Byte vs. Smile Direct Club: A 2022 Comparison

A million-dollar smile is great and all, but what about getting one as an adult? Despite their effectiveness, braces are often in contrast with a busy adult’s lifestyle.

Thankfully, home teeth aligners make it possible to straighten your teeth from the convenience of your house.

No braces, no wires, no office visits. These clear aligners have become a popular alternative to braces. Why? They’re much cheaper than braces and Invisalign. They’re also much more convenient.

There are a few popular home teeth aligner companies on the market today, including Byte and Smile Direct Club. In this comparison review, we’ll help you decide which of these two services is the better option for your unique circumstances.

Spoiler Alert: Byte Wins! Based on our 4-part review criteria, Byte offers significantly better overall value than Smile Direct Club.

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The Rundown: How Byte and Smile Direct Club Stack Up

Home teeth alignment is a fairly new industry. Even so, it’s important to consider each company’s respective track record. Here’s how the two compare:

Intrigued? That’s just the flyby! Let’s dig into the differences between Smile Direct Club and Byte in more detail.

Product Quality

At first it may seem like all clear aligners are the same. And to be fair, there are definitely some similarities across for providers. For example, all the clear aligners we review are made from safe, BPA free plastic. Beyond their many similarities, clear aligners do have some minor differences from company to company.

Aligners are typically trimmed in one of two ways: straight across, or scalloped to match the gumline. A straight cut aligner can exert more force, since its overlap with the gums acts as an anchor. Since the scalloped aligners don’t have that same overlap, they are less noticeable, but aren’t quite as forceful; so it’s a bit of a tradeoff.

Some providers make their aligners from clear, shiny plastic, while others opt to use plastic with a slightly frosted appearance. This might seem a little counter intuitive, but frosted plastic is actually less noticeable than highly transparent plastic. Since teeth have a porous surface, a frosted aligner better mimics our natural matte smile—whereas a shiny aligner tends to be a little more noticeable.

Let’s see how Byte and Smile Direct have chosen to design their aligners:

Smile Direct was once the top of their class in terms of aligner quality, since their aligners were manufactured by Align Technology (the company behind Invisalign). But they’ve recently dissolved that partnership and shifted to making their own clear aligners instead. Hopefully the quality won’t drop with this transition, but it’s still too early to say for sure.

Byte is partnered with a trusted dental supplier, Dentsply Sirona. You can feel confident that your Byte aligners are made by a trustworthy company and are a high quality.

We are happy to see that both of these providers have opted for a straight cut aligner, prioritizing the effectiveness of their aligners.

Smile Direct’s frosted plastic makes for a slightly more discreet aligner than Byte. But keep in mind that appearance is subjective. Sure the frosted aligners are more subtle, but some customers like having an added gleam to their grins—it’s all about finding the clear aligner that works for you.

Treatment Oversight

Both of these providers keep an eye on your treatment, but they each have a unique approach. Both companies will ask for regular photo updates, but the frequency will vary from provider to provider. Let’s take a look at the details of treatment oversight from these two remote clear aligner providers.

Both of these providers ask for photos throughout your treatment, but you’ll get more frequent oversight with Byte than with Smile Direct.

Not sure how to capture clear images of your teeth? Not to worry—both Byte and Smile Direct include a cheek retractor in your treatment bundle. This helps move your cheeks aside so that you can easily take quality photos of your teeth. From there, you’ll just submit the photos to your Byte patient portal, or the Smile Direct app.

Both Smile Direct Club and Byte offer the flexibility of nighttime-only treatment. With this convenient option, you will only need to wear your aligners for 10 hours each day instead of the typically 20-22. Naturally, this option extends your treatment lengths, but with Byte the difference is minimal. Just 5 months, as opposed to their all-day treatment length of 4 months. On average, Byte’s At-Night treatment concludes in about half the time of Smile Direct’s.

Smile Direct Club’s treatment lengths aren’t too long, though; they match the industry average. However, Byte blows the competition out of the water with their HyperByte. This little device uses tiny, rapid vibrations to gently move your teeth to their final destination. It’s an integral part of both Byte’s daytime and nighttime treatment regimens.

Outside of your photo check-ins, if you want to reach your provider you’ll contact customer support.

