AI-First vs Hybrid

JustCall vs Smith.ai

An honest comparison of JustCall and Smith.ai for AI phone answering. Find out which service fits your business best.

Quick Overview

JustCall is business phone system with ai voice agent add-on, starting at $29/user/month. Smith.ai is ai + live agent hybrid for the front office. Both serve the AI phone answering space, but they differ in pricing, features, and target audience.

JustCall vs Smith.ai: At a Glance

JustCall

AI-First

$29/user/month (Team plan, billed annually)
Comprehensive phone system with unlimited calling, SMS, and 100+ CRM integrations
AI Voice Agent answers calls 24/7, qualifies leads, books meetings, and routes calls
Supports 14 languages for AI Voice Agent

Best for: Sales teams and call centers needing a full phone system with AI dialers, coaching, and voice agents

Smith.ai

Hybrid

$95/month (AI Receptionist self-service)
Hybrid model with 500+ live agents available for handoff when AI can't handle a call
143 integrations including deep CRM support (HubSpot, Salesforce, Clio)
Established brand trusted by 5,000+ businesses with high review ratings (4.8+ on Clutch and G2)

Best for: Law firms and professional services needing AI plus live agent backup

JustCall vs Smith.ai: Feature Comparison

See how these two services compare on key features.

Feature comparison between JustCall and Smith.ai. Check marks mean Yes, X marks mean No, dashes mean Partial support, and question marks mean Unknown.
FeatureJustCallSmith.ai
AI Call Handling
Yes
Yes
Appointment Booking
Yes
Yes
Lead Capture
Yes
Yes
Call Recording
Yes
Yes
Call Transfers
Unknown
Yes
Voicemail
Yes
Unknown
SMS Notifications
Yes
Yes
Bilingual Support
Yes
No
HIPAA Compliance
Yes
Unknown
CRM Integration
Yes
Yes
Dedicated Phone Number
Yes
Yes
Custom AI Training
Yes
Yes
Custom Greetings
Unknown
Yes
Quick Setup
Unknown
No

Pricing Comparison

How JustCall and Smith.ai compare on cost.

JustCall Pricing

Per-user monthly pricing plus per-minute AI Voice Agent add-on

$29/user/month (Team plan, billed annually)

Team: $29/user/mo

Unlimited outbound & inbound minutes, 500 SMS segments, local numbers in 70+ countries, 100+ CRM integrations, IVR & call menus, analytics, API access. AI Voice Agent available as add-on. Minimum 2 users.

Pro: $49/user/mo

Everything in Team plus power dialer, bulk SMS, queue callback, intelligent call routing, Salesforce CTI, advanced analytics. Minimum 2 users.

Pro Plus: $89/user/mo

Everything in Pro plus AI coaching, real-time agent assist, AI call scoring, sentiment analysis, script compliance. Minimum 2 users.

Business: Custom pricing

Everything in Pro Plus plus unlimited calling & SMS, SSO, HIPAA/GDPR compliance, personalized onboarding, dedicated phone support. Minimum 10 users.

AI Voice Agent is a separate add-on at $0.99/minute, available on all plans. All plans require a minimum of 2 users. Business plan (HIPAA-compliant) requires minimum 10 users with custom pricing. Annual billing shown; monthly pricing is higher. 14-day free trial available.

Smith.ai Pricing

Per-call pricing with self-service and guided annual plans

$95/month (AI Receptionist self-service)

Self-Service (~2 calls/day): $95/mo

$1.90/call, month-to-month, no dedicated support, unused calls expire monthly, overages at $2.40/call

Self-Service (~5 calls/day): $270/mo

$1.80/call, month-to-month, no dedicated support, unused calls expire monthly, overages at $2.40/call

Self-Service (~15 calls/day): $800/mo

$1.60/call, month-to-month, no dedicated support, unused calls expire monthly, overages at $2.40/call

Guided Annual (~10 calls/day): $500/mo

$1.50/call, billed annually, dedicated success manager, custom integrations, no overages

Guided Annual (~25 calls/day): $1,000/mo

$1.33/call, billed annually, dedicated success manager, custom integrations, no overages

Guided Annual (~55 calls/day): $2,000/mo

$1.20/call, billed annually, dedicated success manager, custom integrations, no overages

AI Receptionist pricing shown above. Smith.ai also offers a separate Virtual Receptionists product (human-first live answering) with its own pricing. Live agent handoff on the AI Receptionist costs an additional $3 per call. Many features like appointment booking ($1.50/call), SMS notifications ($0.50/call), and Spanish support ($1.00/call) are add-on charges on the Virtual Receptionist product. Self-service plans require a $2,000 add-on for custom configuration that annual plans include free.

Strengths & Weaknesses

JustCall

Strengths

  • Comprehensive phone system with unlimited calling, SMS, and 100+ CRM integrations
  • AI Voice Agent answers calls 24/7, qualifies leads, books meetings, and routes calls
  • Supports 14 languages for AI Voice Agent
  • Power dialer and predictive dialer for outbound sales teams
  • AI coaching, call scoring, and real-time agent assist on higher plans

Weaknesses

  • Per-user pricing with 2-user minimum — Team plan starts at $58/month for 2 users
  • AI Voice Agent costs $0.99/minute extra on top of base plan
  • HIPAA compliance only on Business tier (custom pricing, 10-user minimum)
  • Complex pricing with multiple tiers, add-ons, and minimums
  • Designed for sales teams and call centers — overkill for small businesses needing basic answering

Smith.ai

Strengths

  • Hybrid model with 500+ live agents available for handoff when AI can't handle a call
  • 143 integrations including deep CRM support (HubSpot, Salesforce, Clio)
  • Established brand trusted by 5,000+ businesses with high review ratings (4.8+ on Clutch and G2)
  • Outbound calling and web chat products available
  • Strong presence in legal industry with specialized intake workflows

Weaknesses

  • AI Receptionist starts at $95/month — more than 3x Dialzara's $29/month entry price
  • Per-call pricing model means costs scale up quickly with call volume
  • Many features are paid add-ons: scheduling ($1.50/call), SMS alerts ($0.50/call), Spanish ($1.00/call), call recording ($0.25/call)
  • Live agent handoff costs an additional $3 per call on top of base pricing
  • Best pricing requires annual commitment starting at $500/month ($6,000/year)
Consider an Alternative

Looking for a Better Option? Try Dialzara

While JustCall and Smith.ai each have their strengths, Dialzara offers a purpose-built AI answering service starting at just $29/month with features that both services charge more for — including bilingual English/Spanish support, appointment booking, call transfers, HIPAA compliance, and Zapier integration on every plan.

$29/month

Flat pricing with 60 minutes included. No per-user charges.

2-Minute Setup

Enter your website URL and your AI agent is ready to go.

HIPAA Compliant

Healthcare-ready on all plans, starting at $29/month.

JustCall vs Smith.ai: FAQ

Common questions about the differences between JustCall and Smith.ai.