Best virtual receptionist Australia 2026: the buyer's shortlist

Key takeaways

• Vertical AI tops this list at 88 of 100, on six measures whose weights we set before reading a single price. It leads on the price of a busy month, night calls at the daytime rate and bookings in your own systems. It drops 7 points on its A$299 entry fee and 5 because Starter answers 2 calls at once, not 5.
• At 150 calls a month, Vertical AI's Starter plan costs A$299 and the cheapest human plan, Business 1300's Ultimate, costs A$445.50 with GST. At 50 calls the order flips, and four of the human services cost less than Starter.
• None of the five human services prints on its pricing pages how many calls it answers at the same moment for one business. Our plans answer 2 calls at once on Starter, 6 on Growth and 12 on Scale.
• Business 1300 ranks second at 58, with every call answered in Australia and the lowest human price at both 50 and 150 calls. OfficeHQ and Ruby Receptionist tie at 54, and OfficeHQ goes ahead on its lower 150-call price.
• Virtual Headquarters scores 53 and is the one human service that prints its after-hours surcharge, A$1.00 a call. Dream Admin scores 41, because only its per-minute plans transfer calls, and 150 of those cost A$1,537.25 a month with GST.

What a virtual receptionist service is and is not

A virtual receptionist answers your business line from somewhere else, in your business name. In Australia that is usually a trained person at an answering service, who greets the caller, takes a message and puts the call through to whoever you name. An AI receptionist does the same job with a voice agent.

Human services price by the call. You buy a monthly bundle, such as 50 calls, and pay a fee for each call past it, or you pay a small monthly fee and a rate on every call. The cheapest plans only take messages, and plans that transfer calls cost more.

Calls outside office hours often cost extra. Virtual Headquarters adds a surcharge outside 8am to 6pm on weekdays, and OfficeHQ marks its after-hours prices plus a surcharge it does not print.

A virtual receptionist is not a staff member. It does no filing, chases no supplier and covers no desk, unless you buy an assistant plan billed by the minute. One provider answers for many businesses at once, and your call sheet tells the receptionist what to say about yours.

Where the calls are answered matters for a business that holds health or financial details. Three of the five human services here name overseas teams that take overflow calls in busy periods.

Compare per-call and AI prices by volume

How we ranked these virtual receptionist services

We chose six measures for a business whose phone rings most days, and fixed their weights before scoring anyone. Four of them are where an AI receptionist and a person differ most: the price of a busy month, night calls, callers ringing at the same moment and bookings in your own systems. Any measure missing from a provider's own pages earns 0, and its table cell says Not published.

We price 150 calls a month, about 7 each working day, on the cheapest published plan that puts calls through. Per-minute plans, ours included, are priced at 3 minutes a call. Where a provider prices before GST we add 10 per cent, where a page says nothing about GST we use the price shown, and a tie goes to the lower price for 150 calls.

The best virtual receptionist services in Australia in 2026

We scored five human answering services and one AI receptionist on the six measures above, and list all six in score order. We make Vertical AI. It ranks first because a busy month costs less on it, a night call costs the same as a daytime one, and it answers more than one caller at a time. Each of the others puts a person on the line, which suits some buyers better: Business 1300 a line of about 50 calls answered in Australia, OfficeHQ a phone-app inbox, Ruby Receptionist the fastest answer, Virtual Headquarters a printed night rate and Dream Admin admin hours bought in blocks.

1. 1. Vertical AI, best for a line that rings every day, at any hour

   We make Vertical AI, and its AI receptionist scores 88 of 100. Starter costs A$299 a month for 500 minutes, and 150 calls of 3 minutes use 450 of them, so a 150-call month costs A$299, the lowest figure here and the full 25. Growth costs A$599 for 1,000 minutes, Scale A$999 for 2,000, and extra minutes cost A$0.40, read on verticalai.com.au on 8 November 2026.

   The agent answers at any hour for the same minute rate, with no after-hours charge, which takes the full 20. Starter answers 2 calls at the same moment, Growth 6 and Scale 12, and one more call at once costs A$25 a month. That earns 10 of 15, because Starter sits below the 5 calls at once that take full marks.

   Every plan books into a calendar, connects to other apps, transfers calls warm or blind and texts you each message, which earns the full 15 for your own systems. CRM connectors and webhooks start on Growth, and custom API tools against your own systems on Scale. Each call leaves a recording and a transcript in the portal.

   Our agent answers on servers in Sydney, and by default the call audio, speech recognition, voice and AI model all stay in Australia, which earns 15 of 15.

