Three ways an Australian service business can answer the phone — what each one costs, what each one does, and where each one breaks down. Honest figures, no marketing rounding.
| Attribute | Voicemail The default. Free, no setup, and the worst-converting of the three. | Human answering service Traditional message-taking — proven, expensive, and per-call billed. | Synthly AI Assistant Sub-2-second pickup, 24/7, books straight into your calendar. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | Free | — | $797 |
| Setup cost | Free | — | $4,995 |
| Answer time | Doesn't answer | Several seconds (peak-time drop-off) | under 2 seconds |
| What it does |
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| Where it breaks |
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| Best for | Solo operators with genuinely zero inbound call volume and no after-hours work. | Regulated work or call mixes that genuinely need a human voice on every call. | Established trades missing 3+ calls a day with average job value over $200. |
The default. Free, no setup, and the worst-converting of the three.
Traditional message-taking — proven, expensive, and per-call billed.
Sub-2-second pickup, 24/7, books straight into your calendar.
The right answer depends on your call mix, job value and after-hours load. Here is the genuine recommendation for each shape of business.
Side-by-side AU cost, answer-rate and conversion comparison with honest "choose X if…" guidance for each option.
Read the pieceInsightThe $45,000–$75,000 annual lost-revenue framing — call abandonment data, AU average job values by trade, response-time research.
Read the pieceSee how Synthly's AI Assistant handles the call mix for your specific vertical — scripts, callout pricing and FAQ tuned to the trade.
We'll call your business after hours, show you exactly what your customers hear today, then walk you through what Synthly would do differently.
Reach us directly and we'll lock in your 15-minute audit at a time that suits.