Smith.ai pricing per call for live and AI receptionists, plus a Smith.ai alternative
Smith.ai pricing is per call, not per minute. Its human receptionist plans are $300 a month for 30 calls, $810 for 90 and $2,100 for 300, with overage of $11.50, $10.50 and $8.50 a call. Its AI receptionist runs $150 a month for 75 calls, about $500 for 300, and has a free tier of 25 calls. Phoner is not a receptionist service: it answers every call with a phone menu and voicemail to text for a flat $17 a user billed yearly.
The full ranked field is in the guide to the best VoIP for small business, entry pricing for every provider sits yearly against monthly in the business phone system comparison, and Phoner's plans are listed in plain dollars on the pricing page.
01 · Pick your number
02 · Your phone menu
03 · Incoming call
Press a key to answer the menu yourself
Voicemail to text
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Where Smith.ai is genuinely strong
Smith.ai is one of the few receptionist services that prices per call instead of per minute, so a long conversation with a good lead costs the same as a short one. Its live agents qualify leads, run intake questions, book appointments into Calendly or Acuity and push call notes into HubSpot, Salesforce or Clio. It answers 24/7 at the same price, does not bill spam calls that pass caller ID on the human plans, and backs new accounts with a 30-day money-back guarantee up to $1,000.
Where Phoner fits
Smith.ai and Phoner solve different problems, and the honest comparison starts there. If a caller needs a person, or an AI acting like one, to qualify them and book a slot, buy Smith.ai. If most of your calls only need to reach the right person, or leave a message you can read, a phone menu does that for every call at a flat price. At 90 calls a month Smith.ai Basic is $810; Phoner Team for three people is $51. Many offices run both: Phoner as the phone system, with the overflow forwarded to Smith.ai.
In practice the deciding features are usually the IVR phone menu and voicemail to text.
Phoner vs Smith.ai, line by line
| What you are buying | Phoner | Smith.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Price shape | $9-17/user/mo, unlimited calls | Per call: $300 for 30, $810 for 90, $2,100 for 300 live calls |
| Who answers the call | Your phone menu, then your team | A live receptionist, or an AI receptionist on the AI plans |
| Contract | Month to month, or yearly for the lowest rate | Month to month; 10 percent off when you pay for 12 months |
| Overage | None; calls are not metered | $11.50, $10.50 or $8.50 a call over the plan on live plans |
| After-hours and weekends | Business hours schedule on every plan | 24/7 live answering at the same per-call price |
| IVR phone menu | Visual builder, Team plan | No menu; complex call routing rules are $1.50 a call |
| Team routing and ring groups | Yes, rules you can read | Transfers to 1, 2 or 10 destinations by plan, $15 each after |
| Lead qualification and intake | Not offered | Included, five intake questions; extended intake $1.50 a call |
| Appointment booking | Not offered | $1.50 a call on live plans, included on AI plans |
| Call recording and transcription | Recording + consent announcements, Team plan | $0.25 a call on live plans, included on AI plans |
| Voicemail to text | Every plan | Messages are taken by the receptionist instead |
| Business texting | Yes, Team plan | Text and email follow-up at $0.50 a call |
| Phone number | Local or toll-free, $5 per extra number | One dedicated local or toll-free number, or port yours free |
| Spam calls | Not billed; nothing is metered | Not charged on live plans when caller ID passes; AI plans allow a 10 percent spam credit |
| Money-back guarantee | Cancel any month | 30 days, up to $1,000, overage excluded |
Swipe sideways for the full table
Competitor figures are public list prices and positioning as of 2026. Verify before buying.
Phoner's side of the table starts at $9/user/mo on the Starter plan and $17 on Team, with a 3-user minimum, the plan most small teams pick, both billed yearly, or $19 and $35 month to month. Extra local or toll-free numbers are a flat $5/number/mo. Where the two products tie on a row, the difference is usually how visibly the feature is built: see the IVR phone menu page for exactly how Phoner does it.
Smith.ai pricing and plans for live and AI receptionists
Smith.ai sells two products on two rate cards. Human-first plans buy calls answered by live agents; AI-first plans buy calls answered by its AI receptionist, which can hand off to a live agent. Both bill by the call. Phoner sits underneath for scale, because it is priced per user and does not meter calls at all.
