Retell AI vs Smith.ai (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Retell AI if

• Fits if you want to pay per minute with no monthly commitment
• Works for developers wiring phone agents into Twilio or HubSpot

Look elsewhere if

• Pricey if you add it up, as model, voice and telephony sit on top of the $0.055 base
• Watch out: HIPAA and BAA, SSO, role-based access and custom retention are Enterprise only
• Watch out: AI quality assurance and PII removal are charged per minute on top
• Not for you if you want a fixed bill, because cost moves with minutes

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

Retell AI

• The rate is a sum of parts: voice infrastructure is $0.055 per minute, with model, voice and telephony on top, hence $0.07 to $0.31.
• The comparison table lists HIPAA and BAA, SSO, role-based access and custom data retention for Enterprise only.
• Dedicated implementation support and a dedicated stable server are Enterprise add-ons.
• Add-ons such as AI quality assurance and PII removal are charged per minute on top of the base rate.

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.

Retell AI

Inbound and outbound phone agents

Agents answer or place calls, transfer to a human, book appointments, use a knowledge base and navigate keypad menus.

Batch calls and caller ID

The deploy menu lists batch calling for high-volume campaigns, branded caller ID and verified phone numbers.

Testing and monitoring

Simulation testing, call transcripts and analytics, post-call analysis and AI quality assurance are listed for monitoring agents.

Model and voice choice

The cost estimator offers language models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google and voices from Retell, ElevenLabs, Cartesia, Minimax, Fish and OpenAI.

Chat agents

The same platform runs chat agents, priced from $0.002 per message.

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.

Retell AI

• Pay as you go$0

  to start, then $0.07-$0.31 per minute

  Voice agents at $0.07-$0.31 per minute, chat agents from $0.002 per message, 20 free concurrent calls, API access and email support.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Custom voice and chat pricing, role-based access, custom SSO, MSA, DPA and BAA terms, and 24/7 support with a dedicated portal.

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.