Not exactly. At low volume their free AI tier is cheaper than anything we offer, and their human tiers are a service we simply do not provide. We are a different shape of product: a flat-rate AI receptionist that books appointments and runs multi-channel follow-up.
Receptly vs Smith.ai
Smith.ai sells you a receptionist — human on the higher tiers, AI on the lower ones. We sell you a receptionist that also runs your calendar, your messages, and your follow-ups. Different products, overlapping first impression.
Read this first
One of these is the right answer
Stay with Smith.ai
You need a person answering the phone, not an AI. Their human ladder is a real service we do not offer, and their legal-intake depth is the best in the category.
Switch to Receptly
You want calls to turn into booked appointments in your own calendar, one thread per customer across SMS, WhatsApp, Telegram, and email, and follow-ups that fire without anyone remembering to send them.
Not sure which side of that you're on?
Send us your monthly call volume and we'll tell you honestly whether Receptly or Smith.ai fits better — including when the answer is them.
Head to head
Receptly and Smith.ai, side by side
Pricing model
Flat monthly plan with an included minute allowance — from $129/mo
Tiered per-call pricing: free AI tier capped at 25 calls, then $3/call; human tiers $300–$2,100/mo
Answers calls
AI agent, 24/7
AI on lower tiers, human receptionists on higher tiers
Books into your calendar
Yes — reads real availability and writes the appointment
Intake, with booking depending on tier and configuration
Channels in one thread
Calls, SMS, WhatsApp, Telegram, and email against one customer record
Phone-first; messaging is not the focus
Automation
Workflows triggered on call completed, booked, cancelled, or no-show
Notification-led
Drive it from your own AI
MCP server — Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client
No
Hear it answer a call like yours
We'll set up a working agent on a test number with your services and hours, so you can judge the voice and the booking before anything moves.
Product screenshot: one customer thread across call, SMS, WhatsApp, Telegram and email
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One thread
Every channel, against the same customer
Someone who calls you on Tuesday and messages you on WhatsApp on Thursday is one person with one history. Receptly keeps the call, the text, the WhatsApp, the Telegram, and the email in a single thread instead of five.
- Calls, SMS, WhatsApp, Telegram, and email in one inbox
- Notes and history stay attached to the customer record
- Nothing answered twice, nothing dropped between tools
Product screenshot: the calendar with an appointment the agent just booked
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The booking
It books into the calendar you already run
The agent reads your real availability, offers only slots that are genuinely free, writes the appointment, and sends the confirmation — while the caller is still on the line.
- Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook
- Buffer times, rescheduling, and waitlists
- Confirmations and reminders sent automatically
Product screenshot: a workflow with triggers, conditions and an activity log
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After the call
The follow-up fires without anyone remembering
Trigger on the events that actually matter — call completed, appointment booked, cancelled, or no-show — with delays and conditions between steps, and a log of exactly what ran.
- Email, SMS, Telegram, and voice steps in one flow
- Conditions and delays between steps
- An activity log showing what ran and what was skipped
Why people move
The three things that come up every time
01
A busy month doesn't surprise you
Per-call pricing means your bill scales with your worst month. A flat plan means a spike in calls is a good problem, not an invoice.
02
The call ends with an appointment, not a message
Most answering services take details and email you. Receptly reads your calendar and puts the booking in it while the caller is still on the line.
03
The follow-up is already sent
When a call, booking, or cancellation happens, a workflow can text the customer, notify your team, or update the record — without anyone remembering to.
Switching
Your number doesn’t change
You can hear Receptly answer real calls before anything moves. Nothing is cancelled on Smith.ai’s side until you say so.
Compare all vendors- 01
Build the agent
Guided onboarding: your business type, services, hours, and voice. No code and no integration project.
- 02
Test on a separate number
Call it yourself with real scenarios — the after-hours booking, the price question, the reschedule — and adjust until it sounds right.
- 03
Port when you’re ready
Number porting typically takes a few business days. Run Receptly alongside your current setup while it completes so nothing is missed.
- 04
Turn on what comes after the call
Confirmations, reminders, and follow-up workflows switch on once calls are flowing — that’s where most of the recovered time is.
Get Started
Let's talk about your workflows
Book a discovery call or send us a message. We'll get back to you within one business day.
30 minutes to explore your automation opportunities. No pitch, no pressure—just a focused conversation about your workflow challenges.
- Identify high-impact automation opportunities
- Discuss your current tech stack
- Get a ballpark timeline and approach
Schedule a discovery call
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