Honest comparison · updated August 2026
The short answer: Ruby is the closest like-for-like replacement if you want live human receptionists. PATLive and Posh cost less at entry. Answering Legal and Back Office Betties are legal-only teams. And ServiceHawk AI is the pick if your callers speak Spanish. The right choice depends on why you're leaving.
Hear a live AI intake demoEvery price below is from the vendor's own published pricing page. No affiliate links.
Why firms shop for Smith.ai alternatives. Usually, it's the per-call math.
Smith.ai is a legitimate, well-reviewed service — this isn't a hit piece. But its billing model is per call, not per minute. Per Smith.ai's published pricing as of August 2026, the Starter plan runs $300/month for 30 calls (about $10 per answered call, with overages at $11.50/call), Basic is $810/month for 90 calls, and Pro is $2,100/month for 300 calls. If your firm gets lots of quick calls — directions, confirmations, "is the attorney in?" — each one costs the same as a full 20-minute intake. That's the number one reason firms start comparison shopping. The other common reasons:
At a glance. Published entry pricing, August 2026.
| Service | Who answers | Billing | Published entry price | Legal-only |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smith.ai | Humans + AI | Per call | $300/mo · 30 calls | No |
| Ruby | Live humans | Per minute | $250/mo · 50 min | No |
| ServiceHawk AI | AI (Bella) | Custom quote | Based on call volume | No · legal focus |
| PATLive | Live humans | Per minute | $75/mo pay-as-you-go | No |
| Posh | Live humans | Per minute | $65/mo + $2.30/min | No |
| Answering Legal | Live humans | Per minute | Not published | Yes |
| Back Office Betties | Live humans | Per minute | $333/mo · 100 min | Yes |
| LEX Reception | Live humans | Per minute | Not published | Yes |
Prices are each vendor's published entry-level pricing as of August 2026 and change often — always confirm on the vendor's own pricing page. "Not published" means the company requires a sales conversation to see rates.
The 7 alternatives, honestly reviewed.
How to actually choose. Three questions beat twenty reviews.
What does your call log say? Pull last month's calls. Lots of short calls favor per-minute billing (Ruby, Posh, PATLive). Fewer, longer intake calls favor per-call (Smith.ai) or custom-quoted AI (ServiceHawk).
What languages do your callers speak? If the answer includes Spanish, confirm the vendor's bilingual coverage in writing — and whether it costs extra per call.
Did you test it with your own script? Never sign from a sales demo alone. Use free trials (Answering Legal's 400 minutes, ServiceHawk's live demo call) and call your own number after setup. Ten minutes of testing tells you more than any comparison page — including this one.
Questions firms ask when comparing.
Competitor figures reflect published pricing as of August 2026 — plans and rates change; confirm current pricing on each provider’s site.
It depends on why you're switching. If you want live human receptionists with a long track record, Ruby is the closest like-for-like replacement. If cost is the driver, Posh and PATLive have lower entry prices and per-minute billing. If you want a legal-only team, look at Answering Legal, Back Office Betties, or LEX Reception. If your callers speak Spanish, ServiceHawk AI is the only option on this list that runs full intake in all three languages.
The most common reason is the per-call billing model. Per Smith.ai's published pricing as of August 2026, the Starter plan is $300 per month for 30 calls — about $10 per answered call — and a 45-second call costs the same as a 20-minute intake. Firms with lots of short calls often find per-minute billing cheaper, and some firms simply want a legal-only provider or different language coverage.
For structured intake — capturing what happened, contact details, urgency, and prior counsel — modern AI receptionists handle the job well and never forget a script question. They should never give legal advice, evaluate a case, or quote fees, and a good one is configured to escalate unusual calls to a human at your firm. For emotionally complex calls, an experienced human receptionist still has the edge. The honest advice: demo both with your own intake script before deciding.
Several services on this list advertise English and Spanish answering — Ruby, for example, promotes bilingual receptionists. ServiceHawk AI runs full intake in English and Spanish on every call with no per-language surcharge.
You keep your existing phone number in almost every case — these services work by call forwarding, not porting. Set up the new service, test it with your own intake script, and only then change your forwarding rules. Most providers here have no long-term contract, so you can run the old and new service in parallel for a few days before you cancel.
Live demo
Don't take a comparison page's word for it — ours included. Tell us your practice area and Bella calls you back answering as your firm, running a sample intake in English, or Spanish. Or we email you the demo links instead. Your choice.
ServiceHawk