Quick answer
Smith.ai fits if you want the lowest entry cost or an AI option: it has a free AI tier and bills per call. Ruby fits if you want all-human answering plus website chat with published prices, and your calls are short (it bills per minute). Answering Legal fits if you want receptionists who only answer for law firms and an all-inclusive plan, and you don't mind getting the price through a form.
On this page (11)
- How do Smith.ai, Ruby, and Answering Legal compare?
- Is per-call or per-minute billing cheaper for a law firm?
- How much does Smith.ai cost for a law firm?
- How much does Ruby cost?
- How much does Answering Legal cost?
- What would a small practice actually pay?
- What should I ask an answering service before I sign?
- Which answering service fits my practice area?
- Related guides
- FAQ
- Sources (all accessed 2026-10-14)
All pricing and features come from each vendor's own website, accessed October 14, 2026. We haven't tested these services, and we don't publish ratings. Prices change, so confirm before you sign.
Disclosure: Some listings on AI Tools For Law may be sponsored or include affiliate or referral links. Paid placements are always labeled "Sponsored," and payment never changes our verdicts. As of publication, none of these three vendors pays us. Nothing here is legal advice. You're responsible for supervising any outside intake service under your state's ethics rules.
How do Smith.ai, Ruby, and Answering Legal compare?
They differ most in who answers and how they bill. Smith.ai offers AI, human, or hybrid answering billed per call. Ruby is human-first and billed per minute. Answering Legal is legal-only, billed by minute packages, and doesn't publish prices.
| Smith.ai | Ruby | Answering Legal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who answers | AI, human, or hybrid | Humans (with "optional AI enhancements") | Humans (plus a free AI website chatbot) |
| Billing unit | Per call | Per minute (rounded up to the next 60 seconds) | Per minute (packages from 50 to 5,000 minutes) |
| Published entry price | AI: $0 (25 calls/mo, then $3/call). Human: $300/mo for 30 calls | $250/mo for 50 minutes | Not published. Pricing appears after you submit a form |
| Legal-only? | No (serves many industries; has law-firm intake flows) | No (serves many industries; has a legal page) | Yes, "answer exclusively for lawyers" |
| 24/7 | Yes | Yes | Yes (24/7/365) |
| Spanish | Bilingual AI; dedicated Spanish line +$1.00/call on human plans | 24/7 Spanish and bilingual call handling available | U.S.-based bilingual (English/Spanish) receptionists |
| Collect calls | Yes, +$0.50/call (human plans) | Not stated on pages checked | Not stated on pages checked |
| Conflict checks | +$0.50/call (human plans) | Not stated on pages checked | Not stated on pages checked |
| Contract | Month-to-month; 10% off for 12 months | Not stated on pricing page; downgrades only after 3 billing periods on a plan | Month-to-month, no contract |
| Trial / guarantee | Free AI tier; 30-day money-back guarantee on human plans (up to $1,000) | Not stated on pricing page | 14-day, 400-minute free trial, no credit card |
| Practice-software integrations named | Clio, MyCase, Lawmatics, Filevine (native) | "5000+ integrations" (general) | 76 integrations incl. Clio Grow, MyCase, Lawmatics, PracticePanther, Smokeball |
Is per-call or per-minute billing cheaper for a law firm?
It depends on how long your calls run. Per-call billing (Smith.ai) favors long intake calls. Per-minute billing (Ruby, Answering Legal) favors many short calls.
Per-call pricing rewards long conversations. Per-minute pricing rewards short ones. Read your call log before you read the brochures.
Ruby's pricing explainer says its minutes are rounded up in 60-second increments. Smith.ai says it bills "per call, not per minute, so a long new-client call costs the same as a short one." Answering Legal's blog says its "virtual receptionist pricing schedule is per-minute."
How much does Smith.ai cost for a law firm?
Smith.ai's AI Receptionist starts free (25 calls/month, then $3 per call), with Pro from $150/month. Human receptionist plans start at $300/month for 30 calls.
AI Receptionist plans (smith.ai/pricing/ai-receptionist):
| Plan | Monthly | Included calls | Per call | Extra calls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 25 | n/a | $3.00 |
| Pro | $150 / $270 / $500 | 75 / 150 / 300 | $2.00 / $1.80 / $1.67 | $2.50 / $2.30 / $2.17 |
| Enterprise | $500 / $800 / custom | 300 / 500 / 1,000+ | $1.67 / $1.60 / custom | $2.17 / $2.10 / custom |
All AI plans include 24/7 answering, recording, transcription and summaries, lead qualification and routing, scheduling, and "native integrations (Clio, Zapier & more)." Every answered AI call counts toward your quota by default. Smith.ai lets you remove up to 10% of calls per cycle as spam, and it says calls from "20 million+ known spammers" are filtered out before the AI answers.
