Glow Line is made by the Glow Tally team, so this comparison is our own. Every fact about another product links to that product's own page.

No single AI receptionist is right for every salon, and the honest answer depends on two things: which booking system you run, and whether you want the assistant to make bookings or hand them to you. If you are on Fresha and want calls booked straight into it, Fresha AI Concierge is the tool documented to do that. If you want a person behind the AI, look at OfficeHQ. If you take fewer than 25 calls a month and accept a card at sign-up and North America-based backup, Smith.ai's Free plan costs nothing. If you want the assistant built for you and texts sent to your clients, look at Aussie AI Agency. If you run Phorest, Shortcuts, Simple Salon or Square Appointments, CallPad lists integrations with each. Nexwin includes 600 minutes on its base plan and books through Google Calendar. Glow Line, which we make, had the lowest figure in our table at 40 calls a month, and takes booking requests rather than bookings.

How we chose and ordered the eight

This page was written by the team that builds Glow Line, and Glow Line is one of the eight products on it. Because of that, the products are in alphabetical order, not an order of merit, and every product gets a section on when it is the better pick.

To be listed, a product had to answer voice calls with an AI assistant, be something an Australian salon can sign up to now, and publish at least a starting price on its own site. Every fact below comes from the vendor's own pages, opened in October 2026. Where a vendor does not state a currency or GST, we say so rather than guess. This is not every option on the market; the products we left out, and why, are listed further down.

The table

Product	Built for	Cheapest plan, as listed	Inc GST	Included	Where bookings go	A person behind it	Trying it
Aussie AI Agency ("Steve")	Multi-stylist hair salons	Starter $149 a month, plus a one-off setup fee	Currency and GST not stated	100 voice minutes, 50 SMS	Google Calendar built in; other systems confirmed on the demo	Not described	Demo; "No money-back guarantee"
CallPad	Beauty and wellness businesses	From A$200 a month, quote only	Tax not stated	Flat rate, no hourly cap	Phorest, Shortcuts, Simple Salon, Square Appointments, Google Calendar and others; not Fresha yet	Not stated	Not stated
Fresha AI Concierge	Salons on Fresha	A$229.95 ex GST per location, on top of a Fresha plan	A$252.95	200 minutes, then A$1.38 ex GST a minute	Your Fresha calendar	Can transfer to a team member	No trial listed for the add-on
Glow Line	Hair, beauty and wellness businesses and barbers	Line $29 a month	No GST charged	40 calls, still answered up to 80 with a note	A booking request texted to you; no diary connection	No; takes a message	Free plan without a phone line: no card, paid for by agreeing to marketing from us and our partners
Nexwin	Salons, barbers and beauty clinics	$249 plus GST a month	$273.90	600 minutes, then $0.49 a minute	Google Calendar, beside your salon software	Not mentioned	7 days with 100 minutes, card required
OfficeHQ MyAI Receptionist	Australian small businesses	$20 plus GST a month	$22	10 calls, then $1.50 plus GST a call	Not stated on its AI page; a message to you by SMS or email	Yes, a live receptionist takes over	7-day trial
Smith.ai	Small businesses; its pages do not mention Australia	Free $0 (25 real calls); Pro from $150	Currency not labelled	25 calls on Free, then $3.00 a call	Calendly "and more"	500+ North America-based receptionists, per-call add-on	Free plan, card required at sign-up
Trillet	Small businesses, plus white-label plans for agencies	$49 a month	Currency and GST not stated	150 minutes, then $0.20 a minute	"Your calendar", none named	Not mentioned	28-day money-back guarantee

What a month costs at two volumes

Most of these charge by the minute, while Glow Line, OfficeHQ and Smith.ai count calls and CallPad charges a flat rate, so we assumed calls average two minutes. A salon whose calls run longer will pay more on the minute-based products and the same on the call-based ones.

Product	40 calls (80 minutes)	150 calls (300 minutes)
Aussie AI Agency	$149 on Starter, plus setup	$299 on Business covers 250 minutes and its overage rate is not listed; Growth is $499
CallPad	From A$200	From A$200
Fresha AI Concierge	A$252.95 inc GST, plus a Fresha plan	A$404.75 inc GST, plus a Fresha plan
Glow Line	$29	$84 on Salon
Nexwin	$273.90 inc GST	$273.90 inc GST
OfficeHQ MyAI Receptionist	$71.50 inc GST	$225.50 inc GST
Smith.ai	$45 (Free, overages on)	$270 (Pro, 150 calls)
Trillet	$49	$79

At 40 calls, Glow Line's $29 is the lowest figure in the table. At 150 calls, Trillet's $79 is lower as a number than Glow Line's $84; whether it is lower in what you pay depends on its currency and GST, which its page does not state. Price is one column, though: what lands in your diary, and who checks it, matters as much.

