Jodie - AI Answering Service

Smith.ai alternative

A flat-rate Smith.ai alternative

Hey Jodie answers your calls 24/7 from a flat $49/month, with no per-call fees.

From $49/month, no per-call charges
24/7 cover included, live in minutes
Real AI, not metered call packs

Trusted by 1,600+ US service businesses

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Smith.ai pricing vs Hey Jodie

Two services that both answer your phone. The difference is what you pay per call - and how predictable that number is when call volume spikes.

Hey Jodie Smith.ai
Cost per call (50 calls/mo) $0.98 per call $9.77 per call (Virtual Receptionist Starter)
Starting monthly price From $49/month (Basic) From $97.50/month (AI plan) or $293/month (human Starter)
Pricing model Flat monthly, unlimited minutes Per-call plans with per-call overage charges
Per-call overage No per-call charge $9.78 per extra call on Starter; $2.40 on the AI plan
Free trial 7 days free, no card needed No risk-free trial, demo call only
Setup time Minutes - forward your phone Onboarding call and intake-script briefing
Who answers Trained AI receptionist Hybrid: AI on the AI plan, US-based humans on Receptionist plans
Legal practice management Clio, MyCase, PracticePanther via Zapier (Premium plan) Native Clio, MyCase, PracticePanther integrations
24/7 coverage Included on every plan Included on Virtual Receptionist plans
Average review rating 4.82 out of 5 (56 reviews) 4.7 out of 5

Pricing reflects Smith.ai's published rates at smith.ai/pricing at the time of writing. Smith.ai operates three product tiers (AI Receptionist, Virtual Receptionist, and Outreach); figures shown reference the AI plan ($97.50 for 30 calls) and the Virtual Receptionist Starter ($293 for 30 calls plus $9.78 per extra call). Hey Jodie pricing is published in full on the pricing page.

How much would Smith.ai actually cost you?

Slide the calls you'd take - the calculator picks Smith.ai's cheapest plan plus overage and compares to Hey Jodie's flat plan.

Cost calculator

50
10300

Hey Jodie Basic

$49/mo

Flat. Unlimited.

Competitor: AI Receptionist Starter

$146/mo

$98 base + $48 overage

You'd save

$97/month ($1,158/year)

Smith.ai tiers and per-call overage rates are from smith.ai/pricing at the time of writing and billed in USD. Calculator picks the cheaper of the AI Receptionist ($97.50 / 30 calls + $2.40 per extra call) and Virtual Receptionist Starter ($293 / 30 calls + $9.78 per extra call). Hey Jodie Basic is flat monthly with unlimited calls at your locale rate.

Three reasons small businesses pick Hey Jodie

Verifiable differences, not marketing claims. Each comes from public information on Smith.ai's site and ours.

01

Flat $49/month, not $293 for 30 calls

Smith.ai's Virtual Receptionist Starter is $293/month for 30 calls, then $9.78 per extra call. Hey Jodie's Basic plan is $49 flat with unlimited calls - the price doesn't move when your phone rings more.

$0.98 per call on Hey Jodie vs $9.77 per call on Smith.ai Starter at 50 calls a month.

02

Honest about reviews, honest about price

Smith.ai sits at 4.7 across customer reviews with the recurring critical theme being pricing surprise - the per-call meter auto-bumps you into the next tier when calls spike. Hey Jodie holds 4.82 across verified customer reviews with a flat monthly bill that doesn't change.

Smith.ai 4.7, Hey Jodie 4.82 across customer reviews - and no per-call meter on our side.

03

Built for solo firms, not the multi-attorney intake team

Smith.ai's native Clio and MyCase integrations make sense for multi-attorney firms with a dedicated intake workflow. Hey Jodie is built for the solo solicitor whose phone rings during depositions, with Zapier-routed Clio handoff on the Premium plan.

Smith.ai is the right call if you need a human intake team; Hey Jodie is the right call if you are the team.

How each side connects to your stack

Smith.ai leans hard on native legal-practice-management integrations. Here's where that matters and where it does not.

Integration Hey Jodie Smith.ai
Clio
Legal practice management
Smith.ai pushes intake into Clio directly. Hey Jodie routes via Zapier on Professional and Premium plans.
ZapierNative
MyCase
Legal practice management
ZapierNative
PracticePanther
Legal practice management
ZapierNative
HubSpot
CRM
Both route via integration partners rather than first-party.
ZapierPartner
Salesforce
CRM
ZapierPartner
Slack
Team notifications
ZapierPartner
Email / SMS notifications
Lead capture
NativeNative
Zapier (6000+ apps)
Universal automation
Zapier-only on Hey Jodie Premium covers tools Smith.ai has no path to.
NativeNot supported

Smith.ai's integration list is from smith.ai/integrations at the time of writing. Hey Jodie integration coverage reflects the Professional ($99) and Premium ($199) plan tiers - Basic is voice + email/SMS only. 'Native' means first-party, 'Partner' means via an official integration provider, 'Zapier' means routed through Zapier's connector library.

