Smith.ai vs Ruby Pricing 2026: Per Call or Per Minute
Published · prices checked October 26, 2026
Key takeaways
- At 100 three-minute calls a month, Smith.ai costs $915 and Ruby $1,160 (prices checked October 26, 2026).
- Smith.ai charges its add-ons on every call of the plan, not only the calls that use them; Ruby bills hold time and after-call work, rounded up to the minute.
- Smith.ai costs less at 20, 50, 100, 200 and 300 three-minute calls a month. Ruby costs less at 15 calls, where its smallest plan still covers the minutes.
- Ruby publishes a page against per-call pricing; Smith.ai's own policy caps extended intake at an average of 120 seconds, so a call is not unlimited length.
- Ruby asks for no notice period to cancel; Smith.ai's terms ask for 30 days before the cycle ends or bill the next month.
At 100 three-minute calls a month, Smith.ai Virtual Receptionists cost $915 and Ruby costs $1,160, each on its cheapest plan for that volume (prices checked October 26, 2026). The difference that matters most is the meter: Smith.ai counts calls, Ruby counts minutes, so call length moves only Ruby's bill.
Smith.ai vs Ruby pricing at a glance
Prices checked against each vendor's own pricing page on October 26, 2026.
| Term | Smith.ai Virtual Receptionists | Ruby |
|---|---|---|
| Billing unit | Per call | Per minute |
| Entry plan | $300/month (30 calls) | $250/month (50 minutes) |
| 50 calls a month | $530 | $620 |
| 100 calls a month | $915 | $1,160 |
| 200 calls a month | $1,965 | $2,125 |
| Overage | $8.50 to $11.50 a call | $3.30 to $5.40 a minute |
| Rounding | Per call; extended intake must average 120 seconds or less | 60 seconds, rounded up per call |
| Billed beyond talk time | Add-ons charged per call | Hold time and after-call work; talk after a transfer not billed |
| Spam and short calls | Spam, misdials and callers who leave no message are not counted when caller ID passes | Opt-in robocall filter not billed |
| Setup fee | None | No setup fee on the pricing page; the terms allow setup or activation fees |
| Contract | Cancel 30 days before the cycle ends or the next month is billed; annual plans prepaid and non-refundable | 30-day contract that renews automatically |
| Trial | No live trial; money-back within 14 or 30 days, capped at $1,000 | No trial; money-back within 21 days or 500 minutes |
| Source | smith.ai/pricing/receptionists, read Oct 26, 2026 | ruby.com/plans-and-pricing, read Oct 26, 2026 |
Our arithmetic: each vendor's cheapest published plan for that volume plus its published overage, at 3-minute calls. Taxes, setup fees and add-ons are not included. How we price.
The arithmetic once, at 100 calls. Smith.ai's Basic plan is $810/month for 90 calls, and the 10 calls past it bill at $10.50 a call. Ruby needs 300 minutes. Its nearest plan is $720/month for 200 minutes, plus 100 minutes at $4.40 a minute.
Where Smith.ai costs less
From 20 three-minute calls a month up, nearly everywhere. Smith.ai costs less than Ruby at 20, 50, 100, 200 and 300 calls. At 100 calls Ruby costs $245 a month more, or $2,940 a year.
The gap widens at the top of Smith.ai's plan list. At 300 calls Smith.ai's Pro plan, $2,100/month for 300 calls, works out to $7.00 a call. Ruby at the same volume costs $3,127.50, 1.5 times as much.
Call length pushes the same way. Every number here assumes 3-minute calls. A 6-minute call doubles Ruby's billed time and leaves Smith.ai's price for that call where it was, within Smith.ai's reasonable-use limits.
Where Ruby costs less
At very low volume. 15 three-minute calls are 45 minutes, which fit Ruby's smallest plan, $250/month for 50 minutes. Smith.ai's smallest is $300/month for 30 calls, so at 15 calls it costs $50 a month more than Ruby.
At 20 calls the order turns: Ruby goes past its 50 minutes and bills $304, against Smith.ai's $300. The two then trade places once more, at a single volume. At 67 calls Ruby costs $724.40 and Smith.ai $725.50, because Smith.ai is 37 calls into its overage. One call later Smith.ai is back below. Treat that as a tie.
Shorter calls also favor Ruby. A 1-minute call bills one minute at Ruby and one full call at Smith.ai.
