Short answer: in Australia, an after-hours answering service is priced one of two ways. Human (live operator) services usually charge a monthly base plus a fee per call or per minute, often with higher rates for nights, weekends and public holidays. AI answering services usually charge a flat monthly fee with a set number of included call minutes. Ours starts at $149 a month ex GST for 100 voice minutes, covering every hour of every day.
The headline price is rarely the real cost, though. What you actually pay depends on how many calls come in after hours, how long they run, and what the service does with each one. Here's how to work it out for your own business.
The three ways businesses cover after-hours calls
Before comparing prices, it helps to be clear on what you're comparing.
1. Divert to a mobile. No direct cost, but someone in the business is on call every night and weekend. If you're paying staff to carry that phone, award penalty rates and on-call allowances can apply: the Fair Work Ombudsman notes penalty rates can apply for weekends, public holidays, overtime, late nights and early mornings, depending on the award. It's also the most common way small business owners burn out.
2. A human answering service. A call centre answers under your business name, takes a message and passes it on. Some will also follow a simple script or put urgent calls through to an on-call number.
3. An AI answering service. A voice agent answers your existing number, has a real conversation with the caller, captures the details, books where it can, and sends you the job by email and SMS the moment the call ends. Our after-hours answering service page explains how ours handles a call end to end.
How human answering services are priced
Most live answering services in Australia use some mix of these:
- A monthly base fee for the account and a set number of calls or minutes.
- A per-call or per-minute charge once you go over the included amount.
- After-hours, weekend or public holiday loadings, because they're paying operators penalty rates too.
- Extras such as SMS notifications, call transfers, appointment booking or custom scripts, sometimes priced separately.
We're not going to quote other providers' prices here, because they change and they vary by plan. The practical point is that per-call pricing gets expensive fast if your after-hours volume grows, and loadings make the nights and weekends you most need covered the most expensive part of the bill. When you get a quote, ask for the total you'd have paid last month at your actual call volume.
What an AI answering service costs
AI services price differently because the cost of answering an extra call at 2am is the same as at 2pm. Our plans are published on the pricing page:
- Starter, $149 a month (ex GST): 100 voice minutes + 50 SMS included, extra minutes $0.85 each.
- Business, $299 a month: 250 voice minutes + 150 SMS included, extra minutes $0.65 each.
- Growth, $499 a month: 700 voice minutes + 400 SMS included, extra minutes $0.45 each.
- Enterprise, from $1,299 a month: 3,000 voice minutes + 1,000 SMS included, extra minutes $0.29 each.
Every plan answers 24/7, including weekends and public holidays, with no loading. Extra usage is capped at the gap to the next plan up, so a busy month can't blow out the bill. Plans are month-to-month.
How to work out what you'd actually pay
You can estimate this in about ten minutes with last month's phone records.
- Count after-hours calls. Everything outside your opening hours, plus weekends. If you don't know, your phone provider's call log will show it.
- Estimate average call length. Most message-taking calls run one to three minutes (our estimate from typical small business calls; yours may differ).
- Multiply. Sixty after-hours calls a month at two minutes each is about 120 minutes.
- Price it both ways. For a human service, apply their per-call or per-minute rate plus any loadings. For an AI service, check which plan's included minutes cover it.
A real example helps. A Melbourne family law practice we work with had its AI receptionist answer 95 calls between 28 May and 28 Sep 2026. Twenty-eight of those (29%) came in outside 9 to 5 on weekdays, and 44 callers left their details for a callback. That's the volume that would otherwise have gone to voicemail. You can read the full case study.
What you get for the money (and what to ask)
Price only matters next to what happens on the call. Ask any provider, human or AI:
- Does it answer under my business name, on my existing number?
- What happens with a genuine emergency? Can it reach my on-call person straight away, with the details?
- How fast do I get the message, and how? Email, SMS, both?
- Can it book into my calendar or job system, or does it only take messages?
- Where is caller data stored and who can see it? You should get a straight answer, in writing.
- Is there a lock-in contract, and what does a busy month cost?
If you're weighing a live service against AI, our AI receptionist vs answering service comparison goes through speed, quality and cost side by side.
When a human service is still the better fit
Being honest: if your after-hours calls are rare, very long, or need a person's judgement on every single one, a live service may suit you better. AI is strongest where calls are frequent and follow a pattern: new enquiries, bookings, job details, "are you open", and urgent issues that need to reach someone fast.
Related reading
- How Australian businesses handle after-hours calls: mobile divert, human service or AI, and when each makes sense.
- After-hours answering for property managers: what to capture from tenants and how to set urgent-repair escalation.
- What plumbers and electricians need from an answering service: emergency call-outs while you're on the tools.
- The hidden cost of missed calls: how to put a dollar figure on the calls you don't answer.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a 24-hour answering service cost in Australia?
Human services usually charge a monthly base plus per-call or per-minute fees, often with loadings outside business hours, so the total depends on your volume. AI services charge a flat monthly fee. Our plans start at $149 a month ex GST for 100 voice minutes, answering 24/7 with no after-hours loading.
Is an AI answering service cheaper than a live answering service?
For most small businesses with regular after-hours calls, yes, because there's no per-call charge or night and weekend loading. If you only get a handful of calls a month, the difference is smaller, so price it at your actual call volume.
Do I need to change my phone number?
No. You forward your existing number, or just your after-hours calls, to the service. Callers ring the same number they always have.
Can it handle emergencies after hours?
It can be set up to recognise urgent calls, such as a burst pipe, a locked-out tenant or a client in distress, and send them to your on-call person straight away by SMS or a transfer, following your rules. Routine calls are captured and sent to you to deal with in the morning.
Is there a lock-in contract?
Not with us. Plans are month-to-month. Ask any provider for their minimum term and cancellation terms before you sign.
What does a busy month cost?
On our plans, extra minutes are charged at the per-minute rate for your plan, and extra usage is capped at the gap to the next plan up. The full detail is on the pricing page.
Find out what your after-hours calls are worth
The quickest way to see whether it pays is to hear it handle calls like yours. Book a free 30-minute demo and we'll walk through your call volume and which plan fits. Or read more about our 24/7 after-hours answering service first.