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How Much Does an AI Receptionist Cost in Australia?

Published April 2026 · Updated 7 July 2026 · 9 min read

Short answer: in Australia, an AI receptionist typically costs between $99 and $500+ per month, depending on call volume, features, and whether pricing is published at all. AI phone answering generally starts higher than website-chat-only plans. For example, Nexwin's N-Voice AI phone receptionist starts from $249/month +GST (500 minutes included) and N-Chat website chat from $124/month +GST (5,000 messages included), with a 7-day free trial, free setup, and no lock-in contract.

The catch: several Australian providers don't publish pricing at all, and the ones that do use very different models — flat unlimited plans, included-minute plans with overage, and quote-only custom pricing. This guide shows the real numbers and how to compare them properly.

What Australian AI Receptionists Actually Charge (July 2026)

Here's what the major Australian-market providers publish on their own websites, checked 7 July 2026. Where a provider doesn't publish pricing, we say so — that's information too.

Provider	Published entry price	Usage model	Setup fee
Nexwin (N-Voice)	$249/month +GST	500 minutes included, then $0.50/min	None
Hey Jodie	From A$99/month (excl. taxes)	Unlimited minutes; smart features and integrations gated to higher tiers (A$199/A$399)	None advertised
Leva Relay	$199/month (single plan)	No per-minute charges advertised; trades-focused (ServiceM8)	None advertised
Sophiie AI	Not published — quote via sales team	Not published	Not published; partner site Tradiespace advertises "$400 off your setup fee", implying one exists
Johnni.ai	Not published	Not published	Not published
Fully Booked AI	Around $500+/month	Premium, high-touch service	Varies

Competitor figures taken from each provider's public website (and Tradiespace's published Sophiie AI deal page) as at 7 July 2026. Prices and policies change — verify with each provider before deciding.

Two patterns worth noticing. First, the market splits into published-price providers (Nexwin, Hey Jodie, Leva Relay) and quote-only providers (Sophiie, Johnni, most healthcare specialists) — if a provider won't tell you the price before a sales call, budget extra time and negotiating energy. Second, "unlimited minutes" plans usually gate the features that matter (calendar booking, integrations, transfers) to their mid or top tiers, so compare the tier you'd actually need, not the headline price.

What Drives an AI Receptionist's Price Up or Down?

Included call minutes and overage rates. Plans with included minutes (like Nexwin's 500 on Basic) suit predictable volume; check the overage rate ($0.40–$0.50/min at Nexwin) for busy months. "Unlimited" plans trade a higher base price for no meter.
Channels. Phone-only is the baseline. Adding website chat, SMS, or email handling adds cost — Nexwin prices these separately (N-Chat from $124/month +GST) so you only pay for channels you use.
Setup and onboarding fees. These range from $0 to several hundred dollars in the Australian market. Always ask — a "cheap" monthly plan with a large onboarding fee can cost more in year one.
Integrations. Calendar booking is often included; CRM, practice-management, or job-management integrations (ServiceM8, Xero and similar) are typically mid-tier features or custom work.
Concurrency. How many calls can it answer at once? Nexwin's Basic handles 5 simultaneous calls and Pro handles 10 — enough that no small business caller ever hears an engaged tone. Treat bigger numbers as marketing headroom rather than something you'll use.
Trial terms. A real free trial (Nexwin: 7 days, 100 minutes, card not charged) lets you hear the product on your own calls before paying anything.

How Does AI Receptionist Pricing Compare to the Alternatives?

The honest comparison isn't AI vs AI — it's AI vs what you'd otherwise pay to get the phone answered:

Full-time receptionist: roughly $60,000–$70,000/year in salary per SEEK's salary guide — around $6,100–$7,700/month once you add super, recruitment and overheads, for business-hours coverage only.
Traditional virtual receptionist service: commonly $1–$3 per call or $1.50–$2.50 per minute, which lands most small businesses at $300–$900/month — and per-call billing means your busiest month is your most expensive.
AI receptionist: $99–$500+/month flat, 24/7 coverage, with booking built in.

We break this down line-by-line (including part-time hires) in AI receptionist vs human receptionist: the real cost, and compare the service models in our virtual receptionist guide.

The Cost That Matters Most: Missed Calls

The cheapest option is not always the lowest price. If one missed enquiry is worth $300, $800, or $2,000 to your business, the cost of unanswered calls can quickly exceed the monthly software cost.

For tradies, clinics, and service businesses, the calculation is simple: if an AI receptionist captures even one extra booking each month, it has usually paid for itself. That's why the more useful question than "what's the cheapest plan?" is "which service will actually answer, book, and capture every call I currently miss?"

How Much Does Nexwin Cost?

All Nexwin pricing is public — no sales call required:

N-Voice Basic — $249/month +GST: 500 minutes included (then $0.50/min), 24/7 answering, Google Calendar booking, up to 5 simultaneous calls.
N-Voice Pro — $499/month +GST: 1,000 minutes (then $0.40/min), CRM integration, SMS notifications and summaries, up to 10 simultaneous calls.
N-Chat (website chat) — from $124/month +GST: 5,000 messages included.
Enterprise: custom pricing for 100+ simultaneous calls, SLAs, and dedicated support.

Every plan includes a 7-day free trial (100 minutes, card not charged during trial), free White-Glove onboarding, no setup fee, and no lock-in contract. See the current plans on the Nexwin pricing page.

View Nexwin Pricing Try AI Phone Receptionist

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the cheapest AI receptionist in Australia?

Among providers with published pricing (July 2026), Hey Jodie's entry plan at A$99/month is the lowest headline price for phone answering, though its smart features sit on higher tiers. Nexwin's N-Chat website chat starts at $124/month +GST if your enquiries come via your website rather than the phone. The cheapest plan that actually books appointments for you is the number to compare.

Do AI receptionists charge setup fees?

Some do, some don't. Nexwin, Hey Jodie and Leva Relay advertise no setup fee. Sophiie AI's setup fee isn't published, but its partner Tradiespace advertises "$400 off your setup fee" as a deal, which tells you one exists. Always ask for the year-one total: monthly price × 12 plus any onboarding cost.

Is "unlimited minutes" better than included minutes?

It depends on volume. A business doing a few hundred short calls a month rarely exceeds an included-minutes plan, and included-minute providers publish exact overage rates so the worst case is knowable. Unlimited plans suit very high call volumes — but check which features are gated to higher tiers before comparing headline prices.

Why do some providers hide their pricing?

Quote-only pricing usually means the provider tailors plans (and margins) per customer, or bundles setup and onboarding services into the deal. It's not automatically bad value — but you can't budget for it from their website, and you'll need a sales conversation before you know if it's affordable. See our Nexwin vs Sophiie AI comparison for a worked example.