Byte vs. SmilePath: An Honest Comparison

For decades, there were only two choices for people who wanted a straighter smile: braces or Invisalign. But today, there are several reputable companies in Australia that deliver clear aligners to customers’ homes, allowing people to align their smiles without ever visiting a dentist or orthodontist.

SmilePath and Byte are two of our favorite home teeth alignment companies, and they’re two of the most popular options in Australia as well. To help you discern which might be the better option for you, we put together this comparison guide, which covers all the details you need to make a well-informed decision.

Overview and Recommendation: Byte Wins

$2,749

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These are two highly respected companies, and they can both give you a dazzling new smile. But we still give Byte the edge. Here’s why.

• Treatment Efficiency: There’s evidence that the gentle micropulses from high-frequency vibration devices like Byte’s HyperByte can help reduce discomfort and encourage faster dental shifts for some customers. Byte says their average treatment plan is 4–5 months long, although your specific timeline largely depends on the severity of your misalignment.
• Lifetime Guarantee: The Byte for Life Guarantee ensures your smile for as long as you live. If your teeth shift after your treatment — even decades down the road — Byte will work with you to correct these issues for free!
• Exceptional Customer Support: Byte assigns each customer a personal advisor, who checks in to answer questions and concerns throughout the treatment process. Plus, you can reach customer support through the My Byte app, which keeps all your treatment info in one place.

Is Byte Right for You?

Byte tops our list of the best at-home teeth alignment companies in Australia, and SmilePath comes in at #4. The best treatment for you depends on your smile and priorities, but we think Byte’s efficiency, extensive guarantees, and top-notch customer service make them a fantastic option for anyone with a mild-to-moderate misalignment.

For our reviews, we consider five criteria — effectiveness, affordability, convenience, appearance, and customer experience — and in our opinion, Byte is the most attractive option out there.

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Effectiveness Comparison

When evaluating at-home aligners, the all-important question is: do they work? Choose Byte or SmilePath and the answer is a resounding yes. Both companies use high-quality materials without BPAs or phthalates, and both can reliably make cosmetic changes to your smile. They don’t possess the power or versatility of Invisalign, since they don’t incorporate any office visits or attachments, but if you’ve got a milder misalignment, either company can achieve the smile you want.

Clinical Expertise and Oversight

You might not visit a dentist in-person for your treatment, but that doesn’t mean you’ll miss out on their expertise. Both companies have remote teams of dentists who will review and approve your aligner plan before you begin.

If you choose SmilePath, you can submit photos of your dental arches every two weeks if you’d like their dental team to review your progress. This helps them spot and address any small issues before they can turn into big ones. It’s not as robust as hands-on treatment, but it’ll still provide some peace of mind.

Byte recommends that every customer use the My Byte app to upload photos of their teeth every two weeks, but they only require it for people with certain conditions. If you choose to complete every suggested upload, you’ll have some pretty robust oversight. If not, you won’t have any.

Manufacturing Quality

Dentsply Sirona acquired Byte in 2020, giving them the backing of a reputable dental manufacturing company that makes all kinds of dental materials and equipment. So you can be sure that Byte’s products are trustworthy and well-designed.

SmilePath also works with a widely respected dental supplies manufacturer: Raintree Essix. They first started producing clear aligners back in 2005, long before the first at-home alignment company opened its doors, and SmilePath uses Essix plastic to create their aligners, so you can be sure that you’re getting quality products.

Aligner Cut

Byte cuts their aligners straight across, which gives them more uniform force transfer and stress distribution, according to a 2022 study. SmilePath takes a different route, trimming their aligners to match each customer’s unique gum line. While straight-cut aligners are more effective, they can also be more noticeable, since they overlap the gums.

Technology

These companies both use the latest software solutions and 3D printing technology to produce their aligners. However, only Byte provides customers with the HyperByte — a device intended to reduce discomfort that may also accelerate tooth movement for some customers. They also design their aligners with a software called Smile Science, which considers all your facial features when crafting your perfect smile. SmilePath’s software still creates effective aligner plans, but it’s not quite as comprehensive.

Additionally, Byte has a mobile app where you can access your treatment information, get notifications on when to switch aligner sets, track your HyperByte usage, upload photos of your teeth, and contact customer support. It’s nice to have everything you need in one place. SmilePath doesn’t have an app. If you’d like to submit photos for review you’ll need to send them via email.

