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InsertChat vs Smith.ai
AI receptionist billed per call, with a 25-call free plan and live-receptionist backup.
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AI receptionist and chatbot alternatives, compared.
InsertChat is the most complete alternative to AI receptionists such as Smith.ai, Goodcall, and Dialzara, answering services such as Ruby, and chatbots such as Chatbase and Tidio. One assistant answers calls, website chat, email, SMS, and WhatsApp from your knowledge, in one shared inbox, from $98 per month. Each comparison shows what the other product meters, with sources.
Which alternative fits your business?
InsertChat is the most complete AI front desk for small businesses that want every customer channel answered and their team in control. Another product can fit better when you need people on the phone, live call transfers, or back-office tools.
Choose InsertChat when
- You want one assistant answering calls, website chat, email, SMS, and WhatsApp, with every conversation in one shared inbox.
- Your team needs to step in: handoff to your own people comes on every plan, with the full conversation.
- You want a flat monthly plan: Pro is $98 per month with 5,000 monthly AI credits, 3 assistants, and 3 seats.
- You want to start today: new customers get a 7-day free trial, and US and Canadian businesses keep their number by forwarding it.
Look at another product when
- You want people, not AI, answering every call: Ruby’s receptionists answer calls and live chats.
- You need callers transferred live during the call: Smith.ai, Rosie, Upfirst, Goodcall, and RingCentral list call transfers.
- You want quotes, invoices, and job management in the same product: Sophiie lists all three.
- Your support team already works in Intercom and wants AI inside it.
New customers can try Pro free for 7 days with 500 credits. A card is required at checkout, and the Pro plan starts when the trial ends unless you cancel first.
Every alternative at a glance
Competitor details last checked on ; each comparison shows its own check date and links its sources. Prices are in USD as listed.
Swipe horizontally to compare →
| Compared | What is metered | Channels | Entry price |
|---|---|---|---|
| InsertChat | AI credits from one monthly allowance. Use depends on the model, conversation length, knowledge processing, and tools; calls round up to whole minutes. Details | Website chat, phone, email, SMS, and WhatsApp in one shared inbox Details | Pro at $98/month, or $81.67/month billed annually, with 5,000 credits, 3 assistants, and 3 seats Details |
| Smith.ai | Calls: $1.60 to $2.00 per included call on paid tiers; extra calls cost $3.00 on Free and $2.10 to $2.50 on paid tiers Source | AI call answering; custom SMS branding on Pro Source | Free for 25 calls a month; Pro from $150 for 75 calls; Enterprise from $500 for 300 calls Source |
| My AI Front Desk | Per-channel allowances: 200 voice minutes, 100 chatbot conversations, 400 SMS, and 500 email drafts a month; overage draws a 1,000-credit pool at 25 credits per minute and 4 per SMS (1 credit = $0.01) Source | Voice calls, a web voicebot, web chat, two-way SMS, email drafts, website forms, and outbound calls Source | $99 per month ($79 per month billed annually), with a 7-day free trial Source |
| Goodcall | Unique customers (100, 500, or 2,000 a month), then 79¢, 26¢, or 15¢ each; minutes are not metered Source | Phone calls, answered by an AI phone agent Source | $79 a month for 100 unique customers, with a free demo agent before you connect a number Source |
| Rosie | Call minutes (250, 1,000, or 2,000 a month); the website texting add-on counts conversations Source | Phone calls and a website chat widget on every plan, texts to callers, and website texting as an add-on Source | $49 a month for 250 minutes, with a 7-day free trial Source |
| Dialzara | Call minutes (60 to 1,000 a month), with overage from $0.48 down to $0.35 per minute; AI texts at $0.05 each Source | Phone calls, an AI SMS agent, and a website chatbot Source | $29 a month for 60 minutes, with a 7-day free trial Source |
| Upfirst | Calls (30 to 600 a month), with extra calls from $1.50 down to $0.70; spam and calls under 15 seconds are not billed Source | Phone calls, with texts sent during calls and call summaries by text or email Source | $24.95 a month for 30 calls ($20 billed annually), with a 14-day free trial Source |
| RingCentral AI Receptionist | Minutes: after the included 100, $0.50 per minute, billed in 30-second increments Source | Voice calls and texts Source | $39 per month as a RingEX add-on; $49 per month standalone; 14-day free trial on both Source |
| Sophiie | Not published Source | Calls, 24/7 web chat, and an email responder Source | Not published Source |
| Ruby | Receptionist minutes (50 to 500 on listed plans) and chats (10 to 50) Source | Phone calls and website live chat, with calls and texts from your business number Source | Receptionist from $250 for 50 minutes; chat from $143 for 10 chats Source |
