Ruby alternative for Australia
Hey Jodie answers every call 24/7 from a flat A$99/month, billed in AUD, with no per-minute meter.
Recent calls billed
Unlimited minutes, no rounding
The difference for an Australian firm is currency, whether the meter rounds every call, and whether support is awake in your time zone.
| Hey Jodie | Ruby Receptionists | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From A$99/month, unlimited minutes | $250/mo (approx A$395) for 50 minutes, billed in USD |
| Currency on the invoice | AUD - published on the pricing page | USD only, FX and card fees on every charge |
| Billing model | Flat monthly, unlimited minutes | Per-minute, 30-second minimum on every call |
| Overage charges | None - unlimited | Approx $3.19/min (around A$5.04) on the 100-minute plan |
| Hold time billed | Not applicable - unlimited | Yes (subject of 2021 US class action) |
| Who answers the call | AI receptionist, sub-second | US-based humans with AI tooling behind them |
| Support hours | AEST/AEDT business hours | 6am-5pm PT (roughly 11pm-10am AEDT) |
| 24/7 cover | Included on every plan | Included on receptionist plans |
| Practice management integration | Clio, LEAP, Actionstep via Zapier (Premium) | Native Clio; LEAP and Actionstep not supported |
| Setup time | Under 5 minutes, self-serve | Consultation call required |
Ruby pricing reflects ruby.com/pricing at the time of writing. Ruby publishes prices in US dollars only; AUD figures convert at an approximate 1.58 USD/AUD reference rate, before any bank or card FX fee. Ruby's overage rate is not published; the $3.19/min figure on the 100-minute plan is cited in third-party reviews. The hold-time citation references McKenzie Law Firm, P.A. et al v. Ruby Receptionists, Inc. (US District of Oregon, 3:2018cv01921), settled April 2021. Hey Jodie publishes Australian pricing in full in AUD on the pricing page.
Slide the minutes you'd use - the calculator picks Ruby's cheapest tier plus overage and compares to Hey Jodie's flat plan.
Cost calculator
Hey Jodie Basic
A$99/mo
Flat. Unlimited.
Competitor: Receptionist 100
$395/mo
roughly A$596/mo
$395 base
You'd save
A$497/month (A$5,969/year)
Ruby tiers are from ruby.com/pricing and billed in USD. Overage rates are not published on Ruby's pricing page; figures shown reflect rates cited in third-party reviews (approximately $5.40/min on the 50-minute plan, $3.20/min on the 100 and 200-minute plans, $3.00/min on the 500-minute plan). Hey Jodie Basic is flat monthly with unlimited minutes at your locale rate.
FX rates as of 2026-05-13. Hey Jodie price is the published locale rate, not converted.
Verifiable differences from Ruby's pricing page, the public US court record, and ours. Not marketing claims.
Ruby has no Australian office and no AUD price card - a Sydney firm pays USD on a 6am-5pm PT support line that's closed during the AU working day. Hey Jodie publishes AUD pricing on the pricing page and supports in AEST/AEDT.
Ruby invoices in USD with no AU-hours support; Hey Jodie publishes AUD pricing and supports in AEST/AEDT.
Ruby bills in full-minute increments with a 30-second minimum on every call. Hey Jodie is flat monthly with unlimited minutes - a sixteen-minute TPD intake costs the same as a thirty-second wrong number.
Ruby settled a $12M US class action in April 2021 over hold-time billing and minute rounding.
Ruby's AI is internal tooling that helps US-based human receptionists work faster. Hey Jodie IS the receptionist: it answers, runs intake, qualifies the matter and books the appointment.
Ruby's AI sits behind a human; Hey Jodie's AI is on the line.
Ruby's per-minute billing model has been tested in federal court. Here's what was alleged, what was settled, and what changed.
McKenzie Law Firm, P.A. et al v. Ruby Receptionists, Inc. (US District of Oregon, 3:2018cv01921)
November 2018
McKenzie Law Firm filed a federal class action in the US District of Oregon alleging Ruby billed customers for hold time, rounded minutes up rather than to actual usage, and applied a 30-second minimum to every call including hangups.
2019-2020
The court certified the class of approximately 18,000 Ruby customers affected by the billing practices in the complaint. Ruby continued operating with the same billing structure throughout.
April 2021
Ruby agreed to settle for up to $12 million per OregonLive coverage: $8 million in customer credits and up to $4 million in attorney fees. The settlement did not require Ruby to change its billing model.
Today
Ruby continues to operate. Per-minute billing, 30-second minimum and tiered receptionist-minute plans remain part of the published pricing structure.
Hey Jodie's flat monthly pricing makes the questions the case raised - what counts as a billable minute, how is hold time treated - not apply. The bill before you sign is the bill next month, every month.
