Dialzara vs Smith.ai (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Dialzara and Smith.ai share a 2.0 GPA, and only Smith.ai has a free plan.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Dialzara grades higher on value for money. Smith.ai grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Dialzara
AI receptionist that answers small-business phone calls
Smith.ai
Phone answering by an AI receptionist, with live agents as an option
Which one is for you
Pick Dialzara if
- Fits if you run a small business and want calls answered and messages taken
- Works for a shop that wants appointments booked by phone
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you take many calls: Lite is 60 minutes, then $0.48 a minute
- Not for you if you need warm transfer or calendar sync on Lite, as both start at $99
- Watch out: outbound calling, SMS and website chat are priced separately
- Watch out: phone numbers are US-based, and UK, Australia and international are on request
- Skip it if you want a free plan, as only a 7-day trial is listed
Pick Smith.ai if
- Fits if you get fewer than 25 calls a month and want them answered
- Works for law firms and service businesses that use Clio or Calendly
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if calls grow, as 75 calls is $150 a month on AI Pro
- Tight if you want a free try with no card, since the Free plan needs one
- Pricey if you want people, because live-agent plans start at $300 a month for 30 calls
- Watch out: the 30-day money-back on human plans excludes overage calls and is capped at $1,000
How we grade them
| 2.0GPADialzaraFair | 2.0GPASmith.aiFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CBusiness Lite is $29 a month for 60 minutes, between the category's middle and $37, and extra minutes are $0.48. | DAI Pro is $150 a month for 75 calls, about three times the dearest tenth's $52 start. Calls cost $2.00 on that plan. |
| Free plan and trial | DA 7-day free trial and no free plan, and the page does not say whether it needs a card. | CFree has 25 answered calls a month with no expiry, then $3.00 a call, and it needs a credit card to sign up. |
| Features | CCall answering, messages, transfers and scheduling, but warm transfer and calendar sync are not on Lite and outbound is extra. | CScreening, lead qualification, scheduling and live agents on top. Human escalation on the Free plan is a paid add-on. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You set up the prompt, a calendar and call routing. | CNo store rating on record, and you connect a number, scheduling and intake tools. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with Zapier and Make and four integrations named; phone numbers are US by default. | BWeb, with Clio, Filevine, Calendly, HubSpot, Salesforce and Zapier listed. |
| Best for | an AI receptionist that answers calls | answering a small number of calls with AI, humans optional |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Dialzara and Smith.ai. How we grade
Price against what you get
Dialzara starts at $29 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Smith.ai starts at $150 a month and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and Dialzara starts $121 a month lower. Of the other AI agents on the chart, 22 score higher than Dialzara for less, and 35 score higher than Smith.ai for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Dialzara also covers chatbots.
- Smith.ai also covers AI support agent.
At a glance
| Dialzara | Smith.ai | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $29 per month for up to 60 minutes of talk time | $150 per month for 75 AI-answered calls |
| Free plan | None | Free AI plan: 25 answered calls a month with no expiry, then $3.00 per call. A credit card is required to sign up. |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Dialzara | Smith.ai |
| Price read from | dialzara.com | smith.ai |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Dialzara
- Plans include a fixed bucket of minutes; going over costs $0.35 to $0.48 per extra minute.
- Warm transfer, calendar sync and after-hours rules are not on the Lite plan.
- Outbound calling, SMS and website chat are priced separately from the inbound plans.
- Phone numbers are US-based by default; UK, Australia, New Zealand and international numbers are on request.
Smith.ai
- The Free plan stops at 25 answered calls a month; extra calls cost $3.00 each.
- Human-first plans are pay-per-call at $7 or more per call; overage runs $8.50 to $11.50 per call.
- Human escalation on the Free plan is an opt-in add-on rather than included.
- The 30-day money-back guarantee on the human-first plans excludes overage calls and is capped at $1,000.
Key features
Dialzara
- Inbound call answering
- Answers calls 24/7 in 10 languages including English and Spanish, with a choice of more than 50 voices, and sends a summary after each call.
- Message taking and transfers
- Takes messages with custom questions and transfers calls to a team member. Warm transfer is not on the Lite plan.
- Appointment scheduling
- Calendar sync with Google and Outlook calendars is listed on Pro and above.
- Integrations by Zapier and Make
- Connects to other tools through Zapier or Make on every plan. API access starts at the Elite plan.
- Outbound, SMS and chat add-ons
- Outbound calling is priced by contacts from $750 a month. An SMS agent and website chat bot are sold separately.
Smith.ai
- AI call answering
- An AI receptionist picks up calls around the clock, screens spam, qualifies callers against criteria the business sets, and routes or transfers them.
- Live agents when needed
- Hybrid and human-first tiers bring in live North American agents, either for new-client calls or for every call, at higher per-call rates.
- Appointment scheduling
- The free plan lists AI scheduling with Calendly and similar tools. On the human-first plans, booking an appointment is a per-call add-on at $1.50.
- Quality Studio
- Lets a business test how the AI handles calls before going live. It is included on the free plan.
- CRM and intake integrations
- Call details go to a CRM or Zapier, with Clio, Filevine and Lawmatics named. Human-first plans include the first CRM; each extra one costs $0.50 per call.
- Add-ons billed per call
- Human-first plans price extras per call, such as a dedicated Spanish line at $1.00, call recording at $0.25 and conflict checks at $0.50.
Plans
Dialzara
Business Lite$29
per month for up to 60 minutes
$0.48 per extra minute. Message taking, blind transfer and a self-editable prompt; no warm transfer.
Business Pro$99
per month for up to 220 minutes
$0.45 per extra minute. Adds warm transfer, after-hours rules and calendar sync.
Business Plus$199
per month for up to 500 minutes
$0.40 per extra minute. Unlimited knowledge base uploads and multi-agent, multi-location setup.
Business Elite$349
per month for up to 1,000 minutes
$0.35 per extra minute. Initial prompt setup, priority support with an SLA, and API access.
Done for You$1,500
per month and up
Dialzara's team handles prompt setup and engineering and custom integrations. Quote on request.
Smith.ai
Free$0
AI-first. 25 calls a month, then $3.00 per call. Call screening, lead qualification, scheduling and Quality Studio testing.
AI Pro$150
per month for 75 calls, AI-first
$2.00 per call. Adds dedicated onboarding, live phone, email and chat support, and custom SMS branding. Larger blocks cost less per call.
AI Enterprise$500
per month for 300 calls, AI-first
$1.67 per call. Smith.ai builds and runs a custom setup, with a success manager and multi-location support.
Human-first Starter$300
per month for 30 calls, live agents
Live receptionists, 1 free transfer destination. $11.50 per call over 30.
Human-first Basic$810
per month for 90 calls, live agents
2 free transfer destinations. $10.50 per call over 90.
Human-first Pro$2,100
per month for 300 calls, live agents
10 free transfer destinations. $8.50 per call over 300.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Dialzara or Smith.ai?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Dialzara is cheaper to start with: $29 a month, against $150 a month for Smith.ai. Dialzara starts at $29 per month for up to 60 minutes of talk time, and Smith.ai starts at $150 per month for 75 AI-answered calls.
Which has a free plan, Dialzara or Smith.ai?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Smith.ai has a free plan. Dialzara does not, though it has a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.