Smile Direct Club definitely could do better in the customer service department, but we’re glad to see the improvements they’ve made already. For perspective, Smile Direct Club’s customer base rapidly grew in 2017 and their service department couldn’t quite keep up (you’ll see more complaints from 2017 than any other year on online reviews).

In contrast, Byte’s customer support is much better. They give individualized attention to each customer. That’s probably why so many people mention their representative by name in their online reviews.

Smile Tip: Thanks to the HyperByte device, Byte is able to offer shorter treatment lengths than any other clear aligner service. Smile Direct does not include a comparable device in their aligner bundle.

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Bang For Your Buck

One of the biggest draws to at-home clear aligner treatment is its comparative affordability to in-office options. But how much will you pay from start to finish, exactly? In this section, we’ll dig into the nitty gritty details about the pricing from Byte and Smile Direct Club.

With any home aligner company, you’ll kick off your treatment by taking impressions of your teeth. Most companies require you to use an at-home impression kit. However, a few companies, including Smile Direct Club, maintain retail locations that provide scans instead of impressions.

One of Smile Direct Club’s biggest edges over the competition is their SmileShops; they have hundreds of locations across the country. You can visit one of these shops and have images taken in person instead of impressions. If you do, it’s free!

Both Byte and Smile Direct Club provide a guarantee on your impression kit. If you send in impressions and it turns out that you’re not a good candidate for treatment, they’ll refund the kit price and any money you prepaid for aligners. If you are a candidate, though, you’ll pay the kit price regardless of whether or not you decide to get treatment.

Byte creates a nice blend of value and affordability with their aligner kit. You’ll get everything you need to straighten your teeth and keep them that way, including the HyperByte device and post-treatment retainers. Bought separately, the HyperByte costs a whopping $699, so you get a lot of value for your money.

With Smile Direct Club, the price you see is usually the price you get. Like Byte, they include all the aligners you’ll need to treat your smile. However, their post-treatment retainers are available at an additional cost ($99).

Can’t pay all at once? Thankfully, both services offer financing. And as long as you pay the down payment, there’s a 100% approval rate.

Both Byte and Smile Direct Club provide free whitening treatments with the purchase of aligners. If you want to purchase additional whitening kits, you’ll need to shell out a little extra cash.

On the surface, Smile Direct Club and Byte have similar prices. Smile Direct Club’s prices are fair, but Byte gives you more bang for your buck thanks to their HyperByte device and post-treatment retainers.

Customer Experience

The price and quality of your treatment are important aspects to consider, but so is how your provider treats their customers. Let’s take a look at what you can expect from the customer experience when you choose Byte or Smile Direct Club for your treatment.

Reviews

For many people, customer reviews can make or break purchase decisions. If you’re one of those shoppers, we’ve got you covered. We’ve done the legwork for you to see what customers across the web are saying about Byte and Smile Direct Club.

Smile Direct Club had some rough patches in the past. And while they’re not perfect just yet, they have made some improvements. The most common complaint they still get concerns re-evaluations for treatment. That isn’t ideal, but it’s the biggest drawback to any home aligners, no matter which company you choose. Making amendments remotely is more challenging than in person.

Smile Direct Club may be improving, but Byte definitely comes out on top in the customer reviews department. An overwhelming majority of Byte’s reviews are positive, and the few negative reviews they have are due to the limitations of home treatment, not the company itself. We attribute much of Byte’s success to their personal care assistants.

Guarantees

As with any purchase, there’s always the nagging question: what if it doesn’t work out? Byte and Smile Direct Club both have very individualized approaches for guarantees.

Strictly speaking, Byte has only one refund: their impression kit. If you’re not a candidate for treatment, you’ll be refunded for the impression kit. However, Byte stands by their product with their “Byte for Life” guarantee.

This guarantee is essentially a lifetime warranty. If your teeth ever shift after treatment, even years down the road, and through no fault of your own, Byte will send you new aligners to correct it. To hold up your end of the deal, be sure to stay up on wearing and replacing your aftercare retainers.

With Smile Direct Club, you have 30 days to change your mind about your aligners. If you try it out and decide it’s not right for you within that first month, you can return them for a full refund.