Pricing predictability is a function of what you can see before you sign. Here's the side-by-side.
| Hey Jodie | Ruby Receptionists | |
|---|---|---|
Base monthly price | ||
Per-minute overage rate Ruby does not publish overage rates on the pricing page; third-party reviews cite around $3.20/min on the 100-minute plan. | ||
Setup fee Both are $0 setup. | ||
Free trial (no card) Hey Jodie offers 7 days free, no card needed. Ruby offers a 21-day money-back guarantee on paid plans. | ||
Hold-time billing rule Hey Jodie has no per-minute meter. Ruby's hold-time billing was the subject of the McKenzie class-action settlement (2021). | ||
Total first-year cost calculable from public info Hey Jodie: 12 x flat plan. Ruby: depends on undisclosed overage rate at your call volume. |
Ruby's per-minute meter punishes the call patterns common in Australian small business: long intake calls, after-hours emergencies, BAS-quarter spikes. A flat AUD plan fits better.
TPD and personal injury intake calls run long, and Ruby's per-minute meter charges for every minute. Hey Jodie's flat AUD rate gives a sole solicitor predictable monthly cost with LEAP and Actionstep handoff on Premium.
See Hey Jodie for lawyers & law firmsEmergency callouts in a Brisbane summer run long - burst pipe, hot water out. Ruby's per-minute meter charges for every minute; Hey Jodie's flat A$99 plan answers all of them.
See Hey Jodie for plumbersA buyer on Domain at 8pm calls the next agent if you don't pick up. 24/7 cover comes standard on Hey Jodie Basic at A$99, not gated behind a USD receptionist-minute tier.
See Hey Jodie for real estate agentsBAS-quarter and EOFY volumes spike fast. A flat AUD plan with unlimited minutes beats a metered USD invoice when every client is calling about an ATO notice at once.
See Hey Jodie for accountantsNo. Ruby is a Portland, Oregon company with no Australian office, no ruby.com/au path, no AUD price card, and support hours of 6am-5pm PT - roughly 11pm to 10am AEDT, closed during the AU working day. Australian firms forward a number to Ruby's US team and are billed in USD. Hey Jodie bills in AUD and supports in AEST/AEDT.
Ruby publishes four tiers in USD only: $250 for 50 minutes (around A$395), $395 for 100 minutes, $720 for 200 minutes and $1,725 for 500 minutes. Overage is not published; third-party reporting cites around $3.19/min on the 100-minute plan. An Australian customer also pays card FX on top. Hey Jodie publishes A$99, A$199 and A$399 plans with unlimited minutes.
Ruby holds 4.2 out of 5 on Capterra, with praise for receptionist friendliness and law-firm intake scripts. The recurring critical theme is billing surprise once minute rounding, the 30-second minimum and overage rates apply. For an AU customer, FX adds another layer of variance.
A US federal class action (McKenzie Law Firm v. Ruby Receptionists, 2018) alleged Ruby billed for hold time, rounded billable minutes up, and applied a 30-second minimum to every call. It settled in April 2021 for up to $12M. Ruby continues with the same billing structure; Hey Jodie's flat AUD pricing makes those questions not apply.
Yes - the page is built around that case. Legal is Ruby's flagship vertical and statute-driven intake calls run long. Hey Jodie's flat AUD rate, with LEAP, Actionstep and Clio handoff via Zapier on Premium, fits Australian firms better than Ruby's USD per-minute model.
For new client intake, scheduling, common questions and message-taking - yes. Hey Jodie answers, captures the caller's reason, books appointments where the integration exists, and sends a summary within seconds. For complex calls it can warm-transfer to your team.
Probably yes, by design. Hey Jodie identifies as the AI receptionist on answer - surveys show callers prefer clear AI identification over feeling deceived. If the AI cannot answer, it captures the lead and tells the caller someone will be in touch.
Move your phone answering to Hey Jodie without a coverage gap. Most switchers run both for a week, then cancel Ruby.
Total time: Under 1 hour active time, 5-7 days for safe parallel running
Sign up at the register page. No card needed. You get your Hey Jodie phone number on the spot.
Set conditional forwarding (busy / no answer / always) from your phone provider to the Hey Jodie number. Most providers support this from their app.
Hey Jodie picks up first via the forward; if you change your mind, you cancel Hey Jodie and your old Ruby line is still live. Listen to a few call recordings to check the AI is doing the job.
Ruby plans are month-to-month per their site. Settle any outstanding overage charges first - the per-minute meter and 30-second minimum apply right up to the cancellation date.
Once Ruby is cancelled, leave the forward to Hey Jodie in place. Confirm a test call lands on Hey Jodie and a summary arrives in your inbox.
7 days free. Self-serve onboarding. Flat A$99/month. Cancel in one click.
First 7 days free, then pricing from A$99/month
