LEX Phone compared
How LEX Phone differs from the answering services, AI receptionists and phone systems an Australian law firm is likely to look at. Each comparison is drawn from the provider's own published material as at 30 September 2026. Looking for a virtual receptionist for law firms or a law firm answering service rather than a comparison? Start there.
Three kinds of product, and what each leaves out
An answering service staffed by people takes your calls when you divert them and sends you a message. An AI receptionist does the same job with software, faster and usually for less. A legal phone system gives the lawyer a line and files the calls the lawyer takes. Most of them do their one job well, and the gaps are in between: the answering services are not the phone you answer on, so a call cannot simply ring you when you are free, and the phone system has nothing to say to the caller who rings while you are in court.
LEX Phone joins the three. Each lawyer has a business number in the app, one tap decides whether calls ring straight through, are greeted first or are taken by the answering service, and every call, text and call back is written up and filed to the matter in Smokeball or to SharePoint.
| Service | Who answers | A phone for the lawyer | What you are left with | Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LEX Phone | An automated service that says so, or the lawyer directly in Available mode | Yes, an Australian number in the app | A finished file note on the Smokeball matter or in SharePoint | A$79.99 per lawyer, flat, |
| OfficeHQ | Receptionists, mostly in Australia | None listed | A message by email or SMS | Monthly fee plus calls or minutes |
| Virtual Reception | Receptionists in Australia | None listed | A message by email or SMS | Monthly fee plus calls or minutes |
| LEX Reception | Receptionists in North America, for US and Canadian firms | Calling and texting in its app | A lead or a phone message task in Smokeball | Per minute |
| Smith.ai | An AI agent or receptionists in North America | None listed | A lead or a task in Smokeball, not assigned to a matter | Per call, in US dollars |
| Clerx AI | An AI receptionist | None listed | A lead and a call summary on the Smokeball contact | Not published |
| Valory AI | A managed AI receptionist workflow | None listed | A message by SMS or email | Per minute bundles plus setup |
| Trillet | A self-serve AI agent | None listed | A summary by email | $49 a month plus minutes |
| AiDial | A configured AI agent | None listed | A transcript by email and a summary by SMS | Per call bundles plus setup |
| VXT | The lawyer, with voicemail for the rest | Yes, a softphone | The calls a lawyer takes, saved through a post-call dialog | Per user |
LEX Phone is the lawyer's phone system: a law firm phone system with a law firm answering service built in, which also works as a virtual receptionist for law firms and an AI receptionist for law firms. It answers when you can't, and files every call to the matter.
Answering services staffed by people
AI receptionists
Legal phone systems
Questions about the comparisons
An answering service sits in front of your phone and sends you a message. LEX Phone is the lawyer's business phone itself, with an automated answering service built in, so calls ring straight to the lawyer when they are free, the service answers when they are not, and every call is filed to the matter.
LEX Phone, VXT, LEX Reception, Smith.ai and Clerx AI have Smokeball integrations as at 30 September 2026. Smokeball's marketplace lists Smith.ai and Clerx for the USA, and LEX Reception's FAQ says it supports clients in the US and Canada. Each comparison page sets out what the integration creates, from Smokeball's own support articles.
From each provider's own website, help pages, pricing and terms, and from Smokeball's support documentation, as at 30 September 2026. Where a provider's website is silent on something, the page says it is not listed and does not say it is not offered. If anything has changed, tell us and we will correct it.
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