answer
Pick Smith.ai if a person must be able to take over any call, if you are a law firm or professional practice, or if you want its free 25-call AI plan. Pick VantaWeb only if AI alone is enough, and you accept no live agents, no Spanish calls, no healthcare use, no CRM connection and no missed-call text-back.
Smith.ai and VantaWeb, fact by fact
Smith.ai's column is its AI Receptionist and human-receptionist pricing pages as read on 2026-10-18, plus its G2 listings.
| Fact | Smith.ai |
|---|---|
| What it is | AI-first or human-first call handling; AI calls can transfer to a live North America-based receptionist any time, day or night checked 2026-10-18 · smith.ai/pricing/ai-receptionist |
| Published pricing | AI Receptionist: Free $0/mo (25 calls, $3.00/call after); Pro $150/mo (75 calls, $2.00/call; also 150 calls $270, 300 calls $500); Enterprise $500/mo (300 calls; 500 calls $800; 1000+ custom). Human receptionists: Starter $300/mo (30 calls, $11.50/call over), Basic $810/mo (90 calls), Pro $2,100/mo (300 calls) checked 2026-10-18 · smith.ai/pricing/ai-receptionist smith.ai/pricing/receptionists |
| Free trial | Free AI plan (25 calls/mo, no expiry per Smith.ai blog); human plans carry a 30-day money-back guarantee checked 2026-10-18 · smith.ai/pricing/ai-receptionist smith.ai/pricing/receptionists |
| Contract | Month-to-month, 30 days' notice to cancel checked 2026-10-18 · smith.ai/pricing/ai-receptionist |
| Setup | 'Setup takes minutes'; live receptionists on Day 1 while AI is trained checked 2026-10-18 · smith.ai |
| Call transfer | Yes; transfer destinations by plan; AI can escalate to Smith.ai live agents checked 2026-10-18 · smith.ai/pricing/ai-receptionist |
| Booking | AI Scheduling (Calendly & more); human appointment booking $1.50/call checked 2026-10-18 · smith.ai/pricing/ai-receptionist smith.ai/pricing/receptionists |
| Integrations | Clio, Zapier (AI); HubSpot, Salesforce, Clio and more on human plans, first CRM free checked 2026-10-18 · smith.ai/pricing/receptionists |
| Texting | Custom SMS branding on Pro checked 2026-10-18 · smith.ai/pricing/ai-receptionist |
| Recording and summaries | Recording, transcription & summaries on every AI plan checked 2026-10-18 · smith.ai/pricing/ai-receptionist |
| Human backup | Yes, Smith.ai's own 24/7 live agents checked 2026-10-18 · smith.ai/pricing/ai-receptionist |
| Limits it states | Billed per call (spam filtered, up to 10% removable); human calls cost $8.50-$11.50 over plan checked 2026-10-18 · smith.ai/pricing/ai-receptionist smith.ai/pricing/receptionists |
| Scale and compliance it states | 'Trusted by 5,000+ businesses'; '20 million calls in the past 10 years' checked 2026-10-18 · smith.ai/pricing/ai-receptionist |
| Review sites (G2, Capterra) | G2: Smith.ai AI Receptionist 4.8/5 (32); Smith.ai Virtual Receptionists 4.9/5 (82); Smith.ai overall 4.8/5 (135) checked 2026-10-18 · g2.com/search |
| Fact | VantaWeb |
|---|---|
| Published pricing | Pay per use: $0.41/min standard voice, $0.51/min premium, $0.09 per text segment, $0.04 per chat message, $45/mo per receptionist number. No overages. |
| Free trial | No self-serve free trial; request a demo before you subscribe. |
| Contract | No contract. One-time setup per location and per site. |
| Booking | Books into a Google Calendar you connect, or VantaWeb's built-in scheduling. |
| Integrations | None. VantaWeb has no connection to CRM or field-service software; Anna emails your team the call details. |
| Human backup | None. No humans sit behind Anna. |
| Review sites (G2, Capterra) | No published customer reviews yet. |
Smith.ai's published prices
Smith.ai now prices by the call, with included calls on each plan, and it publishes the AI and human plans separately.
| Plan | Monthly price | Calls included | Beyond the plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI Receptionist, Free | $0 | 25 | $3.00 a call |
| AI Receptionist, Pro | $150 | 75 | $2.00 a call; 150 calls $270, 300 calls $500 |
| AI Receptionist, Enterprise | $500 | 300 | 500 calls $800; 1,000+ custom |
| Human receptionists, Starter | $300 | 30 | $11.50 a call |
| Human receptionists, Basic | $810 | 90 | Between $8.50 and $11.50 a call over the plan |
| Human receptionists, Pro | $2,100 | 300 | Between $8.50 and $11.50 a call over the plan |
Smith.ai says spam calls are filtered, with up to 10% removable from the bill. Human plans carry a 30-day money-back guarantee, and the free AI plan has no expiry.
When Smith.ai is still the right choice
Pick Smith.ai if
- A person must be able to take any call. AI calls can transfer to a live North America-based receptionist at any time, and its human plans are live-staffed around the clock.
