The short answer
A human answering service is the cheapest way to have a person take a message: published Australian plans start from about $25 a month plus $2.60 to $4.10 a call. But a message isn’t a booked job, and booking with a person is usually charged by the minute, about $2.50 to $2.99. An AI receptionist answers 24/7 for a flat monthly price, mostly $49 to $399 a month, and can ask your questions, book the job and text the customer, with no per-call or after-hours fee inside its plan. Choose an answering service for a low number of calls that need a human voice. Choose AI when you get a lot of calls, after-hours spikes, or you want jobs booked and followed up.
AI receptionist vs answering service at a glance
| Human answering service | AI receptionist | |
|---|---|---|
| Who answers | A person at a call centre, working from your notes | AI, working from the questions and rules you set |
| How it’s priced | A monthly fee plus a charge for each call, or each minute to book jobs | A flat monthly plan, usually with a minute or call allowance |
| Typical price | From about $25 a month, plus $2.60 to $4.10 a call | Mostly $49 to $399 a month |
| Booking jobs | Often a dearer plan, about $2.50 to $2.99 a minute | Usually included in the plan |
| After hours and weekends | Usually covered. Some charge more per call after hours | Covered at the same plan price |
| Busy days | Every extra call costs more | Covered until the plan’s allowance runs out |
| Texts from customers | Usually calls only | Many answer texts as well |
| After the call | A message to you. You ring the customer back | Details sent to you, and the job booked where you’ve set that up |
| Odd or upset callers | A person can think on their feet | Works to your rules, and passes anything outside them to you |
What happens on the call
Say a customer rings at 7.40pm because their hot water has gone cold, and you’re at dinner.
With a basic answering service, a person answers in your business name, takes their name, number, address and a short note, and emails or texts it to you. The customer hangs up with a promise that you’ll call back. You ring them in the morning, from a number they may not have saved. Hiya’s 2026 State of the Call report found 86% of calls from unknown numbers go unanswered, so the callback often turns into phone tag, and the customer may have rung someone else first.
With an AI receptionist, the call is answered in your business name too. It asks the questions you’ve chosen (what kind of system, how old, is there any water leaking, where is the property), books the next free slot that fits your rules or takes the details for a quote, and texts the customer to confirm. If it’s urgent, it texts you straight away. You wake up to a booked job, not a message.
Some answering services do book jobs, usually on a per-minute plan, and a good operator handles an unusual call better than any AI. The difference is mostly what you pay for each step and whether the call ends with a booking or a message.
What each costs at 100 calls a month
Here’s 100 calls a month, each about 3 minutes, which is 300 minutes. Check your phone bill for your own numbers.
| Option | How it adds up | About a month |
|---|---|---|
| Answering service, messages only | $125 plan for 50 calls, plus 50 extra calls at $2.60 | $255 |
| Answering service, messages and transfers | $85 plan for 20 calls, plus 80 extra calls at $4.10 | $413 |
| Answering service, booking jobs | $100 plan for 20 minutes, plus 280 extra minutes at $2.99 | $937 |
| AI receptionist, $149 plan with 100 minutes | $149 plus 200 extra minutes at $1.50 | $449 |
| AI receptionist, $399 plan with 400 minutes | All 300 minutes included | $399 |
| LeadAI Starter, 250 conversations | 100 calls are inside the 250 | $200 to $250 |
| LeadAI Growth, unlimited inbound (fair use) | All calls included, plus four more AI staff | $253 to $317 |
Messages are cheap with a person. Booking jobs with a person is the dearest option on the table. And with both a per-call service and a minute-capped AI plan, a wet week or a heatwave that doubles your calls doubles what you pay for the extra calls.
When an answering service is the better choice
- You get a handful of calls a week and only need a message taken. At low volume, a per-call plan can cost less than any AI plan.
- Your callers need a human voice every time, for example elderly clients or sensitive calls.
- Most of your calls are unusual and need judgment, not a set of questions.
