# Rosie vs Smith.ai: feature, pricing, and use-case comparison

> Canonical: https://dialzara.com/compare/rosie-vs-smith-ai  
> Summary: Reference comparison of Rosie (ai answering service for small businesses starting at $49/month) and Smith.ai (ai + live agent hybrid for the front office) — pricing, features, strengths, and when each one fits.

## Summary

Rosie is ai answering service for small businesses starting at $49/month. 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

| | Rosie | Smith.ai |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Type** | ai-first | hybrid |
| **Starting price** | $49/month (Professional) | $95/month (AI Receptionist self-service) |
| **Pricing model** | Tiered monthly pricing with minute limits | Per-call pricing with self-service and guided annual plans |
| **Public pricing** | Yes | Yes |
| **Target market** | Small businesses, home service providers, and solo owners needing after-hours and overflow call coverage | Law firms and professional services needing AI plus live agent backup |

## Feature comparison

| Feature | Rosie | 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 | Unknown | Yes | Yes |  |
| SMS Notifications | Yes | Yes | Yes | Both send instant email and text notifications after calls |
| Bilingual Support | Yes | No | Yes | Both support English and Spanish on all plans / 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; Rosie does not advertise HIPAA compliance |
| CRM Integration | Unknown | Yes | Yes | Smith.ai supports 143 integrations including HubSpot, Salesforce, Clio |
| Zapier Integration | Yes | Unknown | Yes | Both include Zapier integration on all plans (Rosie connects to 1,000+ apps) |
| Dedicated Phone Number | Yes | Yes | Yes |  |
| Custom AI Training | Yes | Yes | Yes | Both train on your business info; Rosie scans your website and Google Business Profile / Smith.ai supports up to 50 custom Q&A pairs on AI Receptionist |
| Custom Greetings | Unknown | Yes | Yes |  |
| Spam Filtering | Yes | Unknown | Yes |  |
| Quick Setup | Yes | No | Yes | Both offer quick setup — Dialzara trains from your website URL in 2 minutes; Rosie scans your website and Google Business Profile / Enter your URL and your AI agent trains on your business instantly; Smith.ai's guided plans take 48+ hours to set up |

## About Rosie

Rosie (heyrosie.com) is an AI-powered phone answering service that handles calls 24/7, captures leads, and books appointments. They offer tiered plans starting at $49/mo for 250 minutes on the Professional plan, with Scale ($149/mo), Growth ($299/mo), and Custom ($999+/mo) tiers. Rosie trains on your website and Google Business Profile to learn your business. However, key features like appointment booking, call transfers, and texting during calls are locked behind the $149/mo Scale plan.

- **Type:** ai-first
- **Target market:** Small businesses, home service providers, and solo owners needing after-hours and overflow call coverage
- **Website:** https://heyrosie.com

### Rosie pricing

- **Model:** Tiered monthly pricing with minute limits
- **Starting price:** $49/month (Professional)
- **Per-minute rate:** Overages not specified — minute limits per plan
- **Public pricing:** Yes

| Tier | Price | Details |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Professional | $49/mo | Up to 250 minutes, message taking with custom questions, bilingual English/Spanish, spam detection |
| Scale | $149/mo | Up to 1,000 minutes, appointment booking (Google Calendar, Calendly, Acuity), call transfers, warm handoff, texting during calls |
| Growth | $299/mo | Up to 2,000 minutes, everything in Scale plus training files for advanced agent customization |
| Custom | $999+/mo | Custom agent, multiple locations, expansive knowledge base, custom integrations, dedicated account rep |

Annual billing saves 2 months (about 17% off). Professional plan is limited to message-taking only — no appointment booking, no call transfers, no texting during calls. These features require the Scale plan at $149/mo. Website Texting is an add-on at $50/mo for 25 conversations.

### Strengths

- 250 minutes included on the $49/mo entry plan — more minutes than many competitors
- Trains on your website and Google Business Profile for accurate answers
- Bilingual English/Spanish on all plans
- Direct calendar integrations (Google Calendar, Calendly, Acuity, Appointlet) on Scale plan
- Warm handoff call transfers on Scale plan for seamless transitions
- Zapier integration on all plans for connecting to 1,000+ apps
- Website texting add-on available for converting web visitors into leads
- 7-day free trial with all features

### Weaknesses

- Starting price of $49/month — 69% more expensive than Dialzara's $29/month
- Key features locked behind the $149/mo Scale plan: appointment booking, call transfers, warm handoff, and texting during calls
- Professional plan ($49/mo) is essentially message-taking only — no booking, no transfers
- No HIPAA compliance — not suitable for healthcare or regulated industries
- Only supports English and Spanish — no other languages
- Growth plan at $299/mo just to get training file uploads
- Custom plan starts at $999+/mo — expensive for multi-location businesses
- Limited independent reviews available (minimal presence on G2, Capterra, Trustpilot)

## 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 Rosie and Smith.ai?

Rosie is ai answering service for small businesses starting at $49/month. Smith.ai is ai + live agent hybrid for the front office. Rosie targets small businesses, home service providers, and solo owners needing after-hours and overflow call coverage, 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, Rosie or Smith.ai?

Rosie starts at $49/month (Professional), while Smith.ai starts at $95/month (AI Receptionist self-service). Tiered monthly pricing with minute limits. 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 Rosie or Smith.ai offer HIPAA compliance?

Neither Rosie 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, Rosie or Smith.ai?

It depends on your specific needs. Rosie's strengths include: 250 minutes included on the $49/mo entry plan — more minutes than many competitors, trains on your website and google business profile for accurate answers. 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 Rosie and Smith.ai?

There are several AI phone answering services on the market beyond Rosie 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.