6 Smith.ai Alternatives Compared on Monthly Cost and Calls

For a small business taking about 100 calls a month of about three minutes each, the cheapest option in this comparison is Quo's Sona AI agent at roughly $68 a month including one seat, then Goodcall at $79. Smith.ai's own AI plan would cost about $212.50 for the same month. Short calls change the order.

The reason prices look so different is that each vendor counts something else: a call, a minute, a unique caller, or a bundle of credits. To compare fairly you have to convert one real month into each unit. That is what the rest of this tutorial does, with the arithmetic shown so you can swap in your own numbers. Prices are USD list prices read from each vendor's page in November 2026, so check the page before you commit.

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The 100-call month everything below is priced against

Say an optician's practice takes 100 answered calls in a month. Each lasts three minutes on average, so 300 minutes in all, and because some patients ring more than once, about 80 different people made those calls. Those three numbers (calls, minutes, different callers) are the ones the vendors bill on, so write them down before you read any pricing page.

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If you do not know your own figures, paste last month's call log export into an AI chat and use this prompt.

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Here is a phone call log export (columns: date, time, caller number, duration in seconds, answered yes/no). Remove calls under 10 seconds and any number that called more than 5 times in a day. Then give me:
1. Answered calls in the month.
2. Total minutes, and the average minutes per call.
3. The number of different caller numbers.
4. The same three figures for the busiest week, scaled to a month.
Show the sums. Do not guess missing durations; list the rows you could not use.

A reply might read: "Answered calls: 104. Total minutes: 291. Average: 2.8. Different callers: 83. Busiest week scaled: 118 calls." That tells you the rounded 100-call, 300-minute, 80-caller month is a fair test, and that the busiest week gives you a 120-call margin to check. The general AI receptionist cost tutorial covers what a missed call is worth, which decides whether any of these prices is worth paying at all.

All six, and Smith.ai, priced for that month

Two of these totals depend on a judgement call, so I will say how I made it. Quo and Smith.ai both have several tiers, and I chose the cheapest combination of tier and overage for this month. For Rosie, the $49 Professional plan has 250 minutes, which is under our 300, and its overage rate is not on the page, so I priced the $149 plan that clearly covers it. If your calls average two minutes, Rosie's cheapest plan drops to $49.

Quo Sona: cheapest here, but it comes with a phone system

Quo (formerly OpenPhone) is a business phone app for calls, texts and shared numbers, and Sona is its AI agent. Sona is billed in credits: one call uses 100 credits. The tiers are $0 for 10 calls, $25 for 40, $49 for 100, $99 for 250 and $199 for 600, with extra calls charged at $1.00 down to $0.45. Seats are separate: Starter $19 a month ($15 on an annual plan), Business $33 ($23) and Scale $47 ($35) per user.

Our month lands exactly on the 100-call tier, $49, plus one Starter seat at $19, which makes $68. A month of 108 calls would add eight calls at $0.65, about $5. Run the sum on a busy month before you decide.

What to check: you are buying a phone system as well as an AI. If the practice has an existing number it is attached to, you will need to forward calls or port the number into Quo, and staff would take calls in the Quo app. The Sona FAQ lists several languages in one place and English only in another, so test any language you need on a live call. And the tiers count the calls Sona handles, so map your call flow first and check how many calls will actually reach Sona rather than your staff.

Goodcall: flat price, billed on different people

Goodcall charges by unique customer, meaning each different phone number that calls in a month. Starter is $79 for 100 unique customers, Growth $129 for 500 and Scale $299 for 2,000, with overage of 79 cents, 26 cents and 15 cents per extra customer. There are no per-minute or per-call charges, and a local number is included. Goodcall's own page says 100 customers is about 150 calls, which matches the logic: repeat callers cost nothing extra.

For the optician, 80 different callers sit well under 100, so the bill is $79 regardless of whether calls run two minutes or ten. That makes it the safest pick for chatty calls. It is the worst pick when the same caller never repeats, such as a garden centre in spring where nearly every caller is new, because there the count of unique customers equals the count of calls and the 100-customer cap is hit sooner.

What to check: Goodcall can text a caller but cannot receive replies, so a text such as "here is the booking link" works but a text conversation does not. Also ask how it treats withheld numbers, since a hidden number cannot be counted as the same caller twice.

My AI Front Desk: voice, chat and texts in one plan

My AI Front Desk (now branded Frontdesk) sells a single plan for small businesses: $99 a month, or $79 a month billed annually, with 200 voice minutes, 100 website chat conversations, 400 texts, a built-in CRM and automations. Past 200 minutes, each voice minute costs 25 credits. A pool of 1,000 credits is included each month and reloads automatically at $10 per 1,000.

The 300-minute month works out like this: 100 minutes over the allowance. The 1,000-credit pool covers 40 of them. The remaining 60 minutes need 1,500 credits, which two $10 reloads provide, so the month costs about $119 (about $99 on the annual rate). You are left with 500 reloaded credits that do not expire.