How each counts a minute, or a call
Ruby's terms: "In all cases, Receptionist Minutes are calculated and billed in 60-second increments and calls are rounded up to the next 60-second mark." The clock includes hold: "We include hold time but exclude talk time once a call is transferred to you or your voicemail box." (ruby.com/terms, read October 26, 2026)
Smith.ai's pricing FAQ: "Billing per client call saves you money, and there's no mystery accounting involved." (smith.ai/pricing/receptionists, read October 26, 2026)
What each says about the other's model
Ruby publishes a page against per-call billing: "Per-call pricing tends to be misleading. This is the 'too good to be true' option." Its reason: "Services such as intake, call routing, number hosting, and integrations likely come with additional charges." (ruby.com, read October 7, 2026)
Smith.ai's own price list bears part of that out. Extended intake is $1.50 a call and complex call routing $1.50 a call; the first CRM integration and the dedicated number are free (smith.ai/pricing/receptionists, read October 26, 2026).
Per call is also not unlimited length. Smith.ai's reasonable use policy says "Calls that do not fall within this scope may incur additional fees to cover time and effort," and "Extended Intake cannot exceed an average of 120 seconds." (smith.ai reasonable use policy, read October 7, 2026) A long intake call is cheaper per call at Smith.ai only while the average stays inside that line.
The catch with each
Smith.ai
- Add-ons are charged on every call of the plan. Its help center asks "Why should I pay for this on all calls?" and answers "Per-call pricing gives you a blended average cost of that functionality, proportional to your call plan." (docs.smith.ai, read October 7, 2026) Booking at $1.50 and recording at $0.25 raise the price of every call, booked or not.
- A 30-day exit. The pricing FAQ says "If you ever cancel, we bill for and through the end of the current monthly billing cycle, and then you're done." The terms say "If the Subscriber cancels within thirty (30) days of the end of the cycle, they will be billed for the following month." (smith.ai/receptionists/terms, read October 26, 2026) The terms are the contract.
- Spam is free only with caller ID. "No, as long as the lines you forward to us pass Caller ID, you won't be charged for spam or unsolicited sales calls." (pricing FAQ, read October 26, 2026)
Ruby
- Overage costs more than the plan rate. On the 200-minute plan the included minutes work out to $720 ÷ 200 min = $3.60/min, and each minute past them costs $4.40 a minute. The rates are in Ruby's help center, not on its pricing page.
- The meter runs past the conversation. Hold time counts, and so does after-call work: "any time a receptionist spends completing any information on your call after the caller has hung up" (ruby.com/terms, read October 26, 2026). A 10-second hang-up bills a full minute.
- Robocall filtering is opt-in. "Ruby is happy to activate our complimentary Robocall Filtering feature at your request." Filtered calls "will not count towards your billable receptionist minutes" (Ruby help center, read October 26, 2026). Nothing says a solicitor who reaches a person is free.
Ruby's exit is the easier one: "You may cancel your Customer Contract at any time by contacting Ruby at billing@ruby.com or 866-611-7829 before your next invoice date." (ruby.com/terms, read October 26, 2026)
Who owns what
The two are separate companies. Smith.ai's terms name "Smith.ai, Inc."; Ruby's name Ruby Receptionists, Inc. and its subsidiary Pure Chat, Inc. Smith.ai also sells an AI Receptionist under the same company, priced below. Ruby's contract shares clauses with Posh's, word for word in places; the Ruby vs Posh comparison quotes them.
Which one to pick
- Pick Smith.ai if you take 20 calls a month or more (apart from a near tie around 67 calls), or your calls run long: $915 at 100 calls against Ruby's $1,160. It may not fit if you need several add-ons, each charged on every call, or a quick exit.
- Pick Ruby if you take about 15 short calls a month and want to leave without notice: $250 against $300. From 20 calls it costs more than Smith.ai at every volume we priced except a near-tie at 67.
- Pick neither if price leads. The live services below cost less than Smith.ai at 100 calls, and Smith.ai vs Abby Connect covers the live-and-AI option.
