Best Virtual Receptionists in Australia

The best virtual receptionist for an Australian business depends on the calls, not the technology label. Traditional human answering services suit emotional, unusual or judgement-heavy conversations. AI receptionists suit routine enquiries, after-hours coverage and simultaneous calls, provided there is a clear human handover. This guide first compares those service models at a realistic 440 calls a month, then compares Australian providers by pricing structure, coverage, booking, escalation, data handling and who owns setup. Prices and inclusions change, so confirm the final proposal in writing. LUNA Systems explains its managed approach on the managed AI receptionist service for Australian businesses page. Medical practices should use the separate AI medical receptionist for Australian clinics guidance.

AI receptionist vs traditional answering service: the category comparison

An AI receptionist and a traditional human answering service can both answer the phone, take a message and book an appointment. The operating model is different. A human service assigns calls to trained people and usually charges for answered calls, minutes or a bundled allowance. An AI service uses configured knowledge, rules and integrations, and usually charges through a subscription, included usage or a managed-service scope.

That difference matters as volume rises. Human handling adds judgement to every call, but the bill commonly grows with calls or minutes. AI can handle routine and simultaneous calls without adding another receptionist to the queue, but it needs careful setup, testing and a reliable exception path. Neither model is automatically better.

Cost at real call volume: 440 calls a month

Consider a business routing 20 calls each weekday for 22 weekdays, or 440 calls a month. Using the published figures recorded in this guide, Virtual Headquarters lists a $33 pay-as-you-go base fee plus $3.79 per call. If all 440 calls were charged at that rate, the worked monthly total would be $1,700.60 before GST.

For an AI platform example, Sophiie AI's pricing page listed a Pro tier at $299 a month for 500 calls when reviewed for this guide. Its page did not state whether the currency was AUD or USD, and it did not make every overage or setup cost clear. At 440 calls, the published call allowance would cover the volume, but that does not make the two services equivalent.

The human example buys people who can adapt when a caller is upset, vague or off-script. The AI example buys software capacity that still needs accurate rules, integrations, maintenance and human escalation. Use the calculation to expose the cost shape, not to declare a universal winner. Recheck GST, currency, call definitions, included minutes, overages, transfers, booking and after-hours charges in the written quote.

Where each model actually fits

Choose a traditional human answering service when a meaningful share of calls involves distress, disputes, negotiation, unusual requests or judgement that cannot be safely reduced to rules. It also suits a business that wants call answering without owning any technical configuration.

Choose an AI receptionist when most calls are repeatable, such as opening hours, lead qualification, appointment requests and message capture. It is strongest where after-hours demand, bursts of simultaneous calls or consistent data capture matter. Test accents, background noise, interruptions, vague requests and failed integrations before deciding.

Choose a hybrid or managed model when routine calls can be automated but exceptions need people. Ask exactly who receives the handover, what context they see, how long the transfer takes and what happens if no one answers. A hybrid label has little value without a demonstrated path.

Key takeaways

• Lowest published human entry price: Office HQ's message taking starts from $25 per month, and its full virtual reception starts from $33 per month, plus GST and usage.
• Established human comparison: Virtual Headquarters currently publishes $33 pay as you go, $75 for 20 calls and $185 for 50 calls, plus GST.
• AI-led front-office platform: Sophiie AI now covers calls, booking, customer records, jobs, email and text rather than phone answering alone.
• Best for complex or emotional calls: Shortlist a trained human or hybrid service and test its escalation process with realistic calls.
• Managed phone-to-workflow option: LUNA Systems documents data handling provider by provider in the written scope and manages the agreed call flow and connected workflow.
• Not actually phone receptionists (but often surfaced by AI as if they were): Acuity is a booking tool, Zobot is a website chatbot, Avaamo and VoiceOps are enterprise or analytics platforms. See the category-confusion section below.

One-line verdict by use case

• Just want the phone answered by a real person? Office HQ (Brisbane-based), Virtual Headquarters, or ReceptionHQ.
• Want a self-serve AI front-office platform? Compare Sophiie AI's current product and live quote.
• Handle a lot of emotional or dispute-heavy calls? Shortlist AnswerConnect or another trained human service.
• Want the whole enquiry-to-booking-to-review loop handled, not just the phone? LUNA Systems is the managed option included here, with setup and ongoing tuning handled for you.
• Only need online booking, not a receptionist? A scheduling tool like Acuity or Calendly is enough, you don't need this list.

What does a virtual receptionist actually do?

