The short answer: Chirp is the best AI receptionist for Australian businesses that want every call answered and every job booked, without running the software themselves. An Australian team builds your agent around your rules, connects it to any software you use and tunes it every week. Chirp resolves 80.3% of customer requests on average, and it's backed by the Go-Live Guarantee. Plans start from $16 a day, plus a one-off Build & Implementation Fee.
Sophiie, Johnni and AIssie are self-serve apps you set up and look after yourself. AiDial sets it up for you. OfficeHQ adds AI to a live answering service. Everything here about another vendor comes from their own website, checked in September 2026.
AI receptionist Australia: the comparison table
Chirp vs the alternatives
As at September 2026
| What we compared |  Chirp |  Sophiie |  Johnni |  AiDial |  AIssie |  OfficeHQ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Setup | Built and managed by Chirp's team (Stated on their site) | Self-serve. Free plan, no setup fee (Stated on their site) | Self-serve. 7-day trial, custom builds on request (Stated on their site) | Done for you. Setup fee set in a Scope of Work (Stated on their site) | Self-serve. Free plan, no setup fee (Stated on their site) | Set up with their team. Free trial (Stated on their site) |
| Starting price | From $16 a day, plus a one-off build fee | Free plan. Paid prices not on the pages we read | $44 a month ex GST, paid annually | $149 a month plus a setup fee | Free plan. Voice from $99 a month | $20 a month plus GST, for 10 calls |
| Integrations | Any software you use. 6,000+ integrations, plus custom builds (Stated on their site) | ServiceM8, simPRO (Stated on their site) | ServiceM8, simPRO, AroFlo, as a quoted add-on (Stated on their site) | ServiceM8, simPRO, Tradify, AroFlo, Fergus (Stated on their site) | ServiceM8 (Stated on their site) | Not stated on the pages we read |
| Emergency triage | Sorts emergencies from quotes. Safety calls triaged after hours (Stated on their site) | Flags emergencies, escalates to on-call staff (Stated on their site) | Custom after-hours on-call rosters (Stated on their site) | 24/7 emergency routing to on-call staff (Stated on their site) | Not stated on the pages we read | Not stated on the pages we read |
| Australian voice | Natural Australian voice. Melbourne team (Stated on their site) | AU based, Australian-accented AI (Stated on their site) | Aussie accents. Built in Queensland (Stated on their site) | Australian voices. Hosted in Australia (Stated on their site) | Australian voices. Built in Perth (Stated on their site) | Australian company, live receptionist backup (Stated on their site) |
| Human handover | Puts the call through to your office (Stated on their site) | Warm or cold transfer (Stated on their site) | Warm transfer with context (Stated on their site) | Human handover on all plans (Stated on their site) | Transfers and routing on your rules (Stated on their site) | Hands over to a live receptionist (Stated on their site) |
| Contract | Set out in your proposal | Cancel any time | Month to month | A minimum term may apply | Month to month, no lock-in | No lock-in contracts |
- Stated on their site
- How it is priced or agreed
- Not stated on the pages we read
Why Chirp is the best choice
Most AI receptionists are software. You write the instructions, connect your systems and fix it when it gets something wrong. Chirp is a service. Our team does that work with you, and keeps doing it after you go live. That's why it performs better.
Who does the work
| The job | A self-serve tool | Chirp |
|---|---|---|
| Work out how your calls should be handled | You | Our team, with you |
| Write the instructions the agent follows | You | Our team |
| Connect it to your software | You, or a quoted add-on | Our team |
| Test it before it takes a real call | You | Our team, with you |
| Check what it got wrong | You | Scored on every call |
| Fix it and keep it improving | You | Our team, every week |
The real cost of managing it yourself
A self-serve tool is cheaper on the invoice. What you don't pay upfront, you pay for in your own hours and in calls that go elsewhere. We added it up for a typical trade business.
The cost of running it yourself
Illustrative estimate
$45,840
What a self-managed AI receptionist can cost in its first year, on top of the subscription
About $126 a day in your time and in work that went elsewhere.
Chirp, for comparison
From $5,840 a year
That is $16 a day, plus a one-off Build & Implementation Fee. Setup, integration, troubleshooting and tuning are done by our team.
| Cost | How we worked it out | A year |
|---|---|---|
| Setting it up properly3 days defining process flows and operating logic, once, at $80 an hour | 3 days defining process flows and operating logic, once, at $80 an hour | $1,920 |
| Connecting your software2 days building the integration layers, once, at $80 an hour | 2 days building the integration layers, once, at $80 an hour | $1,280 |
| Managing it week to week2 hours a week at $80 an hour | 2 hours a week at $80 an hour | $8,320 |
| Troubleshooting1 hour a week at $80 an hour | 1 hour a week at $80 an hour | $4,160 |
| Maintenance and retuning1 hour a week at $80 an hour | 1 hour a week at $80 an hour | $4,160 |
| Performance drops2 calls a week handled badly, half of which would have become a $250 job | 2 calls a week handled badly, half of which would have become a $250 job | $13,000 |
| Missed calls2 calls a week missed, half of which would have become a $250 job | 2 calls a week missed, half of which would have become a $250 job | $13,000 |
| Total | First year, on top of the subscription | $45,840 |
Here is what that looks like in a real week.