Alternatives to both
| Service | Billing unit | Entry plan | 50 calls/mo | 100 calls/mo | 200 calls/mo | Overage | Contract | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ReceptionHQ ReceptionistPlus | Per call | $35/month (pay per use at $2.99/call) | $135 | $260 | $505 | $2.99 a call | Month-to-month; email 3 days before renewal | receptionhq.com/service/live-call-answering/virtual-receptionist, read Oct 26, 2026 |
| Go Answer | Per minute | $175/month (100 minutes) | $262.50 | $345 | $700 | $1.25 to $1.75 a minute | "Cancel anytime", but the FAQ asks for 30 days written notice; no proration | goanswer.io/pricing/live-receptionist, read Oct 26, 2026 |
| PATLive | Per minute | $49/month (pay per use at $2.99/min) | $293.50 | $479 | $938 | $1.49 to $2.29 a minute | Month-to-month | patlive.com/pricing, read Oct 26, 2026 |
| Posh | Per minute | $65/month (pay per use at $2.30/min) | $322.50 | $630 | $1,170 | $1.90 to $2.20 a minute | Month-to-month; cancels at the end of the cycle; non-refundable | posh.com/pricing, read Oct 26, 2026 |
At 100 three-minute calls, Posh, PATLive, Go Answer and ReceptionHQ ReceptionistPlus each cost less than Smith.ai, and so less than Ruby. ReceptionHQ ReceptionistPlus bills per call like Smith.ai, and charges extra per transfer. Every live option at the same volumes is on virtual receptionist pricing.
AI receptionists, Smith.ai's own included
| Service | Entry plan | 3 calls/day (90/mo) | 5 calls/day (150/mo) | 13 calls/day (390/mo) | If calls double (13 to 26 a day) | Overage | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smith.ai AI Receptionist | Free (25 calls), then $150/month (75 calls) | $187.50 | $270 | $695.30 | +$692.70 | $2.10 to $3.00 a call | smith.ai/pricing/ai-receptionist, read Oct 26, 2026 |
| Goodcall | $79/month (100 unique callers) | $79 | $118.50 | $129 | +$72.80 | $0.15 to $0.79 a caller | goodcall.com/pricing, read Oct 26, 2026 |
| NextPhone | $199/month (unlimited calls) | $199 | $199 | $199 | No change | None, unlimited calls | getnextphone.com/pricing, read Oct 26, 2026 |
| Upfirst | $24.95/month (30 calls) | $59.95 | $119.95 | $227.45 | +$197.55 | $0.70 to $1.50 a call | upfirst.ai/pricing, read Oct 26, 2026 |
| Phonely | Free (100 minutes), then $50/month (200 minutes) | $67.50 to $74.50 | $112.50 to $137.50 | $292.50 to $389.50 | +$292.50 to $409.50 | $0.25 to $0.35 a minute | phonely.ai/pricing, read Oct 26, 2026 |
| Rosie | $49/month (250 minutes) | $149 | $149 | $299 | Not computable | Moves up to the next plan | heyrosie.com/pricing, read Oct 26, 2026 |
| My AI Front Desk | $99/month (240 minutes: 200 voice plus a 1,000-credit pool worth 40) | $106.50 | $151.50 | $331.50 | +$292.50 | $0.25 a minute | myaifrontdesk.com/pricing, read Oct 26, 2026 |
| Dialzara | $29/month (60 minutes) | $121.50 | $199 | $408.50 | +$409.50 | $0.35 to $0.48 a minute | dialzara.com/pricing, read Oct 26, 2026 |
| RingCentral AI Receptionist | From $49/month (100 minutes) | $134 | $224 | $584 | +$585 | $0.50 a minute | ringcentral.com/pricing/ai-receptionist.html, read Oct 26, 2026 |
| Simple Phones | From $97/month (100 calls) | $97 | Not computable from the published price | Not computable from the published price | Not computable | Not published | simplephones.ai/pricing, read Oct 26, 2026 |
Every AI receptionist with a published price costs less than Smith.ai's live plans at 13 calls a day, Smith.ai's own AI Receptionist at $695.30 among them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Smith.ai cheaper than Ruby?
At 100 three-minute calls a month, yes: Smith.ai costs $915 and Ruby $1,160 (prices checked October 26, 2026). Smith.ai also costs less at 20, 50, 200 and 300 calls. Ruby costs less at 15 calls, where its 50-minute plan covers the minutes.
Does Ruby charge per call or per minute?
Per minute. Ruby's terms bill receptionist time in 60-second increments, round every call up to the next minute, and count hold time and after-call work. Talk time after a call is transferred to you is not billed.
Does Smith.ai charge for long calls?
Not by the minute, within limits. Smith.ai bills per call, but its reasonable use policy says extended intake "cannot exceed an average of 120 seconds" and that calls outside its scope "may incur additional fees to cover time and effort."
Which is easier to cancel, Smith.ai or Ruby?
