AI Receptionists in Australia: 2026 Prices Compared, and How to Choose

An AI receptionist answers your business phone with software instead of a person: it picks up every call, answers from your own prices and hours, and then books the job, takes a message or puts the caller through to you. In Australia in October 2026, a plan that covers 100 calls a month costs from about A$99 to A$330 a month on published prices. The differences that matter most are what each service counts (calls, minutes or neither), whether it books into a real calendar, what happens when a caller wants a person, and where the call data goes.

We make one of these, the OneBookPlus AI Receptionist, so read this as a comparison written by a vendor. Every competitor price below was read off that company's own pricing page on 7 October 2026, and the full comparison of 26 AI receptionist alternatives links each one to its source.

What 100 calls a month costs

The cheapest published plan on each service that covers 100 calls averaging 3 minutes (300 minutes), overage included.

Longer calls raise every minute-billed figure. Sophiie publishes no prices on its main site, Uniden Voice does not publish its talk-time rate, and ServiceM8's Phone Agent needs a ServiceM8 subscription on top of its phone plan, so those three cannot be worked the same way.

What to check before you choose

• What it counts. Minutes, calls, unique callers or nothing. A flat plan costs the same in a quiet month and a busy one; a minute plan costs more when calls run long. Ask what happens past the allowance: an overage charge, a cap, or messages only.
• Whether it books, or only takes a message. Some services write the booking into a real calendar and check your availability as they go. Others text the caller a link to book themselves, and some on their entry plans only take details.
• What happens when a caller wants a person. Ask who the call goes to, and what the caller hears if nobody picks up.
• Keeping your number. Most services work by diverting your existing number to theirs, which your phone company sets up in a minute. Porting a number across outright takes weeks. Check that the caller's own number still comes through on a diverted call, so returning customers are recognised.
• Texts. Ask whether customers can text the number and get answers, or whether it only sends texts.
• Where the call data goes. Under Australian Privacy Principle 8, a business that sends personal information overseas generally stays accountable for how it is handled. Ask where transcripts and recordings are stored, and where the live call is processed.
• Recording. Rules on recording calls differ between states. Ask whether the greeting tells callers, and how long recordings are kept. This is general information, not legal advice.
• Setup fees and contracts. These run from nothing to several thousand dollars.
• Receptionist or phone system. A receptionist answers the number you send to it. A phone system with AI built in also gives your team desk phones, extensions and call queues.
• Your job software. If your jobs live in ServiceM8 or Simpro and are staying there, a receptionist that writes into that system saves double entry.

OneBookPlus runs quoting, invoicing, bookings, jobs and GST-ready accounting in one Australian app. See what that looks like for tradies.

The services, by what they are built for

Receptionists inside the software you run on

OneBookPlus AI Receptionist. An add-on inside OneBookPlus, the Australian platform for bookings, quotes, invoices, CRM and accounting. It answers every call 24/7 in a natural English voice (Australian by default), asks the questions your booking page asks, such as the address or the rego, and books straight into the OneBookPlus calendar. When a caller asks for a person, it rings the mobile you choose and puts them through; if nobody answers in about 25 seconds, the caller is told the team will ring back and the call is flagged for you. The AI Receptionist is A$79 a month inc. GST and runs on AI Companion at A$25 a month, which the Growth plan includes. It comes with 100 calls and texts each billing month, and a call up to 4 minutes counts once. One Australian local number is included; it takes calls only, and a mobile number (A$22 a month) adds two-way texting. Transcripts and call records are kept in Australia, while the live call passes through phone and voice providers in the United States. Choose it if you run, or want to run, your bookings and invoices on OneBookPlus. Look elsewhere if you need another language, a phone system for a team, or your jobs are staying in other software.

ServiceM8 Phone Agent. The job app's own AI phone agent. It answers, handles FAQs, transfers calls, takes messages, and can text a booking link or submit an online booking for the caller. It comes in the app's Connect phone plan that carries the agent, at A$49 a month for 500 minutes (then 8c a minute), on top of the paid job app subscription.

Leva Relay. Built around ServiceM8: during the call it creates the job and checks your schedule, and it answers your existing number by forwarding. The price is A$199 a month, with no setup fee and no per-minute charges.

LANA. An Australian trades CRM whose AI receptionist starts at A$300 a month plus A$1,000 training. Its middle tier, A$399 a month plus A$1,500 setup, also creates the job in your trade job software.

