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Trilix AI

Smith.ai vs Ruby: which virtual receptionist costs less for your calls?

Smith.ai and Ruby both put trained receptionists on your phone line 24/7. The biggest difference is how they bill. Smith.ai charges per call, and Ruby charges per minute. Which one costs less depends on how long your calls run and which extras you need.

We don't sell either service, and neither company asked us to write this. Trilix AI builds custom AI phone agents, so we compare these tools often when operators ask us what to buy. Every price below links to the vendor's own page.

Checked November 3, 2026. Plans change, so confirm with each vendor.

Quick answer

Smith.ai bills per call: live receptionists from $300 a month for 30 calls, or an AI receptionist from free (25 calls) to $150 a month, with extras like booking priced per call. Ruby bills per minute, from $250 for 50 minutes to $1,725 for 500, with scheduling and bilingual answering included. Short calls favour Ruby; long calls favour Smith.ai.

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Side by side

11 points compared

Smith.aiRuby

  • Live receptionists 24/7

    YesYesYesYes

  • Billing basis

    Per callPer minute

  • Entry live plan

    $300 a month for 30 calls$250 a month for 50 minutes

  • Largest listed plan

    $2,100 a month for 300 calls$1,725 a month for 500 minutes

  • Overage

    $11.50 to $8.50 a call, by planNot shown on the pricing page
The first 5 rows of the full table further down this page. Features change, so confirm with each vendor.

Side-by-side

FeatureSmith.aiRuby
Live receptionists 24/7YesYes
Billing basisPer callPer minute
Entry live plan$300 a month for 30 calls$250 a month for 50 minutes
Largest listed plan$2,100 a month for 300 calls$1,725 a month for 500 minutes
Overage$11.50 to $8.50 a call, by planNot shown on the pricing page
AI receptionist optionYes. Free for 25 calls, Pro from $150 a monthAI features inside the live plans (transcripts, sentiment, AI-assisted call flows) at no extra cost
Appointment booking$1.50 a call add-onIncluded
Spanish or bilingualDedicated Spanish line, $1.00 a call24/7 bilingual answering available, no listed fee
Setup feesNoneNone
ContractMonth-to-month; 10% off for 12 monthsNot shown on the pricing page
Trial or guarantee30-day money-back guarantee on live plans; free AI tierNot shown on the pricing page

How does Smith.ai pricing work?

Smith.ai sells two products on one account, and you choose how calls get handled: AI-first, hybrid or human-first.

Live receptionists. Starter is $300 a month for 30 calls, Basic $810 for 90 and Pro $2,100 for 300. Extra calls cost $11.50, $10.50 or $8.50 depending on the plan. Spam doesn't count as long as your forwarded lines pass caller ID (Smith.ai receptionist pricing).

Many features are priced per call on top of the plan: booking appointments is $1.50, call recording and transcription $0.25, a dedicated Spanish line $1.00, taking payments $1.00 and text or email follow-up $0.50. Your first CRM connection is free.

AI receptionist. There's a free plan for 25 calls a month, then $3.00 a call. Pro starts at $150 a month for 75 calls and goes to $270 for 150. Enterprise starts at $500 for 300 calls and lists multi-location support. Calls the AI can't handle can transfer to a live North America-based receptionist (Smith.ai AI Receptionist pricing).

How does Ruby pricing work?

Ruby sells blocks of receptionist minutes: 50 minutes for $250 a month, 100 for $395, 200 for $720 and 500 for $1,725. Larger plans are quoted on request (Ruby plans and pricing).

Every plan has the same features. Ruby lists scheduling, payment collection, intake, outbound calls, bilingual answering and HIPAA-compliant service among them, and says there are no extra fees for setup, onboarding, customization or after-hours coverage. AI-powered transcripts, sentiment analysis and AI-assisted call flows are included at no extra cost. Ruby does not sell a separate AI-only receptionist on that page.

What the page doesn't show: the rate for minutes over your plan, and contract terms. Ask for both before you sign.

Which one costs less? A worked example

This is an example calculation, not a quote. Take a business that gets 100 calls a month and wants a live person on each one.

Average call lengthMinutes a monthRuby plan that covers itSmith.ai live cost
1.5 minutes150200 minutes: $720Basic $810 + 10 extra calls x $10.50 = $915
3 minutes300500 minutes: $1,725 (or 200 minutes plus overage at a rate you'd need to ask for)Same: $915
5 minutes500500 minutes: $1,725Same: $915

Two things stand out. Smith.ai's cost doesn't move with call length, and Ruby's does. At short calls Ruby comes out ahead. Once the average call passes about two minutes, Smith.ai is usually cheaper at this volume.