   The A$299 entry fee is the highest here and scores 3 of 10, and at 50 calls a month four human services cost less. We list no free trial, though our demo agent answers 1800 570 693 before you sign up, and the Launch build costs A$2,490 once if you want our team to set the agent up. On the courtesy bus line at The Mayfair Emerald, 98 calls in 100 finish without a person.

   Best suited for: A line that takes more than 92 calls a month, rings at night or on weekends, or gets two callers at once. A quiet line of a few calls a week, or callers who expect a person, suit a human service better.

2. 2. Business 1300, best for the lowest human price for transferred calls

   Business 1300 scores 58 of 100. Lite costs A$48 a month before GST for 15 calls, Mid A$122 for 40, Pro A$236 for 80 and Ultimate A$405 for 150, with extra calls at A$3.20, A$3.05, A$2.95 and A$2.70 in that order, read on business1300.com.au on 8 November 2026.

   Ultimate covers 150 calls for A$445.50 with GST, the lowest human price at that volume, which earns 20 of 25. At 50 calls, Mid plus 10 extra calls costs A$167.75 with GST, the lowest figure here, and Pro stays below our Starter plan up to 92 calls a month. Every plan includes warm transfers, where the operator briefs you before connecting the caller, and a failed transfer becomes a message.

   Its operators and call centre are in Australia, which earns the full 15 for where calls are answered. The page says they answer 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, right through the year, and prints no after-hours rate, which scores 8 of 20. It does not say how many calls it can take at once for one business, so that measure scores 0.

   Every plan includes a custom greeting, three custom questions and two message recipients, with messages by text and email. Appointment bookings are an add-on that lets operators schedule into your system, with no price printed, so the plans score 8 of 15 for your own systems. The A$48 Lite entry earns 7 of 10.

   In place of a trial, Business 1300 lets you cancel within 7 days at no charge. The page states no setup fee and no contract term beyond that window.

   Best suited for: A business of about 50 calls a month that wants a person in Australia to answer and put each call through. Ask in writing whether night and weekend calls cost more, and what the booking add-on costs.

3. 3. OfficeHQ, best for messages by text, email and a mobile app

   OfficeHQ scores 54 of 100. MyReceptionist plans run from Starter at A$35 a month plus A$3.40 a call through bundles of 10 to 900 calls, all plus GST, read on officehq.com.au on 8 November 2026. MyReceptionist 50, marked most popular, costs A$190, which is A$209 with GST.

   MyReceptionist 150 costs A$520 for 150 calls, which is A$572 with GST, and earns 15 of 25. That lower price wins the tie with Ruby Receptionist. The FAQ lists call transfers as a MyReceptionist add-on, so confirm whether the plan price puts calls through.

   OfficeHQ says most of its team works on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, and that in unexpected peaks MyReceptionist overflow goes to its offices in New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. That scores 8 of 15 for where calls are answered, and 5 of 15 for calls at once, since no number is given.

   Calls can be answered 24/7 once after-hours answering is turned on, and the after-hours page names a surcharge without its amount, which scores 8 of 20. Messages arrive by email, text or both, and a client portal and mobile app manage greetings and transfers. A separate MyDiary service, from A$50 a month plus GST, covers appointment bookings, which scores 8 of 15 for your own systems.

   MessageExpress starts at A$25 a month for message taking only, which earns the full 10 on the entry fee. There is a 7-day free trial and no lock-in contract, and OfficeHQ also lists a hybrid AI receptionist from A$20 a month with no further detail.

   Best suited for: A business that wants messages on a phone app as well as by email and text. Ask for the after-hours surcharge and the transfer add-on price before you choose a plan.

4. 4. Ruby Receptionist, best for the fastest published answer time

   Ruby Receptionist scores 54 of 100 on its Australian site, which gives a North Sydney address. Virtual Receptionist 50 costs A$190 a month plus GST for 50 calls, which is A$209, with A$3.99 for each extra call, read on rubyreceptionist.com.au on 8 November 2026. Virtual Receptionist 20 costs A$85, with extra calls at A$4.10.

   Its pay-as-you-go Starter plan costs A$35 a month and A$3.40 a call plus GST, so 150 calls cost A$599.50 with GST, its cheapest plan at that volume, which earns 15 of 25. No plan above 50 calls is listed, and larger plans are by enquiry.

   Its FAQ says calls are answered within 10 seconds, the fastest figure any provider here publishes. Its core team of more than 300 operators is in Australia, and Message Express plans take overflow from teams in the United Kingdom and the United States. That scores 8 of 15 for where calls are answered and 5 of 15 for calls at once.