Smile Direct also offers lifetime touch-ups post-treatment. If your teeth shift out of position—and you wore and replaced your aftercare retainers as directed—Smile Direct will provide you with free aligners and get your smile back to its former glory.

What if I break an aligner?

Accidents happen; if you break or lose an aligner, reach out to your provider right away. They’ll help you determine if you need a replacement, or if you can move onto the next aligner in your treatment plan instead.

If you’re enrolled in the Byte Protection Plan, your replacement will be free. Otherwise, it will be $129 for all-day aligners, and $149 for At-Night aligners. Smile Direct generously replaces one aligner for free. You’ll need to pay for subsequent replacements, but the exact price will be determined by the Smile Direct dental team.

Refinements

Teeth can be a little more stubborn than expected, and in some cases you may need more aligner trays than your treatment plan originally accounted for. These extra aligners are called refinements, and some providers charge extra for them. Thankfully, Byte and Smile Direct include these trays for free.

If you reach the end of your Byte treatment and you’re not satisfied, you can request a re-evaluation. As long as you follow your prescribed treatment plan, Byte will provide you with reifnements to achieve the results you’re after.

Smile Direct’s refinements policy comes in the form of their Club Warranty. Smile Direct Club promises its “club members” (customers) that if they’re not totally satisfied with the results at the end of the treatment, they can request a re-evaluation and get new aligners to finish the job. To be eligible for this warranty, you must check in with your assigned doctor every 90 days, follow your prescribed treatment to a T, and submit any request for re-evaluation within 30 days of finishing treatment.

That being said, Smile Direct’s reviews feature many customers who said the refinements process was complicated and drawn out. To be fair, refinements do seem to be an area where most providers could improve. However, Smile Direct receives more negative reviews about this than most of their competitors. It’s one thing to have a generous refinements policy, it’s another to put that policy into action and deliver results.

Comfort

Let’s be clear; teeth alignment is never going to be a completely pain-free experience. That comes with the territory—even braces and Invisalign cause discomfort.

You can count on most of the soreness occurring when you switch to a new set of aligners; since these will have a snugger fit than the previous set. That’s where Byte’s proprietary HyperByte device comes in. Its small micropulses loosen your tooth’s ligaments to help alleviate discomfort and shorten your treatment.

Smile Direct is working on their Comfort Sense aligners. Though a new feature, it’s possible that this varied aligner firmness could improve the wear experience of their customers.

Best Alternatives to Byte and Smile Direct Club?

Byte and Smile Direct Club are both great companies, so if you’re drawn to either one, you’ll get excellent service. However, these two aren’t the only good options.

If you’re still curious about other companies, we’d also recommend checking out Candid. They’re our #2 favorite provider (behind Byte). Candid offers incredible treatment oversight due to their CandidMonitoring program, a robust system that helps you to send in regular photo updates to the Candid team and a local dentist. You can read more about Candid in our full review here.

If affordability is top of mind for you, you may want to check out AlignerCo for your treatment. Priced at $1,145, they’re by far the most affordable clear aligner provider on the market. If you’re curious about AlignerCo, check out our full review here.

Which Is the Best Home Aligner for You?

When it all comes down to it, Byte and Smile Direct Club are both good options. But at the end of the day, you can only pick one.

If you want our honest opinion, we prefer Byte. Smile Direct Club is not a bad service in any sense. But Byte is our favorite service across the board. We love their lifetime guarantee, treatment oversight, and excellent customer service.

Choose Byte if

You want to perfect your smile ASAP with top-quality customer service. Thanks to their HyperByte device, in certain cases Byte wraps up treatment in half the time of certain competitors. Not to mention they offer highly personalized customer support, and a lifetime guarantee on your smile.

Choose Smile Direct Club if

You want the confidence that comes from working with a well-established brand. Smile Direct Club has served more than 1.5 million customers, so they’ve probably already seen a case just like yours.

Final Verdict: Byte Wins! Based on our 5-part review criteria, Byte offers significantly better overall value than Smile Direct. We encourage you to take advantage of our exclusive Byte discount for $180 off your aligner bundle.

Read Byte Review Get $180 Off Byte

Frequently Asked Questions