Smith.ai's live Virtual Receptionist plans start at $300/month for 30 calls (Starter), with Basic at $810/month for 90 calls and Pro at $2,100/month for 300 calls; its AI Receptionist starts at $1.60/call and its web chat plans start at $140/month for 20 chats. A done-for-you AI agent service like Agents by AIQ is a different model — a custom-built agent operated for you, scoped on a call rather than sold in per-call tiers. If you want predictable per-call pricing with human agents, Smith.ai's tiers are straightforward; if you want a broader agent build (calls, follow-up, workflow automation) operated for you, book a scoping call with Agents by AIQ.
Bottom line: Smith.ai publishes clear, per-call tiered pricing across virtual receptionist, AI receptionist, and web chat products, which suits businesses that want a known monthly bill for call answering. Agents by AIQ serves a different need — a done-for-you agent build beyond just answering — so the right choice depends on whether you need call coverage or full workflow automation.
TL;DR
- Smith.ai's Virtual Receptionist plans are $300/month (Starter, 30 calls), $810/month (Basic, 90 calls), and $2,100/month (Pro, 300 calls).
- Overage calls cost $11.50/call on Starter, $10.50/call on Basic, and $8.50/call on Pro.
- The AI Receptionist starts at $1.60/call (AI-first), with hybrid coverage from $2.50/call and human-first Virtual Receptionist from $7/call.
- Smith.ai's live web chat starts at $140/month for 20 chats, or $10 per chat à la carte.
- All plans include no setup fees, no contracts, no charge for spam, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- A free tier of 25 AI-receptionist calls/month is offered, and a 10% annual discount applies when the virtual receptionist plan is paid up front.
- Agents by AIQ takes a different approach: a done-for-you AI agent build (receptionist, follow-up, automation) operated month-to-month, scoped on a call.
Head-to-head
| Dimension | Smith.ai | Agents by AIQ |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Virtual Receptionist from $300/mo (30 calls); AI Receptionist from $1.60/call; hybrid from $2.50/call; human-first from $7/call; chat from $140/mowinner | Month-to-month engagement scoped per business on a call |
| Ease of use | Sign up online, dedicated number or free porting, dashboard with call summaries and invoices | Book a scoping call; the team designs, builds, and operates the agent for youwinner |
| Features | 24/7 answering, intake, booking, payments, bilingual agents, chat, outbound campaigns, transcription | AI receptionist, voice agents, SDR/follow-up, support, email, marketing agents, appointment setters, workflow automationwinner |
| Support | North America-based live agents; dedicated onboarding specialists and account managers on AI Receptionist plans | Operated by the AIQ Labs team behind the AI Business Sites platform |
| Integrations | First CRM/Zapier integration free ($0.50/call per additional); 7,000+ integrations claimed; Calendly, Acuity, LawPay, Square supportedwinner | Agents connected to the tools the business already uses |
| Setup | No setup fees, no contracts, 30-day money-back guarantee, free 25-call AI tier | Month-to-month, client owns everything built |
| Scope of service | Call answering, intake, chat, and outbound campaigns | End-to-end agent build: calls, follow-up, support, email, marketing, automationwinner |
Scores
Smith.ai
smith.ai ↗Smith.ai provides 24/7 call answering and intake for small businesses, with a strong focus on law firms — 5,000+ businesses and law firms use the service, and the company reports 25M+ calls handled over 11+ years. Coverage comes in three staffing models: a 100% AI Receptionist (from $1.60/call), a hybrid of AI plus live agents (from $2.50/call), and a human-first Virtual Receptionist staffed by 500+ North America-based agents (from $7/call). Every plan includes lead screening, qualification, and intake; appointment booking; payment collection; CRM sync; call recording and transcription; and free spam blocking (over 20 million robocalls blocked). Bilingual Spanish answering, outbound campaigns, website chat, and after-hours coverage round out the offering. Ratings across review platforms shown on its site run 4.3–4.9 stars.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Receptionist — Starter | $300/mo | 30 calls/month, 1 free transfer destination, $11.50/call overage |
| Virtual Receptionist — Basic | $810/mo | 90 calls/month, 2 free transfer destinations, $10.50/call overage |
| Virtual Receptionist — Pro | $2100/mo | 300 calls/month, 10 free transfer destinations, $8.50/call overage |
| AI Receptionist — AI-first | $1.6/call | Per-call pricing, 24/7 answering with human escalation available |
| Hybrid (AI + live agents) | $2.5/call | AI handles routine calls, live agents handle complex ones |
| Human-first Virtual Receptionist | $7/call | Dedicated North American live agent team |
| Web Chat — Starter | $140/mo | 20 live chats/month, $7/chat overage, 2 custom programming hours |
| Web Chat — Basic | $300/mo | 50 live chats/month, $6/chat overage, 5 custom programming hours |
| Web Chat — Pro | $600/mo | 120 live chats/month, $5/chat overage, 10 custom programming hours |
Pros
- Fully published, predictable per-call pricing with no setup fees, no contracts, and no cancellation fees
- 30-day money-back guarantee on all plans, plus a free tier of 25 AI receptionist calls/month
- 24/7 coverage with three staffing models (AI, hybrid, human-first) to match budget and quality needs
- Deep legal-industry specialization: conflict checks, collect-call acceptance, LawPay support, practice-area intake
- Strong integration footprint — 7,000+ integrations claimed, first CRM integration free
- Spam, sales, and wrong-number calls are filtered at no charge
Cons
- Entry live-receptionist tier is $300/month for only 30 calls — $10/call effective rate at the low end
- Overage fees are steep on the Starter plan ($11.50/call), and seasonal call spikes can inflate the bill
- Additional CRMs cost $0.50/call, extra transfer pings cost $0.25 each, and extra tracking numbers are $5/number/month — add-ons add up
- Chat plans are billed separately from phone plans, so multi-channel coverage means multiple bills
Agents by AIQ
agentsbyaiq.com ↗Agents by AIQ is the agent-focused arm of AIQ Labs. It designs, builds, connects, and runs done-for-you AI agents for small and mid-size businesses: AI receptionists and phone answering, voice agents, sales follow-up and SDR agents, customer support agents, email agents, marketing agents, appointment setters, and workflow automation — integrated with the tools the business already uses. The positioning is deliberately not another AI wrapper or DIY toolkit: each agent is built and operated for you by the AIQ Labs team, the team behind the AI Business Sites platform. Engagements are month-to-month and the client owns everything that is built. Target buyers are owner-operators and small teams in trades, legal, healthcare, insurance, real estate, ecommerce, and professional services who are losing missed calls, slow lead follow-up, and manual busywork.