What each side publishes

Smith.ai publishes most figures up front - the question is what the bill looks like once per-call overage and tier auto-bumps kick in.

Hey Jodie Smith.ai
Base monthly price
Per-call overage rate
Hey Jodie has no per-call charge. Smith.ai publishes $2.40/extra call on the AI plan and $9.78/extra call on Virtual Receptionist Starter.
Setup fee
Both are $0 setup.
Free trial (no card)
Hey Jodie offers 7 days free with no card. Smith.ai's site offers a demo call only.
Auto tier-upgrade rules
Hey Jodie's flat plan doesn't auto-upgrade. Smith.ai's tier behaviour at the overage ceiling is in the terms of service, not the pricing page.
Total first-year cost calculable from public info
Hey Jodie: 12 x flat plan. Smith.ai: depends on your call volume because the per-call rate compounds.

Smith.ai alternative - common questions

How much does Smith.ai cost per month?

Smith.ai's AI Receptionist starts at $97.50/month for 30 calls with $2.40 per extra call. Their Virtual Receptionist starts at $293/month for 30 calls with $9.78 per extra call. Hey Jodie publishes every plan: $49 Basic, $99 Professional, $199 Premium, all with unlimited calls.

Is Smith.ai legit?

Yes. Smith.ai is a US-incorporated company founded in 2015 and headquartered in Palo Alto, with a 4.7 average review rating and thousands of law-firm customers. The questions worth asking are about price predictability and contract terms, not legitimacy.

What do Smith.ai reviews say?

The pattern is consistent: praise for receptionist quality and the native Clio and MyCase integrations. The recurring critical theme is pricing surprise - a busy week pushes you into overages, and a busier month auto-bumps you to the next tier.

How does Smith.ai pricing compare to other AI receptionists?

Hey Jodie is $49/$99/$199 with unlimited calls on every plan. Smith.ai's AI plan is $97.50 for 30 calls; their Virtual Receptionist Starter is $293 for 30 calls. Smith.ai's per-call pricing is rare in the market, so model your expected call volume before you sign.

How does Smith.ai compare to Ruby Receptionists?

Both are human-led with different pricing shapes. Smith.ai bills per call (painful if calls are short and frequent); Ruby bills per minute (painful if any one call runs long). Hey Jodie sidesteps both with flat monthly pricing and unlimited calls.

Is Hey Jodie a good Smith.ai alternative for law firms?

For solo and small firms, yes. Smith.ai's native Clio and MyCase integrations suit firms with a dedicated intake team. For a solo attorney whose phone rings during depositions, Hey Jodie's $49 flat plan with Zapier-routed Clio handoff on Premium is the right shape.

How long does it take to switch from Smith.ai to Hey Jodie?

Hey Jodie setup is minutes - forward your phone and Jodie starts answering. Smith.ai's site states month-to-month, but check your agreement before cancelling. Most businesses run both for 5-7 days during cutover, then cancel.

How to switch from Smith.ai to Hey Jodie

Move from a per-call meter to a flat plan without losing coverage. Most switchers run both for a week, then cancel Smith.ai.

Total time: Under 1 hour active time, 5-7 days for safe parallel running

  1. Start your 7-day Hey Jodie trial

    5 minutes

    Sign up at the register page. No card needed. You get your Hey Jodie phone number on the spot.

  2. Forward your business number to Hey Jodie

    10 minutes

    Set conditional forwarding (busy / no answer / always) from your phone provider to the Hey Jodie number.

  3. Run both services in parallel for 5-7 days

    5-7 days

    Hey Jodie picks up via the forward; if it does not work for you, you cancel Hey Jodie and your Smith.ai line is unaffected. Listen to a few call recordings.

  4. Cancel Smith.ai per their terms

    Before next billing cycle

    Smith.ai's site states month-to-month - cancel from your account dashboard or via your sales contact. Watch for any pro-rated per-call overage on the final invoice.

  5. Verify and remove the Smith.ai forward

    5 minutes

    Once Smith.ai is cancelled, leave the forward to Hey Jodie in place. Confirm a test call lands on Hey Jodie and a summary arrives in your inbox.

Buyer's guides

See where this fits in the wider market

This comparison is part of our independent buyer's guides ranking the whole field.

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First 7 days free, then pricing from $49/month