VeraDial vs Smith.ai
Smith.ai's live receptionists start at $300/mo for 30 calls. Its AI receptionist is free for 25 calls a month, then $3.00 per call once you switch overage on, or $150/mo on Pro. VeraDial is a flat $14.99/mo (Vera Lite) or $29.99/mo (Vera Plus, 300 Vera-answering minutes, about 500 calls), on a business line you call and text from in native apps. Here's the price gap, and when Smith.ai is still worth it.
By Graham Thomson · Updated October 5, 2026
The price gap
VeraDial · Vera Plus
$29.99/mo
Flat, with 300 AI-receptionist minutes (about 500 calls) and 300 calling minutes each month, on a business line you call and text from. Vera Lite is $14.99/mo.
100 calls in a month: $29.99
Smith.ai · AI Receptionist
$0–$500+/mo
Free covers 25 calls; past that, overage is off by default and costs $3.00 per call once switched on. Pro is $150/mo for 75 calls, then $2.50 per call; Enterprise starts at $500/mo.
100 calls in a month: $212.50–$225
Smith.ai · Live receptionists
$300–$2,100/mo
Starter $300/mo for 30 calls ($11.50 per extra call), Basic $810/mo for 90, Pro $2,100/mo for 300.
100 calls in a month: from $915
Smith.ai prices from smith.ai/pricing/ai-receptionist and smith.ai/pricing/receptionists, checked October 5, 2026. 100-call examples are our arithmetic on those published rates, before Smith.ai's per-call add-ons such as booking ($1.50) or recording ($0.25) on receptionist plans. All prices USD.
Short Answer
If complex calls need a live human — law firms, healthcare, higher-trust intake — pick Smith.ai: real North American receptionists from $300/mo, or its AI plan free for 25 calls a month and metered after if you switch overage on. If your bottleneck is every call and text answered on a verified line you call and text from yourself, at a price that doesn't move with volume, pick VeraDial: Vera Lite $14.99/mo, or Vera Plus $29.99/mo with 300 Vera-answering minutes (about 500 calls) and outbound AI calling. The human layer is Smith.ai's edge; the flat-rate line that answers itself is VeraDial's.
VeraDialMobile-first business phone with Vera, a 24/7 AI receptionist, built in — answers calls and texts, takes messages, connects real callers through. STIR/SHAKEN A-level caller ID, voicemail transcription, business SMS, call recording — all in native iOS/Android at a flat $14.99 or $29.99/mo per line.
AI and live human answering on a dedicated Smith.ai number (or your ported number on receptionist plans). AI plans free for 25 calls/mo, then $3.00/call if you opt in (Pro from $150/mo); 500+ live North America-based receptionists from $300/mo. English and Spanish, CRM handoffs to Clio, HubSpot, Salesforce. Web dashboard, no mobile app found. GDPR stated since 2018.
Bottom Line
Which should you pick?
Pick VeraDial if...
You're a trades or SMB owner who wants the verified line and AI receptionist together at a flat price that doesn't move with call volume. Vera Lite includes 100 AI-receptionist minutes (about 170 calls) and 150 calling minutes for $14.99/mo; Plus includes 300 receptionist minutes (about 500 calls) and 300 calling minutes for $29.99/mo, plus outbound AI calling, live translation, and an AI SMS assistant on your own number — with native iOS and Android apps.
Pick Smith.ai if...
You're a law firm, professional-services practice, or higher-trust business that genuinely needs live North American human receptionists — Smith.ai staffs 500+ of them 24/7, with mid-call escalation from its AI built in — plus mature CRM handoffs to Clio, HubSpot, or Salesforce. Its AI plans start free (25 calls/mo, card required, overage off unless you opt in at $3.00/call; Pro from $150/mo), include a dedicated number, and human receptionist plans run $300–$2,100/mo for 30–300 calls. Facts verified on smith.ai 2026-10-05.
The short version
Smith.ai is an answering service that meters every call — AI plans free for 25 calls a month then per-call (Pro from $150/mo) on a dedicated Smith.ai number, human receptionist plans from $300/mo. VeraDial is the verified line itself at a flat rate: 100 receptionist minutes (about 170 calls) and 150 calling minutes on Lite ($14.99/mo), 300 receptionist minutes (about 500 calls) and 300 calling minutes on Plus ($29.99/mo). Pick Smith.ai for live humans and legal-grade intake; pick VeraDial for a flat-rate line you call and text from that answers its calls and texts itself.
