Smith.ai vs. AnswerConnect: Live Answering Service Comparison

If business calls are interrupting your day and affecting your productivity, it’s time to seek out help from a live answering service. But how do you decide from the many available options? Today, we compare Smith.ai virtual receptionists to AnswerConnect.

Setup Fees & Contracts

Smith.ai

• No setup fee or cancellation fees
• No contract
• Free consultation
• 14-day money-back guarantee
• No porting fees

AnswerConnect

• $49.99 setup fee
• No free trial or money-back guarantee
• No contract
• $300 port out fee

Discussion: Smith.ai offers a 14-day money-back guarantee, and we don’t charge you a setup fee. AnswerConnect, however, does not provide a free trial period and they charge a non-refundable setup fee. Neither company enforces a contract, offering plans monthly that can be renewed or cancelled without penalty at any time. However, if you wish to leave AnswerConnect and keep your phone number, you'll need to pay a $300 porting fee. At Smith.ai, we believe you shouldn’t have to pay to keep what’s already yours. That’s why we have no porting fees, ever — so you can switch providers freely if you choose.

Monthly Plans

Smith.ai and AnswerConnect offer the following monthly service plans:

Smith.ai

• $285 for 30 live receptionist calls and 1 live transfer number
• $765 for 90 live receptionist calls and 2 live transfer numbers
• $1,950 for 300 live receptionist calls and 10 live transfer numbers
• Custom plans available
• 10% annual discount when paid up front
  
  

AnswerConnect

• $350 for 200 minutes
• $395 for 300 minutes
• $575 for 400 minutes
• Custom plans available
  
  

Discussion: Smith.ai charges per call, not per minute, which means your monthly bill is more predictable — it won't go up or down due to particularly chatty callers, as long as you remain within reasonable use.

More importantly, though, Smith.ai doesn't charge for any spam, sales calls, or wrong numbers. And all of our prices are flat fees. So you can easily calculate the return on your investment without getting bogged down in the details of how long someone was on the phone or whether the call was viable.

Overage Costs

Smith.ai

• $10.50/call on the $285/month plan
• $9.50/call on the $765/month plan
• $7.50/call on the $1,950/month plan
  

AnswerConnect

• $2.50 per additional minute on the $350/month plan
• $1.85 per minute on all other plans
  

Features

Smith.ai and AnswerConnect offer the following similar features:

• Lead capture & lead intake form completion
• Custom call scripts
• Appointment scheduling
• CRM integration
• North America-based receptionists
• Live web chat
• Bilingual answering available
• 24/7 live call answering

Smith.ai has the following additional features:

• Outbound calls by your virtual receptionists
• Live call transfers
• Integration with all major calendaring and scheduling software programs
• One free CRM integration
• Integration with helpdesk ticketing software programs
• Ability to map client history to the incoming number so clients receive personalized attention
• Messages texted to you
• Recommended business referral
• After-hours and overflow answering
• Facebook and SMS answering
• Custom greetings
• Payment collection
• Daily call summary reports
• No charge for spam calls or wrong numbers
• Instant SMS status updates
• Call recording and transcription

AnswerConnect offers the following additional features:

• Calls under 30 seconds are free (30 interactions per billing cycle)
  

Discussion: Smith.ai and AnswerConnect both deliver the essentials: customized call answering procedures, lead capturing, and appointment scheduling. Notably, both also offer U.S.-based receptionists who are well versed in the business etiquette and customs American customers expect.

However, Smith.ai has an edge in two important ways: our receptionists are able to make outbound calls on behalf of your business (appointment reminders, work status updates, and more), and they are able to not just capture new leads, but also qualify them. Would you rather get 50 completed lead forms that you have to manually review to see whether they're good prospective clients who will be able to pay your fees and reside within your service area, or would you prefer to have those leads already vetted for you based on a series of intake questions? Your Smith.ai receptionists will ask the necessary questions upfront so every new lead we pass along is worth your time to review.

Summary

If all your business needs is someone to answer the phone, take notes, and schedule a simple appointment, AnswerConnect offers a fine service.

But if you're looking to give callers the experience of an in-house receptionist, where the person on the phone with your customers is so well informed about your business that it seems they're sitting right in your office, Smith.ai is the superior choice. We seamlessly integrate with your business and the systems it runs on, and serve as your customer's first point of contact, so you only handle calls that truly need your personal attention. 

Smith.ai Client Testimonial

Don't just take our word for it! Here's what one happy Smith.ai client had to say:

“This company has changed the face of my business image from embarrassing to impressive. The folks here really go WAY beyond the call of duty, and they do it the way American clients are accustomed to. Beautiful. And the cost? Just silly low. I can't brag loudly enough about my Smith.ai partners.”

- Emmett “Corky” Kaericher, Visual Workforce, LLC

Learn More About Smith.ai

Smith.ai virtual receptionists are trained to learn your business and build a relationship with your customers. Discuss your options with us by signing up for a free consultation with our team or get started risk-free with our 14-day money-back guarantee!