Arini vs Smith.ai AI Receptionist
Short answer: Arini scores higher (52 vs 33). BAA not confirmed for Smith.ai AI Receptionist, so it can't be a top pick for patient data. Both are Level 1 desk reviews from public sources; accuracy is untested for both. Scores are out of 85 (tested so far); hands-on accuracy testing (15 pts) pending.
| Criterion | Arini | Smith.ai AI Receptionist |
|---|---|---|
| Category | AI receptionist | AI receptionist |
| Preliminary score | 52/85 | 33/85 |
| BAA | BAA stated “HIPAA BAA ✓ Included” | Not HIPAA-compliant “Smith.ai is not HIPAA-compliant and cannot handle protected health information (PHI) in regulated healthcare environments” |
| Pricing as shown | Not published. Arini's own blog says pricing is 'Custom (demo-based)' [2]. Third-party price figures exist but are not confirmed by the vendor, so we don't repeat them. | Free $0 (25 calls/mo, $3.00/call after); Pro $150/mo (75 calls, $2.00/call); Enterprise from $500/mo (300 calls) [1]. |
| HIPAA / BAA availability (20) | 14 BAA is stated as included, but only in a marketing blog post. No BAA text is public. | 0 Vendor states it is not HIPAA-compliant [2]. |
| Integrations (dental PMS / EHR) (25) | 22 Vendor lists 'OpenDental, EagleSoft, Denticon, Dentrix, Curve Dental — native bidirectional' [2]. Five dental PMSs named with bidirectional sync earns 22/25 at desk-review level; the remaining points need write-back confirmed in a demo. | 5 Calendly, Clio, Zapier and '7,000+' integrations via automation [1][2]. No dental PMS listed. |
| Pricing transparency (12) | 2 Custom/demo-based pricing only [2]. | 12 All tiers and per-call rates published [1]. |
| Accuracy / output quality (15) | 0 Not tested yet. Accuracy needs a Level-3 hands-on test with synthetic data. 0/15 until then. | 0 Not tested yet. Accuracy needs a Level-3 hands-on test with synthetic data. 0/15 until then. |
| Setup effort (8) | 4 Vendor: 'Most practices go live in 2–4 weeks with a dedicated implementation engineer' [2]. | 6 Self-setup with 'Quality Studio - test before going live' [1]. |
| Support (8) | 4 'Dedicated engineer per practice' for implementation [2]. Ongoing support hours are not stated. | 5 'Live phone, email & chat support' on Pro [1]. |
| Contract terms (7) | 1 No public terms found (unverified). | 4 Receptionist pricing FAQ: 'Smith is a month-to-month service' with a 30-day money-back guarantee [3]. Whether this also applies to AI plans isn't stated explicitly (unverified). |
| Specialty fit (dental) (5) | 5 Built specifically for dental practices [1]. | 1 General SMB, not healthcare-specific. |
| Last checked | 2026-10-14 | 2026-10-14 |
Source numbers like [2] refer to each tool's own source list on its review page.
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