The honest buyer's guide
Virtual receptionist cost in NZ: what you'll actually pay.
Virtual receptionist pricing looks cheap until you read the terms. This guide covers what answering actually costs in NZ in 2026 across staffed services, US providers and AI receptionists, with the per-call maths most pricing pages hope you won't do.
The three ways NZ businesses pay for virtual reception
Staffed NZ answering servicessell a low base fee plus usage. ReceptionHQ NZ, the biggest name, publishes plans from $19 a month (MessageExpress) to $49 a month (MyAssistant), NZD ex GST, with pricing published as of August 2026. The base fee is the start, not the price: their terms set excess call rates of roughly $1.90 to $3.20 per call depending on plan, or $2.45 to $2.85 per minute on the per-minute plans, plus an after-hours surcharge of $0.60 to $1.00 per call outside 8am to 6pm on weekdays and on NZ public holidays. Appointment booking isn't included either: MyDiary is a separate product from $49 a month plus setup. We've compared them in detail on our TradieCall vs ReceptionHQ page.
US services billed in USD show up in NZ search results but price for the American market. Ruby starts at US$250 a month for 50 minutes (as of August 2026), billed per minute with every call rounded up to the next 60 seconds and hold time on the clock. Smith.ai starts at US$300 a month for 30 calls (as of August 2026), with overage at US$11.50 a call and add-ons billed per call on top. Neither publishes NZ-specific support, and you carry the exchange rate.
AI receptionists mostly price flat. TradieCall is $129, $249 or $449 a month, NZD including GST: $1,548 to $5,388 a year, with 24/7 answering in a natural Kiwi voice, a text and email job sheet within a minute of every call, transcripts and recordings, and no per-call charges or after-hours surcharges on any plan. How that compares with call centres and voicemail is covered on our phone answering service page.
Published prices side by side
| Service | Published price | Billing model | After hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| ReceptionHQ MessageExpress (NZ, staffed) | from $19/mo NZD ex GST | per call; excess ~$1.90–$2.00/call | +$0.60–$1.00/call surcharge |
| ReceptionHQ MyReceptionist (NZ, staffed) | from $20/mo NZD ex GST | per call; excess ~$2.95–$3.20/call | +$0.60–$1.00/call surcharge |
| ReceptionHQ MyAssistant (NZ, staffed) | from $49/mo ex GST + setup from $50 | per minute; ~$2.45–$2.85/min | surcharge applies |
| ReceptionHQ MyDiary (booking add-on) | from $49/mo ex GST + setup | separate paid product for appointment booking | surcharge applies |
| Ruby (US, staffed) | from US$250/mo (50 min) | per minute, rounded up to 60s; hold time billed | not published |
| Smith.ai (US, staffed) | from US$300/mo (30 calls) | per call; overage US$11.50/call + per-call add-ons | not published |
| TradieCall (NZ, AI) | $129 / $249 / $449 NZD incl GST | flat monthly, no per-call charges | included, no surcharges |
Competitor pricing as published August 2026, from each provider's pricing page and terms. ReceptionHQ prices exclude GST; TradieCall prices include it. US prices are USD.
The per-call trap: a 60-call month, worked through
Sixty calls a month is about three per working day: unremarkable for a busy sole trader. Put that through a staffed per-call plan using ReceptionHQ's published rates (as of August 2026), assuming most calls land at the excess rate on the $20/mo MyReceptionist plan.
- Base fee: $20
- 60 calls at ~$2.95–$3.20 excess: $177–$192
- Say 15 of those ring before 8am, after 6pm or on a weekend: +$9–$15 surcharge
- Want jobs booked, not just messages taken? MyDiary: +$49/mo plus setup
- Total: roughly $255–$276 ex GST, about $293–$317 once GST is added
The plan advertised at $20 costs around $300 in a normal month. Exact inclusions vary by plan, so treat this as arithmetic on their published rates, not a quote. But the shape of it is the point: per-call pricing means your bill grows with exactly the thing you're trying to grow. TradieCall's Starter plan is $129 including GST for the month whether the phone rings 20 times or 200, and Pro at $249 includes diary booking and live transfer of urgent calls rather than selling booking as a second product. Full plan details are on the pricing page.
Same logic applies to the "cheapest answering service" searches: cheap is a function of your call volume and when calls arrive, not the base fee. A cheap virtual receptionist plan is only cheap if your phone barely rings, and if your phone barely rings you have a different problem.
Five things to check before you sign anything
Every item below comes from a published price list, published terms, or a documented complaint against a real provider. None of it is hypothetical.
After-hours surcharges
Staffed NZ services commonly charge extra outside 8am–6pm weekdays and on public holidays: ReceptionHQ's published terms add $0.60–$1.00 per call (or $0.80/min). Evenings and weekends are when tradies most need the phone answered, so this surcharge lands on exactly the calls you bought the service for.
Per-call add-on stacking
Some services bill features per call, per event. One large US provider charges extra per call for appointment booking (US$1.50), SMS notifications (US$0.50), follow-up (US$0.50) and call recording (US$0.25), as of August 2026. Four small add-ons on every call quietly doubles the effective rate.
Round-up minute billing
Per-minute plans commonly round every call up to the next full minute and bill hold time. A 65-second call bills as two minutes. One major US per-minute service paid a US$12M class-action settlement in 2021 over how its minutes were counted. Read the billing definitions, not the headline rate.
Spam calls billed like real ones
If billing is per call or per minute, ask in writing what happens when the caller is a scammer or a robodialler. One US service drew a Better Business Bureau complaint after a customer was billed roughly US$300 in overage for 163 spam calls following a policy change. TradieCall blocks spam free; it's never billed.
Cancellation and admin fees
Check the exit terms before the entry price. ReceptionHQ's published terms (as of August 2026) include $30 admin fees for cancellation refunds and account reinstatement, with a 3-day cancellation notice period. A cheap base plan with sticky exit terms isn't cheap.
If after-hours cover is the main thing you're buying, price that specifically: our after-hours answering page covers it. And if you're weighing all this against putting someone on the payroll, the sums are on hiring a receptionist vs an AI receptionist: a full-time hire runs about $61,100 a year loaded, which makes every option on this page look cheap.
Cost questions, answered straight
One flat price, and you can test it free
TradieCall is a virtual receptionist built for NZ trades: $129 a month incl GST, flat. Set up in about 10 minutes, keep your number with one forwarding code, 7-day trial, no lock-in.
Try it on your own phone