Human (Virtual Receptionist) plans (smith.ai/pricing/receptionists):
| Plan | Monthly | Calls | Overage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $300 | 30 | $11.50/call |
| Basic | $810 | 90 | $10.50/call |
| Pro | $2,100 | 300 | $8.50/call |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Custom |
Human plans include lead screening and intake (5 short-answer questions free), 24/7 staffing, "no overseas agents," and "no charge for spam." Smith.ai's law-firm page also describes a hybrid option "starting at $2.50/call" and human escalation from AI for "$3 extra."
How much does Ruby cost?
Ruby's receptionist plans run from $250/month for 50 minutes to $1,725/month for 500 minutes. Overage costs $4.00 to $5.40 per minute, depending on the plan.
Receptionist plans (ruby.com/pricing and Ruby's help center):
| Plan | Monthly | Overage |
|---|---|---|
| 50 minutes | $250 | $5.40/min |
| 100 minutes | $395 | $4.50/min |
| 200 minutes | $720 | $4.40/min |
| 500 minutes | $1,725 | $4.00/min |
Ruby's help center lists larger plans too (350 minutes at $1,210 up to 2,500 minutes at $7,875).
Chat plans: 10 chats $143, 30 chats $335, 50 chats $520 per month. Bundling chat with a receptionist plan is 20% off (for example, 30 chats for $268).
Included: 24/7 live answering, 24/7 Spanish and bilingual call handling, scheduling, payment collection, lead qualification and intake, and AI-powered transcripts. Ruby says there are "no additional or hidden fees for activation, onboarding, setup, customization, or coverage during certain periods."
How much does Answering Legal cost?
Answering Legal doesn't publish prices; you have to submit a form or call. Its help center says plans are based on minutes, month-to-month, and all-inclusive, with no feature add-ons.
Answering Legal says its receptionists "answer exclusively for lawyers," are "100% U.S.-based," and are bilingual. It advertises 24/7/365 coverage.
Pricing: The pricing page asks for your name, firm, email, and cell number before it shows packages. The help center says pricing is based on number of minutes and plans are month-to-month with no contract. Every plan is "flat-rate, all-inclusive." If you go over, "you'll be charged a per-minute overage rate, detailed in your agreement." The company blog says packages run "from 50 to 5000 minutes."
Answering Legal's own Ruby comparison page lists its starting price as "$360 for 100 minutes." That's a vendor claim on a competitor-comparison page, not a public price sheet. The same page lists Ruby as starting at $395 for 100 minutes, but Ruby also sells a 50-minute plan at $250.
Trial: 14 days and 400 minutes, "No credit card, contract, or commitment required."
Extras: a free AI intake chatbot for your website, which the company says "will never give legal advice." It also lists 76 integrations, including Clio Grow, MyCase, Lawmatics, PracticePanther, Smokeball, and Lead Docket.
What would a small practice actually pay?
On our illustrative numbers (40 calls a month, 4 billed minutes each), the published rates work out to $45–$150 for Smith.ai's AI tiers, $415 for Smith.ai's human Starter plan, and $665–$720 for Ruby. Answering Legal requires a quote.
Illustrative math only, using the published rates above. It assumes 40 calls a month averaging 4 billed minutes (160 minutes) and no add-ons.
| Service | Cheapest published fit | Estimated monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Smith.ai AI (Free) | 25 free + 15 × $3.00 | $45 |
| Smith.ai AI (Pro, 75 calls) | Flat | $150 |
| Smith.ai Human (Starter) | $300 + 10 × $11.50 | $415 |
| Ruby (100-minute plan) | $395 + 60 × $4.50 | $665 |
| Ruby (200-minute plan) | Flat | $720 |
| Answering Legal | Not published | Ask for a quote |
What should I ask an answering service before I sign?
Ask how they reach you after hours, how they keep receptionists from giving legal advice, how they handle conflicts and confidentiality, and whether they can run a different script for each practice area.
- Urgent routing: How will you reach an attorney after hours, and what happens if nobody answers?
- No legal advice: Will your receptionists (and any AI) stick to the script and never advise callers on their matter?
- Conflicts: Can you run a conflict check before a consult is booked, against your system and not just a call log?
- Confidentiality: Where are recordings stored, who can access them, and when are they deleted?
- Language: Is Spanish (or another language your clients speak) handled live, 24/7, and at what cost?
- Intake by case type: Can you run a different script for each practice area and case type?
Which answering service fits my practice area?
All three take calls for most practice areas. Smith.ai publishes the most detail about practice-specific intake flows.
