Comparison

Best AI receptionist for a small business: Lindy vs Smith.ai

Updated 25 October 2026

Direct answer

There is no measured best AI receptionist on this site. Choose Smith.ai if you want a hosted bundle with a published call price and you have confirmed a UK-dialable number. Choose Lindy if you want to configure the agent yourself and the same number check passes. Both logs are pending. Neither should quote a price.

Tool	Best for	Published cost	Setup	Limit
Smith.ai	An owner who wants a hosted message-taker and a call bundle written on a pricing page.	Free was $0 for 25 real calls, then $3. Pro from $150 a month for 75, on 25 October 2026.	A script in their product, then a divert only after your own test calls.	Spam can count. Cancellation was described as needing 30 days' notice. A UK local number was not promised on the page we read.
Lindy	An owner who will configure a phone agent and can confirm customers dial a normal UK number.	No single small-business price. Budget a paid seat, a number fee, and minutes. The other playbook uses a $50–$80 floor.	You write the prompt. Their docs have disagreed about which countries the number can be.	If the only number is overseas, stop. The test log is pending. It must not quote or book.

Smith.ai

Best for. An owner who wants a hosted message-taker and a call bundle written on a pricing page.

Cost. Free was $0 for 25 real calls, then $3. Pro from $150 a month for 75, on 25 October 2026.

Setup. A script in their product, then a divert only after your own test calls.

Limit. Spam can count. Cancellation was described as needing 30 days' notice. A UK local number was not promised on the page we read.

Lindy

Best for. An owner who will configure a phone agent and can confirm customers dial a normal UK number.

Cost. No single small-business price. Budget a paid seat, a number fee, and minutes. The other playbook uses a $50–$80 floor.

Setup. You write the prompt. Their docs have disagreed about which countries the number can be.

Limit. If the only number is overseas, stop. The test log is pending. It must not quote or book.

Read the Smith.ai script and the bill before you divert. Read the Lindy script if you would rather configure the agent. The rule on both pages is the same: name, number, job, and no price.

A UK missed-call text is the option that does not need either account.

Which to pick

Choose Smith.ai
You want the price of a call written down before you start, and the signup shows a number UK customers can dial.
Choose Lindy
You want to own the prompt and the call flow, and a UK-dialable number is actually on offer.
Choose neither
Neither signup shows a normal UK number, or your own test calls are worse than a missed-call text.

Playbooks for this task

Questions

Did you run the same calls through both?

No. This page compares published prices and the shape of the setup. There is no score, no answer rate, and no timing. Both test logs say pending.

Which is cheaper?

Smith.ai's free 25 calls are the cheapest published trial. Lindy's public pages do not agree on one small-business price, so a floor is not a quote. Voicemail is cheaper than both.

Sources

AgentShed is independent and this comparison is not sponsored. There is no affiliate link. Smith.ai figures were read on 25 October 2026. Lindy figures are from the earlier playbook's sources on 24 October 2026.