# My AI Front Desk vs Smith.ai: feature, pricing, and use-case comparison

> Canonical: https://dialzara.com/compare/my-ai-front-desk-vs-smith-ai  
> Summary: Reference comparison of My AI Front Desk (ai receptionist for small businesses and solopreneurs) and Smith.ai (ai + live agent hybrid for the front office) — pricing, features, strengths, and when each one fits.

## Summary

My AI Front Desk is ai receptionist for small businesses and solopreneurs. Smith.ai is ai + live agent hybrid for the front office. This page lists the structured differences in pricing, features, and target fit between the two so a reader can decide which is the better match for their use case.

## At a glance

| | My AI Front Desk | Smith.ai |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Type** | ai-first | hybrid |
| **Starting price** | $99/month (Starter) | $95/month (AI Receptionist self-service) |
| **Pricing model** | Tiered monthly pricing with minutes included | Per-call pricing with self-service and guided annual plans |
| **Public pricing** | Yes | Yes |
| **Target market** | Solopreneurs and small service businesses like salons, contractors, and tutors | Law firms and professional services needing AI plus live agent backup |

## Feature comparison

| Feature | My AI Front Desk | Smith.ai | Dialzara | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| AI Call Handling | Yes | Yes | Yes |  |
| Appointment Booking | Unknown | Yes | Yes | Smith.ai supports Calendly on AI Receptionist; Dialzara integrates with Google Calendar and others via Zapier |
| Lead Capture | Yes | Yes | Yes |  |
| Call Recording | Yes | Yes | Yes | Smith.ai includes recording on AI Receptionist; charges $0.25/call on Virtual Receptionists |
| Call Transfers | Yes | Yes | Yes |  |
| SMS Notifications | Yes | Yes | Yes |  |
| Bilingual Support | No | No | Yes | Dialzara includes English/Spanish on every plan; My AI Front Desk restricts non-English support to Growth ($149/mo) and above / Dialzara includes bilingual English/Spanish on all plans; Smith.ai charges $1.00/call extra for Spanish on Virtual Receptionists |
| HIPAA Compliance | No | Unknown | Yes | Dialzara is HIPAA compliant; My AI Front Desk does not advertise HIPAA compliance |
| CRM Integration | Unknown | Yes | Yes | Smith.ai supports 143 integrations including HubSpot, Salesforce, Clio |
| Dedicated Phone Number | Yes | Yes | Yes |  |
| Custom AI Training | Yes | Yes | Yes | Smith.ai supports up to 50 custom Q&A pairs on AI Receptionist |
| Custom Greetings | Unknown | Yes | Yes |  |
| Quick Setup | Yes | No | Yes | Both services offer fast setup — Dialzara trains from your website URL in 2 minutes / Enter your URL and your AI agent trains on your business instantly; Smith.ai's guided plans take 48+ hours to set up |

## About My AI Front Desk

My AI Front Desk is an AI-powered virtual receptionist that handles phone calls, appointment scheduling, and lead capture 24/7. They offer Starter ($99/mo) and Growth ($149/mo) plans with 200 and 300 minutes included respectively, plus enterprise options. They use GPT-4, Claude, and Grok AI models with 100+ voice options. However, key features like Zapier/API integrations, booking workflows, and non-English support are restricted to higher-tier plans.

- **Type:** ai-first
- **Target market:** Solopreneurs and small service businesses like salons, contractors, and tutors
- **Website:** https://www.myaifrontdesk.com

### My AI Front Desk pricing

- **Model:** Tiered monthly pricing with minutes included
- **Starting price:** $99/month (Starter)
- **Per-minute rate:** $0.12/min overage
- **Public pricing:** Yes

| Tier | Price | Details |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Starter | $99/mo | 200 minutes included, 2 text/transfer/ticket actions, 10-page knowledge base, no booking workflows, no non-English support, no Zapier/API |
| Growth | $149/mo | 300 minutes included, 6 text/transfer/ticket actions, 20-page knowledge base, booking workflows, non-English support, no Zapier/API |
| Enterprise | Custom pricing | Volume discounts, unlimited actions, Zapier & API integrations, SAML/SSO, dedicated support, outbound calling |

Annual billing saves 20% (Starter: $79/mo, Growth: $119/mo). Overages are $0.12 per additional minute. Starter plan lacks booking workflows, non-English support, time controls, and Zapier/API integrations. Zapier and API integrations are only available on Enterprise plans. Parallel calls limited to 2 on Starter and 4 on Growth. Call log retention is limited to 50 on Starter and 100 on Growth.

