Smith.ai vs Ruby
Smith.ai vs Ruby: hybrid receptionists or premium humans?
Ruby bills the minute and includes everything. Smith.ai bills the call and itemizes the rest. Both answer 24/7. The math depends on how your callers talk.
7-day free trial on every plan · No per-minute charges · Competitor facts verified September 2026
Smith.ai and Ruby are the two names professional firms shortlist for live answering. Ruby sells US-based human receptionists in minute bundles from $250 a month for 50 minutes, all-inclusive, with a hosted business line and 20 years of high ratings. Smith.ai sells per-call answering from $300 a month for 30 human calls, or an AI-first tier from $150 for 75 calls with human backup, plus the deepest intake and CRM automation in the category, billed a la carte. Neither is a phone system for your team. This page compares what each costs at real volumes and who should pick which.
ROUND BY ROUND
Smith.ai vs Ruby, where each one wins.
Pricing model
Smith.ai winsSmith.ai bills per call, so a 12-minute intake costs the same as a 40-second message, and spam or wrong numbers are not counted when caller ID passes; Starter is $300 for 30 calls with $11.50 per call over. Ruby bills per receptionist minute in 60-second increments rounded up, including hold and wrap-up time, at $250 for 50 minutes with $5.40 per minute over, and the overage rates are not printed on the pricing page. For long or unpredictable calls, per-call billing is easier to forecast.
Where Ody lands: Ody is a per-user phone plan: $19 a month for a seat with the AI receptionist included at any call volume.
Who answers and when
EvenBoth cover 24/7 at the same rate with no after-hours premium. Ruby answers with US-based humans only, backed by AI transcripts and sentiment as assists, and its bilingual and outbound assists run weekdays 5am-6pm PT. Smith.ai gives you a choice: human-first Virtual Receptionists, or the AI Receptionist tier where AI answers and escalates to a live agent at about $3 per transfer. Premium human consistency versus a flexible human-AI continuum: it depends on what your callers expect.
Where Ody lands: Ody's AI receptionist answers 24/7 and hands calls to your team when you want, but there are no human receptionists.
Add-ons and the real bill
Ruby winsRuby's plan price includes scheduling, payment collection, intake, a HIPAA option and number hosting with no per-call add-ons; the fine print is a 3% card surcharge. Smith.ai itemizes almost everything: appointment booking $1.50 a call, text or email follow-up $0.50, recording and transcription $0.25, Spanish $1.00, payments $1.00, complex routing $1.50, extra transfer destinations $15 a month. Reviewers advise budgeting 20-30% above the Smith.ai plan price. Ruby's number is the number.
Where Ody lands: Ody's plan includes call answering, voicemail transcription and texting with no per-call add-ons; AI summaries arrive on Growth.
Integrations and intake
Smith.ai winsSmith.ai has the deepest stack in the category: Clio intake and conflict checks, payments, third-party intake forms, CRM push to HubSpot and Salesforce with the first CRM free, and Zapier. Ruby integrates with Clio, Grow, Zapier and others and takes messages and appointments well, but does not go as far into structured intake. For a law firm or professional practice that wants every call to become a qualified record, Smith.ai does more of the work.
Where Ody lands: Ody offers 43 integrations, a REST API, webhooks and MCP for ChatGPT and Claude on every plan.
Contract, trial and exit
Smith.ai winsSmith.ai is month to month with 10% off for a 12-month commitment, no setup fee, a free 25-call AI tier and a 30-day money-back guarantee up to $1,000; cancellation is by email and you are billed to the end of the cycle. Ruby is a 30-day auto-renewing contract with no setup fee, a 21-day or 500-minute money-back window, cancellation by phone or email before the next invoice, and downgrades only after three consecutive billing periods on a tier. Smith.ai is the more flexible commitment.
Where Ody lands: Ody bills monthly or annually, with a 7-day free trial of the full product.
PRICING
What each one actually costs.
Smith.ai Virtual Receptionist / AI Receptionist
Billed per call, not per minute, so long intake calls cost the same as short ones; spam and wrong numbers are not counted when caller ID passes. Month-to-month with 10% off for a 12-month commitment, no setup fee, 30-day money-back up to $1,000. Almost everything beyond answering is a per-call add-on: appointment booking $1.50, SMS/Slack/Teams transfer notification $0.50, text or email follow-up $0.50, recording and transcription $0.25, Spanish line $1.00, payments $1.00, third-party intake $1.00, complex routing $1.50, extra CRM $0.50; outbound caller ID $10/mo, extra transfer destination $15/mo. AI plans charge about $3.00 per live-agent transfer. Cancellation is by email and you are billed through the end of the cycle.
Ruby Receptionists (Call Ruby plans)
Ruby's 2026 card is $250 / $395 / $720 / $1,725 for 50 / 100 / 200 / 500 minutes (the older $235-1,640 card is gone). Overage is billed in arrears at $5.40 down to $3.30 per minute, and the public pricing page does not print those rates. Minutes are billed in 60-second increments rounded up, and billable time includes hold time and after-call wrap-up. No setup fee; 30-day auto-renewing contract, cancel by phone or email before the next invoice; downgrades only after three consecutive billing periods on a tier. Money-back guarantee: cancel within 21 days or 500 minutes, whichever comes first. 3% surcharge on credit-card payments.
