Retell AI vs Smith.ai
Smith.ai publishes its pricing; Retell AI does not.
Both pages checked by August 19, 2026
- Retell AIAI only
- Pricing not published
- no published plan
- Developer-oriented platform to build, test, deploy and monitor AI voice and chat agents, billed a la carte per minute: a Retell voice-infrastructure rate plus a separately priced text-to-speech voice, a separately priced LLM and separately priced telephony.
- 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
- Retell AI is ai only; Smith.ai is ai + human backup. That is the real decision here, not the price.
- Smith.ai can put a human on the line; Retell AI is bot-only.
- Smith.ai publishes prices. Retell AI makes you ask.
Feature by feature
| Capability | Retell AI | Smith.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Live transfer | Yes | Yes |
| Books appointments | Yes | Yes |
| Text follow-up | Yes | Yes |
| Outbound calls | Yes | Yes |
| Spanish | Yes | Yes |
| Human backup | No | Yes |
| Call recordings | Yes | Yes |
| Transcripts | Yes | Yes |
| Spam screening | unstated | Yes |
| Custom voice | Yes | 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.
Retell AI plans
| Plan | Published price | Includes | Over that |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pay-as-you-go | $0.07-$0.31/min for AI Voice Agents | — | — |
| Enterprise | Custom Pricing for AI Voice Agents | — | — |
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 | — | — |
Retell AI sources
- Pricing page (voice infra, TTS, LLM standard/fast tiers, speech-to-speech, telephony, add-ons, monthly subscription items, billing mechanics FAQ)retellai.com · read August 19, 2026
- Docs: Build your first phone agent in 15 minutes ($10 free trial credits, no payment method required; build-from-scratch vs template; free web-call testing)docs.retellai.com · read August 19, 2026
- Docs: Introduction (platform description, agent types, CRM/Cal.com tools, SDKs and MCP server)docs.retellai.com · read August 19, 2026
- Docs: Billing (credit-based vs legacy monthly billing, $10 free trial credits, which items are metered vs subscription)docs.retellai.com · read August 19, 2026
- Docs: Supported languages by provider (TTS and ASR coverage tables)docs.retellai.com · read August 19, 2026
- Docs index (transfer call cold/warm/agentic warm, Cal.com check-availability and booking, SMS node, batch calls, custom voices and voice clones, call recordings and transcripts, data retention, Twilio/Telnyx/Vonage SIP import, international calling)docs.retellai.com · read August 19, 2026
- Homepage (positioning, target industries, "Try For Free" with $10 of free usage)retellai.com · read August 19, 2026
- Terms of Service (entity and address: Retell AI Inc., 540 Price Avenue, Redwood City, CA 94063; Delaware jurisdiction)retellai.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