Affordability Comparison

When comparing teeth-straightening treatments, most people look for the price right away. After all, quality materials and excellent support don’t mean much if you can’t afford treatment. Every home aligner service costs hundreds or even thousands less than braces or Invisalign, and Byte is pretty budget-friendly for most customers — but SmilePath is the more affordable option here.

Sticker Price

At just $1,674, SmilePath has the lowest price point available for teeth alignment in Australia — plus, they occasionally offer discounts on their website that can take up to $400 off. Byte might not be the most expensive home aligner service, but their $2,749 sticker price is still one of the highest in the industry. In addition, Byte charges $3,399 for nighttime alignment, while SmilePath charges just $1,784.

Both include a free set of aftercare retainers with your aligner purchase. Plus, they both provide free whitening products so you can brighten your smile while you align it.

Payment Plan Options

If you’re like most people, you don’t have thousands of dollars sitting in a sock drawer, but that’s okay, because Byte and SmilePath have financing options that make their alignment services accessible to a wide range of customers.

Byte’s plans don’t require a credit check, so everyone qualifies. The rates depend on whether you choose their All-Day or At-Night plan. The All-Day plan includes fortnightly payments of $54.02 for 24 months, while the At-Night plan requires fortnightly payments of $66.52 for 24 months.

SmilePath offers three different payment plans — one that requires a credit check and one that doesn’t:

• The SmileFlex plan teams with Zip to provide an installment plan for 18 monthly payments of $92 with no down payment. However, this option requires a credit check.
• The SmileFlex Easy plan partners with Partial.ly and requires a $1,000 down payment followed by four monthly payments of $175. This plan does not require a credit check.
• The SmileFlex Pro plan is their newest financing option. It’s through Humm and requires a credit check and a $330 down payment, but has 52 fortnightly payments of just $25.37.

We love how both companies have payment plans that don’t require credit checks, making their treatment accessible even if you’re not confident in your credit score.

Free Extras

Many companies in this industry like to sweeten the deal by including some bonus items, and that’s certainly the case with Byte and SmilePath. Both include a free set of aftercare retainers — many competitors charge around $100 for retainers, and some charge as much as $165.

Byte also includes a bottle of BrightByte 3-in-1 whitening solution, which cleans and whitens your teeth while freshening your breath. You can use it along with your aligners, and it costs $49 if purchased separately. SmilePath also tosses in free whitening products if you purchase your aligners upfront or enroll in their SmileFlex plan.

Convenience Comparison

Every at-home aligner treatment is more convenient than braces or Invisalign because you’ll never even have to set foot in a dentist or orthodontist’s office during treatment. But office visits are only one aspect of convenience, and even though SmilePath offers a pretty streamlined process, we think Byte goes above and beyond to make treatment easy for their customers.

Getting Started

To get started with any teeth alignment treatment, you need to provide your dental care team with high-quality images of your teeth. This allows them to analyze your smile, determine if you’re a suitable candidate for their services, and create a preview image of your finished smile.

While some of their top competitors have retail locations or dental partnerships across Australia where you can get your teeth professionally scanned, Byte and SmilePath only offer at-home impression kits. This means that you’ll need to make molds of your teeth without assistance. Even though you don’t need to leave home to complete the kit, making perfect molds can be difficult, and some customers need multiple tries to get it right.

Treatment Time

On SmilePath’s standard all-day plan, most customers complete their treatment in 4–6 months, while their NightOnly aligners typically take 6–8 months. Byte says their treatment plans are usually designed to take 4–5 months (or 5–6 for their nighttime aligners). They attribute those times in part to HyperByte — some studies have shown that micropulses from devices like this might help teeth move faster. However, your treatment might take longer or shorter, depending on the severity of your misalignment. The more complex the case, the longer it takes to correct.

These timelines are much shorter than in-office options, which often take 12–18 months. Just remember that Invisalign and braces take longer because they take on more severe misalignments, while at-home aligners stick to milder cases.

Nighttime-Only Option

If you have a lot of work meetings or social engagements, the idea of wearing clear aligners for 22 hours every day might not be very appealing. Thankfully, both Byte and SmilePath offer nighttime-only plans that only require ten consecutive hours of daily wear.

Byte says their At-Night treatment plans average five months, but it carries a steep price tag of $3,399. Meanwhile, SmilePath NightOnly takes 6–8 months on average, but costs much less ($1,999).

Appearance Comparison

All clear aligners look far more natural than metal braces. That said, you might be surprised by how much their appearance can vary between companies. Everyone has different tastes, so even though Byte and SmilePath produce fairly similar aligners, which design looks best depends on your personal preferences.

