Smooth Voice vs ARROW: which AI receptionist for UK trades?
Last updated 11 June 2026. ARROW facts taken from aiphonecalls.co.uk as published on this date. Spot something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.
Smooth Voice and ARROW both answer calls 24/7 and book jobs for UK trade businesses, but they are different kinds of purchase. ARROW is a ready made AI receptionist product from £99 per month, set up in about a week. Smooth Voice is a done for you agency: we build a custom agent around your exact business in 30 days, then manage and improve it for you permanently. The honest answer to “which is better” depends on which of those you actually need.
This page is written by Smooth Voice, so read it knowing that — but we have kept it factual, said clearly where ARROW is the better pick, and flagged anything ARROW does not publish rather than guessing.
How do Smooth Voice and ARROW compare side by side?
| Smooth Voice | ARROW | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | An agency that designs, builds, tests, and manages a custom AI receptionist around your business | A ready made AI receptionist product for UK trades, set up quickly from a standard template |
| Price | Custom quoted on a demo call — depends on call volume and build complexity | From £99 per month, no contracts (as published, June 2026) |
| Setup time | Live in 30 days — week one is spent learning your services, prices, and edge cases | Around 7 days (as published) |
| Answers 24/7 | Yes | Yes |
| Books jobs into your calendar | Yes — plus CRM and booking system integrations mapped in week one | Yes — books appointments directly into your calendar |
| Simultaneous calls | Up to 10 at once — no caller hears engaged | Not published |
| When a call goes off script | Hands to a human with a full transcript — it never guesses | Lead qualification and screening published; handover detail not published |
| Call records | Every call recorded and transcribed in a client dashboard | Call analytics and SMS or email notifications published; dashboard detail not published |
| Changes after launch | Message us — we make updates for you, most live within 24 hours | Self serve product model |
| Try before you buy | Talk to a live demo agent on this site right now | Free test call number published on their site |
Who should pick ARROW?
Pick ARROW if you are a sole trader or a small team that needs standard call answering and booking live within a week at a low fixed price. It is UK built, contract free, and focused on trades. For that job, paying an agency to build something custom would be overkill, and we will tell you the same on a call.
Who should pick Smooth Voice?
Pick Smooth Voice if the phone is how your business lives and you want it handled properly, permanently, by someone else. We spend week one learning your services, prices, and edge cases. The agent books into the systems you already use, takes up to 10 calls at once, hands anything unusual to a human with a full transcript, and every call lands recorded and transcribed in your dashboard. After launch you message us and changes go live within about 24 hours — you never log into anything complicated.
The quickest way to decide
Hear them. ARROW publishes a free test call number on their site. Ours is even quicker: talk to a live Smooth Voice agent right now from the homepage, then book a demo and we will show you exactly what we would build for your business — including telling you honestly if a cheaper product would serve you better.
Smooth Voice vs ARROW: common questions
Is ARROW any good?
By all public signals, yes. ARROW is a UK built AI receptionist aimed squarely at trades, with published pricing from £99 per month, no contracts, and setup in about 7 days. For a sole trader who wants the cheapest, fastest route to stop missing calls, it is a genuinely sensible option. We would rather tell you that plainly than pretend otherwise.
What is the real difference between Smooth Voice and ARROW?
The product versus agency split. ARROW gives you a capable, standardised AI receptionist quickly and cheaply. Smooth Voice builds the agent around your specific business — your services, your prices, your booking system, your tone — then manages and improves it for you after launch, with every call recorded and transcribed in a dashboard. You are choosing between buying a product and hiring a team.
Who should pick ARROW over Smooth Voice?
A sole trader or small outfit that wants basic call answering and booking working within a week, at a fixed low monthly cost, and is happy with a standard setup. If that is you, ARROW is the right call and we would say so on a demo.
Who should pick Smooth Voice over ARROW?
Multi van trade businesses and growing firms where the phone is the business — where you need the agent to know your services and pricing cold, plug into the tools you already run, handle several calls at once, and hand awkward calls to a human with a transcript. And where you want someone else to own all of that, permanently.