| Chatbase | Message credits (700, 4,000, or 15,000 a month); an extra 1,000 cost $40 Source | Chat, email, and voice, with voice from Standard; WhatsApp, Slack, Messenger, and Instagram integrations Source | $40 a month (Hobby) with a 7-day trial; no free plan is listed Source |
| Tidio | Billable human conversations (50 on Free, 100 on Starter, up to 2,000 on Growth) and Lyro AI conversations Source | Live chat, email, Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp Source | Free plan; Starter $24.17 Source |
| Intercom Fin | Fin outcomes ($0.99 each) and seats Source | Live chat, support email, and in-app chat included; SMS, WhatsApp, and phone are pay-as-you-go Source | $29 per seat (billed annually) plus $0.99 per outcome; 14-day free trial Source |
| AnswerConnect | Receptionist minutes, rounded up and billed in 1-minute increments; the first 30 interactions under 30 seconds each billing cycle are free Source | Phone answering, plus live chat staffed by people on Growth and Standard; notifications by app, SMS, and email Source | $350 per month for 200 minutes plus a $49.99 setup fee; Growth is $395 for 300 minutes with no setup fee Source |
| Abby Connect | Abby Minutes: one per minute of human answering, half per minute of AI answering Source | Phone answering by people or AI; follow-up calls and texts from the AbbyGO app Source | $165 per month for 50 Abby Minutes, with no setup fee Source |
| PATLive | Minutes receptionists are live on your calls (after-call notes and wrap-up are not charged); extra minutes cost $2.99 down to $1.49 Source | Phone, live web chat staffed by people, and outbound calls; business texting through its free phone system add-on Source | $49 per month pay-as-you-go at $2.99 per minute; $99 for 50 minutes Source |
| Nexa | Receptionist work time: talk time plus after-call follow-up, email, scheduling, dispatching, and other time on your behalf; extra minutes bill at your base rate Source | Phone, with a local and toll-free number; live chat is a separate service Source | Not listed; plan buttons lead to a contact form Source |
| Moneypenny | Minutes or calls, by plan: extra minutes cost $2.28 down to $1.67, extra calls $2.49 down to $1.89 Source | Phone calls; call summaries arrive by email, text, or both Source | $69 per month for 25 calls; $165 per month for 50 minutes Source |
| Davinci Virtual | Live receptionist time, billed by the second; extra time costs $1.75 per minute on Business and $2.50 on Premium Source | Phone: live answering, voicemail, an auto receptionist, and online faxing Source | $129 per month for 50 live answer minutes (Business 50) Source |
| Posh | Receptionist minutes; extra minutes cost $2.30 down to $1.90 Source | Phone answering; calls and texts from your business number in the Posh app; messages by email or text Source | $65 per month plus $2.30 per minute (Chïc); $130 for 50 minutes (Vogue) Source |
| MAP Communications | Minutes; extra minutes cost $1.37 on Pay As You Go and $1.30 to $1.28 on other plans Source | Phone answering with a toll-free number and free message delivery Source | $49 per month with no minutes included, then $1.37 per minute Source |
| Vapi | Minutes: $0.05 per minute Vapi hosting, plus transcriber, model, and voice at provider cost and carrier fees (Twilio inbound $0.008 per minute) Source | Voice agents over Vapi telephony and SIP, Twilio, Vonage, Telnyx, WebSockets, and WebRTC Source | $0 to start with $5 in free credits; Vapi’s calculator estimates $82–$129 a month for 1,000 minutes Source |
| Retell AI | Call minutes, tracked to the second: $0.055 voice infrastructure plus model, voice, and $0.015 telephony per minute; chat agents per AI message Source | Voice agents and chat agents, with SMS at $0.01 per message Source | $0 to start with $10 in free credits; voice agents from $0.07 per minute Source |
| Bland AI | Talk time at $0.14 (Start) or $0.12 (Build) per minute and transfer time at $0.05 or $0.04; LLM, speech-to-text, and voices included; telephony separate Source | Voice calls on Start and Build; SMS, web chat, and iMessage listed on Enterprise Source | $0.14 per minute with no platform fee; 2 credits and an inbound number to start, no card required Source |
| Voiceflow | Self-serve credits: $0.05 per phone minute and $0.005 per chat message, plus LLM, speech-to-text, and text-to-speech usage Source | Voice and chat agents Source | Plan prices are not listed on the pricing page; agencies can start a free trial without a card Source |
| ElevenLabs Agents | Call minutes (15 to 12,375 included), then $0.08 per minute; text messages $0.003 each; LLM usage billed separately Source | Voice calls with telephony included, a website widget, and text messages Source | Free with 15 call minutes; Starter at $6 per month with 75 minutes Source |
| Slang.ai | Locations; the pricing page lists no call or minute allowance Source | Voice calls, with text links and confirmations Source | Core from $399 per location; the billing period is not stated Source |
| Trillet | Minutes: 150 included on the AI Receptionist, then $0.20 per minute Source | Inbound calls on your existing number; web chat and SMS are listed as a separate Messaging product Source | $49 per month for 150 minutes, with a 28-day money-back guarantee Source |