- You are in legal or professional services. Its industry menu lists legal first, then home services and construction, among others.
- You want to start free. The AI plan is free for 25 calls a month with no expiry.
- You want connections. It lists Clio and Zapier on the AI plans, and HubSpot, Salesforce and Clio on the human plans.
- You want reviews to read. G2 shows 4.8/5 from 32 reviews for the AI Receptionist and 4.9/5 from 82 for the virtual receptionists.
Pick VantaWeb if
- AI alone is enough. VantaWeb has no live agents, and Anna emails your team the call details.
- You want chat and phone from one vendor. Website chat is $0.04 per message and voice is $0.41 a minute.
- You want an emergency path to your own team. For emergencies you define, Anna makes a cold transfer to your on-call number, with no qualifying questions first. For gas, carbon monoxide, fire, smoke or a person in danger she gives the 911 instruction and does not transfer.
What VantaWeb does not do
- No humans sit behind Anna.
- Anna does not take Spanish calls.
- VantaWeb is not for healthcare use or PHI.
- VantaWeb has no CRM or field-service write-back.
- VantaWeb has no missed-call text-back.
Smith.ai's AI plans against VantaWeb
The table uses the call counts Smith.ai prices directly. VantaWeb bills each call by the minute, rounded up, so each call is assumed to be billed as 3 minutes. That figure is ours, not a measurement.
| Calls a month | Smith.ai AI Receptionist | VantaWeb (standard voice) |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | $0 | $75.75 |
| 75 | $150 | $137.25 |
| 150 | $270 | $229.50 |
| 300 | $500 | $414 |
Smith.ai's AI plans cost $150 at 75 calls and $500 at 300 calls; VantaWeb costs $137.25 and $414 for the same calls. Human receptionists are a different product at a different price: from $300 a month for 30 calls.
Other Smith.ai alternatives, from their own pages
Three more vendors publish prices on their own pages, read on 2026-10-18. Rows are alphabetical and rank no one. Abby Connect puts humans on calls; Dialzara and Upfirst are AI only. Ruby, the other human-receptionist vendor, has its own page.
| Vendor | Published pricing | Free trial | Human backup |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abby Connect | Starter $165/mo (50 Abby Minutes); Essential $329 (100); Professional $599 (200); Growth $1,380 (500); 1 AI minute = half an Abby Minute; overage billed at the plan's Abby Minute rate checked 2026-10-18 · abby.com/pricing | Free trial on every plan checked 2026-10-18 · abby.com/pricing | Yes, US-based receptionists checked 2026-10-18 · abby.com/pricing |
| Dialzara | Business Lite $29/mo (60 min, $0.48/min); Pro $99 (220, $0.45); Plus $199 (500, $0.40); Elite $349 (1,000, $0.35); SMS agent $19 + $0.05/msg; chatbot $39 standalone; outbound from $750 checked 2026-10-18 · dialzara.com/pricing | 7-day free trial checked 2026-10-18 · dialzara.com/pricing | not stated on pages read |
| Upfirst | Starter $24.95/mo (30 calls, $1.50 extra); Premium $59.95 (90, $1); Pro $159.95 (300, $0.75); Scale $299 (600, $0.70); 20% off annual checked 2026-10-18 · upfirst.ai/pricing | 14-day free trial, full features, real calls, no credit card checked 2026-10-18 · upfirst.ai/pricing | not stated on pages read |
Our pages on Ruby, Dialzara and Upfirst work through three of them.
Questions about Smith.ai alternatives
What does Smith.ai cost?
Smith.ai's pricing pages, read on 2026-10-18, list AI plans at $0 for 25 calls, $150 for 75 and $500 for 300, and human receptionist plans at $300 for 30 calls, $810 for 90 and $2,100 for 300. Calls beyond a plan are billed per call, from $2.00 on AI to $11.50 on human plans.
Is VantaWeb cheaper than Smith.ai?
Against its AI plans, yes at the volumes in the table. At 75 calls a month, each billed as 3 minutes, Smith.ai's AI plan is $150 against $137.25 on VantaWeb; at 300 calls it is $500 against $414. Smith.ai's free tier covers 25 calls at no charge.
Does VantaWeb have live receptionists like Smith.ai?
No. VantaWeb is AI only, with no humans behind Anna. If you need a human available on every call, Smith.ai or Ruby is the fit.
Does Smith.ai offer a free plan?
Yes. Its AI Receptionist has a free plan of 25 calls a month with no expiry. VantaWeb has no self-serve free plan: you request a demo first, then pay by use with no contract.
How this page was checked
We read Smith.ai's AI Receptionist and human-receptionist pricing pages and its G2 listings on 2026-10-18 and recorded each value with that date. We did not sign up, call Smith.ai or test its product. The cost table is arithmetic on published prices with the stated assumption. Statements about VantaWeb describe what Anna does today. If Smith.ai's pages have changed, they are right and this one is out of date.
Related reading
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