NextPhone vs Smith.ai AI Receptionist
The short answer
- NextPhone costs least: $199 a month for 100 calls and $199 for 500.
- Smith.ai AI Receptionist has the lowest advertised price, $150, but costs $212.50 at 100 calls.
- Pick NextPhone if you want the lower bill.
- Pick Smith.ai AI Receptionist if you want their own people to take over a call (as a paid add-on) or a connection to your trade’s software.
 NextPhonesolo law firms and trades that miss calls while working or after hoursVisit site |  Smith.ai AI Receptionistlaw firms and home-service businesses wanting live human agents behind the AIVisit site | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | ||
| At 100 calls a month | NextPhone$199Lowest | Smith.ai AI Receptionist$212.50 |
| At 500 calls a month | NextPhone$199Lowest | Smith.ai AI Receptionist$800 through sales |
| Advertised from | NextPhone$199 a month | Smith.ai AI ReceptionistFree, then $150 a month |
| The advertised plan covers | NextPhoneThe $199 plan covers all 100 calls. | Smith.ai AI ReceptionistThe $150 plan covers 75 of 100 calls.25 cost extra. |
| Bills | NextPhoneflat fee | Smith.ai AI Receptionistper call |
| Keeps answering past your allowance | NextPhoneYesNothing happens on call 101: calls stay included and the bill does not move | 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 | NextPhonePartlySeven days free on the entry Pro plan, during which you pick a number | Smith.ai AI ReceptionistYesA standing Free plan, not a trial: 25 real calls a month with no time limit |
| Month to month, cancel online | NextPhoneYesMonth to month with no contract and no cancellation fee, canceled from the account | Smith.ai AI ReceptionistPartlyMonth to month with no long-term contract, but canceling needs 30 days' notice |
| On the call | ||
| Books appointments | NextPhoneYesIt checks live availability during the call and writes the appointment itself | Smith.ai AI ReceptionistPartlyBooks live into Calendly, Acuity, Lawmatics, Housecall Pro or ServiceTitan during the call |
| Transfers to a person | NextPhoneYesTwo transfer kinds, including a warm one where the AI briefs your person first | Smith.ai AI ReceptionistYesTransfers to your own numbers on every plan, per caller type or by team member name |
| Human receptionists as backup | NextPhoneNoNo people sit behind the AI | Smith.ai AI ReceptionistPartlySmith.ai's own live agents can take over AI calls on any plan |
| After-hours rules | NextPhoneYesAnswers every day of the year, with a separate closed greeting | Smith.ai AI ReceptionistPartlyAnswers 24/7 on every plan, and it knows your business hours |
| Urgent calls escalated | NextPhoneYesYou define what counts as urgent | Smith.ai AI ReceptionistPartlyUrgent call types can trigger an immediate SMS or email to a chosen staff member |
| Texts your callers | NextPhonePartlyDuring-call and follow-up texts are on every plan | Smith.ai AI ReceptionistPartlySends one-way follow-up texts to callers after the call |
| Call summary by text | NextPhoneYesA text summary with the caller, outcome and their answers goes out after the call | Smith.ai AI ReceptionistPartlyInstant call summaries go by email, Slack or Teams by default |
| Language, privacy and trying it | ||
| Languages | NextPhonePartly10 languages | Smith.ai AI ReceptionistYesEnglish and Spanish |
| HIPAA, with a signed BAA | NextPhoneNot stated | Smith.ai AI ReceptionistNoSmith.ai states plainly that it is not HIPAA compliant |
| Hear it before you buy | NextPhoneYesYou talk to an agent trained on your own website in the browser during signup | Smith.ai AI ReceptionistPartlyNo public demo number |
| What it connects to | ||
| Google Calendar | NextPhoneYesGoogle Calendar, Outlook, Calendly, Acuity, Cal.com | Smith.ai AI ReceptionistNot stated |
| Outlook | NextPhoneYesGoogle Calendar, Outlook, Calendly, Acuity, Cal.com | Smith.ai AI ReceptionistNot stated |
| Calendly | NextPhoneYesGoogle Calendar, Outlook, Calendly, Acuity, Cal.com | Smith.ai AI ReceptionistYesNative AI booking into Calendly (paid Calendly plan required), Acuity Scheduling |
| Your trade’s software | NextPhonePartlyLegal and field-service tools are covered | Smith.ai AI ReceptionistYesNative integrations with ServiceTitan and Housecall Pro for home services |
| Keep your number | NextPhoneYesKeep your line and forward either all calls or only busy, unanswered and after-hours ones | Smith.ai AI ReceptionistYesYou keep your existing number and forward it to the dedicated Smith.ai number |
| In short | ||
| What it is | NextPhoneNextPhone is an AI receptionist that answers a small business's calls around the clock, trained on its website, taking intake answers, booking appointments and transferring callers by rules the owner writes. Every plan is a flat monthly price with unlimited calls.All answers for NextPhone | 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 | NextPhoneOctober 15, 2026 | Smith.ai AI ReceptionistOctober 15, 2026 |
Costs are for 100 or 500 calls a month of 2½ minutes each, on the cheapest public plan. How we price