Smith.ai vs Ruby: per-call or per-minute live receptionists

Smith.ai and Ruby are both US virtual receptionist services that put a live person on your calls 24/7. They differ in three ways that decide the choice: how they bill, what they include, and whether AI can answer for you.

Short answer: Smith.ai is usually cheaper at low volume and when calls run long, and its AI tier can cut the bill much further. Ruby is the pick for medical and other health-related practices, for Spanish-speaking callers without extra fees, and for very short calls.

Per call vs per minute

Smith.ai charges by the call. Its live receptionist plans are $300 a month for 30 calls, $810 for 90 and $2,100 for 300, so $10 down to $7 a call, with extra calls at $8.50 to $11.50 (Smith.ai receptionist pricing). A 6-minute call costs the same as a 1-minute call.

Ruby charges by the minute: $250 for 50 minutes, $395 for 100, $720 for 200 and $1,725 for 500, about $5.00 down to $3.45 a minute (Ruby pricing). Minutes round up to the next full minute, hold time and after-call work count, and the overage rate isn’t published.

The break-even is simple. At Ruby’s rates, a call that bills about 2 minutes costs roughly what one Smith.ai call does. Shorter than that, Ruby wins. Longer, Smith.ai wins, and Ruby’s after-call work adds billed time to every call.

Worked examples

Assume calls of about 3 minutes of talk time.

50 calls a month (150 minutes). On Smith.ai, the Starter plan covers 30 calls and 20 more cost $11.50 each: $530. On Ruby, 150 minutes plus rounding and after-call work overflows the 100-minute plan, so the safe choice is 200 minutes at $720.

200 calls a month (600 minutes). On Smith.ai, the Basic plan covers 90 calls and 110 more cost $10.50 each: about $1,965, or $2,100 on Pro with room up to 300 calls. On Ruby, the 500-minute plan at $1,725 doesn’t cover 600 minutes, so you add overage at a rate Ruby doesn’t publish. The two end up close at this volume, and which is cheaper depends on Ruby’s overage rate and your after-call time.

Smith.ai’s extras narrow the gap. On its human plans, appointment booking costs $1.50 a call, recording and transcription $0.25, and a Spanish line $1.00. If half of 200 callers book, add $150. Ruby’s plans differ only in minutes, with scheduling and Spanish included, and its HIPAA service costs nothing extra (Ruby pricing, Ruby FAQs).

The AI option

This is the biggest difference. Ruby uses AI only to support its receptionists, through an internal assistant, transcripts, sentiment analysis and robocall filtering; no AI answers your callers (AI at Ruby).

Smith.ai sells an AI Receptionist that answers on its own: free for 25 calls a month, then $150 for 75 calls up to $500 for 300 (Smith.ai AI pricing). It books, transfers and sends a summary of each call, and when a call is beyond it, it can hand the caller to Smith.ai’s live receptionists, with no fee when the AI starts the handoff. At 200 calls a month that’s $385 instead of about $1,965 for live answering. You can test it on simulated calls before it goes live.

If most of your calls are routine, this alone can make Smith.ai the better buy.

Health information

Smith.ai says it isn’t HIPAA-compliant and can’t handle calls involving protected health information (Smith.ai receptionists FAQ). Ruby offers HIPAA-compliant service with a signed BAA at no extra cost, though HIPAA customers can’t book through Calendly and get messages through a secure portal instead of email or text. For a medical, dental or therapy practice, that decides it: Ruby, or see our AI receptionists for medical practices.

Contracts, trials and software

Both are month to month with no setup fee. Smith.ai’s human plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee (up to $1,000, overage excluded); Ruby offers 21 days, ending sooner once usage passes 500 minutes. Cancelling Smith.ai’s AI Receptionist takes 30 days’ notice.

Both lean toward law firms. Smith.ai connects to Clio Grow, Clio Manage and MyCase; Ruby to Clio, MyCase, Filevine, Rocket Matter, Law Ruler and Lawmatics (Ruby integrations). Both connect to HubSpot, Salesforce and Zapier. Ruby’s receptionists book into Calendly and Google Calendar; Smith.ai books into Calendly, Acuity Scheduling, Appointy and Harmonizely.

Verdict

Choose Smith.ai if your calls run longer than a couple of minutes, if you want to start with AI and keep people as a safety net, or if you’re a law firm or service business without health information. Its free AI plan lets you try it at no cost.

Choose Ruby if you’re in healthcare, if many callers need Spanish, if your calls are short, or if you want every extra included in one per-minute price.

If you’re weighing both because the human price stings, Abby Connect pairs US-based receptionists with AI on one cheaper plan. See Smith.ai alternatives, Ruby alternatives, or our Smith.ai review and Ruby review.