Frontly vs Smith.ai
Smith.ai is a live-staffed answering service with AI options, billed by the call. Frontly Answer is an inbound AI front desk on a flat monthly rate that answers instantly, qualifies the caller, books the appointment, and files the transcript in your dashboard. Here is how the two models compare.
- A flat monthly rate sized by minute allowance, so a busy month does not arrive as a per-call overage bill
- A visual workflow builder you edit yourself: change a question, a route or a script without filing a ticket
- Cross-call memory, so a returning caller is recognized rather than starting the conversation over
- Every booking, qualifying answer and transcript captured in your Frontly dashboard rather than relayed as a message
- Caller data stored and hosted in your region: US, EU or UK, with encryption in transit and at rest
Billing model
| Feature | Frontly | Smith.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Flat monthly rate | Yes | No |
| Priced per call | No | Yes |
| Allowance measured in | Minutes | Calls |
| Cost of a call above the allowance | Drawn from your minute allowance | $8.50 to $11.50 per call, as published |
| Entry plan published price | See /pricing | $300/mo for 30 calls |
Flat monthly rate
Frontly
YesSmith.ai
NoPriced per call
Frontly
NoSmith.ai
YesAllowance measured in
Frontly
MinutesSmith.ai
CallsCost of a call above the allowance
Frontly
Drawn from your minute allowanceSmith.ai
$8.50 to $11.50 per call, as publishedEntry plan published price
Frontly
See /pricingSmith.ai
$300/mo for 30 callsWho answers the phone
| Feature | Frontly | Smith.ai |
|---|---|---|
| AI answers every call | Yes | AI or live agent, your choice |
| Live human agents on staff | No | Yes |
| Answered in seconds with no queue | Yes | Queued to an available agent |
| Calls handled in parallel | Yes | Limited by staffed agents |
| 24/7 answering | Yes | Yes |
AI answers every call
Frontly
YesSmith.ai
AI or live agent, your choiceLive human agents on staff
Frontly
NoSmith.ai
YesAnswered in seconds with no queue
Frontly
YesSmith.ai
Queued to an available agentCalls handled in parallel
Frontly
YesSmith.ai
Limited by staffed agents24/7 answering
Frontly
YesSmith.ai
YesWhat the front desk can do
| Feature | Frontly | Smith.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Visual workflow builder | Yes | Scripted intake |
| Cross-call memory of returning callers | Yes | Not published |
| Knowledge base trained on your business | Yes | Yes |
| Appointment booked during the call | Yes | Yes |
| Warm transfer to your team | Yes | Yes |
Visual workflow builder
Frontly
YesSmith.ai
Scripted intakeCross-call memory of returning callers
Frontly
YesSmith.ai
Not publishedKnowledge base trained on your business
Frontly
YesSmith.ai
YesAppointment booked during the call
Frontly
YesSmith.ai
YesWarm transfer to your team
Frontly
YesSmith.ai
YesSetup and control
| Feature | Frontly | Smith.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Change your own call flow, no code | Yes | Requested through support |
| Live in about an hour | Yes | Onboarding run by their team |
| Dedicated local number included | Yes | Yes |
| Full transcript on every call | Yes | Yes |
Change your own call flow, no code
Frontly
YesSmith.ai
Requested through supportLive in about an hour
Frontly
YesSmith.ai
Onboarding run by their teamDedicated local number included
Frontly
YesSmith.ai
YesFull transcript on every call
Frontly
YesSmith.ai
YesDEEP DIVE
Key Differences Explained
What per-call pricing costs at real volume
Smith.ai publishes Starter at $300 a month for 30 calls, Basic at $810 for 90, and Pro at $2,100 for 300, with calls above the allowance billed at roughly $8.50 to $11.50 each. A clinic or firm taking 40 calls a day is near 800 calls a month, which is more than double the largest published allowance, and every call past it is a separate line on the invoice. Frontly Answer is a flat monthly rate sized by minute allowance, so the shape of your bill is decided when you pick a size rather than by how busy the month turns out. Rates above are as published on smith.ai in August 2026 and are indicative only, so check their pricing page before you compare.
A staffed service and an AI front desk are different products
Smith.ai's core asset is people. Trained agents take the call, follow your intake script, and pass the result on, with AI available where you want it. That is a real strength on the calls that need a human read of the situation. Frontly is AI only. It answers instantly, follows the flow you designed, handles several callers at once, and never has a queue, which is a better fit when the job is volume, consistency and after-hours coverage rather than judgment.
The workflow builder is where the control sits
With a staffed service, changing how a call is handled means changing a script that other people follow, so it moves at the speed of their support queue. Frontly hands you the same visual workflow builder our team uses. Add a qualifying question, branch on a new caller intent, change who gets escalated to at 6pm, and it is live on the next call. That difference compounds once you have more than one call type.
Where your caller data lives
Frontly stores and hosts customer data in your region: a US account is stored and hosted in the US, an EU account in the EU, a UK account in the UK, with encryption in transit and at rest. We do not publish claims about where any competitor stores data, so if regional storage matters to your business, ask Smith.ai directly and compare the written answers rather than the marketing pages.
When Smith.ai is still the right call
If you want a human voice on every call, or you want to outsource intake to trained agents who can improvise around an unusual situation, a staffed service is the better product and we would rather you bought the right one. Frontly is the better fit when you want every call answered in seconds at a predictable monthly cost, including nights, weekends and the calls that arrive while your team is already on the phone.
How Pricing Compares
Frontly Answer is the inbound AI front desk, billed at a flat monthly rate and sized by monthly minute allowance. Sizes and what each one includes are on /pricing.
Published plans run $300/mo for 30 calls, $810/mo for 90 and $2,100/mo for 300, with roughly $8.50 to $11.50 per call above the allowance. Figures as published on smith.ai in August 2026 and indicative only.
INDUSTRY FIT
Is Frontly right for your industry?
AI intake reception for law firms is the sharpest version of this comparison, because new-matter intake is exactly the work staffed answering services sell, and the calls that decide a case are rarely the ones that arrive between nine and five.
AI receptionist for accounting practices feels per-call pricing hardest in the weeks around a filing deadline, when volume triples and a per-call rate triples the invoice with it.
AI reception for medical practices runs on appointment changes, prescription questions and triage, which are high volume and highly repeatable, so paying per call for them is the most expensive way to answer them.
AI receptionist for dental practices wants the appointment booked in the call rather than a message relayed to the front desk to action tomorrow morning.
AI receptionist for real estate agents gets inquiry bursts the moment a listing goes live, and a queue in front of a staffed agent is where a buyer hangs up and calls the next number.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
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