Penny vs Smith.ai: Pay for the minutes, not for every call.
Smith.ai’s AI receptionist bills by the call: 150$ for 75, then 2.50$ each. Penny bills by the minute, measured to the second, so the quick “are you open Saturday?” calls cost what they take.
- 7 days free
- No card required
- Cancel anytime
What you’d pay each month
Penny Starter
99$
Smith.ai Pro
212.50$
| Penny | Smith.ai | |
|---|---|---|
| How you’re billed | By the minute | By the call |
| After your plan runs out | 0.50$ a minute | 2.50$ a call |
| Languages | 100+ | English and Spanish |
Monthly billing, at about two minutes a call. Penny is 79$ a month billed yearly.
Where Penny pulls ahead
Billed for the time you use, and set up for trade calls.
At 100 calls, less than half the price.
100 calls on Smith.ai Pro is 150$ for the first 75 and 2.50$ for each one after, 212.50$ in all. On Penny, 100 calls of about two minutes fit in Starter at 99$ a month.
A 40-second call costs 40 seconds.
Someone asking whether you cover their zip code uses 40 seconds of your minutes on Penny. On Smith.ai it uses one of your calls, the same as a ten-minute booking.
Set up around trade work.
Penny asks for your service area, the jobs you treat as urgent and the questions you want answered on every call. Smith.ai’s built-in integrations are Clio, HubSpot and Salesforce, tools for law firms and sales teams.
Side by side
Penny and Smith.ai, line by line.
Where both do the job, we say so. Prices are monthly, in USD, as published on October 7, 2026.
| What matters to your business | Smith.ai150$Per month, 75 calls | PennyFrom $99Billed monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Answers 24/7 | Yes | Yes |
| Books on your calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Routes and transfers callers | Yes | Yes |
| Recordings and transcripts | Yes | Yes |
| How you’re billed | By the call | By the minute, measured to the second |
| 100 calls a month | 212.50$ | 99$ |
| Free option | 25 calls a month, then 3$ a call | 7-day trial with 100 minutes |
| When a caller needs a person | Live receptionists, as an add-on | Transfers to you or your team |
| Built-in integrations | Clio, HubSpot, Salesforce, Zapier | No |
| Languages | English and Spanish | English, Spanish and 100+ more |
| Cancelling | Month to month, 30 days’ notice | Anytime, from your account |
Sources: Smith.ai AI Receptionist pricing, Smith.ai AI Receptionist. Checked October 7, 2026.
Run the numbers
What you’d pay each month.
Pick how many calls you get. For Smith.ai we take whichever of its plans costs least at that volume, per-call overage included.
PennyStarter
99$
Smith.aiPro
212.50$
Penny is 113.50$ a month cheaper. Billed yearly, Penny is 79$ a month.
Assumes calls average 2 minutes, the same estimate Penny’s plans use. Includes extra-minute charges where a plan runs over. Smith.ai prices from their pricing page, checked October 7, 2026.
Which one fits
An honest answer.
Pick Penny if
- You get more than about 60 calls a month and want the bill to grow by the minute, not by the call.
- A lot of your calls are short questions about prices, hours or where you work.
- You want a receptionist set up around service areas, urgent jobs and the questions you ask on every call.
- Some of your customers speak a language other than English or Spanish.
Pick Smith.ai if
- You get fewer than about 60 calls a month. Smith.ai’s free plan includes 25 calls, then charges 3$ for each one after.
- You want a live receptionist ready to take over a call. Penny transfers to your own team.
- You need calls logged in HubSpot, Salesforce or Clio. Penny doesn’t connect to other software.
Switching from Smith.ai
Try her before you cancel anything.
- 1
Start a trial
Try Penny free for 7 days, with up to 100 minutes. No card required.
- 2
Show her your business
Paste your website or your Google or Yelp listing. Penny reads your services, hours and service area, and you fix anything she got wrong.
- 3
Test her on your Penny number
Call it yourself and ask what your customers ask. Read the transcripts. Smith.ai keeps answering your real calls in the meantime.
- 4
Move your forwarding
When she handles calls the way you would, point your missed-call forwarding at Penny and cancel Smith.ai. Your business number stays the same.
Good questions
Penny vs Smith.ai, answered.
What owners ask when they’re choosing between Penny and Smith.ai.
Penny vs Smith.ai
Is Smith.ai’s AI receptionist free?
There’s a free plan with 25 calls a month, and each call after that costs 3$. Paid plans start at 150$ a month for 75 calls.
Which is cheaper for 100 calls a month?
Penny, at 99$ a month for about 100 two-minute calls, or 79$ billed yearly. Smith.ai Pro comes to 212.50$: 150$ for 75 calls, plus 25 more at 2.50$.
What if my calls run long?
Then per-call pricing looks better. Penny bills by the minute, so a ten-minute call uses ten minutes. On Starter, minutes past the 200 included cost 0.50$ each.
Can Penny put a caller through to a real person?
Yes, to you or anyone on your team, following rules you write. Penny doesn’t supply live receptionists of her own.
Can I try Penny first?
Try Penny free for 7 days, with up to 100 minutes. No card required.