Smith.ai vs Ruby: Pricing, Features and Which to Pick
AI first answering with people behind it, against people on every call with AI behind them.
By , research by the BestBots team · Updated Oct 19, 2026
Fact checked against each company's published pricing, documentation and verified user ratings. How we score
Smith.ai is the better pick for most businesses: its AI answers routine calls for $1.60 to $2.00 each, hands harder ones to live receptionists, and costs about $385 for 200 calls against $720 for 200 Ruby minutes. Ruby wins when every caller must reach a person and your firm runs on Filevine, MyCase or Lawmatics.
Side by side
| Spec | Smith.ai | Ruby |
|---|---|---|
| BestBots Score | 4.4 | 4.0 |
| Starting price | $0 per month | $250 per month |
| Pricing model | per call | per minute bundle (live receptionists) |
| Free trial | Free plan with 25 calls per month | None listed |
| Minutes or calls included | 25 calls free; 75 to 500 calls on paid tiers | 50 to 500 live receptionist minutes |
| Overage | $2.10 to $3.00 per extra call depending on tier | Not published |
| Appointment booking | Yes, AI scheduling with Calendly and other calendars on all plans | Yes, Google Calendar and Calendly integrations |
| Live agent backup | Yes, North America based receptionists as a per call add on | Yes, every call is answered by a live receptionist |
| Languages | English and Spanish | English; bilingual English and Spanish answering 24/7 as an add on |
| Setup time | About 15 minutes, per Smith.ai | No setup, activation or customization fees; time not published |
| Call recording | Recording, transcripts and summaries on all plans | AI call and voicemail transcripts with sentiment analysis |
| CRM integrations | Clio Grow, Clio Manage, HubSpot, Salesforce, plus Zapier and Make | Clio, Lawmatics, Law Ruler, Filevine, MyCase, Rocket Matter, HubSpot, Salesforce, Zoho, JobNimbus, FieldPulse, Follow Up Boss |
The short answer
- Pick Smith.ai if you want calls answered 24/7 at the lowest cost per call with a human safety net, English and Spanish included, and Clio, HubSpot or Salesforce sync. Start on the free 25 call plan.
- Pick Ruby if your callers expect a human every time, tone matters more than price, and you can absorb $3.45 to $5.00 a minute with overage unpublished.
These are different products. Smith.ai sells an AI receptionist with optional humans (and a separate live service). Ruby sells human receptionists with AI tools behind them.
Pricing
All prices as listed in October 2026, per month.
| Smith.ai AI Receptionist | Smith.ai live receptionists | Ruby | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billing unit | Call, any length | Call, any length | Minute |
| Entry plan | Free, 25 calls | $300, 30 calls | $250, 50 minutes |
| Mid plan | $270, 150 calls | $810, 90 calls | $720, 200 minutes |
| Top published plan | $800, 500 calls | $2,100, 300 calls | $1,725, 500 minutes |
| Overage | $2.10 to $3.00 per call | $8.50 to $11.50 per call | Not published |
| Spanish | Included | $1.00 per call | Add on, no price |
| Contract | Month to month | Month to month, 10% off yearly prepay | No long term contract |
| Guarantee or trial | Free plan | 30 day money back up to $1,000 | None listed |
What 200 calls a month costs, assuming 2 minute calls for Ruby (400 minutes):
| Monthly bill | |
|---|---|
| Smith.ai AI | about $385 |
| Smith.ai live | about $1,965 |
| Ruby | $1,725 for 500 minutes |
At 4 minute calls, Ruby needs 800 minutes, beyond its top published plan. Per call billing gets relatively cheaper as calls get longer. Full math: Smith.ai pricing and Ruby pricing, or run your volume in the calculator.