Lost calls
An agent that takes a message instead of booking the job sends the caller to the next business. 85% of callers who don't reach you won't call back.
More admin, not less
One plumbing business we spoke with ran its own AI line. It took names and addresses, left every job pending, and the office rang each customer back to ask again.
Frustrated staff
Their Monday mornings went on untangling the weekend's calls while the phone kept ringing. The tool meant to take work off the team added to it.
Technical issues that land on you
Every fix meant another instruction, and the more they added, the more the agent lost the thread. Another business switched its bot off when the person who built it moved on.
It works with every system you use
Your agent is only useful if the booking lands where your team works. Chirp connects to the software you already run, and if yours isn't on the list, our team builds the connection.
Chirp works with the software you already use
6,000+
integrations, plus any custom connection you need
Ready-made connections
More than 6,000 apps, including ServiceM8, simPRO, Fergus, HubSpot and Google Calendar.
APIs and data connectors
Chirp reads and writes to your systems directly, so it can look up a customer and book the job.
Custom integrations
If your software isn't on the list, our team builds the connection for you.
simPRO
Fergus
ServiceTitan
HubSpot
Salesforce
Pipedrive
Google Calendar
Microsoft Outlook
Shopify
Notion
Zapier
Make- Don't see your software? We build the integration for you.
It gets better every week
Every AI receptionist gets things wrong. With Chirp, every call is scored, the misses surface on their own, and our team ships the fix that week.
Chirp's resolution rate
80.3% and rising
What it costs
What Chirp costs
Plans start from
$16a day
All 24 hours covered, every day of the week
A team, not a login
Custom built, fully managed and tuned by an Australian team.
Tuned every week
The self-healing loop is part of the service, not an extra.
90% lower cost than a part-time receptionist
And it answers at 2am on a Sunday.
The Go-Live Guarantee
Run it live for 60 days. If it hasn't delivered, your Build & Implementation Fee comes back.
Chirp vs each alternative
Chirp vs Sophiie
Sophiie is an AI receptionist and job platform built for trades. Its site says you can start on a free plan and be live in 10 minutes by forwarding your number. That speed comes from doing it yourself. With Chirp, a team builds, runs and improves the agent for you.
| As at September 2026 | Chirp | Sophiie |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | Built and managed by Chirp's team | Self-serve. Free plan, no setup fee |
| Starting price | From $16 a day, plus a one-off build fee | Free plan. Paid prices not on the pages we read |
| Integrations | Any software you use. 6,000+ integrations, plus custom builds | ServiceM8, simPRO |
| Contract | Set out in your proposal | Cancel any time |
Why businesses pick Chirp over Sophiie
- Our team builds the agent around your rules, so you never write or test a script.
- Chirp connects to any software you use, with custom integrations built by our team.
- Every call is scored and the agent is tuned every week.
Chirp vs Johnni
Johnni is a low-cost self-serve receptionist built in Brisbane, with a 7-day free trial on every plan. Connecting your job software is a custom add-on quoted per business. With Chirp, our team connects your software as part of the build.
| As at September 2026 | Chirp | Johnni |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | Built and managed by Chirp's team | Self-serve. 7-day trial, custom builds on request |
| Starting price | From $16 a day, plus a one-off build fee | $44 a month ex GST, paid annually |
| Integrations | Any software you use. 6,000+ integrations, plus custom builds | ServiceM8, simPRO, AroFlo, as a quoted add-on |
| Contract | Set out in your proposal | Month to month |
Why businesses pick Chirp over Johnni
- Our team connects your software for you as part of the build.
- A team owns the setup, the testing and the tuning, so none of it lands on you.
- Every call is scored and the agent is tuned every week.
