Cira vs Smith.ai: Which AI Receptionist is Right for Your Business?

Looking for an AI receptionist to answer your business calls 24/7? You've probably come across Smith.ai in your research. They're one of the bigger names in the space.

But before you commit to per-call pricing that can spiral out of control, let's compare Smith.ai to Cira, an AI receptionist built specifically for home service businesses with simple, flat-rate pricing.

Here's what we'll cover:

Side-by-side feature comparison
The real cost difference (with examples)
Why "human backup" might not be the advantage you think
Which service fits your business

Quick Comparison: Cira vs Smith.ai

	Cira	Smith.ai
Starting price	$59/month	$95/month
Calls included	Unlimited	50 calls
Overage charges	None	$2.10–$2.40/call
Free trial	✅ 14 days	❌ (30-day money-back guarantee)
Setup time	10 minutes	Days to weeks
24/7 coverage	✅	✅
Bilingual (EN/ES)	✅	✅
Call recordings & transcripts	✅	✅
Appointment booking via text	✅	✅
CRM integration	✅ (Scale plan)	✅
Call transfers	✅ (1 number on Starter, 5 on Scale)	✅
Spam filtering	✅ Free	Varies
No contracts	✅	✅
Built for home services	✅	General/law firm focus

The Pricing Problem with Smith.ai

Smith.ai charges per call. That sounds reasonable until you do the math.

Smith.ai's AI Receptionist pricing:

Starter: $95/month for 50 calls ($2.40/call overage)
Basic: $270/month for 150 calls ($2.10/call overage)
Pro: $800/month for 500 calls

Cira's pricing:

Starter: $59/month — unlimited calls
Scale: $159/month — unlimited calls + CRM integration + multi-number transfers

Real-World Cost Comparison

Let's say you're a plumber getting 100 calls per month (a pretty normal volume for an active home service business).

With Smith.ai:

Starter plan: $95 base + 50 overage calls × $2.40 = $215/month
Or upgrade to Basic: $270/month

With Cira:

Starter plan: $59/month

That's a $156–$211 difference every single month — for the same number of calls.

What About Busy Months?

Here's where per-call pricing really hurts. During peak season, when you're running ads, when word of mouth kicks in, your call volume spikes.

200 calls/month with Smith.ai:

Basic plan: $270 + 50 overage × $2.10 = $375/month

200 calls/month with Cira:

Still $59/month

With Smith.ai, success costs you more. With Cira, your monthly bill stays the same whether you get 50 calls or 500.

The "Human Backup" Question

Smith.ai's big differentiator is their human agent network. When their AI can't handle something, a live person steps in.

Sounds great on paper. Here's what it actually means:

The Problems with Smith.ai's Human Backup

1. Callers repeat themselves

When Smith.ai's AI transfers to a human agent, the caller often has to explain everything again. That's frustrating for customers who just want to book a job, not navigate a call center.

2. Those humans don't know your business

Smith.ai's agents handle calls for thousands of businesses. They're reading from scripts. They don't know that you charge extra for weekend emergency calls, that you're booked solid next Tuesday, or that Mrs. Johnson has been a customer for 10 years.

3. You're paying premium prices for strangers

All that "human backup" is baked into Smith.ai's per-call pricing. You're paying extra for people who can't actually close the job or answer real questions about your work.

How Cira Handles It Better

When a call truly needs a human, an emergency, a complex question, an upset customer, Cira transfers to you or your team. The people who actually know your business.

Starter plan: Forward to your cell or office
Scale plan: Forward to up to 5 numbers (yourself, your office manager, your senior tech)

Your customers talk to someone who can actually help. And you're not paying per-minute for a stranger to read a script.

Setup: 10 Minutes vs. Days

Smith.ai requires onboarding calls, custom playbook development, and configuration. Some users report it takes days or weeks to get fully operational, and that's assuming everything goes smoothly.

Cira takes about 10 minutes:

Connect your Google Business Profile or website
Cira automatically learns your services, hours, and service area
Customize your greeting and questions if you want
Start forwarding calls

No technical skills required. No waiting for an "implementation specialist" to get back to you.

We’re still here if you need us though, every customer has live support and an onboarding call available to them.

What Customers Say About Smith.ai

We're not going to cherry-pick negative reviews. But here are the patterns that show up consistently:

Billing surprises: Customers report confusing invoices, unexpected charges, and difficulty getting refunds. Per-call billing makes it hard to predict your monthly costs.

Dropped calls during setup: Some users experienced lost or mishandled calls during the onboarding process, exactly when first impressions matter most.

Declining quality: Long-time customers have noted slower support response times and more difficulty reaching someone who can actually solve problems.

Not built for trades: Smith.ai focuses heavily on law firms and professional services. If you're a plumber, electrician, or contractor, you might find the platform doesn't quite fit how you work.

Feature Deep Dive

Call Answering & Message Taking

Both platforms answer calls 24/7 and take messages. The difference is what happens next.

Cira sends you instant SMS notifications with call summaries, transcripts, and recordings. Everything lives in your call inbox, organized and searchable.

Smith.ai provides similar call data, but the hybrid AI/human approach can create inconsistency in how information is captured and delivered.

Appointment Booking

Cira texts your scheduling link (Calendly, Housecall Pro, Jobber, or whatever you use) directly to the caller during the conversation. They book themselves while they're still thinking about it.

Smith.ai offers calendar integration, but the multi-step process (AI → human → scheduling) can add friction.

Customization

Cira learns from your Google Business Profile and website automatically, then lets you customize greetings, questions, and call handling rules.

Smith.ai offers custom "playbooks" but relies on their human agents to execute them correctly, which requires more setup and introduces more room for error.

Spanish Language Support

Both offer bilingual support. Cira handles English and Spanish natively, switching based on caller preference.

Who Should Choose Smith.ai?

To be fair, Smith.ai isn't a bad product. It might be right for you if:

You're a law firm or professional services company (their core market)
You have very low, predictable call volume (under 30 calls/month)
You specifically want to fully outsource call handling to a third party
Budget isn't a primary concern

Who Should Choose Cira?

Cira is built for home service businesses who want to:

Stop losing jobs to missed calls without paying per-call fees
Keep costs predictable even during busy seasons
Set up fast and start capturing leads today
Stay in control of customer relationships while automating the phone

If you're a plumber, electrician, HVAC tech, cleaner, contractor, or any other home service professional — Cira was designed for exactly how you work.

The Bottom Line

	Cira	Smith.ai
Best for	Home service businesses	Law firms, professional services
Pricing model	Flat rate, unlimited calls	Per-call with overages
Cost for 100 calls/month	$59	$215–$800
Human backup	Transfers to YOUR team	Transfers to their call center
Setup	10 minutes	Days to weeks

For most home service businesses, the math is simple: Cira costs less, sets up faster, and keeps you connected to your customers when it matters.

Try Cira Free for 14 Days

See why home service businesses are switching to flat-rate AI receptionists.

Unlimited calls from day one
No credit card required to start
No contracts, cancel anytime
Up and running in 10 minutes

Start Your Free Trial →

Or call our demo line to hear Cira in action: (509) 278-3940

Still have questions? Book a demo and we'll walk you through everything.