Standalone Australian AI receptionists

Sophiie. One of the most established Australian AI receptionists, with its own CRM, chatbot, call transfers and recordings, and integrations with ServiceM8, Simpro and Xero. No prices on its main site; you book a demo.

Johnni. Brisbane-built and tuned for trades, with warm transfer, recordings, and integrations with the main trade job apps. From A$49 a month plus GST billed monthly (60 minutes, then 50c a minute).

Hooroo. Known for its natural Australian accent. Books during the call and transfers calls. Pro is A$149 a month inc. GST with 100 minutes, then 20c a minute.

Kaylo. Records every call, books into your calendar and transfers live. From A$99 a month for 100 minutes, then 80c a minute.

AiDial. Sold per call (each covers up to 10 minutes) and keeps all data onshore, including the live call. From A$149 a month for 60 calls, with setup quoted per scope of work.

Valory and VerticalAI. Managed or built-for-you voice agents. Valory starts at A$149 a month for 100 minutes with setup from A$990; VerticalAI starts at A$299 a month inc. GST for 500 minutes, with built and integrated agents from A$2,490.

Phone systems with AI built in

Uniden Voice. An Australian cloud phone system with desk phones, apps, queues and AI agents that answer on your own numbers, book and warm-transfer. AI agents start at A$49 a week plus talk time by the minute, on top of a phone plan.

RingCentral AI Receptionist. An add-on to RingCentral's phone system from A$62 a month for 100 minutes, then 80c a minute. It routes calls across your team; appointment booking is marked coming soon.

Dialpad. A full business phone and contact-centre platform; its AI agents are quote-only.

Low-cost services priced in Australian dollars

Hey Jodie. Run by a UK company, with unlimited minutes from A$99 a month (tax added at checkout), booking and live transfer on every plan. Its privacy policy says call data is processed in Ireland and the United States.

Ring Jenny. From A$79 a month for 150 minutes; booking and transfer start on its A$149 plan.

People rather than AI

OfficeHQ has Australian receptionists, plus an AI plan from A$20 a month for 10 calls up to A$600 for 500 (plus GST). Ruby has US-based receptionists from US$250 a month for 50 minutes. Smith.ai blends AI with US live agents, from a free plan with 25 calls.

How to choose, by business

• Mechanics and auto electricians. You need the rego, the make and model and the kilometres on every booking, and urgent calls put through to the workshop. Pick a receptionist that asks your own questions and books into the system your jobs live in.
• Tradies on ServiceM8 or Simpro. If you are staying put, ServiceM8's Phone Agent, Leva Relay, LANA or Johnni write into those systems. If you are moving your jobs and invoices to one platform, a receptionist inside it removes the double entry.
• Salons, clinics and studios. Booking accuracy matters more than anything; check that it reads the real calendar and only offers open times.
• A person on every call. OfficeHQ or Ruby.
• A team that needs a phone system. Uniden Voice, RingCentral or Dialpad.
• The live call must stay in Australia. AiDial says all data stays onshore.

Frequently asked questions

What does an AI receptionist cost at 100 calls a month? On published prices in October 2026, a plan covering 100 calls a month costs from about A$99 to A$330, before any setup fee. Check what the price counts: minute-billed plans cost more when calls run long, and several prices are quoted before GST.

Is an AI receptionist worth it for a small business? Compare the monthly price with the work a missed call costs you, not with a receptionist's wage. If one missed call a month would have been a A$300 job, a plan under A$150 that answers every call pays for itself.

Can I keep my business number? Usually yes. Most services work by diverting your existing number to theirs, which you set up with your phone company in a minute, and the caller's own number still comes through. Moving a number across outright is a carrier process that takes weeks.

Will callers know they are talking to AI? They should. A good greeting says it is an automated assistant before the conversation starts. Ask each vendor what its greeting says.

Should I pick an AI receptionist or a human answering service? A virtual receptionist is usually a person working off-site, billed per minute or per call, covering set hours. An AI receptionist answers every call at once, at any hour, on a monthly plan, and the better ones book the job while the caller is on the line.

The bottom line

Work out what you need the receptionist to do with a call: book it, pass it to a person, or write it into your job software. Then compare the price at your own call volume and length, and check where the call data goes. For every vendor's published price with its source, see the comparison of AI receptionist alternatives in Australia, and for how the OneBookPlus receptionist handles a call, read the AI Receptionist feature page.