What Does an 1800 Number Cost in Australia?

An 1800 number costs your business two things: a monthly plan fee starting at $10, and the call charges for every call the number receives. Your callers pay nothing from an Australian fixed line — that is what makes the number toll-free, and it is also why the business side carries the entire call cost.

The two parts of an 1800 number cost

The monthly plan fee. 1800 plans run from $10 to $99 per month:

| Plan | Monthly fee | Includes | |---|---|---| | Prepaid 1800 | $10 | $5 call credit | | Light 1800 | $15 | $5 call credit | | Cap39 plans | $39 | Included fixed-line and/or mobile minutes | | Cap79 1800 | $79 | 750 fixed-line + 300 mobile minutes | | High Volume 1800 | $99 | $99 call credit |

On cap plans the monthly fee is the only charge until the included value is used; after that, calls bill at the plan's per-minute rate. All prices exclude GST, and call charges are calculated per second with rates expressed per minute. The full pricing table holds the current landline and mobile rates for every plan.

The call charges. Because callers pay nothing, your business pays for all call time. The rate depends on where the call originates — calls terminating from fixed lines cost the business less than calls terminating from mobiles — and charging is per second, so you pay for the time actually used rather than a rounded-up minute. Pricing is national: the same plans and rates apply wherever your business operates, and there is no per-user fee for routing calls to different answer points.

What callers pay

From an Australian fixed line, an 1800 call costs your caller nothing, wherever in Australia they dial from. From a mobile, the caller's charge is decided by their carrier and plan, not by your business. If mobile callers matter to you, say so in your marketing: invite callers to check their plan, or offer an alternative contact channel for anyone who prefers one.

What your monthly bill looks like

Work from your call profile:

1. Estimate your answered minutes. Average call duration multiplied by monthly calls gives your baseline.
2. Pick the plan whose inclusions cover it. A business doing 300 short fixed-line minutes a month fits a Cap39 plan; its bill is the $39 fee while inclusions last.
3. Watch the mix. Mobile-originated calls draw on mobile inclusions first and cost more once inclusions are exhausted.
4. Adjust after a month. Call reporting shows your actual volumes and origins, so you can move up or down a plan on real numbers.

Because charging is per second and cap inclusions absorb the first slice of call time, most bills sit close to the plan fee plus modest overage — the exception is a mobile-heavy traffic profile, which suits the plans with larger mobile inclusions.

Extras worth knowing about

• Phonewords. Numbers that spell a brand word are a premium product, available from $40 a month — a different product tier from standard 1800 numbers.
• SMS on your number. Text messaging can be enabled on 1300 and 1800 numbers, with messages charged at $0.20 each.
• Porting. An existing 1800 number can be brought across onto your chosen plan, so switching providers does not mean changing the number your customers already know.
• Included features. Routing, IVR menus, voicemail-to-email, call recording and call reporting are part of the service rather than priced per feature.

Why the toll-free model costs more — and when it is worth it

An 1800 number costs your business more per call than a 1300 number, because on 1300 the caller contributes up to the local call rate. What you buy for the difference is the removal of every cost hesitation on the caller's side: support, sales and booking lines convert better when the call is free from a fixed line. If call volume is high and callers are price-sensitive, the toll-free premium often pays for itself; if your traffic is light, a 1300 number is the cheaper run-rate. Both formats share the same feature set, so you can compare them on cost alone — 1300 vs 1800 numbers breaks the choice down.

To get started, pick a number from the available 1800 numbers, compare plans in 1800 number pricing, and point the number at the landline or mobile you already answer. The product itself is covered in 1800 numbers — the number is virtual, so there is no hardware to install, and it can be ported later if you already advertise one.