Ironline vs Smith.ai
Smith.ai is built for lawyers and SaaS. Your plumbing business deserves better.
Smith.ai Is Good — For Lawyers
Smith.ai does a solid job handling intake calls for law firms and tech companies. They combine human receptionists with AI to screen and route calls. The catch: they charge per call, and their agents don't know a condenser coil from a P-trap.
At $9.75 per call, a busy HVAC company taking 80 calls a month is looking at $292.50 base + $487.50 overage = $780/month. For the same volume, Ironline is $99. Flat. Done.
The Industry Problem
When a homeowner calls about a gas smell, your receptionist needs to know that's an emergency. When someone asks about "the thing on the roof that spins," they mean a turbine vent. When a caller says "my AC is blowing warm," the right questions are about the outdoor unit, not a generic intake form.
Ironline is trained on home service workflows. It triages by urgency, asks the right diagnostic questions, and books accordingly. Smith.ai follows a script.
Feature Comparison
| Ironline | Smith.ai | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $99/mo (unlimited calls) | $292.50/mo (30 calls) |
| Per-call overage | None | $9.75/call |
| After-hours coverage | 24/7 — same quality at 3 AM | Limited (AI fallback after hours) |
| Focus | Home service businesses only | Law, SaaS, general business |
| Spanish | Built-in, native quality | Available (varies by agent) |
| Appointment booking | Automatic calendar sync | Manual or via integration |
| Knows HVAC from plumbing | Yes — industry-trained | No — general scripts |
| Contract | Month-to-month | Month-to-month |
When Smith.ai Makes Sense
Running a law firm that needs complex intake with legal-specific questions? Smith.ai is good at that. But if you're a trades business — plumbing, HVAC, electrical, roofing, landscaping — you want a receptionist that speaks your language and doesn't charge you per ring.
Built for the trades. Priced for the trades.
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