| Plan | Price per month | Calls included | Effective per call | Each extra call |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smith.ai Starter, live | $300 | 30 | $10.00 | $11.50 |
| Smith.ai Basic, live | $810 | 90 | $9.00 | $10.50 |
| Smith.ai Pro, live | $2,100 | 300 | $7.00 | $8.50 |
| Smith.ai AI Free | $0 | 25 | Free | $3.00 |
| Smith.ai AI Pro | $150, $270 or about $500 | 75, 150 or 300 | $2.00, $1.80 or $1.67 | $2.50, $2.30 or $2.17 |
| Smith.ai AI Enterprise | $500 or $800 | 300 or 500 | $1.67 or $1.60 | $2.17 or $2.10 |
| Phoner Team | $51 for 3 users yearly, $105 monthly | Unlimited US and Canada calling | Not metered | None |
Swipe sideways for the full table
Smith.ai figures read from smith.ai/pricing and smith.ai/pricing/ai-receptionist on October 6, 2026 · Live plans include 1, 2 or 10 free transfer destinations; extra destinations are $15 a month · Smith.ai offers 10 percent off for a 12-month commitment on live plans · AI Pro and Enterprise prices at 150, 300 and 500 calls are the printed per-call rate times the call count · Live add-ons are billed per call: booking $1.50, recording and transcription $0.25, text or email follow-up $0.50, Spanish line $1.00 · Phoner figures are our published list prices with a 3-user minimum; telecom taxes and fees are added to Phoner bills
What Smith.ai and Phoner cost at each monthly call volume
Smith.ai bills by the call, so the honest comparison is your monthly call count, not your headcount. Each Smith.ai cell is the cheapest plan or plan plus overage at that volume. Phoner does not answer like a person, so the right-hand column is the price of answering every call with a menu and voicemail to text, not the price of a receptionist.
| Calls a month | Smith.ai live receptionists | Smith.ai AI receptionist | Phoner Team, 3 users yearly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 calls | $300 (Starter) | $15 (Free tier plus 5 extra calls) | $51 |
| 75 calls | $810 (Basic; Starter plus overage is $817.50) | $150 (Pro 75) | $51 |
| 90 calls | $810 (Basic) | $187.50 (Pro 75 plus 15 extra calls) | $51 |
| 150 calls | $1,440 (Basic plus 60 extra calls) | $270 (Pro 150) | $51 |
| 300 calls | $2,100 (Pro) | About $500 (Pro 300 or Enterprise 300) | $51 |
| 500 calls | $3,800 (Pro plus 200 extra calls) | $800 (Enterprise 500) | $51 |
Swipe sideways for the full table
Monthly bill before add-ons, taxes and fees · Live plans: list price plus the plan's per-call overage; a 12-month commitment takes 10 percent off the plan price · AI plans: Free covers 25 calls with $3.00 per extra call, Pro and Enterprise use the printed per-call rates · Phoner Team is $17 a user billed yearly with a 3-user minimum, or $105 for three users month to month, and adds telecom taxes and fees · A team larger than three adds $17 a seat on Phoner, whatever the call count
What the Smith.ai price actually buys
A call is a call, however long it runs
Smith.ai bills each answered client call as one unit, whether it lasts forty seconds or eight minutes. Per-minute services such as Ruby, PATLive and AnswerConnect round every call up to the minute and charge for the whole conversation. If your callers are new clients who talk for five minutes, per-call pricing usually comes out ahead; if most calls are quick questions, a minute bundle can be cheaper.
Two products on two rate cards
The human-first plans buy calls answered by live agents at $7.00 to $10.00 each. The AI-first plans buy calls answered by an AI receptionist at $1.60 to $2.00 each, and Smith.ai says the AI can hand a complex call to a live North America-based receptionist at any hour. The AI plans include recording, transcripts, scheduling and integrations that cost extra per call on the live plans.
The add-ons are where the bill grows
Live plans include lead screening, five intake questions, one CRM integration and a dedicated number. Booking appointments is $1.50 a call, recording and transcription $0.25, text or email follow-up $0.50, a Spanish line $1.00, taking payments $1.00 and complex routing rules $1.50. A call that is booked, recorded and followed up costs $2.25 more than the plan rate, so price the add-ons you will really use.
Spam is handled differently on each card
On the live plans, Smith.ai says you are not charged for spam or unsolicited sales calls as long as the lines you forward pass caller ID. On the AI plans, every answered call counts by default; known spam numbers are filtered before the AI answers, and you can remove up to 10 percent of your calls from the bill each cycle as spam.
A 30-day guarantee with a ceiling
New accounts get a full refund of the plan and add-ons within 30 days, up to $1,000, whatever the call count. Calls over the plan quota are excluded. Plans change at the start of the next month after you email support, and paying for 12 months up front takes 10 percent off the live plans.
It answers calls, it is not your phone system
Smith.ai gives you a dedicated number or answers the number you forward to it, and transfers qualified callers to up to 1, 2 or 10 destinations by plan. It has no extensions, ring groups, desk phones, team texting inbox or call analytics for your own staff. You still need a phone system for the calls your team makes and takes directly.
Where Phoner is the better fit
If most callers want hours, an address, a quote callback or a specific person, a phone menu answers them in two seconds, at 3 a.m. too, and voicemail arrives as text in a shared inbox. On Phoner Team that costs $17 a seat billed yearly with no call meter, and recording plays the consent announcement for you. At 150 calls a month that is $51 against $270 to $1,440.
