Smith.ai vs. LexHelper: Live Answering Service Comparison

Don’t lose business by missing phone calls. Choose the right virtual receptionist service to help ease the duties of owning and running a business. Compare features and pricing between Smith.ai and LexHelper virtual receptionists. 

Setup Fees & Process

Smith.ai

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

LexHelper

• $89 setup fee
• No contract
• 14-day trial period
  

Discussion: With a setup fee for each plan, LexHelper charges you before you've decided if their service is right for you. Smith.ai offers customized setup — completely free. Both companies give you 14 days to try services risk-free, but Smith.ai's model ensures you avoid unnecessary service interruptions at the end of a trial.

Monthly plans

Smith.ai and LexHelper offer the following monthly 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 150 live receptionist calls and 10 live transfer numbers
• Custom plans available
• 10% annual discount when paid up front
  

LexHelper

• $169 for 50 virtual receptionist minutes
• $319 for 100 minutes
• $599 for 200 minutes
• $999 for 350 minutes
• $1,399 for 500 minutes
• Custom plans available
  

Discussion: It can be difficult to compare calls to minutes, so let's dive into some call research. Consider that an average business call is about six minutes, according to GetVoip. Assuming a 6-minute call, for $285 Smith.ai can handle 30 calls, but LexHelper can handle only 8 for $169, which means you're paying significantly more for the same 30 calls. Even if calls are three minutes each, you still get more calls with Smith.ai than a comparable plan with LexHelper.

If all you need is an answering service to transfer calls and take short messages, LexHelper may suit your needs, but if you're looking for outsourced receptionists to help with lead capture, qualification, intake, payments, and appointment scheduling, you'll likely find the more affordable option is Smith.ai (note that some of these services are optional add-ons and may incur an additional fee; see our pricing page for details).

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
  

LexHelper

LexHelper does not display overage prices on their site.

Discussion: Per-call pricing is more predictable, and it makes it easy to compare your results at the end of the month. For example, if Smith.ai receptionists were able to book X appointments and capture Y new clients for you, you can easily determine how our service captured more business for you. It's much harder to do the math when you're paying by the minute.

Features

Smith.ai and LexHelper offer the following features:

• North America-based receptionists
• Bilingual services available
• After-hours and overflow answering (additional add-on with LexHelper)
• Appointment scheduling
• Lead intake form completion
• Outbound calls
• Custom script building
• Live call transfers
• Payment collection
• Customer Dashboard
• Services tailored to legal firms

Smith.ai has the following additional features:

• 24/7 live answering
• 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
• Custom greetings
• Lead qualification
• Daily call summary reports
• No charge for spam calls or wrong numbers
• Call recording and transcription
• SMS & email follow-up
  

Discussion:  Smith.ai and LexHelper offer very similar services, and both have deep experience in handling calls for legal practices. For example, at Smith.ai, we know that certain calls should always be live transferred to you, such as when a judge or courthouse calls. The main difference in service offerings between Smith.ai and LexHelper is that Smith.ai offers integrations with your systems that add efficiency. For example, we can automatically pass caller information and post-call notes into your CRM or practice management program or create a ticket in your customer support software. Even if your software doesn't have an open API, we can typically use Zapier to automate a workflow that reduces work for you, such as copying and pasting notes into your digital records.

Note that at LexHelper, appointment scheduling and lead intake form management each have their own separate charges and setup fees. At Smith.ai, some of our services are optional add-ons that incur fees, too. Please see our pricing page for details.

Summary

In their company mission statement, LexHelper claims their focus is working for law offices. So, even though they provide services for various types of businesses, they focus their energy and training on the legal clients. This could possibly change their quality of service when it comes to other industries. At Smith.ai, on the other hand, our virtual receptionists are trained and capable to handle calls for a variety of businesses, though we have deep expertise in working with legal firms, too.

At Smith.ai, we want to give your callers the experience of speaking with an in-house receptionist. So, we spend time learning about each of our clients. When they answer calls, our receptionists don’t have to rely on impersonal scripts; the conversation flows naturally. And, with lower prices and more features, Smith.ai offers a better value and a more complete service for your money.

Smith.ai Client Testimonial

Smith.ai virtual receptionists provide exceptional customer service at an affordable price, but don't just take our word for it. Read what one of our longtime clients had to say:

“Wonderful answering service! I'm a solo practitioner attorney and I can't get to my phone at all times. I know that my phones will be answered professionally at all times. The ability to text updates to Smith without fussing with an app is a huge bonus. I highly recommend.”

- Regina Edwards, Edwards Family Law

Discover the Value of Smith.ai Virtual Receptionists

Let us tell you more about how our virtual receptionists can support and grow your business. Sign up for a free consultation with our team or get started risk-free with our 14-day money-back guarantee!