Playbook
Smith.ai answering service: what a call costs
Direct answer
Smith.ai's answering bill is a bundle of real calls, not a flat receptionist wage. On 25 October 2026 Free was $0 for 25 real calls and Pro started at $150 a month for 75. Extra calls and spam rules change the invoice. Read them before you divert. This buying guide has not been live-tested.
- Time to set up
- Half an hour to read the pricing table
- Difficulty
- comfortable
- Monthly cost, USD
- $150 a month for 75 real calls on Pro
- Monthly cost, GBP
- about £113 a month for 75 real calls
- Last tested
- Not yet tested
- Updated
- 25 October 2026
Pro was listed from $150 a month for 75 included real calls on 25 October 2026, about £113 at £1 = $1.33. The same table showed a $270 column. Extra real calls were $3 on Free and $2.50 on the $150 column. Enterprise was listed from $500. Read the row you would buy.
GBP figures are a budgeting conversion at £1 = $1.33 and €1 = £0.86, rounded to the nearest pound, fixed for this edition on 24 October 2026. They are not a live rate and not a quote. Vendor list prices are usually quoted before tax.
Primary tool: Smith.ai
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Who it is for
An owner comparing an answering service with voicemail, who wants the published call price before they put a card down or divert the line.
Voicemail is still £0 and already on the phone. An answering service earns its fee when missed calls are real jobs and the message is better than a beep. That is a judgement you make from your own log, not a percentage this site has measured.
Read the script before the bundle, and the Lindy comparison if you are choosing a tool to configure instead of a call bundle.
What you need
- The script playbook, or an equivalent written script, before you buy a bundle.
- A guess of how many real calls you miss in a normal month, from your own phone, not from a vendor calculator.
- A decision about what happens if the UK number check fails.
Step by step
01
Count the calls you actually miss
For a week, note unanswered calls that were real customers, not spam. A bundle of 75 is the Pro floor on the page we read, about two or three a day if the vendor's own caption is right. If you miss five real calls a week, the free 25 may be enough for a month. Do not buy 75 because the card looks professional.
02
Read what counts as a call
The pricing FAQ said every call the AI receptionist answers counts toward the quota by default. Calls from a large list of known spammers are filtered and do not count. The page also described an allowance to remove up to 10 percent of calls in a billing cycle for selected spam. A noisy line can eat a bundle. Read that FAQ on the day, because the percentage is theirs, not a measurement of yours.
03
Separate the included calls from the extra rate
Free was $0 for 25 real calls, then $3 a real call. Pro was $150 a month for 75 included real calls, with $2 a call shown on that card and an extra-call rate of $2.50 in the comparison table. A $270 column sat beside a higher included volume. Write down the column you mean to buy. Do not average them.
04
Ask the price of a live transfer before you enable it
The page describes a transfer to a live North America-based receptionist. In the text we read, that transfer did not have its own price. Email or chat the vendor and ask what a transferred call costs and whether the caller hears a UK number. If the answer is vague, leave the transfer off. An unpriced add-on is how a test month stops being a test.
05
Read the cancellation line before you pay
The FAQ said you pay monthly and there is no long-term contract, and that cancellation needs 30 days' notice. That notice is a month of fees if you decide the script is wrong. Know it before the first invoice. Enterprise, listed from $500 a month, is not the small-business starting point.
06
Only then divert, and only after the script test
Buying the bundle is not the same as going live. Run the script playbook's test calls first. Confirm customers can dial a normal UK number. If either check fails, do not divert, and use the 30-day notice rather than hoping the next invoice is smaller. The test log on this page stays pending until someone has matched a figure to an invoice.
What can go wrong
Buying Pro to 'see how it feels'
The free 25 calls are the feeling. Pro is a commitment with a notice period. Use the free plan until the script has survived your own test calls.
Ignoring the spam rule
A call that is answered can count. The vendor's spam filter and the 10 percent allowance are on their page. Your line may not match their average. Watch the first invoice.
Assuming a UK local number
Nothing on the pricing page we checked promised one. The live agents are described as North America-based. Confirm the caller experience before you print the number on a van.
UK notes
Costs, including VAT
£113 is the planning conversion of a $150 list price at £1 = $1.33, rounded to the nearest pound, fixed for this edition on 24 October 2026. It is not the amount that will leave a UK bank. Extra calls at $2.50 are about £2. VAT and currency conversion fees sit on top. The $270 and $500 columns convert the same way only after you have read which column you are buying.
Data flow
Call recordings, names, and numbers are personal data. A live transfer to a North America-based receptionist is an international transfer. You need a lawful basis, a sentence that tells the caller the call may be recorded, and a reason you can explain. Read the ICO's transfer guidance. Do not use the service to place marketing calls. PECR is separate from 'they rang us first'.
HMRC and Making Tax Digital
An answering service for the business is usually an allowable cost, which your accountant or the GOV.UK expenses guidance can confirm for your case. It does not operate the Construction Industry Scheme and it does not file a Making Tax Digital update. Keep the invoice. The call log is not your digital record.
Practical orientation for a UK reader. Not tax, legal, or accounting advice.
Test log
Status: Pending first test
25 October 2026 · pending
Pending first test. The figures were copied from Smith.ai's pricing page and have not been checked against a live invoice.
Sources
- Smith.ai AI Receptionist pricing — accessed 25 October 2026
- ICO international transfers — accessed 25 October 2026
- ICO guide to PECR — accessed 25 October 2026
Disclosure
AgentShed is independent and this playbook is not sponsored. There is no affiliate link on this page. If that changes, the link will use rel="sponsored" and a sentence beside it will say so. The verdict is not for sale.
Questions people ask
Is $150 the only Pro price?
It is the floor we could read, for 75 included real calls. The table also showed $270 and Enterprise from $500. Pick a column from the live page. Do not treat this paragraph as the invoice.
Did you measure how many calls are spam?
No. The 10 percent allowance is the vendor's own FAQ. This page does not claim your line will match it, and it does not claim a share of calls will be junk.
Which page is the script?
The small-business receptionist playbook. This page is the bill. Read both before you divert. The comparison with Lindy is the third page, and it has no score.
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When this page is re-tested
One email when the log changes. No sequence of lessons.