SIAS vs Smith.ai: per-minute or per-call, which costs less for your calls?
Smith.ai charges by the call: $300 a month covers 30 calls, and the 31st costs $11.50. Special Interest Answering Service (SIAS) charges by the operator minute: $159 every 4 weeks covers 100 minutes, and the 101st costs $0.99. Neither is cheaper in every case. Per-call pricing wins when your calls are long; per-minute pricing wins when they are short. Smith.ai's figures below were read from smith.ai/pricing and smith.ai/why-us on October 26, 2026.
Smith.ai is a remote-first company that started in Palo Alto, California, says 5,000+ businesses use it, and runs its virtual receptionist team from North America alongside a separate AI receptionist product. SIAS is a family-owned answering service in Joliet, Illinois, founded in 1980, with US-based operators. SIAS is not affiliated with Smith.ai.
Side by side, as of October 26, 2026
| SIAS | Smith.ai (human receptionist plans) | |
|---|---|---|
| Billing unit | Operator minute | Call |
| Billing cycle | Every 4 weeks (13 cycles a year) | Monthly; 10% off for a 12-month term |
| Plans | $159 / 100 minutes, $219 / 200, $379 / 400; volume plans to 1,200 minutes | Starter $300 / 30 calls, Basic $810 / 90 calls, Pro $2,100 / 300 calls; enterprise custom |
| Cost per included unit | $1.59 to $0.80 per minute | $10.00, $9.00 or $7.00 per call |
| Overage | $0.99, $0.89 or $0.85 per minute | $11.50, $10.50 or $8.50 per call |
| What is not charged | Talk time after a call is patched to you; seconds are totaled for the cycle and rounded down | Spam and wrong numbers, if the forwarded line passes Caller ID |
| Setup fee | None | None |
| Contract | None, cancel any time | Month to month; cancellation bills through the end of the cycle |
| Money-back guarantee | 14 days, new accounts | 30 days, plan and add-ons up to $1,000, overage excluded |
| Spanish | Bilingual English and Spanish operators, included | Dedicated Spanish line, $1.00 per call add-on |
| Appointment scheduling | Offered; billed as operator minutes, no per-call fee | $1.50 per call add-on |
| Per-message fees | None for texts, emails or pages | SMS or Slack notifications $0.50 per call; text and email follow-up $0.50 per call |
| Where the people answering are | Joliet, Illinois (US-based) | North America (remote) |
| AI receptionist option | No; live operators only | Yes, separate AI-first and hybrid plans (priced on other pages) |
What you would pay
The deciding number is your average call length. Across all SIAS accounts in 2026, operators averaged 82 to 90 seconds of talk time per handled call, because most answering-service calls are a message, a transfer or a dispatch. The table uses the cheapest plan plus overage on each side. SIAS bills every 4 weeks, so its column is converted to a calendar month (times 13, divided by 12).
| Your calls | Minutes a month | SIAS, monthly equivalent | Smith.ai |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 calls averaging 1.5 minutes | 45 | $172 | $300 |
| 90 calls averaging 1.5 minutes | 135 | $210 | $810 |
| 30 calls averaging 5 minutes | 150 | $226 | $300 |
| 90 calls averaging 5 minutes | 450 | $457 | $810 |
| 30 calls averaging 10 minutes | 300 | $334 | $300 |
| 90 calls averaging 10 minutes | 900 | $849 | $810 |
| 30 calls averaging 15 minutes | 450 | $457 | $300 |
The break-even is about 9 to 10 minutes per call. Below it SIAS costs less; above it Smith.ai does. Smith.ai add-on fees are not included in its column.
Where Smith.ai may be the better fit
Long, structured calls. If your typical call is a 10-minute intake with qualification questions, Smith.ai's flat per-call price caps what each one costs, and its menu of per-call add-ons (CRM push, conflict checks, payment collection, extended intake) is built for that. Smith.ai also sells an AI receptionist and hybrid plans; SIAS does not. Its 30-day guarantee is longer than SIAS's 14 days.
Where SIAS is the better fit
Short calls, which is most of them. At 1.5 minutes a call, 90 calls cost about $210 a month at SIAS and $810 at Smith.ai. Spanish, appointment scheduling and message delivery by text, email or fax are part of the SIAS plan, not per-call add-ons. SIAS operators are in Joliet, Illinois, answer 24/7/365, and handle after-hours and emergency dispatch, HIPAA-compliant message handling and order taking on the same per-minute plan.
Questions people ask
Which is cheaper, SIAS or Smith.ai? It depends on call length. For calls averaging under about 9 to 10 minutes, SIAS costs less: 90 short calls a month is about $210 at SIAS and $810 at Smith.ai at October 26, 2026 prices. For long intake calls over 10 minutes, Smith.ai's per-call price can come out lower.
What is the difference between per-call and per-minute billing? Per-call charges the same for a 1-minute message and a 15-minute intake. Per-minute charges for the time an operator spends on the line. Smith.ai is per call; SIAS is per operator minute, with talk time after a patch not billed and the cycle's seconds rounded down.
Does SIAS have an AI receptionist like Smith.ai? No. SIAS answers every call with a live, US-based operator, 24 hours a day. Smith.ai sells AI-first, hybrid and human receptionist plans.
Does SIAS charge extra for Spanish or appointment scheduling? No per-call add-ons. Bilingual English and Spanish answering is included in every SIAS plan, and appointment scheduling is billed as ordinary operator minutes. Smith.ai lists a dedicated Spanish line at $1.00 per call and appointment booking at $1.50 per call.
Is SIAS affiliated with Smith.ai? No. Special Interest Answering Service is an independent, family-owned answering service in Joliet, Illinois, founded in 1980.
Smith.ai prices, add-on rates and terms were read from smith.ai on October 26, 2026 and can change at any time; check smith.ai for current figures. Smith.ai is a trademark of its owner. SIAS prices are on our Plans page and explained in full at Pricing and Plans Explained.
More comparisons
SIAS vs Ruby: the same minutes at both services, priced side by side. SIAS vs AnswerConnect: the closest match on paper, compared line by line.
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