Now add booking. If 40 of those 100 calls end in an appointment, Smith.ai adds 40 x $1.50 = $60 a month. Ruby includes scheduling. Add recording and Smith.ai adds another $25. Those extras narrow the gap but rarely flip it.

If AI can handle most of your calls, the math changes again. Smith.ai's AI Pro plan covers 150 calls for $270 a month, with live transfer for the hard ones.

Do this with your own numbers. Pull last month's call log from your phone system. Count the calls, find the average length, and run both price lists. It takes ten minutes and beats any comparison chart, including this one.

When is Smith.ai the better choice?

  • Your calls run long. Intake, quotes and troubleshooting calls cost the same per call no matter how long they last.
  • You want AI first and people as backup. Smith.ai lets you start with its AI receptionist and move calls to live staff as needed, on one account.
  • You want to test cheaply. The free AI tier and the 30-day money-back guarantee on live plans lower the risk of trying it.
  • You need several transfer destinations. Pro includes 10, and more are $15 a month each.

When is Ruby the better choice?

  • Your calls are short. Message-taking and simple routing calls stretch a minute block further.
  • You want one price with features included. Scheduling, bilingual answering and payment collection aren't billed per call.
  • You want a person on every call. Ruby's service is built around live receptionists, with AI working in the background.
  • You also want website chat. Ruby sells chat plans and discounts them 20% when bundled with a receptionist plan.

When does neither one fit well?

Both are built for one business line answered the same way. They fit less well when:

  • You run several locations and each store has its own hours, prices and staff.
  • Callers ask things only your systems know, like "is my car ready?" or "do you have my tire size?".
  • You get hundreds of calls a week, where per-call or per-minute pricing adds up across stores.

That's the work we do: a custom AI receptionist that reads your POS or scheduler and hands the hard calls to your own team. If you want our honest view on whether you need that or a packaged service, we've written disclosed comparisons too: Trilix vs Smith.ai and Trilix vs Ruby.

What to ask any answering service

  1. What counts as a billable call or minute? Are spam, wrong numbers, hold time and transfers included?
  2. What's the overage rate, and does unused time roll over?
  3. Which features cost extra per call, and what would my bill have been last month with them?
  4. Is there a contract, a notice period or a cancellation fee?
  5. Can callers reach a person at 2 am, and what do they do with an urgent call?
  6. Where do call notes go: email, text, my CRM? Is that connection extra?
  7. Can I hear sample calls in my industry before I sign?

Frequently asked questions

Something else on your mind? Ask us directly or call 416-262-2723.

Is Smith.ai or Ruby cheaper?

It depends on call length. Smith.ai bills per call and Ruby per minute, so short calls favour Ruby and longer calls favour Smith.ai. In our 100-call example, Ruby was cheaper at a 1.5-minute average and Smith.ai was cheaper at 3 minutes and up.

Does Ruby have an AI receptionist?

Ruby's pricing page lists AI-powered transcripts, sentiment analysis and AI-assisted call flows inside its live plans at no extra cost. It does not list a separate AI-only plan the way Smith.ai does.

Does Smith.ai use real people?

Yes. Its live plans are answered by North America-based receptionists, and its AI receptionist can transfer calls to them at any time.

Do Smith.ai and Ruby charge setup fees?

Neither lists a setup fee. Ruby says there are no fees for activation, onboarding, setup or customization. Smith.ai lists no setup fees on its live plans.

Which is better for bilingual calls?

Ruby lists 24/7 Spanish and bilingual answering on every plan. Smith.ai offers a dedicated Spanish line at $1.00 a call.

Do I need a contract with either one?

Smith.ai is month-to-month, with 10% off if you commit to 12 months. Ruby's pricing page doesn't show contract terms, so ask its sales team.

Which is better for an auto shop or multi-location business?

Both are general-purpose and focus their pages on law, home services, professional services and healthcare. For several stores with high call volume, compare them against an AI agent connected to your shop software. Our best AI receptionist for auto shops roundup covers the options.

Keep reading

Not sure which way to go?

Send us your monthly call count and average call length. We'll tell you straight whether a packaged answering service or a custom build makes more sense for your business.

Book a callCall +1 416-262-2723

Also see: Goodcall vs Smith.ai · AI receptionist vs staff cost calculator

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