Best Virtual Receptionist NZ in 2026: 7 Compared on Real Cost

Looking for the best virtual receptionist in New Zealand? We compared 7 services, people and AI, on what they cost at 100 calls a month, when they answer and what you sign.

Our pick for most small businesses is Jodie: it answers every call, day and night, for a flat NZ$99 a month plus GST.

Jodie is our own product, and NZ sign-ups are on a waitlist for now. So we also show where others win, like ReceptionHQ for a real person by the call.

Key takeaways

What a virtual receptionist actually is (and what it is not)

A virtual receptionist is a person or an AI that answers your business phone from somewhere else, in your company's name. It passes on what the caller needs.

In New Zealand it is also called an answering service, a virtual receptionist answering service or call handling.

A good one:

• Answers in your business name.
• Takes the caller's name, number and reason for calling.
• Books jobs into your calendar.
• Puts urgent calls through to your mobile.
• Covers evenings and public holidays, if your plan does.

Human or AI: the two main types

• Human: a person at an agency. ReceptionHQ, CallCare and Answers NZ use trained staff. People handle unusual or upset callers better.
• AI: software that talks to the caller. Jodie, Talkify, Waboom AI and FirstVoice AI answer every call at once. They cost the same at 3am as at 3pm.

What a virtual receptionist is not

• A virtual assistant. A VA does admin and email, not your phone.
• Voicemail. The caller talks to someone, and the job gets written down.
• A phone menu. Nobody is told to "press 1".
• Someone at your front desk. It cannot greet visitors or sign for parcels.

If you only need messages taken, see our guide to answering services.

Still deciding between a person and an AI? Read AI receptionists vs answering services.

How we ranked these virtual receptionists

We scored every service on six things you can check yourself:

• Cost at 100 calls a month. 100 two-minute calls (200 minutes), on the cheapest published plan. Setup fees are shown on their own.
• What the cheapest plan includes. Messages only, or booking and transfers too.
• Hours covered. 24/7, or business hours and then voicemail?
• Contract. Is there a lock-in?
• Free trial. Can you test it with real calls first?
• Who answers. A person or an AI.

We took every price and term from each provider's own website in October 2026. Where a figure is not published, we say so.

Jodie is our product. We ranked it first because it wins on cost and hours for most small businesses. We also say where another service is the better buy.

The best virtual receptionists in New Zealand in 2026

Here are 7 services, people and AI, that sell to Kiwi businesses. Each one is the best virtual receptionist service for a certain kind of business.

Every entry starts with the facts. Then it shows what you get, what it costs and one thing to watch out for.

1. Jodie, best for owner-run businesses that miss calls while they work

Jodie is an AI receptionist. It answers in your business name, asks your questions and takes down the job.

What you get

• Every plan answers 24/7, public holidays included.
• A summary after every call, by email and in the Jodie app, with the recording and transcript.
• Your own number. You keep your number and divert your calls to Jodie.
• More on bigger plans. Professional adds booking, call transfers and team members. Premium adds priority support and Zapier links to your other apps.

What it costs

• New Zealand sign-ups are on a waitlist for now. There is no free trial and no start date yet.
• Our published NZ prices are NZ$99 a month for Basic, NZ$199 for Professional and NZ$399 for Premium, all plus GST. We confirm them when your place opens.
• Basic has unlimited minutes, under fair use of up to 1,000 calls a month.
• Month to month, with no setup fee.

Watch out for: Jodie is an AI, not a person, you cannot sign up in NZ yet, and Basic does not book or transfer calls.

2. ReceptionHQ, best for Kiwi businesses that want people by the call

ReceptionHQ is an answering service with real receptionists. You pay by the call, not by the minute, so a long call costs the same as a short one.

What you get

• MessageExpress takes messages and sends them to one person by email or SMS.
• MyReceptionist adds call transfers and a custom greeting.
• Weekday cover. Its receptionists answer 8am to 6pm on weekdays. After that, calls go to voicemail unless you opt in to after-hours answering, at a price it does not publish.

