Compare · Prices checked October 22, 2026 and October 20, 2026
ElevenLabs Reception vs Smith.ai (2026)
Published starting prices: ElevenLabs Reception, $29/mo (Basic). Smith.ai, $150/mo (Pro plan entry price; a free 25-call plan also exists). Side-by-side public pricing, what each does, real use cases and who each suits, all from our listings with sources. We haven't tested either hands-on.
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Receptionist
ElevenLabs Reception
ElevenLabs' ready-made AI receptionist for small businesses (also branded Reception.ai). Paste your website, get a phone number and it answers calls, web chat and a booking page, with Google Calendar booking and 90+ languages.
$199/mo at 300 calls
Subscription$29/mo
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ReceptionistFree tier
Smith.ai AI Receptionist
Per-call AI receptionist that can hand a call to Smith.ai's North America-based live agents. Strong lead-qualification focus and a native Clio integration, popular with law firms.
≈ $501/mo at 300 calls
Ranked in 2 industries$150/mo
Quick answer
- Cheaper: Advertised entry prices: ElevenLabs Reception $29/mo, Smith.ai $150/mo. At about 300 calls a month, our estimate of the real bill is $199/mo for ElevenLabs Reception and ≈ $501/mo for Smith.ai, so ElevenLabs Reception is cheaper at that volume. Your bill depends on your call volume and call length; the math is on each product page. Checked October 22, 2026 and October 20, 2026.
- Free plans: ElevenLabs Reception: no $0 plan on its pricing page (checked October 22, 2026); free trial or free start: 14-day free trial (30 phone minutes, no card). Smith.ai: yes. Its Free plan is $0/mo (25 calls/mo), checked October 20, 2026.
Pricing side by side
| Item |  ElevenLabs Reception |  Smith.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $29/mo (Basic) | $150/mo (Pro plan entry price; a free 25-call plan also exists) |
| Pricing model | Subscription | Subscription |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Real bill at 300 calls/mo (our estimate) | $199/mo | ≈ $501/mo |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial (30 phone minutes, no card) | Free plan: 25 calls/mo |
| Plans |
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| Pricing note | Annual billing: $24, $66 or $166 per month. Plans use a shared credit pool: 1 credit per phone minute, 0.5 per web chat minute, 0.1 per text message. Unused credits do not roll over. Prices exclude tax. | Billed per call, not per minute. Known spam is filtered and up to 10% of calls can be removed as spam each cycle. Month-to-month, 30 days' notice to cancel. |
| Checked | October 22, 2026 | October 20, 2026 |
| Source | Vendor pricing page | Vendor pricing page |
Copied from each vendor's public pricing page on the date shown. "not published" means the vendor doesn't publish it; we don't guess. Prices change; confirm with the vendor.
Features and details from our listings
| Item | ElevenLabs Reception | Smith.ai |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | ElevenLabs' ready-made AI receptionist for small businesses (also branded Reception.ai). Paste your website, get a phone number and it answers calls, web chat and a booking page, with Google Calendar booking and 90+ languages. | Per-call AI receptionist that can hand a call to Smith.ai's North America-based live agents. Strong lead-qualification focus and a native Clio integration, popular with law firms. |
| Type | AI receptionist (self-serve) | AI receptionist with live-human backup |
| Listed under | AI receptionists | AI receptionists |
| 24/7 answering | yes | yes |
| Appointment booking | Yes (built-in calendar and Google Calendar) | Yes (Calendly and others) |
| Integrations | Google Calendar, Zapier, Webhooks (Plus and up), MCP | Clio Manage, Clio Grow, Zapier, Calendly |
| Bilingual | Yes, English, Spanish and 90+ languages | Yes, English/Spanish |
| Call transfer | Yes (transfer rules; team-first hours) | Yes, incl. to live Smith.ai agents |
| HIPAA | No (vendor says Reception does not support HIPAA; points to ElevenAgents with a BAA) | Not HIPAA-compliant per a third-party review (practiceaireview.com); confirm with vendor |
| Setup fee | None listed | None listed for Pro; Enterprise includes full-service setup |
| Verified public use cases | 0 | 0 |
Use cases
ElevenLabs Reception
We haven't found a verified public use case for ElevenLabs Reception yet.