It suits a business that wants the website chat and texts in the same bill. It is poor value if you only want phone answering and your calls are short, because you pay for chat and CRM you will not touch. As with every minute-billed product, ask whether a call is rounded up to the next minute; a three-minute average hides plenty of 20-second calls that may each be billed as a full minute.

Dialzara: minutes with feature gates on the cheap plans

Dialzara's inbound plans are $29 (60 minutes), $99 (220), $199 (500) and $349 (1,000), with overage of $0.48, $0.45, $0.40 and $0.35 a minute respectively. All include ten languages. For 300 minutes the cheapest route is the $99 plan plus 80 minutes at $0.45, which is $36, so $135. The $29 plan with 240 minutes over would be $144.20, and the $199 plan is only better beyond about 440 minutes.

The feature gates matter more than the tiny price differences. Blind transfer (hand the caller to a number with no introduction) is on every plan, but warm transfer (the AI introduces the caller first), Google or Outlook calendar sync and after-hours escalation rules start at the $99 plan. If your practice wants appointments written into a Google or Outlook calendar, the $29 plan is not an option, whatever its headline price. The page says annual pricing is available on request, and outbound calling is a separate product priced by contacts, from $750 a month.

Rosie: low entry price, booking only higher up

Rosie lists $49 for 250 minutes, $149 for 1,000 and $299 for 2,000. The page mentions two months free on annual payment, but not how it applies by plan, and it does not state overage. The $49 plan sends appointment links by text; it does not list booking straight into a calendar, which starts at the $149 plan.

That is why the 100-call month prices at $149 here. If the same optician took 90 calls of 2.5 minutes, the $49 plan would cover it and a text link would send patients to an online booking page. For a pet shop that mainly answers "are you open" and "do you stock this food", the $49 plan would be the better fit. Ask what happens at minute 251 before you sign, since the FAQ answer is not on the page I could read.

Ruby: when the caller should reach a person

Ruby is a human receptionist service with optional AI features at no extra cost, so it is a different category and I include it because it is often the next thing people compare against. Plans are $250 for 50 minutes, $395 for 100, $720 for 200 and $1,725 for 500. Chat plans start at $143 for 10 chats. Overage rates are not published.

At 300 minutes our optician is over the 200-minute plan and short of the 500-minute one, so the real price is somewhere above $720 and depends on an overage rate you would have to ask for. Ruby suits businesses where a few calls are worth hundreds of dollars each and callers expect a person. It rarely suits a shop with many short, routine questions. The comparison of AI receptionists and answering services works through that decision.

Where Smith.ai itself lands, and what it does better

Smith.ai's AI Receptionist is $0 with 25 calls included and $3 for every call after that. The Pro plan starts at $150 for 75 calls ($2.50 overage), $270 for 150 calls ($2.30 overage) and $500 for 300 calls ($2.17). At 100 calls, the 75-call tier plus 25 extra calls is $212.50, against $225 on the free plan with 75 paid calls. The page also notes you can remove up to 10% of calls from the bill each cycle if they are spam.

It costs more per call than the alternatives here because the plans include things the cheaper tools charge for or leave out: dedicated onboarding and a named account manager on Pro, native integrations such as Clio and Zapier, and a month-to-month contract with 30 days' notice. Smith.ai also sells human receptionist plans, from $300 a month, which is a different product. If you value onboarding help over price, it is a defensible choice. If you only need an AI to answer and book, the alternatives win on cost.

How the ranking moves when volume changes

A single month can mislead, so here are the same tools at two other volumes. Same assumptions: three-minute calls and 80% of callers unique. All totals are illustrative sums from the list prices above.

Rosie's row shows how steep the minute-based plans are: it is the cheapest at 180 minutes and falls behind at 300, then looks good again at 750 because the $149 plan has 1,000 minutes. Smith.ai's call-based price rises fastest because each call carries a fixed charge whatever its length. Quo and Goodcall scale best for this pattern.

What the monthly figure leaves out

The bill is only part of the cost. Four things change what you really pay.

• Spam and sales calls. Per-call and per-minute tools bill for them unless you block them. Smith.ai lets you remove a share of spam from the bill; ask the others.
• Calendar and booking gates. Rosie needs its $149 plan for direct booking and Dialzara needs $99. If booking is the reason for buying, price that tier.
• Transfers. A transfer to a human means the call may be billed twice: once to the AI and once on your own line. Ask how the vendor meters the minutes during a transfer.
• Setup time. Count one to three hours of your time writing the opening script, hours, services and escalation rules. The tutorial on setting up an AI receptionist lists what to prepare.

A week-long test with ten scripted calls

Pick your two cheapest candidates and give each the same ten calls. Ring from your own mobile, from a colleague's phone, and once with a hidden number. Use these scripts, illustrative and short:

1. Opening hours on a bank-holiday weekend.
2. Book a Tuesday afternoon appointment, then change it to Wednesday.
3. Ask for a price the script does not list.
4. An angry caller who wants a manager.
5. A caller who gives a name with an unusual spelling and a number with a typo.
6. A request to speak to a named member of staff.
7. A caller who speaks over the AI.
8. A sales call from a supplier.
9. A call at 2 a.m.
10. A caller who hangs up halfway.

