Virtual Receptionist, Honestly Assessed
A virtual receptionist answers your calls like a front desk. Here is what one costs, when it earns its keep, and why many Australian businesses now use voice to email with their business number instead.
The Short Version
What a Virtual Receptionist Does
Answers in your business name, takes messages, can screen and route calls.
Typical Cost Structure
Monthly tiers with included calls; per-call overruns beyond them. Entry tiers from the mid-$20s.
When It Earns Its Keep
Diary-led professions and clients who expect a conversation before they commit.
The Voice to Email Alternative
Recording of every missed call in your inbox — often all the message-taking you need.
Included Free With Your Number
Voice to email ships free on 1300, 1800, call tracking and Hosted PBX plans.
No Lock-In
Numbers from $10/month, month-to-month, per-second billing on calls.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a virtual receptionist cost in Australia?
Virtual receptionist plans are monthly tiers with a set number of handled calls; specialist bureaus typically advertise entry tiers from the mid-$20s per month, with per-call overruns of a few dollars. Heavier call volumes push plans into the hundreds.
Is a virtual receptionist the same as an answering service?
They overlap. An answering service takes messages; a virtual receptionist works closer to a front desk — screening callers, answering common questions and sometimes putting calls through. Both are live-operator services with monthly-plus-per-call pricing.
Can a small business run without one?
Usually, yes. If most of your callers want a callback, a business number with voice to email captures every message — recording and details emailed to you — for a flat cost. It is included free with Simple Telecom number plans from $10 per month.
Want the flat-cost option?
Get a Number with Voice to EmailA virtual receptionist is a live operator who answers your calls in your business name, close to a front desk without being one. It is a genuine service with real value — and it has a real cost structure that does not suit every business. This page explains what one does, what one costs, and when a business number with voice to email does the same job for a flat cost.
What a Virtual Receptionist Does
Beyond basic message-taking, a virtual receptionist can screen callers, answer common questions from a script, manage diaries and put calls through to the right person. It sits at the premium end of the answering-service family — closer to a live answering service than to a machine.
Typical Cost Structure
Like all live-operator services, virtual receptionist plans combine a monthly tier with per-call overruns:
- Monthly tier — a set number of handled calls. Specialist bureaus typically advertise entry tiers from the mid-$20s per month.
- Per-call overruns — a few dollars per call once the tier's allowance is spent.
- Volume scaling — consistent call volumes push plans into the hundreds of dollars.
Two billing details worth checking before you sign: whether calls are counted per call or per minute, and what counts as a "handled" call.
When a Virtual Receptionist Earns Its Keep
The service pays for itself when callers expect a conversation before they commit: allied health, legal, property management, clinics — anywhere a missed conversation is a lost client and a plain message-taker will not do.
When Voice to Email Does the Job
Most small-business callers want one thing: a callback. Voice to email captures that perfectly — the caller hears your greeting, leaves a message, and the recording lands in your inbox, to one address or several, with transcription on many plans. There is no per-call meter running, because the answering itself is included free with Simple Telecom 1300, 1800, call tracking and Hosted PBX plans. Numbers start at $10 per month, with no lock-in contracts.
The Honest Simple Telecom Position
We ran live answering services — including receptionist-style plans — for years. We retired them from sale because in 2026 our customers prefer voice to email: the enquiries we receive down the live-answer path are steered there. If your callers genuinely need a conversation, a specialist bureau is the right tool. If they need to leave a message and get a callback, a 1300 number with voice to email does the job for a flat cost. Pair it with our guide to the business answering service family for the full picture. Not sure which you are? Call 1300 858 751 and we will tell you straight.