Smith.ai vs. VoiceNation: Live Answering Service Comparison

Deciding on a live answering service for your business is crucial for sustainably and affordably growing your operations. But, it can often be difficult to choose between the myriad service providers. Today, we compare Smith.ai virtual receptionists to VoiceNation.

Setup Fees & Contracts

Smith.ai

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

VoiceNation

• $49-$99 setup fee, depending on your plan
• Free 7-day/30-minute trial
• No contract

Discussion: Both Smith.ai and VoiceNation offer free trial periods. However, Smith.ai gives you up to 14 days free to try our services, while VoiceNation only provides seven days. According to Invoca research, the average business call lasts five minutes, so the 30-minute limit on VoiceNation's trial would amount to only six calls, compared to Smith.ai's 20. 

Monthly Plans

Smith.ai and VoiceNation offer the following monthly plans to fit your call volume:

Smith.ai

• $210 for 30 live receptionist calls and 1 live transfer number
• $360 for 60 live receptionist calls and 2 live transfer numbers
• $750 for 150 live receptionist calls and 5 live transfer numbers
• Custom plans available
• 15% annual discount when paid up front
  

VoiceNation

• $49 for 20 minutes
• $99 for 50 minutes
• $249 for 150 minutes
• $449 for 300 minutes
• $799 for 600 minutes
• Custom plans available
  

Discussion: Both Smith.ai and VoiceNation offer customizable plans to fit your needs; but Smith.ai charges by call, not by the minute, for more predictable monthly billing and easier calculations of marketing costs (for example, how many lead calls turned into new clients). And assuming an average call of 5 minutes, the prices are comparable as they scale up, but you don't have to worry about which plan includes certain features with Smith.ai. Pricing and function is predictable and reasonable.

Overage Costs

Smith.ai

• $7.50/call on the $210/month plan
• $6.50/call on the $360/month plan
• $5.50/call on the $750/month plan
  

VoiceNation

• $1.49 per additional minute on the $40/month plan
• $1.40 per additional minute on the $129/month plan
• $1.35 per additional minute on the $199/month plan
• $1.30 per additional minute on the $329/month plan
• $1.15 per additional minute on the $549/month plan
• $1.00 per additional minute on the $949/month plan
  

Discussion: Because VoiceNation has higher base rates, you can end up paying more each month when you add in overages, compared to Smith.ai’s plans that are more affordable for small- to medium-size businesses. For example, assuming an average call is 5 minutes, according to the Invoca Call Intelligence Report, Smith.ai's $300/month plan would allow for 50 five-minute calls, but VoiceNation's 50 call plan costs $329/month. And as soon as you go over the minutes in your plan, the prices go up. Smith.ai's overage costs are the same as the per-call price in the plan so if you have an extra call, you can predict what it will cost. Unless you use exactly the amount of minutes in your VoiceNation plan, you are either wasting minutes or paying extra to go over.

Features

Smith.ai and VoiceNation offer some of the same features:

• 24/7 live answering
• Live call transfers
• Daily call reports
• Custom call handling procedures
• Payment collection
• First-tier customer and technical support
• North America-based receptionists
• Voicemail services

Smith.ai offers the following additional features:

• Appointment scheduling
• Integration with all major calendaring and scheduling software programs
• Integration with all major CRMs, like Clio, Clio Grow, Hubspot, Lexicata, Capsule CRM, and more
• 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, webchat, and SMS answering
• Lead qualification and lead intake form completion
• No charge for spam calls or wrong numbers

VoiceNation offers the following additional features:

• Automated answering service
• Instant online setup

Discussion: VoiceNation offers many similar features to Smith.ai, but they take a call-center approach to call answering, which can be distancing to callers. Moreover, their ability to offers "instant setup" comes at a cost. Yes, you get your calls answered immediately, but your receptionists are armed only with the small amount of information you entered in the online signup form and online "wizard," like your business name and greeting.

At Smith.ai, we take on-boarding seriously so our receptionists are armed with all the important details of your business and your products or services. VoiceNation uses scripts; our receptionists use good sense, drawing from your business information and customized call handling directions to actively participate on the call with your customers. We're not just parroting information and we don't have scripted call "flows;" we listen carefully to your callers and adjust our responses to each person's needs based on information you've provided about your business, so customers get an experience equivalent to an in-house receptionist who is deeply knowledgeable about your business,

Summary

If you're looking for someone to perform basic, highly standardized duties such as answering calls and routine questions about your business, VoiceNation's scripted approach may suit your needs. But if you have callers who need personalized attention, if you're looking for a service that can ask the right questions to qualify your leads and complete new client intake forms, if you're looking for a true representative of your business to make outbound calls to current clients, business partners, and VIPs, Smith.ai delivers a service to meet your high standards. We offer our services 24/7, providing our virtual receptionist service to be more accessible for your clients with a greater quality. 

Smith.ai Client Testimonial

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

“Smith is an excellent call answering service and has offered me outstanding service at a great price for my company! I would definitely recommend them to anyone looking for this service. They go above & beyond and are highly professional. Not one thing bad you can say about them!”

- Kathryn Dorr, Coral Shores Realty

Learn More About Smith.ai

Smith.ai virtual receptionists are trained to learn your business and build a relationship with your customers. Learn more and 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!