Compare · prices read 2 September 2026
Smith.ai answers with human receptionists, 24 hours a day, from $300 a month for 30 calls and $11.50 a call past that, booking $1.50 a call more. Sureline answers with an agent you built, in a voice you picked, from your own knowledge base, and when a call needs a person it hands it to you with the summary whispered first, not to a stranger at a desk. It bills at published rates, about 8.3¢ a minute plus $2 a month for each pathway you keep live, booking included. Sixty calls a month is about $645 on Smith.ai and about $23 on Sureline.
Smith.ai's prices are from smith.ai/pricing; Sureline's from the published rates. Both change, so the date at the top is part of the claim.
The same month on Smith.ai: $645. Change the quantities on the pricing page.
The same month, billed by each
About 60 four-minute calls, the month a single-location shop with a forwarded line tends to have.
Retell, Rosie, Goodcall and Smith.ai from their public pricing pages, read 2 September 2026 · Retell at 8.8¢ to 13¢ a minute depending on the language model, plus $2 a number · Sureline at the published starting rate, carrier time on a local number included · calls taken as four minutes each
Criterion by criterion
| Sureline | Smith.ai | |
|---|---|---|
| Who answers | An AI agent you built, in a voice you picked | Human receptionists, 24/7 |
| Pricing model | Usage at published rates, no plan | Plans of calls: $300 for 30, $810 for 90, $2,100 for 300 |
| Monthly minimum | None | $300 |
| A call past the plan | Same rate, about 8.3¢ a minute | $11.50, $10.50 or $8.50 |
| Books appointments | Included | $1.50 a call |
| Transfers a live call | To you or your team, with a whispered summary | To one destination free; more on higher plans |
| Texts the caller | Included, 1.2¢ a text | Text and e-mail follow-up, $0.50 a call |
| Call recording and transcript | Included | $0.25 a call |
| Your phone number | Forwarded, never ported; undo by dialing a code | Forwarded |
| Website and app | Same agent, same voice, no telephone involved | Web chat, staffed |
| Free to start | $10 credit, no card to try | 30-day money-back guarantee |
Smith.ai from smith.ai/pricing, read 2 September 2026 · Sureline from sureline.io/rates and the product
Who should pick which
Pick Smith.ai if your callers must hear a human on every call and your volume is low enough that $300 a month buys peace of mind. Pick Sureline if you want the routine calls handled and booked at a few cents each, and the rare call that needs a person handed to you with a summary.
Matched at three volumes
| Monthly cost at | Sureline, Free plan | Retell | Rosie | Goodcall | Smith.ai |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 minutes, 1 line (about 25 calls) | ≈ $10 | $11 to $15 | $49 | $79 | $300 |
| 250 minutes, 1 line (about 60 calls) | ≈ $22 | $24 to $35 | $49 | $79 | $645 |
| 1,000 minutes, 2 lines (about 250 calls) | ≈ $87 | $92 to $134 | $149 | $129 (Growth tier) | $2,100 |
| Monthly minimum | none | none | $49 | $79 | $300 |
| Who builds the agent | You, on a canvas, from a trade template | Your developer, on the API | Rosie, from a form | Goodcall, with logic flows | Smith.ai, from your instructions |
| Booking an appointment | included | you build it | Scale tier and up | included | $1.50 a call |
| Transferring a call to you | included, summary whispered first | you build it | Scale tier and up | included | one destination free |
Retell, Rosie, Goodcall and Smith.ai from their public pricing pages, read 2 September 2026 · Retell at 8.8¢ to 13¢ a minute depending on the language model, plus $2 a number · Sureline at the published starting rate, carrier time on a local number included · calls taken as four minutes each
FAQ
Yes, if they ask, and the agent says so. It speaks in a natural voice, gives its name and gets on with the job. Most callers care that the water heater visit is booked for 8 a.m., not who booked it.
It hands the call to a person you named, live, with a whispered summary before they pick up, or it books a callback and writes up what happened. It never guesses.
You can route by hours and by rule: Sureline can take nights and weekends on a forwarded line and leave the day to whoever answers it now. Most customers stop paying for the day desk within a month.
Free to start · keep your number · $10 credit on us
Forward your number in two minutes. The first $10 of credit is free, and a quiet month costs almost nothing.
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