In-Depth Comparison

Smith.ai vs. Drift

Compare features and see how businesses like yours can better capture leads and serve clients with Smith.ai Web Chat.

Smith.ai Web Chat:
The best alternative to Drift

Drift

costs

Money-back guarantee
14 days
Per chat price
$5-10 per relevant chat
Starting price
$140/month
$2,500/month (billed annually)
Setup fee
No
Information unavailable
Custom programming done for you
Information unavailable
Seats for your staff
No seats needed
1 (Each additional seat is $80 per month, billed annually)
Terms of service
Month-to-month
Annual
Overage costs
Priced per chat at current plan

capabilities

Staffed by live agents 24/7
Text Answering
New client intake
AI-driven technology
✔ Free
Captures email with every conversation
Captures phone number if desired
Appointment scheduling
Client callbacks
Custom branding
✔ Free
Mobile-optimized
Reporting & analytics
Canned responses & business FAQ
Pre-chat disclaimer
Client portal
View transcript for every chat
White-glove setup
✘ must set up yourself

INTEGRATIONS

CRM integration
Zapier integration
Google Analytics integration
Open API

AI-DRIVEN TECHNOLOGY

Uses conversational AI
No code builder
Info unavailable
Train chat with your data
Automated lead qualification
Understands user intent
✔ (Available on higher-tier plans or for additional fee only)
Smart Q&A database
✔ (Available on higher-tier plans or for additional fee only)

Outsourced Chat vs. Live Chat Software

Smith.ai's Outsourced Chat

Live chat software

Answers messages w/o extra staff
Yes
No, your team has to do the work
Quick one-time setup
Yes
No, do it youself
Responds immediately 24/7
Yes
Depends on your staffing
Automates lead qualification & intake
Yes
Sometimes
Can handle multiple chats with ease
Yes
Depends on your staffing
Screens spam & sales
Yes
No

Outsourced Chat vs. Chatbot Software

Smith.ai's Outsourced Chat

Chatbot Software

Staffed by live agents
Yes
No
Can provide empathy or emotional intelligence
Yes
No
Can handle complex issues right away
Yes
No
Responds immediately 24/7
Yes
Yes
Can provide a personalized experience
Yes
Yes, with extensive programming
Quick one-time setup
Yes
Depends on goals and software

Take the faster path to growth.
Get Smith.ai today.

Affordable plans for every budget.
Smith.ai combines live agents and AI for our comprehensive chat solution while Drift requires you to manage the software yourself.

Smith.ai’s Web Chat features 24/7 coverage using a unique combination of AI technology and live agents. Together, we answer questions, capture and qualify leads, and book appointments. With Drift, you need to staff the chat software yourself. Not only is that expensive, but it can be a challenge to operate 24/7 — leading to missed opportunities and lost revenue. Our comprehensive solution takes the burden off your shoulders and allows your team to focus on more important tasks. 

Drift is a DIY solution — so you’ll need to set up the chat software on your own. They offer a lengthy guide for you to follow. From there, you’re responsible for customizing your chat widget’s appearance, adding pre-built chat responses, and managing all conversations with customers. At Smith.ai, we take a “do it for you” approach with our white-glove setup. Our onboarding team will take care of your no-code playbooks, add Q&A, customize your widget’s branding, and add instructions for our agents.

Our AI technology is another differentiator as it ingests your website’s data — and any other public URLs you supply — to populate your knowledge base. Using large language models, our AI pulls from those data sources to quickly and accurately reply to customers via chat. Our Q&A feature allows you to add any additional information that may not be on your website that your customers need to know. For instances that are more complex or sensitive, our bilingual, North America-based agents are ready to take over the conversation and help address customer needs. 

Drift starts at $2,500 per month and is billed annually. On top of that, you need to purchase seats for every staff member who will use the chat software. And understand this — their AI features cost extra, too. Smith.ai’s Web Chat solution (including both live agents and AI) starts at $7/chat for 20 chats. We also offer an à la carte option, which starts at $10/chat, where you only pay for chats you need. Our chat plans are month-to-month and you only pay for relevant chats. We won’t bill you for any spam, sales, or incomplete chats. And unlike Drift, our AI technology is included and baked right into our solution.

Another benefit of Smith.ai is our 360-degree coverage. You can add our Virtual Receptionists to any chat plan, which starts at $285/mo. This allows our team to manage all of your inbound calls on your behalf. We also offer Outreach Campaigns where we act as an extension of your SDR team and can make outbound calls for you — along with follow-up texts and emails. Pricing starts at just $600/mo.

We offer plenty of technology integrations, too. Not only do we integrate with hundreds of CRMs, scheduling software, billing systems, and payment processing programs, but we also connect with Make and Zapier — giving you access to thousands of more workflow solutions. 

For a totally hands-off approach, 24/7 coverage, next-generation AI, and rich technology integrations, Smith.ai is the superior choice over Drift. 

Predictable and affordable pricing

We have prices for small to large organizations and everything in between.

Plans starting at

$140
Per month
20
Chats per month
View pricing details
Simple per-chat pricing, not per-hour or per-agent
Easy and predictable month-to-month pricing
No charge for spam or unwanted sales chats
No annual contracts or setup fees
Our agents and AI harmoniously work to meet the rigorous demands of your business.

Trusted by 3,000+ businesses

5.0 stars
4.9 stars
5.0 stars
4.6 stars
Generate more leads with chat
Initially, I was skeptical. But in that first week alone, we got 20 new leads, 3 bought products, and I paid for my entire year of service in that one week.
Jorge Morales
Specialized ECU Repair

END-TO-END INTEGRATIONS

We play well with your software

Calls, chats & appointments are automatically logged in your systems. Real-time syncing with over 5,000 integrations.
View all integrations

Take the faster path to growth.
Get Smith.ai today.

Affordable plans for every budget.