PATLive vs Smith.ai
Smith.ai starts $100/mo cheaper than PATLive.
Both pages checked by August 19, 2026
- PATLiveHuman agents
- $100/mo
- Live Web Chat - Starter plan
- 24/7 live answering service staffed entirely by US-based human virtual receptionists who screen and transfer calls, take messages, capture leads, book appointments and handle web chat for small businesses.
- Smith.aiAI + human backup
- $0/mo
- AI Receptionist — Free plan
- Smith.ai sells small and mid-sized businesses two products off one platform: an AI Receptionist that answers, qualifies and books 24/7 with escalation to its North America-based Live Agent Network, and a fully human Virtual Receptionist service, both billed per call rather than per minute.
The differences that matter
- PATLive is human agents; Smith.ai is ai + human backup. That is the real decision here, not the price.
- On published allowances, Smith.ai works out to about $1.60 per answered call against $7 for PATLive.
Feature by feature
| Capability | PATLive | Smith.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Live transfer | Yes | Yes |
| Books appointments | Yes | Yes |
| Text follow-up | Yes | Yes |
| Outbound calls | Yes | Yes |
| Spanish | Yes | Yes |
| Human backup | Yes | Yes |
| Call recordings | Yes | Yes |
| Transcripts | unstated | Yes |
| Spam screening | unstated | Yes |
| Custom voice | unstated | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
"unstated" means the vendor doesn't claim it in their own documentation. It is not the same as no — it means nobody will put it in writing.
PATLive plans
| Plan | Published price | Includes | Over that |
|---|---|---|---|
| Live Phone Answering - Basic | $75/mo | — | $2.60/min |
| Live Phone Answering - Starter | $250/mo | 75 min | $2.35/add'l min |
| Live Phone Answering - Standard | $460/mo | 200 min | $2.20/add'l min |
| Live Phone Answering - Premium | $720/mo | 350 min | $2.10/add'l min |
| Live Phone Answering - Pro | $1170/mo | 600 min | $2.00/add'l min |
| Outbound Calling | $460/mo | 40 calls | $12/additional contact |
| Live Web Chat - Starter | $100/mo | 10 calls | $10/add'l chat |
| Live Web Chat - Standard | $270/mo | 30 calls | $9/add'l chat |
| Live Web Chat - Premium | $400/mo | 50 calls | $8/add'l chat |
| Live Web Chat - Pro | $700/mo | 100 calls | $7/add'l chat |
Smith.ai plans
| Plan | Published price | Includes | Over that |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI Receptionist — Free | $0 mo | 25 calls | 25 calls/mo ($3.00/call after that) |
| AI Receptionist — Pro (75 calls) | $150 /mo — $2.00/call (~2–3 calls/day) | 75 calls | $2.50 |
| AI Receptionist — Pro (150 calls) | $270/mo | 150 calls | $2.30 |
| AI Receptionist — Enterprise (300 calls) | $500 /mo — $1.67/call (~10 calls/day) | 300 calls | $2.17 |
| AI Receptionist — Enterprise (500 calls) | $800/mo | 500 calls | $2.10 |
| AI Receptionist — Enterprise (1,000+ calls) | Custom | — | Custom |
| Virtual Receptionist (human) — Starter | $300 / month | 30 calls | Overage: $11.50/call over 30 |
| Virtual Receptionist (human) — Basic | $810 / month | 90 calls | Overage: $10.50/call over 90 |
| Virtual Receptionist (human) — Pro | $2,100 / month | 300 calls | Overage: $8.50/call over 300 |
| Virtual Receptionist (human) — Enterprise | Custom | — | — |
PATLive sources
- Pricing page (all phone, chat and outbound tiers, included minutes, per-minute overage rates, $250 outbound setup fee, $20/mo bilingual and multi-script add-ons, no contracts)patlive.com · read August 19, 2026
- FAQ (6-second billing increments after a full first minute, 14-day trial, no contracts, free number porting in and out, $20/mo bilingual, call recording opt-in, business texting, API, 100% US-based receptionists)patlive.com · read August 19, 2026
- Help center billing article (first minute billed in full then 6-second increments, 14-day trial with card required, billing cycles, minutes do not roll over, taxes/overages billed in arrears, cancel anytime)help.patlive.com · read August 19, 2026
- Terms of Use (legal name PATLive, Inc.; mailing address 18117 Biscayne Blvd., Suite #2635, Miami, FL 33160; "All receptionist minutes are billed in six-second increments, with a one-minute minimum"; month-to-month auto-renewal; messaging setup fee)patlive.com · read August 19, 2026
- How it works (forward, port, or take a new local/toll-free number; 14-day trial with no limitations; message delivery by email, text or app)patlive.com · read August 19, 2026
- Live phone answering product page (call screening and transfers, appointment scheduling with confirmations, order handling, lead capture, bilingual receptionists, named integrations, human-not-AI positioning)patlive.com · read August 19, 2026
- Integrations page (named calendar, CRM, ecommerce and property-management connectors, native plus Zapier)patlive.com · read August 19, 2026
- Services overview (call screening and transfers, scheduling, lead collection, client intake, order management, after-hours, 24/7, bilingual, overflow)patlive.com · read August 19, 2026
- Virtual receptionists page (US-based human receptionists, 120+ hours baseline training; checked for founding year, not published)patlive.com · read August 19, 2026
- Homepage (positioning: "24/7/365 live US-based virtual receptionists"; checked footer for address and founding year, neither published)patlive.com · read August 19, 2026
Smith.ai sources
- AI Receptionist plans & pricing (tiers, per-call rates, feature table, FAQ)smith.ai · read August 19, 2026
- Virtual Receptionist plans & pricing (tiers, overage, add-ons, FAQ)smith.ai · read August 19, 2026
- Pricing hub (AI-first vs human-first toggle, add-on price list, money-back guarantee, porting)smith.ai · read August 19, 2026
- AI Receptionist product page (capabilities, live agent network, integrations FAQ)smith.ai · read August 19, 2026
- All features listsmith.ai · read August 19, 2026
- Integrations directorysmith.ai · read August 19, 2026
- Sitemap — enumerates 147 /integrates-with/ integration pagessmith.ai · read August 19, 2026
- Why us / leadership — "we started out in Palo Alto, CA", fully remotesmith.ai · read August 19, 2026
- Privacy policy (entity name Smith.ai, Inc.; no address published)smith.ai · read August 19, 2026