Allo vs SmartMessage by AnsweringService.com
The short answer
- Allo costs least: $90 a month for 100 calls and $90 for 500.
- SmartMessage by AnsweringService.com has the lowest advertised price, $10, but costs $90 through sales at 100 calls.
- Pick Allo if you want the lower bill.
- Pick SmartMessage by AnsweringService.com if you want their own people to take over a call.
 Allosmall sales and service teams that want one phone system to answer and log every callVisit site |  SmartMessage by AnsweringService.comsmall businesses wanting cheap AI answering with a human receptionist still on the callVisit site | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | ||
| At 100 calls a month | Allo$90Lowest | SmartMessage by AnsweringService.com$90 through sales |
| At 500 calls a month | Allo$90Lowest | SmartMessage by AnsweringService.com$450 through sales |
| Advertised from | Allo$45 a month | SmartMessage by AnsweringService.com$10 a month |
| The advertised plan covers | AlloThe $45 plan covers all 100 calls. | SmartMessage by AnsweringService.comNot counted |
| Bills | Alloflat fee | SmartMessage by AnsweringService.comper call |
| Keeps answering past your allowance | AlloPartlyNational calls are unlimited so there is no call allowance to exceed | SmartMessage by AnsweringService.comYesCalls past the plan allowance keep being answered and are billed as overage at $1.10 each |
| Free trial or plan | AlloPartlyYou can run Allo on a real line for seven days on the Business plan before paying | SmartMessage by AnsweringService.comPartlyA seven-day AI call answering free trial runs on your real diverted line |
| Month to month, cancel online | AlloYesMonth-to-month is offered on every plan and you cancel yourself from Settings | SmartMessage by AnsweringService.comYesBilling is a rolling monthly subscription with no lock-in and no cancellation fee |
| On the call | ||
| Books appointments | AlloNot stated | SmartMessage by AnsweringService.comPartlyThe AI product is described as message-taking and transferring only |
| Transfers to a person | AlloPartlyRules in plain language send a caller to a teammate, another line or an outside number | SmartMessage by AnsweringService.comYesThe AI can transfer a caller through to you |
| Human receptionists as backup | AlloNoAllo staffs no answering service behind the AI | SmartMessage by AnsweringService.comYesA live receptionist takes over whenever the AI is stuck or a caller asks for a person |
| After-hours rules | AlloNot stated | SmartMessage by AnsweringService.comPartlyThe AI answers around the clock, so there is no after-hours gap |
| Urgent calls escalated | AlloPartlyYou can write a rule that pushes urgent calls straight to a person | SmartMessage by AnsweringService.comNot stated |
| Texts your callers | AlloPartlyMissed callers get an automatic text back | SmartMessage by AnsweringService.comNoOutbound SMS exists only to deliver messages to your own listed staff mobiles |
| Call summary by text | AlloPartlyEvery handled call lands in the app with its summary | SmartMessage by AnsweringService.comYesA full call summary with caller name, contact details |
| Language, privacy and trying it | ||
| Languages | AlloPartlyEnglish, Spanish and French | SmartMessage by AnsweringService.comPartlyEnglish and Spanish |
| HIPAA, with a signed BAA | AlloPartlyA Business Associate Agreement is signed for healthcare customers | SmartMessage by AnsweringService.comNot stated |
| Hear it before you buy | AlloYesRecorded sample calls play on the product page | SmartMessage by AnsweringService.comYesA dedicated live demo number lets you talk to the Ginger AI agent about the service |
| What it connects to | ||
| Google Calendar | AlloNoThe vendor names its booking integrations as a closed set of three | SmartMessage by AnsweringService.comNoGoogle Calendar and Outlook are not named anywhere |
| Outlook | AlloNoThe vendor names its booking integrations as a closed set of three | SmartMessage by AnsweringService.comNoGoogle Calendar and Outlook are not named anywhere |
| Calendly | AlloNoThe vendor names its booking integrations as a closed set of three | SmartMessage by AnsweringService.comYesCalendly, Acuity Scheduling, Setmore and Square Appointments are supported |
| Your trade’s software | AlloPartlyTrade-adjacent tools are covered through Jobber, JobNimbus and Follow Up Boss | SmartMessage by AnsweringService.comPartlyTrade tools named are Clio for law firms and ResDiary for hospitality |
| Keep your number | AlloYesYou keep your existing line and forward it to Allo | SmartMessage by AnsweringService.comYesYou keep your advertised business number and divert it to the receptionist number issued |
| In short | ||
| What it is | AlloAllo is a business phone system for teams under 250 people, sold per seat, with an AI receptionist add-on that answers calls, books into your calendar and writes every call up. It runs on mobile, desktop and web apps.All answers for Allo | SmartMessage by AnsweringService.comAnsweringService.com SmartMessage is an AI phone receptionist that answers calls 24/7 in English or Spanish, takes messages and transfers callers. A live receptionist takes over any call the AI cannot handle.All answers for SmartMessage by AnsweringService.com |
| Checked | AlloOctober 15, 2026 | SmartMessage by AnsweringService.comOctober 14, 2026 |
Costs are for 100 or 500 calls a month of 2½ minutes each, on the cheapest public plan. How we price