   The site advertises 24/7 availability and names no after-hours surcharge, which scores 8 of 20. Messages arrive by email and text, and assistant and diary plans bill by the minute from A$2.50, which scores 8 of 15 for your own systems.

   Message Express costs A$25 a month and A$2.65 a call with no GST note, which earns the full 10 on the entry fee. There is a 7-day free trial and the pricing page states no contract term. Ruby's Starter, 20-call and 50-call transfer plans carry the same prices as OfficeHQ's.

   Best suited for: A business whose callers expect to hear a person within seconds. Get the after-hours rate and the contract term in writing, since the pricing page gives neither.

5. 5. Virtual Headquarters, best for after-hours pricing you can read before you sign

   Virtual Headquarters scores 53 of 100. Virtual Receptionist 50 costs A$185 a month before GST for 50 calls, which is A$203.50 with GST, and each call past 50 costs A$3.99, read on virtualheadquarters.com.au on 8 November 2026. No plan above 50 calls is listed, so 150 calls cost A$642.40 with GST on that plan, which earns 10 of 25.

   Its message-only plans start lower. Message Express costs A$25 a month and A$2.50 a call, which earns the full 10 on the entry fee, and Message Express 50 costs A$115. Assistant and diary plans bill A$2.99 a minute, and with messages by email or text that scores 8 of 15 for your own systems.

   Its receptionist page says staff answer 24/7, weekends and public holidays included, and its terms print the surcharge. A call answered outside 8am to 6pm on a weekday, or on a national public holiday, adds A$1.00 on a Virtual Receptionist plan and A$0.60 on Message Express. It is the only human service here to print that figure, which scores 12 of 20.

   Its receptionist page says most calls go to an Australian team, with overflow support from other countries in busy periods. That scores 8 of 15 for where calls are answered, and 5 of 15 for calls at once, since the page gives no number.

   The 7-day free trial on the basic packages needs no deposit or card. Plans renew month by month, and cancelling takes an email at least three days before the next term starts. A 1300 or 1800 number costs from A$5 a month plus a A$25 setup fee.

   Best suited for: A business that takes most calls in office hours and wants to know exactly what a night or weekend call adds. It suits a line of about 50 calls a month that needs calls put through to staff.

6. 6. Dream Admin, best for an Australian team that also sells admin hours

   Dream Admin scores 41 of 100. Its Assistant plans include no calls and bill each one: Bronze costs A$28 a month and A$2.95 a call for 3 details a call, and Silver A$35 and A$3.90 a call for 5 details, read on dreamadmin.com.au on 8 November 2026. Prices are before GST.

   Only Gold and Platinum list call transfers, each at A$52 a month and A$2.99 a minute. At 3 minutes a call, 150 transferred calls cost A$1,537.25 a month with GST, the highest figure here, which earns 5 of 25. Fifty cost A$550.55.

   Its team is 100 per cent Australian based, which earns the full 15 for where calls are answered. The page states no answering hours and no after-hours rate, and does not say how many calls it can take at once, so it scores 0 on both measures.

   Messages reach you by email or text. Bronze sends each one to a single person or team, and the other plans send to as many people as you like. Platinum lists appointment scheduling and diary management, and Gold and Platinum list CRM forms filled in online, which together score 11 of 15 for your own systems.

   The A$28 Bronze entry earns the full 10 on the entry fee. Dream Admin also sells Specialist plans, blocks of a receptionist's time from 2 hours at A$157.50 a week or month on a 6-month contract, and the page states no free trial.

   Best suited for: A business that wants an Australian team and mostly needs messages taken, at A$2.95 a call on Bronze. It suits admin help bought in blocks of hours better than a line where every call needs putting through.

Every virtual receptionist service scored side by side

Every cell names the provider's published fact, then the points awarded for it. Summing a row's points gives the score in its final column.

Which virtual receptionist fits your phone line

Match the row to your call count, to when your calls arrive and to whether your callers need a person. Each fact was read on the provider's own pages on 8 November 2026.

Results from an AI line we run

Before our agent took the courtesy bus line at The Mayfair Emerald, staff wrote down each caller's details and typed them into six driver group chats. Management put the wait for a pickup at five to twenty minutes.

Now drivers accept 95 per cent of pickups, 47 per cent of calls land on a Friday or Saturday, and each accepted job carries 2.4 passengers on average. The line went from a signed contract to the agent answering the venue's own number in under four weeks.

See the case studies

Hear the AI option, then book a call

Ring 1800 570 693 and our demo agent answers the way your receptionist would. Then book a call with our team in Perth. Bring last month's call count and the share that came after hours. We set it against the human prices on this page. You leave with a price for your volume and a date to go live.

Call the demo agent on 1800 570 693