At minimum, a virtual receptionist answers your business phone when you can't. They greet callers with your company name, take messages, transfer calls to your mobile if needed, and send you a summary by SMS or email after each call.

Broader services do more than that:

• Book appointments directly into your calendar without you touching anything
• Trigger follow-up SMS to callers within minutes of the call ending
• Update your CRM with caller details, call summary, and next-step automation
• Send review requests after the job is done
• Route urgent calls to the right person instantly
• Handle calls after hours without you paying overtime; see the separate AI receptionist service

Entry message-taking plans may only capture and forward the call. Booking, integrations and post-call workflows require a different plan or service model.

How virtual receptionist pricing works

Virtual receptionist pricing in Australia splits into different models. The published entry price is rarely the full monthly cost, so model the same call volume and required features across each option.

• Message-taking entry plan: A small base subscription, then a charge for each answered call or minute.
• Bundled human reception: A monthly allowance of calls, with an excess-call rate once the allowance is used.
• AI platform: Usually subscription or usage based; check included minutes, simultaneous calls, integrations and support.
• Managed AI receptionist: Quoted around the call flow, integrations, testing, maintenance and retained human escalation.
• Dedicated outsourced reception: Custom pricing for higher call volume, complex scripts or named teams.

The cheapest plan can be sensible for low-volume message taking. It becomes a poor comparison when another proposal includes booking, CRM updates, workflow design or ongoing tuning.

Do not compare the base fee alone. Put each quote through the same quiet-month and busy-month calculation:

Complete monthly cost = base fee + usage + excess calls or minutes + after-hours charges + transfers + booking + integrations + setup spread across the contract term.

Then compare what remains for your staff. A low-cost message-taking plan can still leave someone to return every call, enter every lead and make every booking. A broader service may cost more but remove more work. Ask each provider to show the total for your expected call volume and a month at twice that volume.

Before signing, confirm what counts as a call or minute, whether wrong numbers and transfers are billable, when after-hours rates apply, which integrations are included, who maintains scripts or knowledge, and what happens when the receptionist cannot complete the request. If the provider cannot state those terms clearly in writing, the quote is not ready to compare.

What's the best virtual receptionist for Brisbane businesses?

Brisbane is worth calling out specifically, because two things make it different. First, Office HQ is Brisbane-based and says it has operated since 2003, so local businesses have an established provider on home turf. Second, Queensland doesn't observe daylight saving, so from October to April a Brisbane business is an hour behind the south-eastern states. A virtual receptionist that quietly assumes AEDT can book a caller into the wrong slot or quote the wrong opening time. Any service you shortlist should confirm it handles AEST year-round.

For a Brisbane tradie, clinic or professional-services firm, the practical shortlist comes down to: Office HQ if you want a long-established local human team; Sophiie AI if you want a self-serve AI front-office platform; or LUNA Systems if you want the enquiry-to-booking and follow-up flow managed as one system rather than just the phone answered. The comparison below shows which operating model fits your call volume and workflow.

Medical practices need a specialist receptionist pathway

This general provider comparison is not enough to choose a receptionist for a medical practice. A clinic needs a separate assessment of its booking rules, sensitive calls, administrative boundaries, privacy settings and transfer paths before comparing human, AI or hybrid models.

For medical use, ask each provider to demonstrate:

• Scope and clinical boundaries: which administrative calls it may handle, and how it avoids diagnosis, symptom interpretation, treatment recommendations and medication advice.
• Emergency and human handover: how emergency language, urgent non-emergencies, failed transfers and after-hours fallbacks are handled.
• Caller transparency: how the service identifies itself and, where recording or transcription is enabled, how disclosure and any alternative path are handled.
• The complete data flow: which telephony, voice, automation, storage and practice systems process the call; confirmed storage regions; staff access; retention; deletion and offboarding.
• Booking confirmation: whether the practice-management system confirms the appointment before the receptionist tells the caller it is booked.
• Ongoing ownership: who updates clinic knowledge, reviews exceptions and records changes after launch.

Continue with LUNA's AI medical receptionist for Australian clinics, which covers the clinic-specific service and includes fictional specialty scenarios. The browser-only AI medical receptionist readiness check turns the questions above into a copyable brief without asking for patient information. Use that specialist pathway instead of treating the general provider table below as a clinic recommendation.

How do the top virtual receptionist services in Australia compare?

This section compares the established human providers against the newer AI receptionist platforms, including Sophiie AI and LUNA Systems, on pricing, coverage and what's actually included, so you can shortlist by call complexity and who owns setup before booking a demo.