Feature comparison
Side by side
Smith.ai facts verified from smith.ai/pricing/ai-receptionist, smith.ai/ai-receptionist, and smith.ai/pricing/receptionists on October 5, 2026. VeraDial facts reflect the live product as of October 2026 — Vera, the built-in 24/7 AI receptionist, is included on every plan; live human fallback is not provided.
| Feature | VeraDial | Smith.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Live North American human receptionists available | No | Yes |
| Fully autonomous inbound call handling (24/7) | Yes | Yes |
| Mid-call escalation from AI to a live human agent | No | Yes — free when the AI initiates it; otherwise a per-call add-on |
| Business phone number included | Yes — US or Canadian number | Yes — dedicated number on every AI plan; local, toll-free, or free port on receptionist plans |
| A line you call and text from in native apps | Yes | Not marketed that way; no mobile app found |
| Pricing model | Flat $14.99 or $29.99/mo | Per call — AI from $0 (25 calls, then $3.00/call if you opt in); human from $300/mo |
| AI-powered outbound calling (goal-based, with transcripts) | Yes (Vera Plus) | Not advertised — receptionists can place calls |
| AI answers inbound texts (SMS assistant, reads photos) | Yes | Not published |
| Live two-way call translation | Yes (Vera Plus · 13 languages) | Not published |
| Spanish inbound answering | No — English or Canadian French | Yes — English & Spanish on every AI plan; Spanish line $1.00/call on human plans |
| STIR/SHAKEN A-level outbound caller ID attestation | Yes | Not published |
| AI appointment scheduling | Yes (Vera Plus · Google Calendar) | Yes — all AI plans; $1.50/call on human plans |
| CRM handoff (Clio / HubSpot / Salesforce) | No — Zapier, Make, and signed webhooks | Yes — Salesforce, HubSpot, Clio Grow/Manage, plus Zapier and Make |
| Native iOS / Android apps | Yes | No app found |
| GDPR compliance publicly stated | No | Yes |
| Numbers / coverage | US + Canadian numbers | United States |
| Free entry point | 7-day free trial (Lite and Plus) | $0/mo AI plan — 25 calls/mo, card required, $3.00/call overage off by default |
Honest concession
Where Smith.ai is genuinely the better pick
Smith.ai has capabilities VeraDial does not provide today — including a free tier and, above all, real humans. For the buyers below, Smith.ai is the right product — not VeraDial.
Real human receptionists — still the category-defining feature
Smith.ai staffs 500+ live North America-based receptionists, 24/7, with no overseas agents. On its AI plans, a complex call can escalate mid-conversation to a live human — free when the AI initiates the handoff, otherwise a per-call add-on. For law firms, healthcare, and higher-trust industries where a fumbled call costs a client, that human layer is the reason Smith.ai exists. VeraDial does not provide live-agent fallback at any price. If you need a human on the other end of hard calls, Smith.ai is the right product.
A genuinely free way to start — in English and Spanish
Smith.ai's AI Receptionist starts at $0/mo with 25 answered calls every month — a freemium plan Smith.ai calls free forever, not a time-boxed trial. Every AI plan, Free included, comes with a dedicated phone number, English and Spanish answering, 12+ voices, spam screening, and Quality Studio simulated test calls. If your call volume is genuinely tiny and stays that way, that free tier may be all you ever need. Two things to know: a card is required at signup, and overage is off by default — if you switch it on, call 26 onward costs $3.00 each.
Mature legal & professional-services intake, with CRM handoffs
A decade of answering for law firms shows: structured intake, conflict checks, and handoffs to Salesforce, HubSpot, Clio Grow, and Clio Manage, plus Zapier and Make (first CRM integration free on receptionist plans), with appointment booking on every AI plan. VeraDial is a general-purpose business line — Vera books into Google Calendar on Vera Plus and pushes events to Zapier, Make, and webhooks, but it has no practice-management integrations.
An established brand at real scale
Founded in 2015, trusted by 5,000+ businesses, tens of millions of calls handled, GDPR compliance publicly stated since 2018, and a 30-day money-back guarantee (up to $1,000) on receptionist plans. VeraDial is a much younger product with a smaller public footprint. If vendor maturity is a hard requirement, Smith.ai has it.
