Smith.ai is a 24/7 call answering and intake service that combines AI receptionists with live North American agents, with Virtual Receptionist plans starting at $300/month for 30 calls, AI-first answering from $1.60/call, and a free tier of 25 calls/month. Its strengths are flat per-call pricing, no setup fees, spam blocking at no charge, and deep CRM/scheduling integrations; the trade-offs are that per-call plans get expensive at volume ($2,100/month for 300 calls) and overage calls run $8.50–$11.50 each.
Bottom line: For small businesses that need reliable 24/7 call coverage with real human backup, Smith.ai's flat per-call pricing, free spam filtering, and 30-day money-back guarantee make it a strong, predictable choice — as long as your call volume fits its plan tiers.
TL;DR
- Virtual Receptionist plans: $300/month for 30 calls, $810/month for 90 calls, $2,100/month for 300 calls, with Enterprise priced custom.
- AI-first answering starts at $1.60/call; hybrid AI-plus-human starts at $2.50/call; fully human-first coverage starts at $7/call.
- A free tier covers 25 calls/month forever, and all plans carry a 30-day money-back guarantee (up to $1,000 on the AI Receptionist).
- Overage calls cost $11.50 (Starter), $10.50 (Basic), or $8.50 (Pro) — spam, sales, and wrong numbers are never charged.
- No setup fees, no annual contracts, no overseas agents; live receptionists are North America-based and available 24/7.
- Integrations span 7,000+ tools: HubSpot, Salesforce, Clio, Zapier, Calendly, Acuity, Square, PayPal, and LawPay, with the first CRM integration free ($0.50/call per additional CRM).
- Web chat is priced separately: $10/chat à la carte, or monthly plans from $140 for 20 live chats to $600 for 120 live chats.
Head-to-head
| Dimension | Smith.ai |
|---|---|
| Pricing | Virtual Receptionist from $300/mo (30 calls); AI-first from $1.60/call; hybrid from $2.50/call; human-first from $7/call; free tier of 25 calls/mowinner |
| Ease of use | No contracts, free consultation, online dashboard, text-based availability updateswinner |
| Features | 24/7 answering, intake and qualification, booking, payments, bilingual agents, recording/transcription, outbound campaigns, web chatwinner |
| Support | Dedicated onboarding specialists and account managers; 30-day money-back guarantee (up to $1,000 on AI Receptionist)winner |
| Integrations | 7,000+ business tools; HubSpot, Salesforce, Clio, Zapier, Calendly, Acuity, Square, LawPaywinner |
| Setup | No setup fees, free number porting, custom AI configuration handled by the Smith.ai teamwinner |
| Call coverage | 24/7/365 live answering plus AI coverage; after-hours, overflow, and temporary receptionist optionswinner |
Scores
Smith.ai
smith.ai ↗Smith.ai is a call answering and client-intake company that has handled more than 25 million calls over 11+ years and is trusted by over 5,000 businesses, with a particular focus on law firms. Its service model combines AI receptionists with 500+ North American live agents trained on legal and small-business intake, offered in three staffing mixes: 100% AI (from $1.60/call), hybrid AI-plus-human (from $2.50/call), and 100% human-first (from $7/call). Core capabilities include 24/7 call answering, lead screening and qualification, live appointment booking on your calendar, payment collection, warm call transfers, bilingual English/Spanish answering, call recording and transcription, outbound calling campaigns, and free spam and robocall blocking (over 20 million blocked). Call details sync automatically to your CRM or Zapier, with support for HubSpot, Salesforce, Clio, and 7,000+ business tools. Pricing is flat per call rather than per minute, spam and sales calls are never charged, and there are no setup fees, hidden fees, or annual contracts. A 30-day money-back guarantee backs the service, and a free tier answers 25 calls per month at no cost.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Receptionist — Starter (30 calls) | $300/mo | 30 calls/month, 1 free transfer destination, overage $11.50/call |
| Virtual Receptionist — Basic (90 calls) | $810/mo | 90 calls/month, 2 free transfer destinations, overage $10.50/call |
| Virtual Receptionist — Pro (300 calls) | $2100/mo | 300 calls/month, 10 free transfer destinations, overage $8.50/call |
| AI Receptionist — AI-first | $1.6/mo | Per-call pricing from $1.60/call, 24/7 AI answering with human escalation available |
| AI Receptionist — Hybrid | $2.5/mo | Per-call pricing from $2.50/call, AI handles routine calls, live agents handle complex ones |
| Virtual Receptionist — Human-first | $7/mo | Per-call pricing from $7/call, dedicated North American live agents |
| Web Chat — à la carte | $10/mo | $10 per chat, 2 custom programming hours, 1 free CRM integration |