Score each call on whether the right information reached you, whether the caller would have been annoyed, and how many billable units it used. That last column is where you check that the vendor's counting matches your sums. The tutorial on call scripts and escalation rules has wording for the awkward ones.

A cheap plan that turned out dear: how one slipped

An illustrative case from a small pet shop. The owner picks a minute-billed plan because the headline price is the lowest. In week one, callers ask long questions about puppy diets and the AI answers at length; the average call is five minutes, not the three assumed. The month's 100 calls use 500 minutes. On Dialzara's $99 plan, for instance, that is 280 minutes over the 220 included, or $126 of overage at $0.45 a minute, so a $225 month.

A flat unique-caller plan would have cost the same $79 whatever the length. The lesson is to measure call length on your own log, not the vendor's guess, and to cap the AI's answers in the script ("keep replies under twenty seconds, then offer to book a call-back"). Both changes would have saved money.

Picking one: a rule you can apply in five minutes

Use your three numbers and walk down this list.

1. If calls are long or chatty and callers repeat, price Goodcall first: it ignores minutes and counts people.
2. If you already want a team phone system with shared numbers and texting, price Quo with Sona: the seat is a cost you were going to pay anyway.
3. If you want chat and texts handled in the same place, price My AI Front Desk.
4. If calls are short and you need warm transfers and calendar sync, price Dialzara's $99 plan.
5. If your volume is under 25 calls a month, start with Smith.ai's free plan and move to Pro when you pass about 75.
6. If a caller's first impression is worth hundreds of dollars, price a human service such as Ruby and compare it honestly.

Whatever you choose, put a calendar reminder two months out to rerun the sums on real bills. The tutorial on measuring return in the first 90 days shows how, and if you would rather work through your call log with someone, that is what my AI implementation consultation covers.

Questions before you switch from Smith.ai

Is Smith.ai's free plan enough for a small business?

Only for very low volume. The free plan includes 25 real calls a month and charges $3 for each call after that, so a firm taking 40 calls pays about $45 and one taking 100 pays about $225. From about 75 calls a month the $150 Pro plan becomes the cheaper way to buy Smith.ai.

Which of these gives a person on the phone rather than AI?

Ruby. Its receptionists are human, with optional AI features included, and its plans start at $250 a month for 50 minutes. The other five are AI-first. Smith.ai also sells human receptionist plans, from $300 a month, separate from its AI plan.

Do I need to move my business phone number?

Usually not. Most of these tools either give you a new number you forward calls to, or let you forward only unanswered and after-hours calls. Quo is different: it is a phone system, so you use or port a Quo number. Ask each vendor how forwarding works on your phone line.

How do I count my own calls before comparing?

Export last month's call log from your phone provider. Count answered calls, total minutes and different callers, and drop spam. Use the busiest of the last three months, not the average, because bills are set by peaks.

Can I run two of these side by side while I decide?

Yes, and it is the best test. Give each tool a different forwarding rule or number for a week, place the same ten scripted calls to both, and compare transcripts. Most have free trials or low-cost first months; check the current terms on each pricing page.

Further reads

• Can AI Answer My Business Phone? What It Can and Can't Handle — What an AI can and cannot handle on a live line.
• AI Receptionist for Tradespeople: What It Costs and When It Pays — Cost and break-even for a trade business.
• What Is an AI Receptionist and How Does It Handle Bookings? — What an AI receptionist actually does with a booking.
• What to Do When an AI Receptionist Gets a Booking Wrong — What to do when it gets a booking wrong.
• AI Receptionist for Opticians: Cost, Bookings and Frame Queries — Cost, bookings and frame queries for an optician.
• AI Receptionist for Retail: Shop Cost, Stock Calls and Limits — The same sums for a shop with stock and opening-hours calls.
• AI Receptionist Pricing for Pest Control: What 100 and 300 Calls Cost — Six receptionists priced at 100 and 300 calls and across a swarm-season year, plus the set-up steps, swarm script and no-pesticide-advice rules.
• AI Receptionist for Construction Companies: Real Costs and Call Routing — Six plans priced at 250 calls, what answering only overflow saves, and a routing rule per caller type, with urgent site issues going to a person.
• AI Voice Agent Cost per Minute: One Month Priced Five Ways — The same 400-call month priced five ways, with the true cost per minute for Retell, Vapi, Bland, Smith.ai, Goodcall, Quo, Rosie and more.
• Cheapest AI Receptionist for a Sole Trader: What You Give Up — Compare four entry plans using your own call log, then test the handover that matters to a sole trader.
• AI Tools and AI Development: The Complete 2026 Guide — the AI hub, including every tutorial in the AI-for-business series.

Sources: the pricing pages of Smith.ai, Quo, Goodcall, My AI Front Desk, Dialzara, Rosie and Ruby, read in November 2026; call volumes and call lengths in the examples are illustrative.