| Newo.ai | Units shared by voice and text: 1 unit per call of 30 seconds to 3 minutes, longer calls in 3-minute increments, 0.5 units per 15 agent messages Source | Inbound voice, web chat, and social messaging on every plan; outbound voice on request Source | $0 to start with 50 free units, then $1.75 per unit; AI Receptionist $299 for 200 units, then $1.50 per unit Source |
| Quo Sona | Calls: 100 credits per call; 10 calls a month included, then $1.00 down to $0.45 per extra call by credit tier Source | Phone calls, plus texts with booking links, confirmations, or next steps Source | 10 Sona calls a month on any Quo plan, from $15 per user per month billed annually; more calls from $25 for 40 Source |
| Dialpad AI Receptionist | Conversations, billable only when the AI retrieves information or takes an action Source | Inbound calls; Dialpad AI Agents also cover digital channels Source | Not published: the pricing page lists no price for AI Agent Credits Source |
| Nextiva AI Receptionist | Conversations: a call of 30 seconds or more, or a text or chat with 3 or more AI responses Source | Phone calls, text messages, web chat, and messaging apps Source | $99 per month for up to 100 resolutions, with a 30-day money-back guarantee Source |
| Marlie AI | Minutes: 250 to 2,000 included, then $0.35 down to $0.25 per minute Source | Voice, with SMS and email notifications and reports Source | $49 per month for 250 minutes, with a 14-day free trial Source |
| CallRail Voice Assist | Voice Assist calls over 15 seconds, with $1 per call after 50 (55 in one footnote) Source | Phone calls Source | $95 per month plus Lead Tracking from $55, with a 14-day free trial and no credit card Source |
| Zendesk | Agents, plus AI automated resolutions: 5 per agent a month included on Support Team and Suite Team and 10 on Suite Professional, then $1.50 committed or $2.00 pay-as-you-go Source | Email on every plan; messaging, live chat, and telephony from Suite Team; social channels and WhatsApp with additional fees; text messages as an add-on Source | $19 per agent a month billed annually (Support Team); Suite Team, with messaging and telephony, $55 Source |
| Crisp | AI credits: $5, $25, or $75 included (about 90, 450, or 1,350 automated conversations); conversations are not capped Source | Chat widget and email; WhatsApp Business, Instagram, SMS, Line, and Viber in the omnichannel inbox from Essentials; Messenger, Telegram, X, and phone also listed Source | Free plan with 2 seats and no AI credits; Mini $45 a month with 4 seats Source |
| LiveChat | Users, plus AI resolutions: 10 a month on Essential and 200 on Growth; 50 more cost $49.50 Source | Website chat, WhatsApp, Messenger, SMS, and email in one inbox on every plan Source | $19 per user a month billed annually (Essential), with 1 AI Agent and 10 AI resolutions Source |
| Freshchat | Agents, plus Freddy AI Agent sessions: the first 500 included, then $49 per 100 Source | Web and mobile chat and email on every plan; Messenger, Instagram, SMS, WhatsApp, LINE, and Google Business Messages from Growth; voice through Freshcaller Source | Free for up to 10 agents; Growth $19 per agent a month billed annually, with Freddy AI Agent Source |
| Botpress | Conversations (100, 250, or 1,500 a month), with packs of 100 for $65 on Plus or $50 on Team; each conversation includes $0.10 of AI usage Source | Webchat and WhatsApp; Slack deployment; voice on Enterprise Source | Free for 100 conversations a month; Plus $150 a month billed annually Source |
| CustomGPT.ai | Queries: 1,000 a month on Standard and 5,000 on Premium, shared across agents; documents and word storage are also capped Source | Slack deployment listed on every plan; other deployment channels are not itemized on the pricing page Source | $99 a month, or $89 billed annually (Standard), with a 7-day free trial Source |
| SiteGPT | Messages a month, which vary by model: up to 4,000 GPT-4.1-mini or 400 GPT-4.1 messages on Starter Source | Website embed; Messenger, Slack, Google Chat, Crisp, Freshdesk Messaging, and Zoho SalesIQ from Growth; WhatsApp as an add-on Source | $39 a month billed yearly, or $59 monthly (Starter), with a 7-day free trial Source |
| Chatling | AI credits: 200, 1,750, 6,000, or 35,000 a month, with use per message set by the AI model; 1,000 more cost $10 Source | Web on every plan; WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, Telegram, and API on paid plans Source | Free plan with 200 AI credits; Starter $25 a month, or $21 billed annually Source |
| Gorgias | Tickets (50 to 5,000 a month) and AI Agent automated interactions: $1.00 on Starter, $0.90 on Basic and Pro, $0.85 on Advanced Source | Email, chat, social, and help center; voice and SMS as add-ons priced by volume Source | $10 a month for 50 tickets (Starter); with AI Agent, $40 a month including 30 automated interactions Source |
Choosing between two of these vendors? Read the head-to-head comparisons, such as Smith.ai vs Ruby and Vapi vs Retell AI, with InsertChat as the third option. Shortlisting several tools at once? See our ranked buyer’s guides, starting with the best AI receptionists.