- You’d rather ring every customer back yourself before anything is booked.
When an AI receptionist is the better choice
- You get dozens of calls a week, and paying per call adds up.
- Your calls spike after hours, on weekends or in bad weather, when per-call and after-hours fees bite.
- You want the job booked on the first call, not a message you have to return.
- Customers text as well as ring, and you want both answered.
- You want every caller asked the same questions, so you can quote or turn up ready.
- You also want the enquiry and the quote followed up afterwards. That’s where AI staff go further than a receptionist of either kind.
Can you use both?
Yes. Some businesses keep a person for the calls that need one and let AI answer first, book the routine jobs and pass the rest on. Some answering services now sell AI-first plans of their own. Whatever you pick, decide in advance which calls go to a person and how fast.
Questions to ask either kind of service
- What does each call, minute or booking cost past the plan, and is there an after-hours surcharge?
- Does it book jobs into my calendar, or only take messages?
- How do urgent calls reach me, and how fast?
- Does it answer texts as well as calls?
- Is there a setup fee, a lock-in contract or an exit fee?
- Where are calls answered, and where are recordings and customer details stored?
- Can I ring it first and hear it for myself?
Where LeadAI fits
If you only need a few messages taken a week, an answering service will likely cost you less than LeadAI. LeadAI is for the business that wants calls answered and the work after the call done too.
Anna, our AI receptionist, answers every call and text, day and night, at the same price on weekends and public holidays. She takes the details, books or routes the next step inside the rules you set, and texts you straight away when something is urgent. Starter is Anna on her own, with 250 inbound conversations a month, for $750 a quarter or $2,400 a year plus GST.
Growth adds Emily, who follows up new enquiries and the quotes you’ve sent, Carol, who chases deposits and overdue invoices, Jenny, who asks for reviews and referrals, and SAM, a personal assistant you talk to. It’s $950 a quarter or $3,040 a year plus GST, with unlimited inbound calls (fair use) and no lock-in contract. You can ring Emily, one of our AI staff, on 0468 199 598 and hear her before you decide.
Questions people ask
- Is an AI receptionist better than an answering service?
- For a busy trade business that wants jobs booked, usually yes: it answers 24/7 for a flat monthly price and can book on the first call. For a few calls a week that need a human voice, an answering service can suit better and cost less.
- Is an AI receptionist cheaper than an answering service?
- At low call numbers, a message-only answering service is often cheaper. At around 100 calls a month, messages cost about $255 to $413 with a person, and booking jobs about $937, against $49 to $399 for most AI receptionist plans. These are our estimates from published Australian prices, before GST.
- How much does an answering service cost in Australia?
- Published plans start from about $25 a month plus $2.60 to $4.10 a call for messages or transfers. Booking jobs is usually charged by the minute, about $2.50 to $2.99, plus GST. Some charge more after hours.
- Do answering services work after hours?
- Most cover nights and weekends, but some charge more per call or per minute outside business hours. Check before you sign. AI receptionists usually answer around the clock at the same plan price.
- What happens to urgent calls with an AI receptionist?
- You decide what counts as urgent, like a burst pipe, no power or a gas smell. With LeadAI, Anna takes the details and texts you straight away, and you decide whether to head out.
Sources
More guides
- How much does an AI receptionist cost in Australia? (2026 prices)
Monthly price ranges, how plans are capped, the fees that aren’t in the headline price, a worked example at 120 calls a month, and what to ask before you sign.
- After-hours answering for tradies: how to cover nights, weekends and public holidays (2026)
The five ways to cover the phone outside business hours, what each costs in 2026, how to sort urgent calls from the rest, and how to set it up.
- Receptionist, answering service, VA or AI: what each really costs in Australia in 2026
Award wages, answering service per-call fees, offshore VA rates and AI plans, side by side, with the maths shown.
- What a missed call costs a tradie, and how to stop missing them
What the research says about slow replies, how to work out what your missed calls cost, and four ways to stop missing them.