Where VeraDial wins
Where VeraDial is the better pick
VeraDial is the line, the receptionist, the texts, and the outbound AI in one flat-rate product. If any of these is your bottleneck, VeraDial is the right tool.
A flat bill instead of a per-call meter
Every paid Smith.ai plan is metered per call: $2.17–$2.50 past a Pro bundle, $11.50 past the human Starter's 30 — and $3.00/call past the free 25 once you switch overage on. Getting busier makes the bill grow. VeraDial is flat: Vera Lite is $14.99/mo with 100 Vera-answering minutes (about 170 calls) and 150 calling minutes; Vera Plus is $29.99/mo with 300 Vera-answering minutes (about 500 calls). A 100-call month on Smith.ai's free AI plan with overage on is roughly $225; on Vera Plus it's the same $29.99. Smith.ai prices verified on smith.ai 2026-10-05.
A phone line you work from, not just an answering number
Smith.ai includes a dedicated number on every AI plan, and its receptionist plans offer a local or toll-free number or a free port of your existing one — that number is where its AI or receptionists answer, and outbound calls showing your business caller ID are a $10/mo add-on on receptionist plans. VeraDial is a full business phone line: a verified US or Canadian number with STIR/SHAKEN A-level attestation that you call and text from yourself in native iOS and Android apps, with Vera answering whatever you don't pick up. One product, one bill, one number you run the business from.
Texts answered, not just calls
Your business number gets texts — and on VeraDial, Vera answers them too: an AI SMS assistant that drafts replies to inbound texts (it even reads the photos customers send), shares your booking link, and either waits for your one-tap approval or replies automatically, per line. Smith.ai doesn't market its number as a texting line you run from an app.
Outbound AI and native mobile apps
On Vera Plus ($29.99/mo), Vera places goal-based outbound calls — chase the estimate, confirm tomorrow's 9 AM, ask the supplier about the back-order — and returns transcripts, plus live two-way translation across 13 languages. Smith.ai's AI receptionist pages don't advertise autonomous AI outbound calling. And VeraDial ships native iOS and Android apps, where we found no Smith.ai mobile app (checked 2026-10-05).
Smith.ai pricing
Smith.ai's current plan structure
Plan names, prices, call bundles, and overage rates verified from smith.ai/pricing/ai-receptionist and smith.ai/pricing/receptionists on October 5, 2026. The former $95/$270/$800 tiers quoted on many older comparison pages are retired. Quoted for buyer reference — please verify with Smith.ai before purchasing.
AI — Free
$0/mo
25 AI-answered calls / month
Smith.ai calls it free forever, not a trial. Includes a dedicated phone number, English and Spanish, 12+ voices, spam screening, 24/7 AI answering, transcripts and summaries, lead qualification and call routing, AI scheduling, and integrations. A card is required at signup; overage is off by default, and if you switch it on, calls past 25 bill at $3.00 each.
AI — Pro
From $150/mo
75 calls · bundles of 150 ($270) and 300 ($500)
Everything in Free plus dedicated onboarding, live phone/email/chat support, and custom SMS branding. The 300-call bundle works out to about $1.67 per call; extra calls run $2.50, $2.30, or $2.17 depending on the bundle.
AI — Enterprise
From $500/mo
300 calls · 500 ($800) · 1,000+ custom
Full-service setup and ongoing optimization, custom AI prompting by their team, unlimited custom integrations, multi-location support, and a dedicated success manager. Extra calls run $2.17 or $2.10.
Human receptionists
$300–$2,100/mo
30 / 90 / 300 calls · Enterprise custom
Live North America-based receptionists 24/7: Starter $300/mo (30 calls, then $11.50/call), Basic $810/mo (90 calls, then $10.50), Pro $2,100/mo (300 calls, then $8.50). Dedicated local or toll-free number, or port yours free. Add-ons: booking $1.50/call, recording $0.25, Spanish line $1.00, outbound business caller ID $10/mo; first CRM integration free.
Smith.ai AI plans are month-to-month with 30 days' notice; receptionist plans carry a 30-day money-back guarantee (up to $1,000). Smith.ai also lists a 6-month plan with rollover calls. For comparison: VeraDial is a flat $14.99/mo (Vera Lite) or $29.99/mo (Vera Plus, about 500 calls a month) — including the verified line itself.