What it costs

• MessageExpress: NZ$19 a month plus NZ$2 a call, or NZ$165 a month for 100 calls, then NZ$1.95 a call.
• MyReceptionist: NZ$20 a month plus NZ$3.20 a call, or NZ$285 for 100 calls.
• Prices are plus GST, with no setup fee on these plans.
• 7-day free trial with no card, and no lock-in.

Watch out for: a 9pm call goes to voicemail unless you add after-hours cover.

3. Talkify, best for pay-as-you-go AI with no lock-in

Talkify is an AI receptionist sold in New Zealand. It has a pay-as-you-go plan and a monthly plan called Broadcast.

What you get

• Pay as you go. The NZ$10 a month covers your phone number, and you start with NZ$10 of free credit.
• Broadcast for busier lines. It answers 24/7.
• Free setup, and no lock-in.

What it costs

• Pay as you go: NZ$10 a month and NZ$1 a minute.
• Broadcast: NZ$199 a month for 200 minutes, then 20c a minute.
• Founding rate: new accounts pay NZ$129 for the first 3 months, with extra minutes at 10c.
• At 100 two-minute calls, Broadcast costs NZ$199, or NZ$129 in your first 3 months. Pay as you go would cost NZ$210.

Watch out for: the NZ$129 price ends after 3 months, and above about 44 two-minute calls a month, Jodie's flat NZ$99 costs less than pay as you go.

4. CallCare, best for people on the phone 24 hours, public holidays too

CallCare is an answering service with local receptionists based in New Zealand. It answers 24 hours a day, weekends and public holidays included, on every plan.

What you get

• Lite takes messages and sends them by SMS, email or both.
• Freedom adds call transfers and an emergency call sequence.
• Complete adds calendar work.

What it costs

• Price on quote. CallCare does not publish its prices, so we could not work out a cost at 100 calls.
• A monthly call allowance comes with each plan.
• 7-day free trial.
• No lock-in contract, so you can change your plan or cancel at any time.

Watch out for: you only learn the real monthly bill from a quote, so ask what you pay when you go over your call allowance.

5. Answers NZ, best for a NZ-owned team on a bespoke plan

Answers NZ (answers.co.nz) is 100% New Zealand-owned and operated, and says it has supported Kiwi businesses for over 60 years. A live operator based in New Zealand answers in your company's name.

What you get

• Message Only is the simple plan. The operator takes the caller's details and sends them to you straight away.
• Day and night. Message Only works 24/7, for after-hours calls or when you are too busy to answer.
• Reception Assist goes further. A receptionist can transfer calls, answer common questions and cover your phones when you are in a meeting.

What it costs

• No price list. You leave your details and get a quote.
• No published free trial or contract terms, so we could not score it on cost or terms.

Watch out for: nothing about price, trial or notice is on its website, so ask for all three in writing.

6. Waboom AI, best for prepaid AI that books jobs

Waboom AI sells an AI receptionist. You prepay for talk time, and the AI only uses it while it is on a call.

What you get

• Answers every call, 24/7.
• Books jobs and puts urgent callers through to you.
• No contracts, and every plan has a 30-day money-back guarantee.

What it costs

• Prepaid credit: you start by loading NZ$500.
• Talk time: 95c a minute, and less if you load more at once.
• Platform fee: NZ$130 a month on top. Prices exclude GST.
• At 100 two-minute calls, that is about NZ$320 a month: NZ$130 for the platform plus NZ$190 of talk time.

Watch out for: you pay NZ$500 up front before the first call, and the NZ$130 fee is due even in a quiet month.

7. FirstVoice AI, best for builders who want bookings in their calendar

FirstVoice AI is a managed AI receptionist. It sets everything up for you: the voice, the script, the calendar link and the test calls.