Models and features
| Smith.ai | Ruby | |
|---|---|---|
| Who answers | AI, with live escalation as an add on | A human every time |
| Hours | 24/7 | 24/7 including holidays |
| AI on the call | Yes | No; Call Nav assists the receptionist |
| Booking | AI scheduling with Calendly and other calendars | Google Calendar and Calendly |
| Recording and transcripts | On every plan | AI transcripts and sentiment analysis |
| Spam handling | 20 million+ known numbers not billed, 10% removal allowance | AI robocall filtering |
| Languages | English, Spanish | English; Spanish add on |
| Legal integrations | Clio Grow, Clio Manage | Clio, Lawmatics, Law Ruler, Filevine, MyCase, Rocket Matter |
| Other CRMs | HubSpot, Salesforce, Zapier, Make | HubSpot, Salesforce, Zoho, Follow Up Boss, JobNimbus, FieldPulse, Zapier |
| Testing | Quality Studio simulated calls | Not applicable |
| Setup | About 15 minutes self serve | No setup fees; time not published |
| Ratings | Trustpilot 4.3 from 375 | Trustpilot 4.5 from 853; App Store 4.8 from 338 |
Head to head scenarios
Solo attorney on Clio
Winner: Smith.ai. Intake calls run long, which suits per call billing, and Clio Grow and Clio Manage are native. 75 intakes a month cost $150. On Ruby, 75 intakes of 6 minutes would need 450 minutes, which means the $1,725 plan.
Mid size firm on Filevine or MyCase that wants a human on every call
Winner: Ruby. Smith.ai does not list Filevine or MyCase natively, and its human answering is either an add on or the separate live plans. Ruby integrates with both and never puts AI on the line.
Home service business with lots of after hours calls
Winner: Smith.ai. Most after hours calls are booking requests and emergencies an AI can triage. Per call billing means a long emergency description costs the same as a quick question, and spam is not billed.
Bilingual office
Winner: Smith.ai. English and Spanish are on every AI plan at no extra cost. Ruby's bilingual receptionists are an add on with no published price.
Clients who hang up on bots
Winner: Ruby. If your callers are older, upset or high value and expect a person, Ruby's human first model and 4.5 rating from 853 reviews on receptionist quality are the point.
Predictable budgeting
Winner: Smith.ai. Every overage rate is published, from $2.10 to $3.00 per AI call. Ruby does not publish overage or billing increments.
Privacy
Smith.ai's AI page mentions encrypted storage for calls but does not detail HIPAA or SOC 2 on the pages we opened. Ruby offers HIPAA compliant receptionists as an add on and commits that its AI will not replace the human or make up answers, but does not publish a SOC 2 report either. Both record and transcribe calls, so check consent rules in your state and ask each vendor how long recordings are kept and whether call data trains any AI.
Verdict
Smith.ai wins for most businesses. It answers every call for a fraction of Ruby's price, includes Spanish, publishes every rate, and still gives you a path to a human. Ruby wins a narrower but real case: firms where every caller must hear a person, especially on Filevine, MyCase or Lawmatics, and where the receptionist quality its reviewers praise is worth $3.60 a minute. If you are unsure, start on Smith.ai's free plan with after hours calls, and keep a human service for business hours. More options: Smith.ai alternatives and Ruby alternatives.
Frequently asked questions
Is Smith.ai cheaper than Ruby?
Yes, in almost every case. Smith.ai's AI Receptionist covers 200 calls of any length for about $385; Ruby's 200 minutes cost $720 and cover about 100 two minute calls. Even Smith.ai's live receptionist plan, $810 for 90 calls or $9.00 a call, beats Ruby's $3.60 per included minute once calls average more than about 2.5 minutes.
Does Ruby use AI like Smith.ai?
Not on the phone. Ruby's receptionists are always human; AI powers Call Nav, transcripts, sentiment analysis and robocall filtering in the background. Smith.ai's AI Receptionist talks to callers itself and escalates to humans when needed.
Which is better for law firms?
Both integrate with Clio. Ruby also covers Lawmatics, Law Ruler, Filevine, MyCase and Rocket Matter, and puts a human on every intake. Smith.ai covers Clio Grow, Clio Manage, HubSpot and Salesforce at a much lower price per intake. Firms where every caller must reach a person should pick Ruby; most others should pick Smith.ai.
Which has better reviews?
Ruby, slightly: 4.5 on Trustpilot from 853 reviews against Smith.ai's 4.3 from 375, plus 4.8 from 338 ratings for the Ruby app on the App Store. Complaints at both cluster around billing, with Smith.ai's on non refundable term plans and Ruby's on minutes used by robocalls.
Do both offer Spanish?
Yes. Smith.ai's AI includes English and Spanish on every plan, and its live plans charge $1.00 per call for a Spanish line. Ruby offers bilingual receptionists as an add on without a published price.
Which has contracts?
Neither requires one. Smith.ai's AI Receptionist is month to month and Ruby lists no long term contracts. Smith.ai also sells six month plans at lower rates that are non refundable.