Where Smith.ai is the better fit
If a missed or mishandled first call loses a case, a job or a patient, a person who asks the right intake questions is worth the per-call price. Phoner has no live receptionists and no AI receptionist, and we will not pretend a menu replaces either. A law firm or a home services company booking estimates should buy Smith.ai, and can still forward overflow to it from a Phoner line.
Who should pick which
Pick Smith.ai if
Pick Smith.ai if the caller needs a conversation. A law firm screening new clients, a home services company booking estimates or an agency qualifying leads gets intake, booking and CRM notes on every call, 24/7, from people trained in the work. Its per-call billing also suits long calls that would run up a per-minute plan.
Their list price: $300-2,100/mo for 30-300 live calls; AI $150 and up
Pick Phoner if
Pick Phoner if your calls mostly need to reach the right person or leave a message. The Team plan answers every call with a phone menu, rings the right group, records with a consent announcement and turns voicemail into text, for $17 a seat billed yearly with a 3-user minimum and no per-call meter.
Phoner: $9-17/user/mo yearly, $19-35 monthly, 3-user minimum
Leaving Smith.ai does not mean a new number
Your number is yours and moves with you. Phoner's free number porting takes about 1-2 weeks, and the line keeps ringing on Smith.ai until the moment it switches over. Set up your phone menu and ring groups in Phoner while you wait, then the cutover is invisible to callers.
Port order · Smith.ai → Phoner
Sign up for Phoner and submit the port with a recent Smith.ai bill.
Keep answering on Smith.ai. The number never goes dark.
In 1-2 weeks calls ring your Phoner apps. Cancel the old account.
Porting fee: $0 · Downtime: None
Compare Smith.ai against a specific competitor
This page weighs Smith.ai against Phoner. If you are choosing between two other vendors instead, these pages put both of their rate cards in one table.
Talkroute pricing and alternatives
A per-account phone system with an optional AI receptionist add-on from $39 a month.
Grasshopper pricing and alternatives
A flat virtual phone system that forwards to your cell, the usual partner for an answering service.
RingCentral pricing and alternatives
The full phone system Smith.ai mentions by name for forwarding only outside your hours.
Quo (OpenPhone) pricing and alternatives
A shared inbox for calls and texts at $15 a user, for a team that answers its own calls.
Common questions about switching
How much does Smith.ai cost?
Smith.ai live receptionist plans cost $300 a month for 30 calls, $810 for 90 calls and $2,100 for 300 calls, with overage of $11.50, $10.50 and $8.50 a call. Its AI receptionist costs $150 a month for 75 calls and about $500 for 300, and a free AI tier covers 25 calls. Add-ons such as booking are billed per call.
Does Smith.ai have a free plan?
Only for the AI receptionist. The AI Free tier includes 25 calls a month, with each extra call at $3.00, and is meant for testing before you go live. The live receptionist plans have no free tier; they start at $300 a month and come with a 30-day money-back guarantee up to $1,000.
Is Smith.ai AI or a real person?
Both, depending on the plan you buy. The human-first plans are answered by live receptionists based in North America, 24 hours a day. The AI-first plans are answered by an AI receptionist that Smith.ai says can transfer a complex call to a live receptionist. The two are priced on separate rate cards.
Does Smith.ai charge for spam calls?
Not on the live plans, as long as the lines you forward pass caller ID. On the AI plans every answered call counts by default, known spam numbers are blocked before the AI answers, and you can remove up to 10 percent of your calls from each bill as spam.
Is Smith.ai worth the money?
It is when each call is worth more than about $10 to you, for example a new legal client or a booked service job, because the agents qualify and book the caller. If most calls only need routing or a message, a phone menu with voicemail to text costs a fraction of the per-call price.
Does Smith.ai offer a discount?
Yes. Smith.ai takes 10 percent off live receptionist plans when you commit for 12 months, and the AI Pro plan drops from $2.00 to $1.80 a call at 150 calls and to $1.67 at 300. High-volume and multi-location accounts are priced by quote.
Can I cancel Smith.ai and get a refund?
Within the first 30 days, yes. Smith.ai refunds the plan and add-on charges up to $1,000 if you email support, regardless of how many calls were answered; overage calls are not refunded. After that you can change or cancel your plan, effective from the next month.
What is the best Smith.ai alternative?
It depends on what you want answered. For live answering billed by the minute, Ruby, PATLive and AnswerConnect are the usual alternatives. For a business that mainly needs every call greeted and routed, Phoner Team answers with a phone menu and voicemail to text for $17 a user billed yearly, with a 3-user minimum.
Can I keep my phone number with Smith.ai?
Yes. Smith.ai gives every plan a dedicated local or toll-free number and ports your existing business number at no charge. You can also keep your number on your phone system and forward calls to Smith.ai only after hours or when nobody picks up, which keeps the per-call bill down.
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