Blog › Pricing Guide

How Much Does an AI Receptionist Cost in Australia?

Published April 2026 · Updated 3 September 2026 · Reviewed by Nithya Raja · 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 AI Receptionist starts from $249/month +GST (600 minutes included) and Nexwin AI Chatbot website chat from $129/month +GST (unlimited chat messages for normal business use; Fair Use Policy applies), 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 Publish About Pricing

Here's what Australian-market providers published on their own websites. The table was checked on 7 July 2026, with AiDial rechecked and added on 1 September 2026. Where a provider didn't publish pricing at the time of review, we say so.

Provider	Published entry price	Usage model	Setup fee
Nexwin (Nexwin AI Receptionist)	$249/month +GST	600 minutes included, then $0.49/min	None
Leva Relay	$199/month (single plan)	No per-minute charges advertised; trades-focused (ServiceM8)	None advertised
AiDial	From $149/month	60 calls per month; up to 5 connected minutes per call; $2.49 per extra call	None advertised
Johnni.ai	Not published	Not published	Not published
Fully Booked AI	Around $500+/month	Premium, high-touch service	Varies

Competitor figures came from each provider's public website (and Tradiespace's published Sophiie AI deal page) on 7 July 2026. AiDial was rechecked on 1 September 2026 using its public pricing page. Prices, taxes, allowances and policies change, so verify current terms with each provider.

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 600 on Business) suit predictable volume; check the overage rate ($0.39–$0.49/min at Nexwin) for busy months. "Unlimited" plans trade a higher base price for no meter.
Channels. Phone-only is the baseline. Website chat, SMS or email may be included, sold as an add-on or placed on a higher tier. Nexwin includes website-chat allowances with its AI receptionist plans; the standalone Nexwin AI Chatbot is $129/month +GST.
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 Business supports up to 5 simultaneous calls and Pro up to 10. Calls beyond the plan limit or affected by upstream outages require configured fallback handling.
Trial terms. Nexwin AI Receptionist trial lasts seven days and includes 100 call minutes. A card is required; there is no charge until the trial ends and the selected plan starts on day 8. Cancel anytime.

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, compare the service models in our virtual receptionist guide, and compare capability and availability specifically in AI phone receptionist vs virtual receptionist.

Compare Cost Against Your Own Workflow

The lowest advertised price may not be the lowest total cost. Use your own call volume, included minutes, overage rate, setup time and value per completed booking to compare options.

The example below compares 150 connected calls in one month. It uses published prices checked on 1 September 2026 and assumes every AiDial call remains within its five-connected-minute inclusion. It excludes GST, custom integrations, optional compliance features and other contract-specific charges.

Provider and plan	Published allowance	150 calls × 2 min	150 calls × 4 min	150 calls × 5 min	Website chat
Nexwin Business — $249/month +GST	600 call minutes; $0.49 per extra minute	$249	$249	$322.50	Included, subject to Fair Use Policy
AiDial Scale — $249/month	150 connected calls; up to 5 connected minutes each	$249	$249	$249	$50/month add-on when checked

This is a worked comparison, not a recommendation or complete quote. Confirm how partial, transferred, failed and longer calls are counted, whether tax applies, and which features or integrations are included before choosing a plan.

Nexwin does not guarantee extra bookings, revenue or payback. During a trial, count calls handled correctly, bookings completed, escalations and staff time saved, then decide whether the plan is worthwhile for your business.

How Much Does Nexwin Cost?

All Nexwin pricing is public — no sales call required:

Nexwin AI Receptionist — Business — $249/month +GST: 600 minutes included (then $0.49/min), up to 5 simultaneous calls and unlimited chat messages for normal business use, subject to the Fair Use Policy.
Nexwin AI Receptionist — Pro — $499/month +GST: 1,200 minutes (then $0.39/min), up to 10 simultaneous calls and unlimited chat messages for normal business use, subject to the Fair Use Policy.
Nexwin AI Chatbot (website chat) — $129/month +GST: unlimited chat messages for normal business use; Fair Use Policy applies.

The Nexwin AI Receptionist trial lasts seven days and includes 100 call minutes. A card is required at signup. There is no charge until the trial ends and your selected plan starts on day 8. Cancel anytime. See the current plans on the Nexwin pricing page.

Start your 7-day free trial Hear Nexwin AI Receptionist in action Book a 15-minute workflow demo

Seven days and 100 call minutes included. Card required. No charge until the trial ends and your selected plan starts on day 8. Cancel anytime.

Frequently Asked Questions

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.