Comparison
CoveredLine vs Smith.ai
Smith.ai is the upmarket pick: AI answering with live North America–based human receptionists behind it, priced per call — a $0 Free plan covers 25 calls, then Pro starts at $150/mo at $2.00 a call. CoveredLine is AI-only, priced per minute from $19/mo. Which is right depends on whether you need humans in the loop — and how long your average call runs.
| Feature | CoveredLine | Smith.ai |
|---|---|---|
Entry monthly price (paid plan) Smith.ai also offers a $0 Free plan: 25 AI-answered calls/mo, then $3.00/call. | $19/mo | $150/mo Pro |
Pricing model A 30-second wrong number costs the same as a 10-minute booking on per-call pricing. | Per minute ($0.25/min overage) | Per call ($1.67–2.00; overage $2.10–2.50) |
Live human agents behind the AI | AI + transfer to your team | North America–based, hand-off included |
Books appointments into your calendar | Google Calendar, native | Via scheduling integrations |
Custom AI training | Included — learns your website | Custom AI prompting on Enterprise ($500+/mo) |
Self-serve setup in minutes | Live during signup | Onboarding-led; dedicated onboarding on Pro |
Free trial | 7 days, no card | Free plan — 25 calls/mo at $0 |
Why teams pick CoveredLine
No per-call math on short calls
Smith.ai’s paid plans start at $150/mo with calls at $1.67–2.00 each and overage up to $2.50. For a small business fielding a few hundred short calls, per-call pricing punishes exactly the wrong thing. We meter talk time — a quick “are you open today?” costs cents.
Custom training included, not an Enterprise privilege
On Smith.ai, custom AI prompting is reserved for the Enterprise tier from $500/mo. Our receptionist trains itself on your website during signup — the same custom knowledge at every price, including $19.
Answering, booking, and transfer from $19
The core receptionist job — answer 24/7, book real calendar slots, text links, route urgent calls to your own team — is complete on our cheapest plan. You add budget only when you add call volume.
Private by design
Call recording is off by default with a spoken consent notice; texting stays in the transactional TCPA lane; every business’s data is row-isolated; transcripts are never used to train models.
Where Smith.ai is strong
No tool wins on everything. If these matter more to you than a focused phone receptionist, Smith.ai may be the better fit — and we'd rather tell you than waste your trial.
- Real human receptionists behind the AI — complex or sensitive calls can land with a trained person, not just your own cell phone.
- A genuinely free tier — 25 AI-answered calls a month at $0, month-to-month terms, no contracts — the easiest way in the category to try AI answering.
- Upmarket depth: CRM integrations, intake workflows, Quality Studio testing, and dedicated success managers on Enterprise — trusted by law firms and professional services.
On pricing
Smith.ai’s AI Receptionist: a $0 Free plan (25 calls/mo, then $3.00/call), Pro from $150/mo (75–300 calls at $2.00/call, overage $2.17–2.50), Enterprise from $500/mo ($1.67/call). Human hand-off to North America–based receptionists is included; custom AI prompting is Enterprise-only. Ours: $19, $49, $99 and $149 per month, per-minute metering ($0.25/min overage), training included.
The verdict
If your calls are high-stakes enough to justify a human backstop — legal intake, say — Smith.ai earns its $150+ price, and its Free plan is a genuinely easy way to test AI answering. If you need every call answered, booked, and routed without per-call pricing, CoveredLine does the job from $19 with nothing to configure.
Sources
Hear CoveredLine answer your kind of call
Build your receptionist free in about five minutes — no card, your number is provisioned at signup.
Build yours free →Comparison based on publicly available information as of August 22, 2026. Details change — tell us if something is out of date. All product names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners; this page is not endorsed by or affiliated with them.