| Web Chat — Starter (20 chats) | $140/mo | 20 live chats/month, overage $7/chat, 2 custom programming hours |
| Web Chat — Basic (50 chats) | $300/mo | 50 live chats/month, overage $6/chat, 5 custom programming hours |
| Web Chat — Pro (120 chats) | $600/mo | 120 live chats/month, overage $5/chat, 10 custom programming hours |
Pros
- Flat per-call pricing makes monthly costs predictable; spam, sales calls, and wrong numbers are never charged
- No setup fees, no cancellation fees, no annual contracts, and a 30-day money-back guarantee
- A free tier answers 25 calls/month forever, letting you test the service risk-free
- 500+ North American live agents with industry-specific intake training, plus AI coverage from $1.60/call
- Deep integration footprint: 7,000+ tools including HubSpot, Salesforce, Clio, Zapier, and major scheduling and payment platforms
- Full feature breadth: booking, payment collection, bilingual agents, outbound campaigns, chat, recording, and transcription
Cons
- Entry Virtual Receptionist plan costs $300/month for only 30 calls — $10 per included call, and overages run $11.50 each
- Scaling to 300 calls/month costs $2,100, which is a significant jump for small businesses
- Additional CRM integrations cost $0.50/call each, and extra transfer 'pings' add $0.25 per attempt
- Per-call plans reward low call volume; businesses with long or complex calls get no per-minute discount
- Web chat is priced as a separate product line, so full phone-plus-chat coverage means two subscriptions
Pricing compared: what you actually pay at each tier
Features and coverage: what's included in every plan
Where Smith.ai fits — and where it doesn't
Which should you pick?
FAQs
How much does Smith.ai cost in 2026?
Virtual Receptionist plans are $300/month for 30 calls, $810/month for 90 calls, and $2,100/month for 300 calls, with Enterprise custom-priced. Overage calls cost $11.50, $10.50, and $8.50 respectively. The AI Receptionist line is priced per call: AI-first from $1.60/call, hybrid from $2.50/call, and human-first from $7/call. A free tier covers 25 calls/month, and there are no setup fees, hidden fees, or annual contracts.
Does Smith.ai charge for spam calls?
No. Smith.ai explicitly states there is no charge for spam, and its AI automatically blocks more than 20 million robocalls and spammers for free. Sales calls and wrong numbers are also filtered at no cost, which is a key advantage of its flat per-call pricing model — you only pay for the calls you actually wanted.
Is there a contract or cancellation fee with Smith.ai?
No. Smith.ai has no annual contracts, no setup fees, and no cancellation fees. All plans include a 30-day money-back guarantee, and the AI Receptionist service carries a guarantee of up to $1,000. A free consultation is offered before you commit, and the 25-calls/month free tier lets you test the service indefinitely.
What integrations does Smith.ai support?
Smith.ai syncs call data across 7,000+ business tools. Named integrations include HubSpot, Salesforce, Clio, Clio Grow, and Capsule CRM, plus Zapier, scheduling tools like Calendly, Acuity, Appointy, and Harmonizely, and payment processors including Square, PayPal, LawPay, TrialPay, and CPACharge. The first CRM integration is free; each additional CRM costs $0.50 per call. Slack and Teams transfer notifications are also supported.
Does Smith.ai use human agents or AI?
Both, in three configurable mixes. The AI Receptionist handles calls from $1.60/call with AI-first efficiency; the hybrid model (from $2.50/call) lets AI handle routine calls while live agents take complex ones; and the human-first Virtual Receptionist (from $7/call) uses a dedicated team of 500+ North American live agents trained on your business and industry. All agents work from North America — Smith.ai states it uses no overseas agents.
Is Smith.ai good for small businesses outside the legal industry?
Yes. While Smith.ai is deeply focused on law firm intake (5,000+ law firms trust it), it also serves trades, healthcare, ecommerce, and professional services. Case studies include an electrician company (Armor Electric), a home design center (Breslow Home Design Center), a sleep apnea clinic, and specialty repair businesses. The AI Receptionist page is explicitly marketed to small businesses, covering screening, scheduling, and payment collection 24/7.
Sources
- Smith.ai Plans & Pricing for 24/7 Sales & Support
- Smith.ai Plans & Pricing for Virtual Receptionists
- Smith.ai Plans & Pricing for AI Receptionist
- Smith.ai 24/7 AI Receptionists & Live Human Agents
- Smith.ai Plans & Pricing for 24/7 Live-Staffed Web Chat
- All Features & What We Do at Smith.ai
- Best Phone Answering Service for Small Businesses
- Smith.ai vs. AnswerFirst: Live Answering Service Comparison
- A Complete Analysis Of The Pros and Cons of AI in Customer Service