The four options, honestly
Every business answering its phone is choosing between four things. Each one wins in a different situation, and the calculator above is only useful if you know what it's comparing.
Voicemail
Free, and the most expensive option for anyone whose customers are choosing between three businesses. People needing a tradie, a dentist or a table tonight usually ring the next number rather than leave a message. If your work is booked weeks ahead and your customers know you, voicemail is genuinely fine.
A human answering service
Real people, usually charged by the minute with a monthly minimum. They handle upset and complicated callers better than any AI, and that matters more in some industries than others. The trade-offs business owners consistently report: quality varies with who picks up, you pay more at your busiest times, and messages can arrive with stale or thin detail.
An AI receptionist
A flat monthly fee for answering, booking and message-taking, with the same service at 2am as at 2pm and no queue when three people ring at once. It's weaker on unusual, emotional or drawn-out calls, which is why a way through to a person matters. The cost only makes sense if you're actually missing calls now.
Hiring a receptionist
The best option for a business where the phone is the relationship, and the most expensive one for cover outside business hours. Wages are only part of it: holidays, sick days, KiwiSaver, ACC and cover for breaks all add up, which is why the calculator adds a 20% loading.
How to read the result
The monthly number matters less than two other figures the calculator shows you. Cost per call answered is the fairest way to compare options with different pricing models. And the voicemail line is the one most owners haven't priced: not what answering costs, but what not answering costs.
If you want that second number properly, work it out from your own missed calls with the missed-call calculator, then come back here.
The mistake that makes all four options fail
Whatever you choose, it only pays off if someone acts on what it captures. The most common complaint from owners who tried an AI receptionist and gave up wasn't the AI: it was that captured leads sat until the next day, by which time the customer had booked elsewhere. Before you compare prices, decide who rings those people back, and how fast.
When you can skip all of this
- Your phone rarely rings while you're busy.
- Your customers already text or email you, and expect a reply tomorrow.
- Your average job is small enough that one extra booking a month wouldn't cover the fee.
If two of those are true, keep your voicemail and spend the money somewhere else. If none of them are, work out which option covers the hours you're actually missing calls, then test it properly before you commit.