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An AI receptionist in Australia costs between $49 and about $1,000 a month, depending on how many calls it takes for you. Here are the real prices from the main providers, checked in October 2026, and how to work out which one your business needs.
An AI receptionist in Australia costs between $49 and about $1,000 a month. Entry plans run from $49 to about $300, and bigger plans from about $200 to $1,000.
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 (October 2026)
These are the published prices on each provider's own pricing page, read on 6 October 2026. All are per month. For more AI receptionists side by side, including Johnni, Hey Jodie and Leva, see our AI receptionist comparison.
Sophiie AI. Receptionist Plus $299 plus GST for 250 reception minutes, bookings, web chat and an in-field app. Growth $399 plus GST for 500 minutes, with quotes, invoices and payments. Growth Plus $599 plus GST for unlimited minutes. Growth and Growth Plus carry an $800 plus GST one-off setup fee, and past your minutes it's 30c a minute. Its comparison page still mentions a free plan and a 14-day trial, but the price list shows neither, so ask.
Chime Labs. A free plan for test calls only. Essential $99 plus GST, so about $109 all in, for 100 minutes, then 25c a minute. Pro $399 plus GST, about $439, with uncapped minutes and booking into ServiceM8, Simpro, Fergus, Jobber and more. No lock-in, a 7-day trial with no card on its tradies page, and an optional $300 onboarding call.
Speako AI. Advance A$99 for 180 voice minutes (it estimates about 90 calls), Pro A$199 for 360 and Expert A$399 for 750, about 20% less paid yearly. The sign-up box also shows a $49 Starter with 60 minutes and a $79 Advance with 160, while the feature table gives Starter 120, so ask before you sign. 7-day trial, cancel anytime, no setup fees.
New Callings. Business $297 for 120 minutes, Professional $497 and Enterprise $997 with unlimited minutes, each with a local number, CRM integration and SMS summaries. The trial runs 7 days or 10 minutes, whichever comes first.
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 has the same core tools, and you keep your existing number.
A few things jump out. Tradies Line and Chime both have a free plan with no clock. Chime's only places test calls, while Tradies Line's answers your real calls once you add a $25 calls pack. Speako's sign-up box shows a $49 Starter, 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 and Sophiie add 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.
Sophiie's $299 plan includes 250 minutes, about $1.20 a minute before GST. Chime's $99 Essential works out at about $1 a minute for its first 100. On the Tradies Line Starter, 50 calls for $97 is under $2 a call, however long each call runs, up to the 10-minute cap. So a minutes plan wins only if your calls are short: at $1.20 a minute, a call longer than about a minute and a half costs more than a Tradies Line Starter call. At the Pro level, 500 calls for $297 is about 60 cents a call.
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 it pauses until the month resets or 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. Sophiie's price list shows an $800 plus GST one-off fee on its $399 and $599 plans, though not on its $299 plan, and the same page's footer says no setup fee, so ask. Chime's onboarding call is optional at $300. LANA charges a one-off training fee of $1,000 to $3,500. Speako says no setup charges, and Tradies Line has none.
What does a dedicated role cost, for comparison
Seek lists the average receptionist salary in Australia at roughly $60,000 to $70,000 a year as of October 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 plus GST, but they charge per call on top. Their introductory MyReceptionist plan is $39 plus GST 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 most of their plans take a message rather than booking the job. Booking is a separate plan, MyDiary, from $49 plus GST.
An AI receptionist at $97 to $299 answers your calls 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, around the 50 calls in a Starter plan. 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
Tradies Line is job management software with AI staff, not just a receptionist. Our prices are the full price. Nothing gets added at checkout, no setup fee, no overage, and every plan has the same core tools. You keep the number your customers already know, and the receptionist picks up when you do not. Once the job is booked, Wombo, the AI office manager, drafts the quote and invoice and chases what's owed.
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 about $1,000 a month as of October 2026, depending on how many calls or minutes the plan includes. Entry plans run from $49 to about $300, and bigger plans from about $200 to $1,000. Some providers add GST on top of the listed price, so check.
Is there a setup fee?
It depends on the plan. As of October 2026, Sophiie charges an $800 plus GST one-off setup fee on its $399 and $599 plans but not on its $299 plan, Chime Labs offers an optional $300 onboarding call, and LANA charges a training fee of $1,000 to $3,500. Speako and Tradies Line charge no setup fee. 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 until the month resets or you buy a top-up pack, 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. Seek lists the average receptionist salary in Australia at around $60,000 to $70,000 a year. A human answering service charges a small monthly fee plus a few dollars per call. An AI receptionist plan costs from $97 to $299 a month and works nights and weekends.
Can I try one before paying?
Yes. Speako and New Callings offer a 7-day trial (New Callings stops it at 10 minutes of calls), and Chime's tradies page offers 7 days with no card. Chime and Tradies Line also have a free plan with no expiry. Chime's places test calls only. 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.