Smith.ai alternative in Canada
US virtual receptionist service offering human-staffed and AI-first answering. United States.
Facts checked on 2026-09-06 at smith.ai. Smith.ai prices in USD, Gala prices in CAD. Gavion is not affiliated with Smith.ai.
Smith.ai is a US answering service with two families of plans: an AI receptionist, and live human receptionists. Its pricing pages, read on 2026-10-07, quote US dollars, list English and Spanish, and say nothing about French or about Canada.
For a business in Québec or elsewhere in Canada, those points settle much of the comparison before any feature does. Gala is the AI receptionist built by Gavion, a Montréal company. It answers in Québécois French and English on the same number, detects which one the caller speaks, and stores call data in Canada. Its plans are priced in Canadian dollars, from $129 CAD for 250 minutes.
The two also count differently. Smith.ai bills by the call, whatever its length. Gala bills by the minute, inside a monthly allowance. Which one costs less depends on how many calls you get and how long they last, so the table further down sets both side by side at Smith.ai's own published volumes.
| Gala | Smith.ai | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Flat monthly plan with included minutes | Per call. AI plans are sized by monthly call volume; human plans are sold as call bundles |
| Starting price | $129 CAD/month for 250 minutes, 3 users and 1 voice agent | AI receptionist: a free tier of 25 calls a month, then $150 USD/month for about 2 to 3 calls a day. Human receptionists from $300 USD/month for 30 calls |
| Past the included usage | $0.37 to $0.33 CAD per minute depending on the plan, billed to the next full minute | $3.00 USD per call past the free tier; about $2.00 USD per call on the Pro plan |
| Setup fee | $0. Onboarding help is available as an optional package | No setup fees |
| Who answers | AI receptionist (Gala), which transfers real emergencies to your team | Both: AI-first or human-first, chosen per plan |
| Coverage | 24/7, several calls at once | 24/7 |
| French | Québécois French and English detected automatically on every plan; 44 languages in total | English and Spanish. French is not mentioned |
| Canada and data residency | Montréal company. Call data stored in Canada, on a Québec-based application server | Not stated |
| Booking and CRM | Live Google or Outlook calendar booking and a basic CRM on every plan | Appointment booking is a paid add-on ($1.50 USD per booking on human plans); CRM integrations include HubSpot, Salesforce and Clio |
| Commitment | Monthly plan, change tiers anytime; annual plan paid up front for 15% off | Month to month; money-back guarantee on the first plan |
US businesses that want the option of live human receptionists on the same account, with English or Spanish callers
Quebec and Canadian businesses that need French, a flat Canadian-dollar price with minutes included, and data kept in Canada
Each row is one of Smith.ai's published plans. Smith.ai counts calls and Gala counts minutes, so the last column divides each Gala plan's included minutes by that number of calls. If your calls average less than that, the plan covers the month with no extra minutes.
Gala's plans: Essential, $129 CAD for 250 minutes; Advanced, $249 CAD for 500 minutes; Enterprise, $439 CAD for 1,000 minutes.
| Smith.ai plan | Calls included a month | Price a month (USD) | Each extra call | Gala minutes per call (Essential / Advanced / Enterprise) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI receptionist, Free | 25 | $0 | $3.00 | 10.0 / 20.0 / 40.0 |
| AI receptionist, Pro | 75 | $150 ($2.00 a call) | Not stated | 3.3 / 6.6 / 13.3 |
| AI receptionist, Pro | 150 | $270 ($1.80 a call) | Not stated | 1.6 / 3.3 / 6.6 |
| AI receptionist, Pro | 300 | $500 ($1.67 a call) | Not stated | 0.8 / 1.6 / 3.3 |
| Human receptionists, Starter | 30 | $300 ($10.00 a call) | $11.50 | 8.3 / 16.6 / 33.3 |
| Human receptionists, Basic | 90 | $810 ($9.00 a call) | $10.50 | 2.7 / 5.5 / 11.1 |
| Human receptionists, Pro | 300 | $2,100 ($7.00 a call) | $8.50 | 0.8 / 1.6 / 3.3 |
Smith.ai's plans read on 2026-10-07, as published, in US dollars. Gala's prices in Canadian dollars, from our price list. No currency conversion: the rate moves, so use the one on your own statement. AI receptionist pricing · virtual receptionist pricing
Smith.ai's AI plans cost less per call as volume grows: $2.00 a call at 75 calls, $1.67 at 300. Its human receptionists start at $300 USD for 30 calls.
Smith.ai sells booking as an add-on: $1.50 USD per booking on its human plans. Live booking into Google Calendar or Outlook is part of every Gala plan.
Past the included minutes, Gala charges $0.37 to $0.33 CAD a minute depending on the plan, billed to the next full minute.
Switching does not mean a new phone number or a gap in coverage. Most businesses are live the same day. What takes longest is entering the knowledge base Gala answers from.
Setup costs $0 on every plan. Booking works natively with Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook.
Its pricing page lists English and Spanish. French, and Québécois French in particular, is not mentioned. Gala answers in Québécois French and English on every plan.
It depends on your volume. Smith.ai bills per call in US dollars, with a free tier of 25 calls a month. Gala bills a flat monthly amount in Canadian dollars with minutes included, from $129 CAD for 250 minutes. Run your own numbers in the ROI calculator.
Yes. Gala is built by Gavion, a Montréal company. It answers in Québécois French and English on every plan, is priced in Canadian dollars from $129 CAD for 250 minutes, and stores call data in Canada. Smith.ai's pricing pages name neither French nor Canada.
Its pricing pages publish US dollars, so what a Canadian business pays in CAD moves with the exchange rate. Gala's plans are priced in Canadian dollars, so the plan price is the same every month.
Take last month's calls and minutes. Divide a Gala plan's included minutes by your number of calls: if your average call is shorter than the result, that plan covers you. The table on this page does the division at each of Smith.ai's published volumes.
Most businesses are live the same day, and you set it up yourself with our support. What takes longest is entering the knowledge base Gala answers from. Your existing number is forwarded to Gala, so customers keep dialling the number they know.
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Contact: contact@gavion.ai · +1 (514) 534-1298 · +1 (855) 505-0607 (toll-free) · Québec, Canada · Service across Canada in English and French.