Comparison · checked October 3, 2026
Smith.ai vs Rubyvs Tylum Voice.
Ruby is a live receptionist service billed by the minute, from $250 a month for 50 minutes. Smith.ai sells two products billed by the call: an AI receptionist from $0 for 25 calls, and human receptionists from $300 for 30 calls. Tylum Voice is an intelligent receptionist billed by the minute: $49 for 300 minutes or $129 for 1,000.
Side by side
What you get for the entry price
Every competitor figure below comes from that company's own pricing, terms, product or help pages on October 3, 2026. Prices change; follow the links before you decide.
| Tylum Voice | Smith.ai AI Receptionist | Smith.ai Virtual Receptionists | Ruby | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who answers | Sam, an intelligent receptionist | AI; complex calls can escalate to a live receptionist at no charge | Live receptionists in North America | Live receptionists |
| Billed by | Minute | Call | Call | Minute |
| Entry plans | $49/mo for 300 minutes $129/mo for 1,000 minutes | $0/mo for 25 calls Pro from $150/mo for 75 calls Enterprise from $500/mo for 300 calls | $300/mo for 30 calls $810/mo for 90 calls $2,100/mo for 300 calls | $250/mo for 50 minutes $395/mo for 100 $720/mo for 200 $1,725/mo for 500 |
| Price per included minute | About 16¢ on Basic, 13¢ on Pro | Billed per call, not per minute | Billed per call, not per minute | $5.00 on the 50-minute plan to $3.45 on the 500-minute plan |
| Going over | $0.20 a minute | Per-call overage by plan ($3.00 a call on the free plan) | $8.50 to $11.50 a call by plan | Plan overage rate, not published on the pricing page |
| How usage is counted | Time Sam is on the line, added up over the month and rounded up once; spam Sam answers counts | Every answered call; pre-blocked spam is free, and you can remove spam or test calls up to 10% of your plan | Each client call; spam, sales calls and wrong numbers don't count | 60-second increments, each call rounded up; includes hold time and post-call notes |
| Contract | Month to month | Month to month, 30 days' notice to cancel | Month to month; 10% off for 12 months | 30-day term that renews automatically |
| Try before paying | Live demo line, then a 14-day trial up to 60 minutes | Free plan, 25 calls a month | Conditional money-back guarantee for new customers | Money-back guarantee for first-time customers, conditions apply |
| Appointment booking | Every plan, into a built-in calendar; Pro syncs Google/Outlook | Included | $1.50 a call add-on | Included |
| Spanish | English today; other languages on the way | English and Spanish included | Dedicated Spanish line, $1.00 a call | Bilingual English/Spanish included |
| Integrations | Google Calendar or Outlook via private link; no CRM or practice-software integrations yet | Salesforce, HubSpot, Clio and others | First CRM included; more $0.50 a call | Clio, HubSpot, Salesforce and others |
| Setup fee | None | None published | None | None |
Sources, checked October 3, 2026: Smith.ai AI Receptionist pricing · Smith.ai Virtual Receptionists pricing · Ruby plans and pricing · Ruby terms. Smith.ai and Ruby are trademarks of their owners. Tylum is not affiliated with either company.
A worked example
A practice with 100 calls a month
Say 100 calls a month, averaging three billed minutes each: 300 minutes. That average is an assumption for the example, not an industry figure. Use your own phone bill.
- Tylum Basic: $49. The 300 minutes are included.
- Smith.ai AI Receptionist: Pro covers 75 calls for $150; the other 25 are billed at Smith.ai's per-call overage, or you choose a larger tier. Shorter or longer calls don't change the price, because Smith.ai counts calls, not minutes.
- Smith.ai Virtual Receptionists: $810 for 90 calls, plus 10 calls at $10.50 = $915, before add-ons such as booking.
- Ruby: the 200-minute plan is $720 plus overage for 100 minutes, or $1,725 on the 500-minute plan. Ruby rounds each call up to the next full minute; Tylum adds up the month's seconds and rounds once.
The gap is mostly about who answers. With Ruby and Smith.ai's receptionists, a person is on every call. With Tylum and Smith.ai's AI plan, an intelligent receptionist answers and hands off to a person when your rules say so.
Honestly
When another option fits better
Ruby or Smith.ai's Virtual Receptionists. Some practices, and some callers, want a human from the first word, and that is what those prices pay for.
Smith.ai and Ruby both offer Spanish and connect to tools like Clio and HubSpot. Tylum answers in English today and connects only to Google Calendar and Outlook.
Smith.ai's free AI plan covers up to 25 calls a month at no cost.
That's Tylum. It answers every call you send it, day and night, for $49 or $129 a month, and you can call the live line before you sign up.
Questions
Smith.ai, Ruby and Tylum Voice, briefly
Is Ruby an AI receptionist?
No. Ruby is a live virtual receptionist service: people answer your calls, and Ruby uses AI only to assist them with things like transcription. Its plans start at $250 a month for 50 receptionist minutes.
Does Smith.ai charge per call or per minute?
Smith.ai charges per call, not per minute, on both of its products. Its AI Receptionist has a free plan with 25 calls a month and a Pro plan from $150 for 75 calls; its human Virtual Receptionists start at $300 for 30 calls.
How is Tylum Voice different from Smith.ai and Ruby?
Tylum Voice is an intelligent receptionist that answers every call you send it and bills by the minute: $49 a month for 300 minutes or $129 for 1,000. Ruby and Smith.ai's human plans put a person on the call; Smith.ai's AI plans bill per call; and both offer Spanish and connect to business software, which Tylum doesn't yet.
Which is cheapest for my practice?
It depends on how many calls you get and how long they run. Smith.ai's free AI plan costs nothing for up to 25 calls a month. Above that, Tylum's $49 Basic plan includes 300 minutes, which is about 100 three-minute calls; the human services cost several hundred dollars a month for that volume.
Can I try them before paying?
Tylum has a 14-day free trial with up to 60 minutes and a live demo line you can call first. Smith.ai's AI Receptionist has a free plan. Ruby and Smith.ai's human receptionists offer money-back guarantees for new customers, with conditions set out on their sites.