- Personal injury: Smith.ai publishes a PI flow (incident location, fault, injuries) that ends in booking a consult or sending a retainer agreement. [Smith.ai]
- Criminal defense: Ask about collect and inmate calls. Smith.ai publishes $0.50/call on human plans. Ruby and Answering Legal don't state a policy on the pages we checked. Smith.ai's criminal flow asks when and where the arrest occurred and what the charges are. Answering Legal's criminal-attorney page promises separate intake processes "for each case type." [Smith.ai pricing; Smith.ai; Answering Legal]
- Estate planning: Smith.ai's flow asks about document type, assets, and dependents. [Smith.ai]
- Family law: Smith.ai's family law page says "opposing parties call the same firm more often in family law than in any other practice area." It says every caller is checked against your existing contacts and matters before intake is complete ("built for Clio today"), and that safety-flagged and emergency calls go straight to your team. Answering Legal has a family-lawyer answering-service page that says it uses your intake process. [Smith.ai family law; Answering Legal family law]
- Immigration: Smith.ai calls its immigration intake "bilingual by default," and it covers detention status and upcoming hearings. Ruby and Answering Legal both advertise bilingual English/Spanish answering. [Smith.ai; Ruby pricing; Answering Legal]
Related guides
FAQ
Which is cheapest: Smith.ai, Ruby, or Answering Legal?
By published entry price, Smith.ai's AI Receptionist ($0 for 25 calls/month) is cheapest. For human answering, Ruby starts at $250/month (50 minutes) and Smith.ai at $300/month (30 calls). Answering Legal doesn't publish prices; its comparison page claims $360 for 100 minutes.
Is per-call or per-minute billing better for a law firm?
Per-call billing (Smith.ai) favors long intake calls. Per-minute billing (Ruby, Answering Legal) favors lots of short calls. Pull a month of call logs and run both.
Do any of them accept collect calls from jail?
Smith.ai lists "Accept collect calls" for $0.50/call on its human receptionist plans. Ruby and Answering Legal don't state a policy on the pages we checked, so ask.
Which one is only for law firms?
Answering Legal. Smith.ai and Ruby serve many industries but publish law-firm pages and intake flows.
Do they integrate with Clio?
Smith.ai lists native Clio integration. Answering Legal lists Clio Grow among its integrations. Ruby advertises "5000+ integrations" but its legal page doesn't name Clio, so confirm.
Can an answering service give legal advice to callers?
It shouldn't. Smith.ai says its receptionists "never give legal advice," and Answering Legal says its chatbot "will never give legal advice." You're still responsible for supervising them. This isn't legal advice; check your state's rules.
Is there a free trial?
Smith.ai has a free AI tier and a 30-day money-back guarantee on human plans. Answering Legal offers a 14-day, 400-minute trial. Ruby's pricing page doesn't mention a trial.
Sources (all accessed 2026-10-14)
- Smith.ai homepage (law-firm content, hybrid pricing, legal-advice FAQ): https://smith.ai/
- Smith.ai AI Receptionist pricing: https://smith.ai/pricing/ai-receptionist
- Smith.ai Virtual Receptionist pricing: https://smith.ai/pricing/receptionists (same content at https://smith.ai/pricing)
- Smith.ai law firms page: https://smith.ai/legal
- Ruby pricing: https://www.ruby.com/pricing/
- Ruby for law firms: https://www.ruby.com/legal/
- Ruby help center, "Am I on the right billing plan?": https://rubyhelpcenter.helpjuice.com/billing-plans/am-i-on-the-right-billing-plan
- Ruby, "Per-minute vs. per-call virtual receptionist pricing": https://www.ruby.com/blog/per-minute-vs-per-call-virtual-receptionist-pricing/
- Answering Legal homepage: https://www.answeringlegal.com/
- Answering Legal pricing (form-gated): https://www.answeringlegal.com/answering-service-pricing-plans
- Answering Legal help center, pricing: https://www.answeringlegal.com/help-center/billing/how-does-answering-legal-s-pricing-work
- Answering Legal help center, billing overview: https://www.answeringlegal.com/help-center/billing/billing-overview
- Answering Legal blog, pricing model: https://www.answeringlegal.com/blog/how-does-virtual-receptionist-pricing-work
- Answering Legal vs. Ruby (vendor comparison page): https://www.answeringlegal.com/ruby
- Answering Legal free trial: https://www.answeringlegal.com/free-trial
- Answering Legal criminal attorney page: https://www.answeringlegal.com/who-we-serve/criminal-attorney-answering-service
- Answering Legal integrations: https://www.answeringlegal.com/integrations
- Answering Legal AI chatbot: https://www.answeringlegal.com/ai-chatbot
- Answering Legal family lawyer page: https://www.answeringlegal.com/who-we-serve/family-lawyer-answering-service
- Smith.ai family law: https://smith.ai/legal/family-law
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