AI receptionist alternatives
InsertChat vs My AI Front Desk
AI receptionist with separate voice, chat, SMS, and email allowances on one $99 plan, plus overage credits.
Compare with My AI Front DeskInsertChat vs Goodcall
AI phone agent billed by unique callers, not minutes, from $79 a month.
Compare with GoodcallInsertChat vs Rosie
AI phone answering sold by the minute from $49, with a website chat widget on every plan.
Compare with RosieInsertChat vs Dialzara
AI receptionist billed by the minute from $29, with an SMS agent and website chatbot on one knowledge base.
Compare with DialzaraInsertChat vs Upfirst
AI phone answering sold by the call from $24.95, with warm transfers and calendar booking.
Compare with UpfirstInsertChat vs RingCentral AI Receptionist
AI receptionist for any phone system, $49 standalone or $39 on RingEX, with 100 minutes included.
Compare with RingCentral AI ReceptionistInsertChat vs Sophiie
AI receptionist and office manager for trade businesses, with prices quoted on a demo call.
Compare with SophiieInsertChat vs Slang.ai
AI phone assistant for restaurants, priced per location from $399, with OpenTable, SevenRooms, Yelp, and Resy integrations.
Compare with Slang.aiInsertChat vs Trillet
Inbound AI receptionist at $49 for 150 minutes, from a voice platform that also sells white-label plans to agencies.
Compare with TrilletInsertChat vs Newo.ai
AI receptionist billed in shared voice and text units: pay as you go, or $299 a month for 200 units, one location per plan.
Compare with Newo.aiInsertChat vs Quo Sona
AI agent in the Quo (formerly OpenPhone) phone system, billed per call: 10 calls a month included, then monthly credit tiers.
Compare with Quo SonaInsertChat vs Dialpad AI Receptionist
AI receptionist built on Dialpad AI Agents, priced by conversation from a pool of credits whose price is not published.
Compare with Dialpad AI ReceptionistInsertChat vs Nextiva AI Receptionist
XBert AI receptionist for Nextiva plans: $99 a month for 100 resolutions across calls, texts, and chat, then $0.99 each.
Compare with Nextiva AI ReceptionistInsertChat vs Marlie AI
AI answering service in minute plans from $49 for 250 minutes, with call transfer and document knowledge on higher tiers.
Compare with Marlie AIInsertChat vs CallRail Voice Assist
AI voice agent from the CallRail call-tracking platform, from $95 a month plus Lead Tracking, then $1 per extra call.
Compare with CallRail Voice AssistHuman answering service alternatives
InsertChat vs Ruby
Human receptionists and live chat agents, priced by minutes and by chats.
Compare with RubyInsertChat vs AnswerConnect
Human receptionists around the clock, billed by whole minutes from $350 for 200, with live chat on Growth and Standard.
Compare with AnswerConnectInsertChat vs Abby Connect
US-based receptionists with an AI option, priced in Abby Minutes from $165 for 50; AI calls use half the minutes.
Compare with Abby ConnectInsertChat vs PATLive
Human-only US receptionists around the clock, from $49 pay-as-you-go, with live chat and outbound calls as separate plans.
Compare with PATLiveInsertChat vs Nexa
Live virtual receptionists on Nexa 100, 300, and 500 voice-minute plans, with prices given on request.
Compare with NexaInsertChat vs Moneypenny
People and AI call answering in the US, with minute plans from $165 and call plans from $69; voicenation.com now redirects here.