Ruby. Its terms accept a cancellation by email or phone before the next invoice date, effective at the end of the billing period. Smith.ai's terms ask for 30 days before the end of the cycle, or the next month is billed.
Do Smith.ai and Ruby charge for spam calls?
Smith.ai does not count spam, misdials or sales calls when the forwarded line passes caller ID. Ruby does not bill robocalls caught by its filter, which it turns on at your request; its help center does not say a solicitor who reaches a receptionist is free.
Does Smith.ai have an AI receptionist?
Yes. Smith.ai's AI Receptionist costs $695.30 a month at 13 three-minute calls a day, against $2,865 for its live Virtual Receptionists at the same volume. Both bill per call.
How these numbers were made
Every vendor price on this page was read from the vendor's own pricing page on the date in its Source cell and saved as a dated capture. Monthly costs use each vendor's cheapest published plan for the volume plus its published overage, at 3-minute calls. Vendors that hide prices stay in the tables as quote only. We do not test answering quality and publish no ratings.
Sources
Vendor pricing and terms pages, from the price index
- Dialzara: dialzara.com/pricing (read October 26, 2026); dialzara.com/terms-of-use (read October 27, 2026)
- Go Answer: goanswer.io/pricing/live-receptionist (read October 26, 2026); goanswer.io/terms-conditions (read October 7, 2026)
- Goodcall: goodcall.com/pricing (read October 26, 2026); help.goodcall.com/en/articles/8007566-terms-of-service (read October 27, 2026)
- My AI Front Desk: myaifrontdesk.com/pricing (read October 26, 2026); myaifrontdesk.com/terms-of-service (read October 27, 2026)
- NextPhone: getnextphone.com/pricing (read October 26, 2026)
- PATLive: patlive.com/pricing (read October 26, 2026); patlive.com/terms-of-use (read October 7, 2026)
- Phonely: phonely.ai/pricing (read October 26, 2026)
- Posh: posh.com/pricing (read October 26, 2026); posh.com/terms (read October 7, 2026)
- ReceptionHQ ReceptionistPlus: receptionhq.com/service/live-call-answering/virtual-receptionist (read October 26, 2026); receptionhq.com/call-answering-service-terms (read October 7, 2026)
- RingCentral AI Receptionist: ringcentral.com/pricing/ai-receptionist.html (read October 26, 2026)
- Rosie: heyrosie.com/pricing (read October 26, 2026); heyrosie.com/legal/terms (read October 27, 2026)
- Ruby: ruby.com/plans-and-pricing (read October 26, 2026); ruby.com/terms (read October 7, 2026)
- Simple Phones: simplephones.ai/pricing (read October 26, 2026)
- Smith.ai AI Receptionist: smith.ai/pricing/ai-receptionist (read October 26, 2026)
- Smith.ai Virtual Receptionists: smith.ai/pricing/receptionists (read October 26, 2026); smith.ai/receptionists/terms (read October 7, 2026)
- Upfirst: upfirst.ai/pricing (read October 26, 2026); upfirst.ai/terms-of-service (read October 27, 2026)
Other pages quoted
- Ruby: per-minute vs per-call virtual receptionist pricing, read October 7, 2026
- Ruby terms, read October 26, 2026
- Ruby help center: robocall filtering, read October 26, 2026
- Smith.ai terms, read October 26, 2026
- Smith.ai reasonable use policy, read October 7, 2026
- Smith.ai help: why are add-ons per call, read October 7, 2026
Changes to these prices
- Upfirst: cancellation notice recorded as none. Its pricing FAQ says "You can cancel, upgrade, or downgrade anytime, no questions asked," the same strength as other cancel-anytime terms. Its setup-fee summary now reads "None stated": no page says there is no fee. No price changed.
- My AI Front Desk: the 1,000 monthly overage credits its pricing page lists as included ("Extra credits you get each month in case you go over your included usage") now count as 40 included minutes, so Business-in-a-Box covers 240 minutes before the $0.25 rate applies (was 200).
- Phonely: its Professional plan card says 650 minutes and its comparison table 750; the card is used. When two plans tie on their lowest cost, the one with the narrower range is chosen, so Phonely at 300 calls a month prices on Professional alone.
- My AI Front Desk: billing-term summaries (billing unit, rounding, time billed beyond the call, spam, setup fee, contract, trial) added from the vendor-data billing-terms and contracts files and their captures. No price changed.
