An honest comparison
We'd rather you compare properly than take our word for it. Below is what each option actually costs in Australia, what it's good at, and where it falls short — including where we fall short.
01 — The three options
Roughly A$55,000–70,000/yr full-time, before super
Best at: everything a human is best at — judgement, warmth, knowing your regulars by voice.
The catch: one person covers one phone, business hours only. They take lunch, holidays and sick days — and most missed calls happen outside 9–5 anyway.
Typically per-call or per-minute; commonly A$100–1,000+/mo by volume
Best at: a real human voice, 24/7, without hiring.
The catch: the operator answers for dozens of businesses and works from a message pad — they usually can't book into your calendar, and after-hours surcharges add up exactly when you need them most.
Catchly: A$199 or A$299/mo, GST-in, A$0.50/min past included minutes
Best at: answering every call instantly, 24/7, asking your qualifying questions the same way every time, booking straight into your calendar, and texting you and the caller.
The catch — honestly: she's an AI and says so when asked. A small share of callers will always want a human, which is why urgent calls transfer to you rather than dead-ending.
02 — Due diligence
Ours you can ring right now — 07 3132 1165 is Amy, live. She currently answers as Halden Plumbing & Gas, a demonstration business we built so you can hear her from the caller's side rather than listen to a sales pitch. Any provider who won't let you talk to their agent before signing is asking you to buy blind.
A message you still have to action is half the job. Amy books into Google Calendar, sends the caller an SMS confirmation with a booking reference, and can change or cancel a booking when they ring back. More calendar and job-management integrations are on our roadmap — we'll say "roadmap" rather than pretend they're live.
On our Complete plan Amy identifies emergencies against the list you gave us and rings your on-call mobile with the caller on the line. Ask any provider precisely this: does urgent actually reach a human, or does it go into a queue?
Do the maths on your call volume, not the headline price. A low base with per-minute billing is cheap on a quiet month — and your busy months are exactly the expensive ones. "Unlimited" has to make its money back somewhere: usually a fair-use cap, a thinner agent, or no setup help. And if there's a setup fee, ask what it buys and whether it's refundable if the agent doesn't sound right. Ours: minutes included, A$0.50/min past them, and we flag you before you reach it — no surprise bill.
Amy says she's an AI assistant whenever a caller asks — we never pretend otherwise, and from December 2026 Australian privacy law expects automated-decision transparency anyway. Ask every provider what their agent says when a caller asks "am I talking to a robot?"
We're a Brisbane team, we build her on your business in a setup call, you test her before she takes a customer call, and when something's wrong you tell us and we change it — usually same day. Ask self-serve providers who fixes it when the AI misquotes your prices.
The short version
We win the comparisons we deserve to win. The demo line is Amy — talk to her like a customer would.