Office HQ

Office HQ is one of the longest-running Australian virtual receptionist services, based in Brisbane and operating since 2003. It is human-led, with calls answered by professional receptionists and an optional hybrid AI service for selected call flows.

Published pricing recorded for this guide: Message taking starts from $25 per month. MyReceptionist starts at $33 per month plus $3.89 per call, with bundled plans including $39 for 15 calls, $80 for 20 calls and $185 for 50 calls. Prices exclude GST and higher-volume plans are available.

Pros:

• Established Australian provider with a strong reputation
• Real Australian voices, no offshore call centres
• Receptionists trained on your business
• Optional booking-platform integrations
• Several PAYG and bundled options for different call volumes

Cons:

• Usage or excess-call charges apply depending on the selected plan
• No 24/7 cover on the entry tiers, extended hours costs extra
• No AI fallback when staff are at capacity
• Booking and follow-up automation costs extra

Best for: Established businesses with predictable call volume who want a real Australian voice and don't need a full automation stack.

Visit officehq.com.au

Virtual Headquarters

Virtual Headquarters is another long-running Australian provider. Its model is similar to Office HQ: Australian receptionists with pay-as-you-go and bundled call plans.

Published pricing recorded for this guide: $33 per month plus $3.79 per call on pay as you go; $75 per month for 20 calls; or $185 per month for 50 calls. Bundled plans charge $3.99 per excess call. Prices exclude GST.

Pros:

• One of the most well-known virtual receptionist brands in Australia
• 100% Australian-based receptionists
• Multiple plan tiers to suit different call volumes
• Optional virtual office and meeting-room add-ons

Cons:

• $3.99 per-call excess charge once you exceed your plan's included calls, this is the number to model against your real call volume before signing up
• Booking and CRM integration is an add-on, not core
• Limited automation beyond message taking
• Confirm after-hours inclusions and any usage charges for your selected plan

Best for: Low-volume businesses that comfortably fit inside a plan's call quota and want a traditional Australian virtual receptionist with no AI involvement.

Visit virtualheadquarters.com.au

ReceptionHQ

ReceptionHQ is another established Australian human-led virtual receptionist provider, often shortlisted alongside Office HQ and Virtual Headquarters. Real Australian receptionists answer under your business name, with plan-based pricing scaled by call volume.

Pricing: Plan-based, scaling with included call volume; per-call overage charges apply once a plan's quota is exceeded, in line with the rest of the human-led category.

Pros:

• Established Australian provider with real local receptionists
• Multiple plan tiers for different call volumes
• Optional call-handling scripts tailored to your business

Cons:

• Per-call charges apply once you exceed your plan's quota
• Confirm the overflow and after-hours process for your selected plan
• Booking, follow-up and CRM automation aren't core to the plan

Best for: Businesses that want another established human-led Australian option to compare against Office HQ and Virtual Headquarters before deciding.

Visit receptionhq.com.au

Virtual Reception

Virtual Reception is another established Australian human-led virtual receptionist provider, positioned alongside Office HQ, Virtual Headquarters and ReceptionHQ with pay-as-you-go and bundled call plans.

Published pricing recorded for this guide: MessageExpress message-taking starts from $25 per month. Virtual Receptionist pay-as-you-go is $33 per month plus $3.89 per call, with bundled plans at $80 for 20 calls and $185 for 50 calls, each with a $3.99 per-call excess rate once the plan's calls are used. Prices exclude GST, there is no setup fee, and a 7-day free trial is advertised.

Pros:

• No setup fee and a 7-day free trial
• No lock-in contract advertised
• Australian-based receptionists
• Appointment setting included, plus a mobile app for managing calls

Cons:

• $3.99 per-call excess charge once you exceed your plan's included calls, the number to model against your real call volume
• Booking-platform and CRM integrations aren't named specifically
• Entry-tier MessageExpress plans are message-taking only, not appointment setting
• Pricing sits close to Office HQ and Virtual Headquarters, worth testing call quality rather than deciding on price alone

Best for: Businesses comparing another Australian human-led receptionist against Office HQ and Virtual Headquarters, especially if a 7-day free trial or the mobile app matters.

Visit virtualreception.com.au

alltel

alltel is an Australian outsourced contact-centre provider. Its Virtual Receptionist plans sit alongside separate AI Answering, Live Phone Answering and Live Answering plus Transfer product lines, all answered from an Australian contact centre.