Aligner Material

Both Byte and SmilePath produce smooth, transparent aligners, which might sound ideal for clear aligners. It’s true that these aligners are barely noticeable, but they don’t perfectly match your natural teeth surfaces. That’s because your teeth are porous and naturally have matte surfaces.

Transparent aligners are more reflective, so they might look artificially shiny. Competitors like Invisalign and SmileDirectClub use a frosted, textured plastic that does a much better job mimicking your real teeth. However, some people want a little extra shine in their smile, so they prefer smooth, clear aligners. It all depends on your unique tastes.

Aligner Cut

We already discussed this aspect in our “Effectiveness” section because the straight cut used by Byte is more powerful than SmilePath’s scalloped cut. However, straight-cut aligners can also be more visible, since people might see where the plastic overlaps your gums. So, even though SmilePath’s trimmed aligners lose some power, they’re also more inconspicuous.

Attachments

In-person treatments like Invisalign can correct severe misalignments in part because they let dentists place attachments on your teeth. These give the aligners more leverage and power, but also make them more visible. Since dentists affix attachments during office visits, Byte and SmilePath can’t use them, so you won’t have any extra hardware in your mouth.

Stain Resistance

All clear aligners are fairly stain-resistant, but we still wouldn’t recommend eating or drinking anything other than plain water while wearing them. You wouldn’t want to stain an aligner and have to keep wearing it until you’re ready to switch to your next set!

Customer Experience Comparison

Because home aligners don’t have regular check-ups with your dentist or orthodontist, you need to know that the company you choose will provide helpful answers, address your concerns, and deliver on their promises. If anything goes wrong — or if you just have a few questions along the way — you’ll want to be confident that they’ll have your back.

At-home aligner companies can’t match the personalization of in-office options like Invisalign, but SmilePath provides great support, and in our opinion, Byte goes even further to deliver a stellar customer experience.

Support Options

You can call Byte’s support team between 8:30am and 5pm AEDT, Monday–Friday, or reach out via email or social media anytime. Byte also has an app called My Byte where you can message their customer support team directly. SmilePath doesn’t list their hours, but you can contact them by phone, email, and social media, or use their webchat feature, which is available 24/7.

We’ve experienced great customer support from both companies, no matter how we reached out. Their representatives respond quickly with accurate, helpful answers.

Responsiveness and Helpfulness

It’s always important to go beyond our own experiences to see if customers have the same opinions. That’s why we examine each company’s customer feedback as well.

Byte has thousands of reviews compared to SmilePath’s hundreds, but both companies receive pretty consistent positive feedback. Their customers rave about the convenience of their treatments, and their low prices compared to traditional orthodontics.

Some customers have complained that Byte didn’t straighten their teeth as much as they expected, and some SmilePath customers reported slow turnaround times, but these negative reviews are few and far between.

Satisfaction Guarantee

Byte and SmilePath both provide a full refund for your impression kit if you’re not a suitable candidate for treatment. And if you reach the end of your aligner plan, but your smile doesn’t match the one from your treatment preview, each company will create refinement aligners to finish the job. Byte will create these extra aligners for free, and SmilePath may charge you an extra $200.

And Byte doesn’t stop there — they also put a lifetime guarantee on your smile. This Byte-for-Life Guarantee promises to create new aligners if your teeth ever shift out of place, as long as you’ve purchased two sets of retainers per year and worn them as directed.

Company Backgrounds

Founded in 2018 in the US, Byte has taken impressive steps in reducing treatment times and prioritizing customer service. Co-founder and Chief Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Jon Marashi has a star-studded portfolio of A-list patients, but started Byte to bring his Hollywood-tested treatments to the mainstream. They’re making waves with their innovative technology and exemplary customer support, and have quickly become one of the industry’s top competitors. They made their first foray into international markets in 2020 by expanding to Australia.

SmilePath is relatively new to the at-home aligner market, but they’ve gained popularity by offering some of the lowest prices you’ll find. They’ve also found huge success in the US under the brand name AlignerCo, and in the UK, where they’re called Straight My Teeth. So even though they don’t have an extensive track record, they’ve got experience transforming smiles on three different continents.

Which Should You Choose?

These are both great companies, and they can both deliver stunning smile transformations. But while their products are similar, they’re far from identical, so let’s quickly walk through some scenarios where you might prefer one over the other.