)
An AI receptionist in Australia costs between $49 and about $900 a month, depending on how many calls it takes for you. Here are the real prices from the main providers, checked in September 2026, and how to work out which one your business needs.
An AI receptionist in Australia costs between $49 and about $900 a month. Most sole traders land somewhere from $97 to $199. A growing crew usually pays $297 to $399.
That is the short answer. The longer answer is that every provider counts your usage differently, so two plans with the same monthly price can cover very different amounts of work. Here is how the pricing really works, what the main Australian providers charge right now, and how to pick the right size for your business.
What you are paying for
An AI receptionist answers your business phone when you cannot. It talks to the caller, works out what they need, books the job or takes their details, and texts you and them a confirmation. You pay a monthly fee for that, and the fee goes up with volume.
Providers measure volume in one of three ways:
Calls. You get a number of answered calls a month. Simple to picture. A burst-pipe call and a wrong number both count as one, though most providers ignore calls that hang up in the first few seconds.
Minutes. You get a pool of talk time. Cheaper on paper, but a chatty customer eats your allowance faster than a quick booking.
Actions or credits. Some providers also meter the extra things the AI does, like sending a quote or drafting a reply. Handy if you use those, confusing if you do not.
The other thing to check is what happens when you run out. Some providers charge you per extra minute automatically. Others stop and let you buy a top-up. The second one is easier to budget for. You cannot get a surprise bill from a plan that stops at zero.
What the main Australian providers charge (September 2026)
These are the published prices on each provider's own pricing page, read on 5 September 2026. All are per month.
Sophiie AI. Free plan at $0 with 25 AI actions and no calls. Starter $99 for 30 calls, 300 SMS and 150 AI actions. Pro $299 for 500 calls, 2,500 SMS and 1,500 AI actions. Max $819 for 2,500 calls. Enterprise is priced on request. Full features on every paid plan.
Chime Labs. Sole Traders $199 plus GST, so about $219 all in. Teams $399 plus GST, about $439. Both come with a 7-day free trial and no lock-in. Their overflow and after-hours product is quoted after a call, and the pricing page does not publish a call limit.
Speako AI. Starter $49 and Advance $79. The pricing cards say 60 and 160 voice minutes, while their help centre lists 120 and 180 minutes for the same plans, so ask before you sign. Pro and Expert are not priced on the public page. 7-day trial, cancel anytime.
New Callings. Business $297, Professional $497, Enterprise $997, each with an Australian number, calendar booking and SMS summaries. 7-day trial, no setup fee.
Tradies Line. Free $0 with 50 AI credits a month and the full dashboard, no card and no expiry. Starter $97 for 50 calls, 300 SMS and 1,000 AI credits. Pro $297 for 500 calls, 2,000 SMS and 5,000 AI credits. Enterprise from $897 for 1,500 calls. Every plan gets the same features, and you keep your existing number.
A few things jump out. Sophiie and Tradies Line both give you a real free plan with no card and no clock. Speako is the cheapest way in, but you are buying minutes, not calls, so work out how long your average call runs before you compare it to a per-call plan. Chime is a flat fee with GST on top. New Callings starts where most others' mid plans sit.
The cheapest plan is not always the cheapest
Divide the monthly price by the calls included and the picture changes.
On Sophiie's Starter, 30 calls for $99 is about $3.30 a call. On the Tradies Line Starter, 50 calls for $97 is under $2 a call. At the Pro level the two are almost identical, roughly 60 cents a call on both.
Then look at what happens on a big month. If you go over, do you get a bill or a top-up? At Tradies Line there is no overage on any plan. When a meter hits zero the receptionist stops taking new calls until you buy a pack: 25 calls for $25, 200 SMS for $30, or 1,000 AI credits for $20, good for 30 days. You decide when to spend, not the meter.
Also check for a setup fee. None of the providers above charge one right now, but that was not true a year ago, and some of the managed services further up the market still ask for one.
What does a dedicated role cost, for comparison
A full-time receptionist in Australia is listed on Seek at roughly $60,000 to $70,000 a year as of September 2026. Add superannuation and leave and the real number is higher. That is about $5,000 to $6,000 a month for one person who works business hours and takes holidays.
A human answering service is the middle option. Plans like OfficeHQ's start from around $25 to $49 a month, but they charge per call on top. Their introductory MyReceptionist plan is $39 for 15 calls a month, so about $2.60 a call. Take a couple of hundred calls and the bill is several hundred dollars, and they take a message rather than booking the job.
An AI receptionist at $97 to $299 answers every call, at night and on weekends, and books the job into your calendar while you are still on the tools. The maths is not close. One booked job that would have gone to voicemail usually covers the month.
How to pick the right size
Count your missed calls for a week, not your total calls. The AI only needs to handle the ones you cannot get to. Most sole traders miss 5 to 15 a week when they are on the tools, which is 20 to 60 a month, right in Starter territory. A crew with a couple of vans and a phone that rings all day is a Pro plan.
Then check three things on the plan you are looking at:
Does the price cover the calls you will actually miss, with some room for a busy month?
What happens when you go over: a top-up you choose, or a charge you find out about later?
Is the price the full price, or is GST going on top?
Start on a free plan if the provider has one. You get to hear how the receptionist talks to your customers before you put a dollar in.
Where Tradies Line sits
Our prices are the full price. Nothing gets added at checkout, no setup fee, no overage, and every plan has the same features. You keep the number your customers already know, and the receptionist picks up when you do not.
Free is a real plan, not a trial. Full dashboard, quotes, invoices, CRM and 50 AI credits a month, forever. Add a $25 calls pack any time and it will answer your own phone for 30 days so you can hear it for yourself.
Start free. No card, no time limit. Upgrade when the calls justify it.
Common questions
How much does an AI receptionist cost in Australia?
Between $49 and roughly $900 a month as of September 2026, depending on how many calls or minutes the plan includes. Most sole traders pay $97 to $199. A team with a busy phone usually pays $297 to $399. Some providers add GST on top of the listed price, so check.
Is there a setup fee?
Not with Sophiie, Chime Labs, Speako, New Callings or Tradies Line at the time of writing. Some managed services aimed at larger businesses still charge one, sometimes over $1,000, so ask before you sign anything.
What happens if I go over my plan's calls?
It depends on the provider. Some charge per extra minute automatically. Tradies Line stops at zero and lets you buy a top-up pack instead, so you never get a bill you did not choose. Read the overage line on any pricing page before you compare monthly prices.
Is an AI receptionist cheaper than a full-time team role?
Yes, by a long way. A full-time receptionist in Australia costs around $60,000 to $70,000 a year before super. A human answering service charges a small monthly fee plus a few dollars per call. An AI receptionist costs $97 to $299 a month for most trade businesses and works nights and weekends.
Can I try one before paying?
Most providers offer a 7-day trial. Sophiie and Tradies Line go further with a free plan that has no card and no expiry. On Tradies Line, a $25 calls pack on the Free plan lets it answer your real phone for 30 days.
Ready to hand the office over?
Jobs, quotes, invoices and every customer message in one place, with Wombo, your AI office manager, doing the admin while you're on the tools. Free to start, no card.