Ody
One number per user included; extra local or toll-free numbers $5/mo each. Business texting needs one-time 10DLC registration ($20 setup + $4/mo per texting number, handled during onboarding). International calling is a $5/mo add-on with $5 of usage included. Plans are billed monthly or prepaid annually (annual saves up to 30%). Taxes apply; there are no per-minute charges and no AI credits.
Try for free →PRICE PER TEAM SIZE
What a team pays each month.
Monthly cost at 50, 100 and 200 answered calls, assuming 3 minutes per call (150, 300 and 600 receptionist minutes), September 2026 pricing. Smith.ai: the cheapest human plan plus per-call overage, or the AI Receptionist tier, before per-call add-ons such as booking ($1.50) or follow-up texts ($0.50). Ruby: the closest minute bundle plus overage billed in arrears at $4.40-5.40 per minute. Ody: one Starter seat at $19 per user with the AI receptionist included at any volume; Ody is a phone system with AI answering, not a human service. Taxes, setup fees and card surcharges excluded.
SIDE BY SIDE
Feature by feature, all three.
Competitor facts from their published pricing & docs, verified September 2026. Ody facts mirror our pricing page.
| Feature | Smith.ai Virtual Receptionist / AI Receptionist | Ruby Receptionists (Call Ruby plans) | Ody |
|---|---|---|---|
| Answering | |||
| Who answers | Smith.aiHumans (Virtual Receptionist) or AI with human backup | RubyUS-based humans | OdyYour AI receptionist, your team when you want |
| Coverage hours | Smith.ai24/7 included at the same per-call price | Ruby24/7/365 included; bilingual and outbound assists weekdays 5am-6pm PT | Ody24/7, included |
| Books appointments | Smith.aiYes, $1.50/call add-on on human plans; included on AI | Ruby✓ | Ody✓ |
| AI texts back missed calls | Smith.aiText follow-up $0.50/call add-on | Ruby— | Ody✓ |
| AI call summaries & transcripts | Smith.aiSummaries included; recording + transcript $0.25/call | RubyAI transcripts and sentiment analysis included | OdyGrowth+ |
| What you pay | |||
| Pricing model | Smith.aiPer call | RubyPer receptionist minute | OdyPer user, flat |
| Starting price | Smith.ai$300/mo human; $150/mo AI | Ruby$250/mo | Ody$19/user/mo ($15 annual) |
| Overage | Smith.ai$8.50-11.50/call human; ~$2.17-3.00/call AI | Ruby$3.30-5.40/min, billed in arrears | OdyNone |
| Fees above list price | Smith.aiPer-call add-ons stack; budget 20-30% above plan | Ruby3% card surcharge; hold and wrap-up time billed | OdyTaxes only. No recovery or E911 line items |
| Contract | Smith.aiMonth-to-month; 10% off for 12 months | Ruby30-day rolling; downgrade only after 3 cycles | OdyBilled monthly or annually. Change plans in-app |
| Free trial | Smith.ai30-day money-back (human); free 25-call AI tier | RubyNone; 21-day / 500-minute money-back | Ody7 days, every plan, full product |
| Phone system | |||
| Business phone system included | Smith.ai— | RubyHosted line + app; not a multi-user phone system | Ody✓ |
| Business texting (SMS/MMS) | Smith.aiSMS notifications to you; follow-ups $0.50/call | RubyFrom your business number via the Ruby app | OdyUS & Canada, 10DLC handled |
| Phone number included | Smith.aiFree forwarding number or free port-in | RubyRuby hosts your number or assigns one | Ody1 per user; extras $5/mo |
| Toll-free numbers | Smith.ai✓ | Ruby✓ | Ody✓ |
| Shared team inbox | Smith.ai— | Ruby— | Ody✓ |
| CRM integrations | Smith.aiFirst CRM free (Clio, HubSpot, Salesforce, Zapier); $0.50/call per extra | RubyClio, Grow, Zapier and others | Ody43 integrations, every plan |
| Beyond the call | |||
| ChatGPT / Claude (MCP) | Smith.ai— | Ruby— | Ody✓ |
| Developer API & webhooks | Smith.aiZapier; no public API | Ruby— | OdyEvery plan |
| Analytics & reporting | Smith.aiDashboard insights | RubyUsage alerts at 85% and 100% of minutes | OdyGrowth+ |
| Support | Smith.aiEmail and chat; success manager on Enterprise | RubyCustomer Happiness team by phone and email | OdyEmail (Starter), live chat (Growth), phone + onboarding (Enterprise) |
VERDICT BY USE CASE
Which one should you pick?
Clio intake, conflict checks, payments and CRM push to HubSpot or Salesforce, with the first CRM free. Ruby integrates with Clio but does not go as deep into structured intake.
US-based humans only, 24/7 at one rate, scheduling and payment collection included, a HIPAA option and 20 years of high ratings. Smith.ai's human plans are comparable but itemize the extras.
The AI Receptionist tier starts free for 25 calls and runs $150 a month for 75, escalating to live agents at about $3 per transfer. Ruby is humans only.
Ody's AI receptionist is included in a $19 per user phone plan, answers 24/7, books appointments and texts back, and the price does not move at 50, 100 or 200 calls. Pick Ruby or Smith.ai if callers must reach a human.
EVERYTHING INCLUDED
The whole phone system,
with the AI built in. One price.
Scroll through what every Ody workspace ships with: a number, calling and texting, a shared inbox, and a receptionist that never clocks out.
ChatGPT
Claude
CursorGo deeper, feature by feature.
All features →FAQ
Questions people ask before choosing.
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