Published pricing recorded for this guide: Virtual Receptionist plans are named Receptionist Go, 100, 300 and 500 by included minutes, advertised from $30 per month, plus a custom-quoted Enterprise tier for higher volume. Every tier includes 24/7 availability, an Australian call centre and a personalised greeting. Setup fees typically start from $150 and scale with custom requirements.

Pros:

• 24/7 cover included at every published tier, not an add-on
• Australian call centre with human receptionists
• Appointment booking and calendar scheduling included
• Separate AI Answering and transfer-only products available if a human receptionist isn't the right fit

Cons:

• Billing is time-based on included minutes, so a busy month can use up a plan faster than a per-call model
• Setup fees apply on top of the monthly plan
• Full per-tier dollar pricing sits behind a plan selector
• Data hosting location for call recordings isn't publicly stated

Best for: Businesses that want an Australian human receptionist with 24/7 cover included as standard, comfortable comparing minute-based tiers rather than a flat fee.

Visit alltel.com.au

OracleCMS

OracleCMS is an Australian call-centre provider offering virtual receptionist and inbound call-handling services from Australian-based call centres.

Published pricing recorded for this guide: OracleCMS doesn't publish plan prices. A quote is provided for each virtual receptionist service on a case-by-case basis, and the site states a setup fee applies initially, with possible further charges if you later change your call-handling scripts or procedures.

Pros:

• Australian-based call centres with native English-speaking call handlers
• 24/7 coverage, including public holidays
• Appointment scheduling included as a core function
• Broader contact-centre outsourcing services available if a business scales up beyond reception

Cons:

• No published pricing, every quote is custom
• Setup fees apply and aren't quantified on the public site
• Plan structure and inclusions are less publicly documented than the PAYG-style competitors on this list
• Confirm whether receptionists are dedicated to your account or shared across clients

Best for: Businesses that want confirmed Australian-based, always-on human call answering and are comfortable getting pricing through a quote rather than a published plan.

Visit oraclecms.com

For a direct model comparison, see how a managed AI answering service can connect booking, follow-up and CRM steps to the call instead of stopping at reception.

Servcorp

Servcorp is an Australian virtual office and serviced office provider. Phone answering isn't sold as a stand-alone product, it's bundled into virtual office plans alongside a business address, with a dedicated receptionist answering calls in your company name.

Published pricing recorded for this guide: The Communications Package, with a local phone number and dedicated receptionist, starts from $128 per month. The Virtual Office Package starts from $247.20 per month, and Premium Virtual Office from $546 per month. Prices exclude tax. Servcorp advertises a first month free and a $1 setup fee when no security deposit is required.

Pros:

• Bundles a business address and phone answering into one plan
• Month-to-month terms available, no long lock-in required
• First month free and a low advertised setup cost
• Established office provider with an Australian presence

Cons:

• Phone answering isn't sold on its own, you buy an office package to get it
• Doesn't state whether receptionists are human or AI, or where they're based
• Receptionist coverage hours aren't published (a separate 24/7 voicemail feature isn't live call answering)
• Appointment booking isn't mentioned as part of the service

Best for: Businesses that want a registered office address and a receptionist answering in one bundled plan, not a dedicated phone-answering service on its own.

Visit servcorp.com.au

Sophiie AI

Sophiie AI is an Australian AI-led front-office platform. Its current public site positions the product beyond phone answering, including booking, email, text, customer records, job management, quoting and invoicing.

Published pricing recorded for this guide: Sophiie AI publishes tiered plan pricing on its pricing page: a Free tier at $0 (25 AI actions a month, no calls or SMS included), Starter at $99 a month (30 calls, 300 SMS, 150 AI actions), Pro at $299 a month (500 calls, 2,500 SMS, 1,500 AI actions), and Max at $819 a month (2,500 calls, 10,000 SMS, 10,000 AI actions). Enterprise plans are custom quoted and add dedicated onboarding, SSO and priority support. The page did not state whether these figures were AUD or USD when reviewed, so confirm the currency, any charge beyond the included volume and setup costs directly before signing.

Pros:

• Broad front-office feature set rather than phone answering alone
• 24/7 call answering
• Natural-sounding Australian voice
• Direct booking-platform integration
• Published tiered plans with included call allowances

Cons:

• Confirm the live human handover path for complex calls
• Larger product surface may be more than a business needs for call answering
• Newer brand with less established reputation
• Check which post-call workflows are included and which need separate setup
• Calls, SMS and AI actions beyond a plan's included volume aren't priced on the public page, confirm the overage rate before you commit

Best for: Service businesses that want to adopt a broad AI front-office platform and manage the product internally.