Compare with MoneypennyInsertChat vs Davinci Virtual
Live receptionist plans from $129 for 50 minutes, billed by the second, with scheduling on Premium plans.
Compare with Davinci VirtualInsertChat vs Posh
Live receptionists billed by the minute, from $65 a month with no minutes included to $1,900 for 1,000.
Compare with PoshInsertChat vs MAP Communications
Answering service with 24/7 coverage on every plan, from $49 pay-as-you-go to $649 for 500 minutes.
Compare with MAP CommunicationsAI chatbot alternatives
InsertChat vs Chatbase
AI agent builder metered by message credits, from $40 a month.
Compare with ChatbaseInsertChat vs Tidio
Customer chat with the Lyro AI agent, priced by human and Lyro conversations.
Compare with TidioInsertChat vs Intercom Fin
AI agent priced at $0.99 per outcome, alongside Intercom’s per-seat plans.
Compare with Intercom FinInsertChat vs Zendesk
Helpdesk suite priced per agent, with AI agents billed per automated resolution.
Compare with ZendeskInsertChat vs Crisp
Customer messaging suite priced per workspace, with AI credits for automated conversations and a free plan.
Compare with CrispInsertChat vs LiveChat
Live chat sold as Text plans per user, with AI Agent resolutions included; ChatBot.com lists the same plans.
Compare with LiveChatInsertChat vs Freshchat
Messaging helpdesk priced per agent, with Freddy AI Agent sessions sold in packs of 100.
Compare with FreshchatInsertChat vs Botpress
AI agent platform priced by conversations, with a free plan and AI usage included per conversation.
Compare with BotpressInsertChat vs CustomGPT.ai
Knowledge-based AI agent builder priced by monthly queries, with 10 agents on its entry plan.
Compare with CustomGPT.aiInsertChat vs SiteGPT
Website AI chatbot priced by plan and message volume, with WhatsApp and branding removal as add-ons.
Compare with SiteGPTInsertChat vs Chatling
AI chatbot builder priced by monthly AI credits, with a free plan and branding removal on its top plan.
Compare with ChatlingInsertChat vs Gorgias
Ecommerce helpdesk priced by monthly tickets, with an AI Agent billed per automated interaction.
Compare with GorgiasAI voice agent platform alternatives
InsertChat vs Vapi
Developer voice AI platform: $0.05 per minute for hosting, plus models and carrier fees at provider cost.
Compare with VapiInsertChat vs Retell AI
Pay-as-you-go voice and chat agent platform, from $0.07 to $0.31 per minute depending on the model and voice.
Compare with Retell AIInsertChat vs Bland AI
Voice agent platform with all-in per-minute rates: $0.14 on Start, or $0.12 on Build with a $299 monthly fee.
Compare with Bland AIInsertChat vs Voiceflow
Platform for building voice and chat agents, billed in usage credits, with business pricing on request.
Compare with VoiceflowInsertChat vs ElevenLabs Agents
Voice agent plans with included call minutes, $0.08 per extra minute, and LLM usage billed on top.
Compare with ElevenLabs AgentsNot compared: Drift, because Salesloft’s Drift page describes a transition from Drift to 1mind; Synthflow, because its pricing page lists enterprise plans only, from $30,000 per year; Lindy, because it is priced per user as an AI teammate for email, Slack, and iMessage work, and its newer receptionist role is not compared here yet; Numa, because its pricing page lists no prices and describes a product built for franchise auto dealerships.
See what InsertChat answers for you
AI receptionist
InsertChat answers your business calls from your own services, hours, and prices. It books appointments on your calendar and brings in your team, full transcript attached, when a person should follow up.
Explore AI receptionist
After-hours answering
Your team’s phones ring while you’re open. After hours, or whenever nobody picks up, the AI receptionist answers, books the visit, and flags emergencies to your team.
Explore After-hours answering
Website chat
Add an AI assistant to the site you already have. It answers visitors from your pages and documents, saves leads, books appointments, and hands the chat to a person when it needs one.
Explore Website chatBefore you switch
Pricing and usage
Plan allowances, how credits cover calls and messages, and what connected services can add.
See InsertChat pricing
Keep your number
Carrier steps to forward your existing business number to InsertChat in the US and Canada.
Read the call forwarding guides
What an AI receptionist costs
Per-minute, per-call, per-caller, and flat-plan pricing explained, with a worked estimate.
Read the cost guideBuild your AI front desk.
Start with the questions you answer every day.
Add your business information, test the answers, and connect your first customer channel.