Pros
- Covers far more than call answering — follow-up, support, email, marketing, and workflow automation in one engagement
- Done-for-you: agents are designed, built, connected, and operated by the AIQ Labs team, not assembled by the owner
- Month-to-month terms with full client ownership of everything built
- Agents are integrated with the business's existing tools
- Backed by the team behind the AI Business Sites platform
Cons
- No published per-call or per-tier pricing — scope and cost are set on a scoping call
- Requires an initial scoping conversation rather than instant self-serve signup
- Less suited to businesses that only want a commodity per-call answering service with published rates
Smith.ai pricing explained, line by line
What you get at each tier
Per-call tiers vs. a done-for-you agent build
Which should you pick?
FAQs
How much does Smith.ai cost per month in 2026?
The Virtual Receptionist plans are $300/month for 30 calls (Starter), $810/month for 90 calls (Basic), and $2,100/month for 300 calls (Pro), with overages of $11.50, $10.50, and $8.50 per call respectively. The AI Receptionist starts at $1.60/call, hybrid AI-plus-human coverage starts at $2.50/call, and human-first coverage starts at $7/call. Web chat is priced separately from $140/month for 20 chats or $10 per chat à la carte. Enterprise plans are custom.
Does Smith.ai charge setup fees or require a contract?
No. Smith.ai states there are no setup fees, no annual contracts, no cancellation fees, and no hidden fees. All plans include a 30-day money-back guarantee (up to $1,000 on the AI Receptionist plan), and there is a free tier of 25 AI receptionist calls per month. A 10% discount applies to virtual receptionist plans paid annually up front.
What is the cheapest way to use Smith.ai?
The AI Receptionist at $1.60/call is the lowest published rate, and the free tier of 25 AI receptionist calls per month costs nothing. For live human answering, Starter at $300/month for 30 calls is the entry point. Note that the effective per-call rate at Starter is $10.00, and overage calls cost $11.50 each, so businesses with steady volume get better rates on Basic ($9.00/call) or Pro ($7.00/call).
Are there hidden costs in Smith.ai's pricing?
The core plans are flat per-call rates with spam, sales, and wrong-number calls filtered free of charge. Add-ons that can increase the bill include $0.50/call for each additional CRM integration beyond the first free one, $0.25 for each extra transfer 'ping', $5/month per additional tracking number, $1.00/chat for chat appointment booking, and $200/hour for extra chat customization. Overage calls on the phone plans run $8.50–$11.50 each.
How does Agents by AIQ differ from Smith.ai?
Smith.ai is a per-call answering and intake service with published tiers, focused on calls and website chat. Agents by AIQ designs, builds, connects, and runs done-for-you AI agents that can include an AI receptionist on a real phone number plus sales follow-up, SDR, support, email, and marketing agents, appointment setters, and workflow automation — integrated with the tools the business already uses. Engagements are month-to-month, the client owns everything built, and scope is set on an initial call.
Is Smith.ai good for small businesses outside the legal industry?
Yes. While Smith.ai highlights deep legal-industry capability (5,000+ law firms), its published plans and features serve general small businesses too: 24/7 answering, lead qualification, appointment booking, payment collection via Square and PayPal, bilingual Spanish agents, and CRM integrations. Case studies on its site span electricians, home design retailers, medical practices, and ecommerce businesses, with review ratings of 4.3–4.9 stars shown across platforms.
Sources
- Smith.ai Plans & Pricing for 24/7 Sales & Support
- Smith.ai Plans & Pricing for Virtual Receptionists
- Smith.ai Plans & Pricing for 24/7 Live-Staffed Web Chat
- Smith.ai 24/7 AI Receptionists & Live Human Agents
- Smith.ai Plans & Pricing for AI Receptionist
- All Features & What We Do at Smith.ai
- AI Receptionist Service for Small Businesses
- Smith.ai vs. AnswerFirst Comparison
- Agents by AIQ