Auto-Respond AI Answering Service vs Smith.ai AI Receptionist
AI answering services side by side: what a month of calls costs, what each does on the call, and where each falls short.
The short answer
- Smith.ai AI Receptionist costs least at both 100 and 500 calls a month.
- Auto-Respond AI Answering Service has the lowest advertised price ($10), but costs $310 at 100 calls.
| AAuto-Respond AI Answering Servicecontractors and home-service crews who miss calls while on the jobVisit site | SSmith.ai AI ReceptionistVisit site | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | ||
| At 100 calls a month | Auto-Respond AI Answering Service$310 | Smith.ai AI Receptionist$212.50Lowest |
| At 500 calls a month | Auto-Respond AI Answering Service$1510 | Smith.ai AI Receptionist$800 via salesLowest |
| Advertised from | Auto-Respond AI Answering Service$10 a month | Smith.ai AI ReceptionistFree, then $150 a month |
| The advertised plan covers | Auto-Respond AI Answering ServiceThe $10 plan covers 0 of 100 calls.100 cost extra. | Smith.ai AI ReceptionistThe $150 plan covers 75 of 100 calls.25 cost extra. |
| Bills | Auto-Respond AI Answering Serviceper minute | Smith.ai AI Receptionistper call |
| Keeps answering past your allowance | Auto-Respond AI Answering ServiceYesThere is no allowance to exceed: every minute is metered at the same rate, with no lead… | Smith.ai AI ReceptionistYesEvery plan publishes a per-call overage: $3.00 on Free, $2.50, $2.30 and $2.17 on Pro 75,… |
| Free trial or plan | Auto-Respond AI Answering ServicePartlyA 7-day trial covers the voice agent on your own line, but only for eligible first-time… | Smith.ai AI ReceptionistYesA standing Free plan, not a trial: 25 real calls a month with no time limit, plus 25 test… |
| Month to month, cancel online | Auto-Respond AI Answering ServiceYesSubscriptions renew monthly with no fixed term, and cancellation is done in the app's… | Smith.ai AI ReceptionistPartlyMonth to month with no long-term contract, but cancelling needs 30 days' notice, and the… |
| On the call | ||
| Books appointments | Auto-Respond AI Answering ServiceYesWhen scheduling is enabled the agent checks live availability, offers slots and creates… | Smith.ai AI ReceptionistPartlyBooks live into Calendly, Acuity, Lawmatics, Housecall Pro or ServiceTitan during the call |
| Transfers to a person | Auto-Respond AI Answering ServiceYesTransfer is an opt-in toggle with written criteria, and warm transfer briefs the… | Smith.ai AI ReceptionistYesTransfers to your own numbers on every plan, per caller type or by team member name,… |
| Human receptionists as backup | Auto-Respond AI Answering ServiceNoNo staffed fallback exists: when transfer is off or nobody answers, the agent only takes… | Smith.ai AI ReceptionistPartlySmith.ai's own live agents can take over AI calls on any plan, but as a paid add-on at $3… |
| After-hours rules | Auto-Respond AI Answering ServiceYesCall hours default to 24/7 and can be set per day in windows | Smith.ai AI ReceptionistPartlyAnswers 24/7 on every plan, and it knows your opening hours, but no AI Receptionist… |
| Urgent calls escalated | Auto-Respond AI Answering ServiceYesYou write the emergency triggers in plain words and matching calls ring your on-call… | Smith.ai AI ReceptionistPartlyUrgent call types can trigger an immediate SMS or email to a chosen staff member, but… |
| Texts your callers | Auto-Respond AI Answering ServicePartlyTwo-way texting with a caller exists but only through the paid SMS Messaging add-on,… | Smith.ai AI ReceptionistPartlySends one-way follow-up texts to callers after the call (one 400-character message per… |
| Call summary by text | Auto-Respond AI Answering ServiceYesPost-call summaries can be pushed by SMS, Slack or Telegram as well as email, though the… | Smith.ai AI ReceptionistPartlyInstant call summaries go by email, Slack or Teams by default |
| Language, privacy and trying it | ||
| Languages | Auto-Respond AI Answering ServiceNot stated | Smith.ai AI ReceptionistYesEnglish and Spanish |
| HIPAA, with a signed BAA | Auto-Respond AI Answering ServiceNot stated | Smith.ai AI ReceptionistNoSmith.ai states plainly that it is not HIPAA compliant and cannot handle protected health… |
| Hear it before you buy | Auto-Respond AI Answering ServicePartlyA recorded product walkthrough is published and you can call your own agent during setup,… | Smith.ai AI ReceptionistPartlyNo public demo number |
| What it connects to | ||
| Google Calendar | Auto-Respond AI Answering ServiceNoGoogle Calendar, Outlook and Calendly are not in that list, though a marketing FAQ claims… | Smith.ai AI ReceptionistNot stated |
| Outlook | Auto-Respond AI Answering ServiceNoGoogle Calendar, Outlook and Calendly are not in that list, though a marketing FAQ claims… | Smith.ai AI ReceptionistNot stated |
| Calendly | Auto-Respond AI Answering ServiceNoGoogle Calendar, Outlook and Calendly are not in that list, though a marketing FAQ claims… | Smith.ai AI ReceptionistYesNative AI booking into Calendly (paid Calendly plan required), Acuity Scheduling… |
| Your trade’s software | Auto-Respond AI Answering ServicePartlyField-service and trade tools are covered (ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro, Workiz, AccuLynx,… | Smith.ai AI ReceptionistYesNative integrations with ServiceTitan and Housecall Pro for home services, and Clio… |
| Keep your number | Auto-Respond AI Answering ServiceYesKeeping your existing number and forwarding it is the documented default, with always,… | Smith.ai AI ReceptionistYesYou keep your existing number and forward it to the dedicated Smith.ai number |
| Our verdict | ||
| In short | Auto-Respond AI Answering ServiceAuto-Respond is an AI answering service for contractors: a voice agent answers calls forwarded from the existing business line, answers from uploaded business details, books jobs and transfers urgent callers. The same account also answers Yelp, Thumbtack, Facebook, Instagram and Google LSA message leads.All answers for Auto-Respond AI Answering Service | Smith.ai AI ReceptionistSmith.ai AI Receptionist is the AI-first phone answering product from Smith.ai, a company that has run human virtual receptionists for more than ten years. It is priced and sold separately from those human receptionist plans, and leans toward law firms and home-services businesses.All answers for Smith.ai AI Receptionist |
| Checked | Auto-Respond AI Answering ServiceOctober 14, 2026 | Smith.ai AI ReceptionistOctober 14, 2026 |
Costs are for 100 or 500 calls a month of 2½ minutes each, on the cheapest public plan. How we price