### Strengths

- Multiple AI models to choose from (GPT-4, Claude, Grok)
- 100+ premium voice options for customization
- Affordable annual pricing at $79/mo for Starter
- Low overage rate at $0.12 per additional minute
- Trusted by 10,000+ businesses
- Ticket creation and advanced workflow actions on Growth plan

### Weaknesses

- Starting price of $99/month — more than 3x Dialzara's $29/month
- Key features locked behind higher tiers: no booking workflows, no non-English support, and no time controls on Starter ($99/mo)
- Zapier and API integrations only available on Enterprise plans — not accessible to most small businesses
- No HIPAA compliance — not suitable for healthcare or regulated industries
- Limited call log retention: 50 calls on Starter, 100 on Growth — logs get deleted
- Parallel call limits: only 2 simultaneous calls on Starter, 4 on Growth
- Knowledge base limited to 10 pages on Starter and 20 pages on Growth
- No human escalation option — pure AI with no fallback for complex calls

## About Smith.ai

Smith.ai offers two products: an AI Receptionist (AI-first with optional live agent handoff) and Virtual Receptionists (human-first live answering). Their AI Receptionist uses AI to handle calls with the option to escalate to one of 500+ live agents at $3 per call. Pricing is per-call, starting at $95/month for self-service plans and $500/month for guided annual plans. They support 143 integrations and are trusted by 5,000+ businesses.

- **Type:** hybrid
- **Target market:** Law firms and professional services needing AI plus live agent backup
- **Website:** https://smith.ai
- **Best for:** Law firms, Professional services, Marketing agencies

### Smith.ai pricing

- **Model:** Per-call pricing with self-service and guided annual plans
- **Starting price:** $95/month (AI Receptionist self-service)
- **Public pricing:** Yes
- **Source:** https://smith.ai/pricing
- **Last verified:** 2026-05-14

| Tier | Price | Details |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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

- 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)
- Self-service plans lack dedicated support, custom integrations, and require a $2,000 add-on for custom configuration
- Guided annual plans take 48+ hours to set up with a 30-90 day ramp period
- Complex pricing structure across multiple products and add-ons can be confusing

### Common user complaints

- Per-call pricing with add-on fees for scheduling, SMS, and Spanish adds up fast
- Self-service plans require a $2,000 add-on for custom configuration
- $3-per-call live agent handoff fee on top of base plans
- Unused calls expire monthly on self-service plans
- Annual guided plans require a 12-month commitment

### Review sources

- [G2](https://www.g2.com/products/smith-ai/reviews)
- [Capterra](https://www.capterra.com/p/smith-ai/)

## Frequently asked questions

### What is the main difference between My AI Front Desk and Smith.ai?

My AI Front Desk is ai receptionist for small businesses and solopreneurs. Smith.ai is ai + live agent hybrid for the front office. My AI Front Desk targets solopreneurs and small service businesses like salons, contractors, and tutors, while Smith.ai targets law firms and professional services needing ai plus live agent backup. Both offer AI-powered call handling, but they differ in pricing, features, and target audience.

### Which is cheaper, My AI Front Desk or Smith.ai?

My AI Front Desk starts at $99/month (Starter), while Smith.ai starts at $95/month (AI Receptionist self-service). Tiered monthly pricing with minutes included. Per-call pricing with self-service and guided annual plans. The total cost depends on your call volume, team size, and which features you need.

### Does My AI Front Desk or Smith.ai offer HIPAA compliance?

Neither My AI Front Desk nor Smith.ai advertises HIPAA compliance. If you need HIPAA-compliant phone answering for healthcare or regulated businesses, you may need to look at other providers in the space.

### Which is better for small businesses, My AI Front Desk or Smith.ai?

It depends on your specific needs. My AI Front Desk's strengths include: multiple ai models to choose from (gpt-4, claude, grok), 100+ premium voice options for customization. Smith.ai's strengths include: 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). Consider your call volume, budget, and which features matter most to your business when choosing between them.

### Is there a better alternative to both My AI Front Desk and Smith.ai?

There are several AI phone answering services on the market beyond My AI Front Desk and Smith.ai. Dialzara is one option worth considering — it's a purpose-built AI answering service starting at $29/month with bilingual support, appointment booking, and HIPAA compliance on all plans. Browse our comparison pages to evaluate all your options.