Three ways to handle the call you can't take. One of them is free and costs the most. Here's the fair version of the comparison, including where we lose.
What it costs: nothing on the bill.
What it does: records a message from the minority of callers who leave one. Most don't. They hang up and ring the next name, because they had a problem and a list, not a reason to wait.
Where it wins: nowhere, except that it's already there. The honest case for voicemail is a business that genuinely doesn't want more work.
What it costs: by their published rates when we checked on 24 August 2026, the big Australian providers charge $2.60 to $4.00 per call to answer and take a message. Booking into your diary is a separate product, metered at roughly $2.99 a minute. After-hours answering carries surcharges whose amounts they don't publish. Setup runs up to $99. Those are their numbers on their pages, on that date; check them yourself before you decide.
What it does: a person answers in your business's name and takes a message, which you ring back. With the diary add-on, some will book.
Where it wins, genuinely: long, messy, emotional calls. A distressed caller, a complaint that needs listening to, a conversation that wanders. A good human is better at those than any AI, including ours, and we'd rather say so than pretend.
Where it loses: the message still has to become a job. You ring the customer back, often after they've booked someone else. And a per-call price means a busy month is an expensive month.
What it costs: a flat plan, $49 to $399 a month including GST, booking included on every one, no after-hours surcharge, no setup fee, month to month. The full table is on the pricing page.
What it does: answers in a friendly Australian voice, in your name, on a recorded line. Knows your services and hours. Sees your calendar, offers your next real slot, books the job, texts the customer a confirmation and texts you what happened. On the plans that include it, quotes from your own price list. Anyone who asks gets told straight away that it's your virtual receptionist, not a person.
Where it wins: the ordinary call. "Can someone come Thursday?" is booked in a couple of minutes while you're on another job, at 2pm or 2am, at the same price. Our own line's measured window had a fifth of calls arriving outside business hours; those are the calls a per-call service surcharges and voicemail loses.
Where it loses: the long, messy, emotional call. Giday doesn't try to be a counsellor. It hands that caller to you, warm, with the context, or takes a priority message if you can't be reached. We think that's the right division of labour, and we won't claim otherwise.
| Voicemail | Human service | Giday | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Answers | no | yes | yes |
| Books the job | no | separate product, per minute | included |
| After hours | no | surcharge, unpublished | included, no surcharge |
| Long emotional call | no | best | hands to you, with context |
| Tells callers it's recorded | n/a | varies | every call, in the greeting |
| Pretends to be a person | n/a | is one | never, says so when asked |
| Busy month | free | per call | billed the cheaper way, as a bigger plan |
Try it for a week before you decide. 60 minutes of call time free, card up front, nothing charged unless you keep it. The full working against the incumbents is on the comparison page and in what an answering service costs.
Your 24/7 receptionist, from $49 a month — first week free. No setup fee, no lock-in, cancel anytime.