The per-call math
What a busy month actually costs
Metered pricing looks cheap until the phone rings. Take a service business that gets 100 calls in a month: on Smith.ai's free AI plan with overage switched on (it's off by default) that's 25 included calls plus 75 × $3.00 — about $225. On AI Pro it's $150 plus 25 × $2.50 — about $212. On the human Starter it's $300 plus 70 × $11.50 — over $1,100. On VeraDial's Vera Plus the same month is $29.99: 100 two-minute calls fit inside Plus's 300 Vera-answering minutes, and VeraDial never adds a per-call charge. If your call volume is real and growing, the pricing model is the decision.
FAQ
VeraDial vs Smith.ai, answered
How much does Smith.ai cost in 2026?
Smith.ai's AI Receptionist is Free at $0/mo for 25 calls ($3.00 per extra call if you switch overage on), Pro from $150/mo for 75 calls (150 for $270, 300 for $500), and Enterprise from $500/mo for 300 calls; its live human receptionist plans are Starter $300/mo for 30 calls, Basic $810/mo for 90, Pro $2,100/mo for 300, and custom Enterprise (verified on smith.ai 2026-10-05). The older $95/$270/$800 AI tiers quoted on many comparison pages are retired. VeraDial is flat: Vera Lite $14.99/mo and Vera Plus $29.99/mo, both including the business line.
Does Smith.ai have a free trial or free plan?
Smith.ai has a free plan rather than a trial: AI Free is $0/mo for 25 AI-answered calls a month, which Smith.ai describes as free forever. A credit card is required at signup and overage is off by default — if you switch it on, each call past 25 costs $3.00, so a 100-call month comes to about $225. VeraDial offers a 7-day free trial on Vera Lite and Vera Plus, then a flat $14.99 or $29.99/mo that doesn't move with call volume.
Does Smith.ai give you a phone number?
Yes. Every Smith.ai AI plan, including Free, comes with a dedicated phone number, and its receptionist plans offer a local or toll-free number or a free port of your existing one. VeraDial also gives you a US or Canadian number — the difference is that you call and text from it yourself in VeraDial's native apps, with Vera answering what you miss.
Is VeraDial a Smith.ai alternative for law firms?
Generally no, and the honest framing matters. Smith.ai is built for legal and professional services: live human receptionists, mid-call AI-to-human escalation, conflict checks, and mature Clio / HubSpot / Salesforce handoffs. VeraDial is a mobile-first business line with a 24/7 AI receptionist built in, designed for trades, contractors, realtors, and SMB owner-operators. For a firm that needs the human layer and legal intake workflow, pick Smith.ai. For an owner-operator who needs every call and text answered on a line they own, VeraDial does that job at a small fraction of the cost.
Does Smith.ai have a mobile app?
We found no Smith.ai iOS or Android app when we checked on 2026-10-05; the product is managed from a web dashboard. For owner-operators running the business from a phone, that means the mobile web view. VeraDial is mobile-first: native iOS and Android apps where your number, calls, texts, and Vera's settings all live.
Can Smith.ai make outbound calls on my behalf?
Its live receptionists can place calls like follow-ups and call-backs, and receptionist plans offer business caller ID for outbound at $10/mo so recipients see your number. Its AI receptionist pages don't advertise autonomous AI outbound calling. VeraDial's Vera Plus ($29.99/mo) includes goal-based outbound AI calling: describe the goal, Vera runs the call and returns a transcript and summary, and can join outbound calls as a live translator across 13 languages.
Should I run both Smith.ai and VeraDial?
Rarely — VeraDial answers inbound itself, so you don't need Smith.ai for coverage. The pairing only makes sense for an established practice that wants Smith.ai's live humans and CRM intake on the main office line while using VeraDial as the verified mobile line (STIR/SHAKEN A-level) with outbound AI and business SMS. Combined cost starts around $315/mo with Smith.ai's human Starter — for most small operators, one $14.99–$29.99 VeraDial line replaces the need for the stack.
Keep digging
Related guides and comparisons
Try VeraDial
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Vera answers your calls and texts 24/7 on a verified US or Canadian number you own — no per-call meter. Vera Lite $14.99/mo, Vera Plus $29.99/mo with 300 Vera-answering minutes (about 500 calls). 7-day free trial, no contract.
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