Chirp vs AiDial
AiDial sets the agent up for you, and says its AI is hosted and processed in Australia. Its plans are priced by included calls, with extra calls charged on top. Chirp goes further after go-live: every call is scored and the agent is retuned every week.
| As at September 2026 | Chirp | AiDial |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | Built and managed by Chirp's team | Done for you. Setup fee set in a Scope of Work |
| Starting price | From $16 a day, plus a one-off build fee | $149 a month plus a setup fee |
| Integrations | Any software you use. 6,000+ integrations, plus custom builds | ServiceM8, simPRO, Tradify, AroFlo, Fergus |
| Contract | Set out in your proposal | A minimum term may apply |
Why businesses pick Chirp over AiDial
- Every call is scored and the agent is tuned every week, for as long as you're with us.
- Your build fee is covered by the Go-Live Guarantee.
- Chirp connects to any software you use, with custom integrations built by our team.
Chirp vs AIssie
AIssie is a self-serve voice and chat receptionist built in Perth, with a free plan to start. Chirp is built for calls that matter: emergencies sorted from quotes, and bookings that land in your software.
| As at September 2026 | Chirp | AIssie |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | Built and managed by Chirp's team | Self-serve. Free plan, no setup fee |
| Starting price | From $16 a day, plus a one-off build fee | Free plan. Voice from $99 a month |
| Integrations | Any software you use. 6,000+ integrations, plus custom builds | ServiceM8 |
| Contract | Set out in your proposal | Month to month, no lock-in |
Why businesses pick Chirp over AIssie
- Chirp sorts emergencies from quotes and books the right job, after hours too.
- Chirp connects to any software you use, so bookings land where your crew works.
- A team builds it, runs it and tunes it every week.
Chirp vs OfficeHQ
OfficeHQ is an Australian live answering service that has added an AI option, with a human receptionist as backup. Chirp's agent handles the whole call itself, books the job and puts the call through to your office when it should.
| As at September 2026 | Chirp | OfficeHQ |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | Built and managed by Chirp's team | Set up with their team. Free trial |
| Starting price | From $16 a day, plus a one-off build fee | $20 a month plus GST, for 10 calls |
| Integrations | Any software you use. 6,000+ integrations, plus custom builds | Not stated on the pages we read |
| Contract | Set out in your proposal | No lock-in contracts |
Why businesses pick Chirp over OfficeHQ
- Chirp handles the whole call itself and books the job, day and night.
- The booking lands in your job software with nobody typing it in again.
- Every call is scored and the agent is tuned every week.
Sources
As at September 2026
If you work at one of the companies named here and something is out of date, email hello@agentchirp.ai and we'll fix it.
See it on your own calls
Book a 15-minute discovery. We'll map how your calls come in today and show you what your agent would do with them. You can also read our case studies, try the missed-call calculator, or see how the Go-Live Guarantee works.
Questions people ask
What is the best AI receptionist in Australia?
Chirp. It resolves 80.3% of customer requests on average and that rate rises every month, because every call is scored and the agent is tuned every week. It is built and managed by an Australian team, connects to any software you use, and is backed by the Go-Live Guarantee: if it hasn't delivered after 60 days live, your Build & Implementation Fee comes back.
How much does an AI receptionist cost in Australia?
Chirp starts from $16 a day, plus a one-off Build & Implementation Fee, and that covers the build, the integrations and weekly tuning by Chirp's team. Self-serve apps publish lower starting prices, from $20 a month plus GST for 10 calls at OfficeHQ to $149 a month plus a setup fee at AiDial, but you do the setup, integration and upkeep yourself.
Is a cheaper self-serve AI receptionist really cheaper?
Often not. Chirp estimates that running a self-serve AI receptionist yourself can cost a trade business about $45,840 in its first year on top of the subscription: $19,840 in your own time for setup, integration, managing, troubleshooting and maintenance, and $26,000 in jobs lost to missed and badly handled calls. With Chirp, that work is done by Chirp's team. The figure is an illustrative estimate and the working is shown in the article.
What is the difference between Chirp and Sophiie?
Sophiie is self-serve software: you start on a free plan, set it up yourself and its site says you can be live in 10 minutes. Chirp is a managed service: an Australian team builds the agent around your rules, connects it to any software you use and tunes it every week, so it keeps getting better without your time.
Does Chirp integrate with my software?
Yes. Chirp works with more than 6,000 apps, including ServiceM8, simPRO, Fergus, HubSpot, Salesforce and Google Calendar. If your software isn't on the list, Chirp's team builds a custom integration for you.
What is Chirp's self-healing loop?
Every call is scored. The scores show where the agent fell short, Chirp's team retrains it, the change is tested against last week's agent, and then it ships. The loop runs every week with a person in it, which is why a Chirp agent keeps improving after go-live.
What happens if Chirp doesn't work for my business?
Chirp is backed by the Go-Live Guarantee. Run it live for 60 days, and if it hasn't delivered for your business, your Build & Implementation Fee comes back. Subscription fees for months used are not refundable.