Smith.ai
We haven't found a verified public use case for Smith.ai yet.
Where our industry rankings place it: Law Firms #1, Insurance Agencies #2.
Use cases are summarised in our own words from the linked public post; vendor case studies are labelled. All use cases.
Who each is best for
- Subscription
ElevenLabs Reception is best for
- Type: AI receptionist (self-serve). Real bill at 300 calls: $199/mo.
- Strengths: Low entry price ($29/mo) and a no-card 14-day trial; Phone, web chat and a booking page from one agent; Premium covers 900 minutes with no overage.
- Watch out: Brand new, so no independent reviews yet; Not HIPAA-ready; Basic takes only 1 call at a time.
- SubscriptionFree plan
Smith.ai is best for
- Ranked for: Law Firms, Insurance Agencies. In law firms: Native Clio Manage/Grow, lead qualification and live-agent backup. Pricier (~$501 at 300 calls).
- Type: AI receptionist with live-human backup. Real bill at 300 calls: ≈ $501/mo.
- Strengths: Human backup when the AI gets stuck; Per-call pricing makes long calls cheap; Native Clio integration for law firms; Free tier to test with real calls.
- Watch out: One of the more expensive AI options at 300 calls; Not a fit for PHI/HIPAA work (per third-party review); Extra calls cost more than included ones.
From our listing data (jobs, public pricing, industry rankings, pros and cons); not a hands-on test. Full details: ElevenLabs Reception · Smith.ai.
FAQ
Which is cheaper, ElevenLabs Reception or Smith.ai?
Advertised entry prices: ElevenLabs Reception $29/mo, Smith.ai $150/mo. At about 300 calls a month, our estimate of the real bill is $199/mo for ElevenLabs Reception and ≈ $501/mo for Smith.ai, so ElevenLabs Reception is cheaper at that volume. Your bill depends on your call volume and call length; the math is on each product page. Checked October 22, 2026 and October 20, 2026.
Is ElevenLabs Reception free? Is Smith.ai free?
ElevenLabs Reception: no $0 plan on its pricing page (checked October 22, 2026); free trial or free start: 14-day free trial (30 phone minutes, no card). Smith.ai: yes. Its Free plan is $0/mo (25 calls/mo), checked October 20, 2026.
How much does ElevenLabs Reception cost?
ElevenLabs Reception lists Free trial: $0 for 14 days (30 credits (up to 30 phone minutes), 1 phone number, no card required); Basic: $29/mo (75 phone minutes, 1 phone number, 1 call at a time); Plus: $79/mo (275 phone minutes, 3 phone numbers, up to 3 calls at a time, webhooks); Premium: $199/mo (1,000 phone minutes, 5 phone numbers, up to 10 calls at a time, multi-location). Our estimate of the real bill at about 300 calls a month: $199/mo. Checked October 22, 2026 on the vendor's pricing page.
How much does Smith.ai cost?
Smith.ai lists Free: $0/mo (25 calls/mo); Pro: from $150/mo (75 calls ($2.00/call); 150 calls ($1.80/call); 300 calls ($1.67/call)); Enterprise: from $500/mo (300 calls ($1.67/call), 500 ($1.60), 1000+ custom). Our estimate of the real bill at about 300 calls a month: ≈ $501/mo. Checked October 20, 2026 on the vendor's pricing page.
Did AITeamGuide test them?
Not hands-on. This comparison is built from each vendor's public pricing page (with the date we checked it), published product information and credited public use cases.
Can a vendor pay to win this comparison?
No. Nothing here is paid. Paid placements on AITeamGuide are always labelled "Sponsored" or "Featured" and never change a comparison or ranking.
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