What you get

• Setup included on every plan.
• Bookings in your calendar. It books straight into Google Calendar, Outlook, Cal.com or Calendly.
• Answers 24/7.
• Live call transfer to you or your team, starting on the Growth plan.

What it costs

• Starter: NZ$297 a month for 200 minutes, which FirstVoice says is about 65 calls. At 2 minutes a call, those 200 minutes cover 100 calls, so that month costs NZ$297.
• Extra minutes cost 65c each.
• Growth: NZ$597 a month.
• Free for 2 weeks with no card, and every plan is month to month with no lock-in. FirstVoice does not say whether its prices include GST.

Watch out for: at 100 calls it costs three times Jodie's NZ$99, and putting calls through needs the NZ$597 plan.

Other options we looked at

These came up often in the NZ market, but did not make our top 7.

• AnswR is an AI receptionist with a NZ website. Starter is A$99 a month for 200 minutes, with a 7-day free trial. It bills in Australian dollars, even on its NZ site.
• Private Box is a virtual office that also answers your phone, from NZ$43 a month including GST. Forwarded calls add a per-minute charge it does not publish.
• Spark Business Receptionist Plus costs NZ$150 a month plus GST for 75 minutes, then NZ$2.50 a minute, with a 1-minute minimum per call.
• KiwiCalls is an AI receptionist with flat plans from NZ$69 a month and no lock-in.

Virtual receptionists compared side by side (NZ)

Here is how the 7 compare on the six things from our method. Need a 24/7 virtual receptionist? Check the fifth column.

Cost at 100 calls uses the cheapest plan that covers 100 two-minute calls.

Jodie, ReceptionHQ and Waboom AI prices are plus GST. Talkify and FirstVoice AI do not say whether theirs include GST.

Which virtual receptionist fits your business?

Find the row that sounds most like you.

How to choose and test one: what Kiwi businesses should check

1. Pay per call or flat? Under about 40 calls a month, paying per call can cost less. Above that, flat wins.
2. After hours. Ask what happens to a 9pm call. Some human plans send it to voicemail.
3. Your callers' data. Ask where recordings are kept, under the Privacy Act 2020. Jodie's are processed in Ireland and the United States.
4. The currency. AnswR bills in Australian dollars, so the price moves with the exchange rate.
5. How it sounds. Test it with a free trial or credit before you switch. Ring it out of hours and ask it something awkward.

What results look like: the monthly bill at 50, 100 and 200 calls

Virtual receptionist pricing in NZ comes in three shapes: per call, per minute or one flat price.

Say 100 people ring you in a month, and each call lasts 2 minutes. On the cheapest plan for those 200 minutes, this is what each would cost:

• Jodie: NZ$99
• ReceptionHQ: NZ$165 (weekdays only)
• FirstVoice AI: NZ$297
• Waboom AI: about NZ$320
• Spark: about NZ$462.50

Here is how the bill changes at 50 and 200 calls, at standard prices.

Pay as you go only beats a flat price on a quiet phone.

• ReceptionHQ's pay as you go costs less than Jodie below about 40 calls a month.
• Talkify's pay as you go costs less below about 44 two-minute calls.
• Above that, Jodie's flat NZ$99 wins, and it stays NZ$99 up to 1,000 calls.

If you need booking and transfers, Jodie's Professional plan is NZ$199. Waboom AI books jobs and puts urgent calls through on every plan, but costs about NZ$320 at 100 calls.

A flat price does not grow with your calls. On a per-minute plan, a 6-minute call costs three times as much as a 2-minute one. On Jodie, it costs nothing extra.

Here is what owners who use Jodie say about it.

Join the Jodie waitlist in New Zealand

Jodie is not taking new New Zealand customers yet, and there is no start date for now. Join the waitlist and we will tell you when a place opens.

When it does:

• Set-up takes under 10 minutes from your website.
• You divert your calls to Jodie and keep your number.
• Jodie then answers every call, day and night, and emails you a summary with the recording and transcript.