What to check before you sign. Independent, third-party reviews for newer Australian AI receptionist platforms are still thin on the ground, so whichever review site you check, expect far less to go on than you'd find for an established provider like Office HQ or Virtual Headquarters. That's normal for a category this young rather than a red flag, but it means review counts can't carry the decision. Test the product directly instead: call the number yourself with background noise or a regional accent, book a real appointment and confirm it lands in the calendar correctly, ask what happens when the AI can't answer a question, and read the contract for the minimum term, cancellation notice, and what happens to your bill if you go over the plan's included call or message volume. If a provider won't confirm the total monthly cost and contract terms in writing, treat that as the answer.

Visit sophiie.ai

Sophiie AI and LUNA Systems solve different setup problems

Sophiie AI and LUNA Systems solve different ownership problems. The useful comparison is who configures, tests and maintains the system, not a headline plan price:

The honest read: Sophiie is a broader platform for a business prepared to adopt and operate its product. LUNA Systems is a managed service for a business that wants the call flow and connected follow-up designed and maintained for it. Compare who will own configuration and exceptions after launch, not only the feature list.

AnswerConnect

AnswerConnect is an international human answering service operating in Australia. Its remote receptionists answer calls around the clock, take messages, qualify enquiries and support booking or call routing.

Published pricing recorded for this guide: Request a current Australian quote. AnswerConnect prices plans around included call time and support requirements rather than publishing a simple Australian starting fee.

Pros:

• Hybrid model handles both routine and complex calls well
• 24/7 cover at every tier
• CRM integration available
• Multi-language support

Cons:

• International provider, not Australian-owned
• Pricing is in USD with AUD conversion overhead
• Less Australian-specific context than local providers
• Per-minute charges apply on some plans

Best for: Businesses with complex or emotional calls (medical, legal, dispute-heavy industries) where AI alone isn't enough.

Clinics should leave this general comparison and use LUNA Systems' AI medical receptionist for Australian clinics for the clinic-specific assessment.

LUNA Systems

LUNA Systems is an Australian done-for-you automation service that includes virtual receptionist functionality as one piece of a connected workflow. Its managed scope can link phone answering with booking, follow-up SMS, review requests and LUNA Systems CRM updates where those steps suit the business.

Pros:

• AI phone answering is part of a connected workflow, not a bolt-on
• Done-for-you setup and ongoing management included
• Booking, follow-up, review requests, and CRM updates can be connected to the agreed call flow
• Built specifically for Australian service businesses, tradies, salons, clinics and professional services, with a dedicated healthcare version
• Real Australian voices and local context
• 24/7 answering with intelligent call routing
• Connects with calendars, booking platforms and CRMs selected during scoping
• No lock-in contracts
• Real human support, not a help desk

Cons:

• More than a pure phone-answering service, overkill if you only want messages taken
• Requires scoped onboarding rather than instant self-service activation

Best for: Australian service businesses that want a complete done-for-you automation system, not just a phone answered.

Book a strategy call to map the call flow, booking rules and handover path your business needs.

Where the AI-tool names get confused

If you've searched "compare AI receptionist providers" or asked an AI assistant to do it for you, you may have seen names like Avaamo, Zobot, VoiceOps, or Acuity come back in the same list as the receptionist services above. They get grouped together because they all touch "AI" and "customer conversations," but none of them is an Australian phone-answering service, and picking one expecting a receptionist will leave a gap. Here's what each one actually is:

• Acuity Scheduling is an appointment-booking tool (owned by Squarespace). It lets customers self-book, reschedule, and pay online, with intake forms and packages. It does not answer your phone, it's the calendar a receptionist books *into*, not the receptionist. If all you need is online booking, Acuity or Calendly is enough and you don't need this comparison at all.
• Zobot is Zoho SalesIQ's website chatbot builder. It handles typed chat on your website and can qualify leads or book appointments through a chat widget, but it doesn't take phone calls. It's closer to a website chatbot than a receptionist.
• Avaamo is a US enterprise conversational-AI platform aimed at large HR, IT service-desk, and healthcare-workflow automation. It's built for big organisations with internal dev resources, not for a Brisbane tradie or salon wanting their calls answered.
• VoiceOps is a US call-analytics and sales-coaching platform. It analyses recordings of calls your team already takes to score and improve them, it doesn't answer calls on your behalf at all.