- Simple Phones: billing-term summaries (billing unit, rounding, time billed beyond the call, spam, setup fee, contract, trial) added from the vendor-data billing-terms and contracts files and their captures. No price changed.
- Phonely: billing-term summaries (billing unit, rounding, time billed beyond the call, spam, setup fee, contract, trial) added from the vendor-data billing-terms and contracts files and their captures. No price changed.
- RingCentral AI Receptionist: billing-term summaries (billing unit, rounding, time billed beyond the call, spam, setup fee, contract, trial) added from the vendor-data billing-terms and contracts files and their captures. No price changed.
- Rosie added from its own pricing page (captured October 26, 2026), with billing terms from its terms, FAQ and help pages (read October 27, 2026). Rosie moves an account up a plan instead of charging overage.
- Goodcall added from its own pricing page (captured October 26, 2026), with billing terms from its terms, FAQ and help pages (read October 27, 2026). Goodcall bills per unique caller a month; our arithmetic counts every call as a different caller.
- Dialzara added from its own pricing page (captured October 26, 2026), with billing terms from its terms, FAQ and help pages (read October 27, 2026).
- Upfirst added from its own pricing page (captured October 26, 2026), with billing terms from its terms, FAQ and help pages (read October 27, 2026). Upfirst does not bill calls under 15 seconds or spam.
- Smith.ai AI Receptionist Enterprise at 500 calls ($800, $2.10 per extra call) added from its pricing page, in a full re-check of every source page.
- Added NextPhone Pro, Growth and Scale from its public pricing page. All three plans include unlimited calls with no per-minute charge or overage fee.
- PATLive added its 2,000 to 5,000-minute tiers.
- Smith.ai AI Receptionist: billing terms added.
- ReceptionHQ ReceptionistPlus added as its own live row (messages and call transfers; read October 5, 2026): from $35 a month plus $2.99 a call to $2,440 for 1,000 calls, from its ReceptionistPlus page and the price table in ReceptionHQ's terms (read October 7, 2026), with its own billing terms ($0.30 a call after hours, $0.30 per transfer).
- Go Answer: 1,700, 2,500, 5,000 and 10,000 minutes ($1,870, $2,750, $5,500 and $11,000, overage $1.40 and $1.25 a minute) added from its pricing page (read October 5, 2026).
- Ruby: 1,500, 2,000 and 2,500 minutes ($4,945, $6,400 and $7,875, overage $3.50 to $3.30 a minute) added from its help center (read October 7, 2026).
- My AI Front Desk: overage of $0.25 a minute (25 credits at $0.01) added; it was on the captured page but missing here.
- Go Answer: 750 minutes ($825) added; it was on the captured page but missing here.
- Smith.ai AI Receptionist: billing terms added from its terms, FAQ and help pages (read October 7, 2026): billing unit, rounding, time billed beyond the call, spam billing, setup fee, contract and trial.
- Ruby: billing terms added from its terms, FAQ and help pages (read October 7, 2026): billing unit, rounding, time billed beyond the call, spam billing, setup fee, contract and trial.
- Smith.ai Virtual Receptionists: billing terms added from its terms, FAQ and help pages (read October 7, 2026): billing unit, rounding, time billed beyond the call, spam billing, setup fee, contract and trial.
- PATLive: billing terms added from its terms, FAQ and help pages (read October 7, 2026): billing unit, rounding, time billed beyond the call, spam billing, setup fee, contract and trial.
- Posh: billing terms added from its terms, FAQ and help pages (read October 7, 2026): billing unit, rounding, time billed beyond the call, spam billing, setup fee, contract and trial.
- ReceptionHQ ReceptionistPlus: billing terms added from its terms, FAQ and help pages (read October 7, 2026): billing unit, rounding, time billed beyond the call, spam billing, setup fee, contract and trial.
- Go Answer: billing terms added from its terms, FAQ and help pages (read October 7, 2026): billing unit, rounding, time billed beyond the call, spam billing, setup fee, contract and trial.
- Ruby: overage rates added from its help center ($5.40/min on the 50-minute plan down to $3.65 on 1,000 minutes), plus the 350, 750 and 1,000 minute plans published there. Ruby's pricing page still shows no overage rate.
Download the data
The first table on this page (CSV, 13 rows). The full price index (CSV), free to reuse under CC BY 4.0.
How to cite this page
ReceptionistPrices.com, Smith.ai vs Ruby Pricing 2026: Per Call or Per Minute, prices checked October 26, 2026, https://www.receptionistprices.com/smith-ai-vs-ruby/