Business owners should never have to worry about missing customer calls. With many options for live answering services, you no longer have to. Running a business is easier than ever before, but choosing the best service for your needs can be difficult. Learn the differences in features between Smith.ai and Answering Legal virtual receptionists to help you make your decision.

Setup Fees & Trials

Smith.ai

• No setup fee
• No contracts or cancellation fees
• Free consultation
• 30-day money-back guarantee

Answering Legal

• No setup fee
• No contracts or cancellation fees
• 10-day free trial

Discussion: Both Smith.ai and Answering Legal do not require contracts. With Smith.ai, you can try our services risk-free for 30 days with our money-back guarantee. Answering Legal offers a free trial, but it's only 10 days.

Monthly Plans

Here’s a breakdown of Smith.ai and Answering Legal’s monthly plans:

Smith.ai

• $300 for 30 live receptionist calls and 1 live phone transfer
• $810 for 90 live receptionist calls and 2 live phone transfers
• $2,100 for 300 live receptionist calls and 10 live phone transfers
• Custom plans available
  

Answering Legal

Note: Answering Legal will only show you pricing after you enter your personal information into their website. The below pricing was gathered from their website on December 26, 2024.

• $360/month for 100 minutes
• $523.50/month for 150 minutes
• $676/month for 200 minutes
• $812.50/month for 250 minutes
• Custom plans available

Discussion: At Smith.ai, we know it’s important to know what to expect from a service before you sign up. That’s why we’re transparent with our prices; you’ll never have to guess what you’ll pay. At Answering Legal, however, you have to give your information to see pricing on their website, and you have to sign up for a free trial before even getting an estimate for monthly pricing. Some of Answering Legal's packages seem cheaper, but since their pricing model is per minute, those costs can rack up fast. Smith.ai's per-call pricing is predictable, plus you get more comprehensive service and quality than with Answering Legal.

Overage Costs

Smith.ai

• $11.50/call on the $300/month plan
• $10.50/call on the $810/month plan
• $8.50/call on the $2,100/month plan

Smith.ai tracks your call volume during the money-back guarantee period and we predict the exact volume you need to avoid overages. We’ll even create a custom plan if you’re between plans.

Answering Legal

Answering Legal also tracks your call volume during the trial period, and they predict the exact number of minutes you need to avoid overages. They also offer overage protection that allows you to renegotiate your monthly plan before you get charged for any overages.

Discussion: Again, with Smith.ai, you’ll know what to expect from the beginning. We offer affordable prices for your business, and we offer advanced features that will help your business in the long run. And, because we take the time to learn your business, we give your callers the experience of an in-house receptionist.

Features

Smith.ai and Answering Legal offer the following features:

• 24/7 live call answering
• After-hours and overflow answering
• Live call transfers
• Lead intake and qualification
• Bilingual receptionists available
• Appointment scheduling
• Client dashboard
• Call recording and transcription
• SMS & email follow-up
• Messages texted to you
• Custom greetings & setup
  

Smith.ai has the following additional features:

• 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
• Recommended business referral
• Payment collection
• Daily call summary reports
• No charge for spam calls or wrong numbers
  

Answering Legal offers the following additional features:

• Full legal intake
  

Discussion: Smith.ai offers advanced features that can handle your overflow calls and grow your business. With a detailed call history report and client history mapping, you can learn more about your clients and what makes them happy. We’ll qualify leads for you, so you never miss an opportunity for new business. Answering Legal doesn’t have as much experience supporting small and large businesses; their services focus on the legal industry.

Summary

At Smith.ai, we’re dedicated to providing you with advanced features that will help grow your business. Our virtual receptionists are experienced in customer service, so your callers will never know we’re outside of your office. Also, we offer integration with many of the tools you already use to grow your business.

Smith.ai Client Testimonials

Smith.ai provides solutions to support small and large businesses:

“I’ve been with Smith for over a year and I can say without reservation that they are the best answering service you could ask for. Their receptionists are helpful and always available to answer my client’s questions, their detailed text and email summaries allow me to sort and prioritize client interactions, and their rates are reasonable. Any issues or feedback I have had have always been resolved promptly and with great care.

I would not be as successful in my business today, were it not for the people at Smith.”

- Marthe Sende

Get Help For Your Business From Smith.ai

If you have questions about our virtual receptionist services, contact us. Give us a call at (650) 727-6484. You may also reach us by email at hello@smith.ai. Law firms and other small businesses need support when it comes to a high call volume. That’s where live answering services come in handy. Determine the best option between Smith.ai and Answering Legal virtual receptionists.