The practical takeaway: a phone receptionist (Office HQ, Virtual Headquarters, Sophiie AI, AnswerConnect, LUNA Systems), a booking tool (Acuity, Calendly) and a website chatbot (Zobot) are three different jobs. LUNA Systems is included as a managed option because its scope can connect phone answering, booking, web enquiries, follow-up and LUNA Systems CRM updates. If you were comparing those tool names hoping one would "just handle the phone," start with a phone receptionist from the list above.

Side-by-side: virtual receptionist services in Australia

The "per-call overage" column is the one most businesses miss when comparing quotes. Traditional human answering services, including call-centre providers like alltel, may bill per call or per minute on top of the base plan, so a busy month can cost more than the headline rate. AI platforms and managed providers can use subscription, included-usage or custom-quote models. Confirm the quiet-month and busy-month totals in writing.

The data-location column matters more than most comparison pages let on. The OAIC notes that a call recording can be personal information when the caller is identifiable, and its APP 8 guidance covers disclosures to overseas recipients. Ask every provider to identify the voice, telephony, automation and CRM services involved, where each stores data, who can access it and how deletion works. For LUNA Systems, those facts are documented provider by provider in the written scope; Australian residency is stated only when every relevant layer has been verified. "Not stated" for another provider means we could not confirm the answer from its public material, so ask directly before signing.

Free trial, setup fees and contract terms

The commodity details buyers scan for before booking a demo. Where a provider doesn't publish this, it's marked "Not stated", ask before you commit.

Choosing a virtual receptionist in Brisbane

Brisbane and South East Queensland businesses face the same national comparison above, plus a few local wrinkles worth checking before you sign. Office HQ has answered calls from Brisbane since 2003, so a genuinely local, established human option exists if that matters to you. Beyond that one provider, most of the services in this comparison operate remotely and serve Brisbane the same way they serve any other Australian city, so the deciding factors are the ones covered in the tables above: coverage hours, booking, data location and total cost at your real call volume.

Coverage hours are worth checking twice for a Brisbane business. Queensland does not observe daylight saving, so from October to April, Brisbane sits an hour behind Sydney, Melbourne and other south-eastern states. A receptionist service that assumes AEDT year-round can misquote your opening hours or book a caller into the wrong slot during those months. Confirm any shortlisted provider handles AEST correctly across the full year, not just during standard time.

LUNA Systems is Brisbane-based and scopes its virtual receptionist Australia service around each business's call flow, booking rules and after-hours handling. For a Brisbane tradie, clinic or professional-services firm, that means the managed setup follows how the business actually runs, not a generic national script. If you want to see how the wider LUNA Systems offer supports Brisbane businesses beyond phone answering, the Brisbane digital marketing agency page covers the rest of the service range.

For most Brisbane businesses, the practical shortlist is the same three options set out earlier in this guide: Office HQ for an established local human team, Sophiie AI for a self-serve AI platform, or LUNA Systems if you want the receptionist connected to booking, follow-up and CRM as one managed system.

Which virtual receptionist service is right for you?

The right choice depends on three questions:

1. Do you need a phone answered, or an entire workflow handled? If you only need call answering, compare Office HQ, Virtual Headquarters and ReceptionHQ. If you want a broader self-serve platform, assess Sophiie. If you want booking, follow-up and CRM connections managed for you, assess LUNA Systems' service model.
2. Do you need 24/7 cover? Sophiie AI, AnswerConnect and LUNA Systems support continuous answering. Office HQ and Virtual Headquarters charge extra.
3. What's your call volume? Low-volume businesses (under 20 calls per month) may suit an entry tier. At higher volume, compare the complete subscription, included usage and per-call totals because the cheaper model depends on the calls and work included.

The best shortlist is the one that matches the real calls your business receives. Test at least one routine booking, one unclear enquiry and one escalation. Then compare the transcript, booking result, message quality and the work your staff still have to do after the call.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Office HQ, Australian virtual receptionist service
• Virtual Headquarters, Australian virtual receptionist service
• Sophiie AI, AI phone answering service
• Sophiie AI pricing, published plan tiers reviewed 11-08-2026
• ACMA, Australian phone-number types

Ready for a virtual receptionist that does more than just answer the phone?

If you only need low-volume message taking, shortlist the human PAYG plans and test them. If you want the call connected to booking, follow-up and your CRM without owning the technical setup, see LUNA Systems' managed AI receptionist. You can hear how the service works, review the setup model and decide whether a managed system is proportionate before you enquire.