Product by product

Aussie AI Agency

A Victorian company whose salon assistant, "Steve", is set up for you and goes live within three business days, followed by up to two weeks of tuning on real calls. It texts clients booking confirmations, deposit links, patch-test confirmations and reminders, and its Business plan adds a deposit workflow. The better choice when you run a multi-stylist salon with a fixed price matrix and want someone else to build the assistant. Its own page says it is not a fit for a single-chair home stylist taking about six calls a week.

CallPad

Built for beauty and wellness, and connects to a long list of booking systems, including Phorest, Shortcuts, Simple Salon and Square Appointments. It prices at a flat rate with no hourly cap, starting from A$200 in Australia. The better choice when you run one of the systems it lists and want the assistant tied into it. It has no Fresha connection yet.

Fresha AI Concierge

The add-on that books, reschedules and cancels inside Fresha, can transfer a caller to a team member, speaks multiple languages and lets you choose the voice and greeting. The better choice when your salon is on Fresha and you want phone bookings in the calendar with nobody checking first. It is per location, on top of your Fresha plan. We compare it with Glow Line in detail on Glow Line vs Fresha AI Concierge.

Glow Line

Ours. An Australian number that answers the calls you divert to it, quotes only the services, prices and hours you saved, takes a booking request and texts it to you to confirm. It cannot transfer calls, speaks Australian English, books into no diary and sends no texts to your clients. The better choice when you want missed calls answered at a flat monthly price, on any booking system or none, and you are happy to confirm each booking yourself. Plans are on pricing.

Nexwin

A salon-focused AI receptionist with 600 minutes on its base plan, up to five calls at once, and a card-required trial of seven days and 100 minutes. It books through Google Calendar run beside your salon software, and says direct salon integrations are in development. The better choice when you take a lot of long calls and keep a Google Calendar you trust.

OfficeHQ MyAI Receptionist

An Australian answering service whose AI answers first and hands to a live receptionist if it gets stuck or the caller asks. Messages reach you by email, SMS or both. The better choice when you want a person on hand for every call, or you miss fewer than about 15 calls a month, where its 10-call plan costs less than $29. See Glow Line vs OfficeHQ.

Smith.ai

An AI receptionist with a Free plan of 25 real calls a month, English and Spanish, recording and transcripts, and a network of live receptionists in North America. Cancelling needs 30 days' notice, and its pages do not mention Australia. The better choice when you take under 25 calls a month and are comfortable with a card at sign-up and an unlabelled currency. See Glow Line vs Smith.ai.

Trillet

A self-described "Proudly Australian" provider listing AU data residency, with 150 minutes for $49 a month, $0.20 a minute after, no setup fee and a 28-day money-back guarantee. Its page says it books into your calendar but names no calendar. The better choice when you take long or frequent calls and want a low per-minute rate with a refund window.

Left out, and why

Phorest Front Desk AI replies on SMS and WhatsApp, not voice calls, so it is a different job. See Glow Line vs Phorest Front Desk AI.
Johnni and Jodie publish Australian prices, but their pages are written for tradespeople and do not mention salons.
Tools whose price we could not find on their own site this month are not listed.

FAQ

Which AI receptionists book straight into salon software?

On their own pages: Fresha AI Concierge books into Fresha, and CallPad lists integrations with systems including Phorest, Shortcuts, Simple Salon and Square Appointments. Nexwin, Aussie AI Agency and Glow Line do not write into Fresha; the first two use Google Calendar, and Glow Line uses no calendar.

Is there a free AI receptionist?

Smith.ai's Free plan answers 25 real calls a month with a card taken at sign-up. Glow Line's Free plan has no phone line: it is a booking page and an enquiry inbox, needs no card, and is paid for by agreeing to marketing from us and our partners.

Why are some prices shown without GST?

Because the vendor shows them that way. Where a vendor said "plus GST" or "ex GST", we added 10%. Where it did not say, we left the figure as listed. Glow Line charges no GST because it is not registered for it, so $29 and $84 are the full amounts.

Will clients know they are talking to an AI?

Fresha says its assistant always discloses that it is an AI. Glow Line opens every call as "the virtual assistant for the team". For the others, ask the vendor.

How we checked

Each product's facts were checked on that company's own pages in October 2026.

Best AI receptionists for Australian salons