How providers charge
Most AI receptionists are priced in one or more of these ways:
- A monthly plan with minutes included. You pay a fixed amount each month for a set number of call minutes, and extra minutes cost more.
- Per minute. You pay only for the time spent on calls. Cheap in a quiet month, harder to predict in a busy one.
- Per call. A price for each call answered, however long it lasts.
- Set-up or onboarding fees. Some charge to set the service up for you, especially where a person does it.
- Extras. A phone number, booking system connections, extra languages or more users can cost more.
- Contracts. Some ask for 12 months or more; others are monthly.
Prices run from small monthly plans for sole traders to several hundred pounds a month for busy businesses. Compare the total for your own call volume, not the headline price.
Compared with a human receptionist or answering service
A full-time receptionist means a salary plus employer National Insurance, pension, holiday and sick cover, and they work set hours. A human answering service usually charges per call or per minute and may cost more outside office hours.
An AI receptionist costs less and answers at any hour, but it doesn't replace a person who can use judgement or handle a complaint face to face. Many businesses use it for the calls no one can get to. See AI vs virtual receptionist vs voicemail.
How many minutes do you need?
Count the calls you get in a normal week and guess how long each lasts. Then multiply by about 4.3 to get a month. Two made-up examples:
- A plumber getting 20 calls a week of about 2 minutes: 20 × 2 × 4.3 ≈ 170 minutes a month.
- A dental practice getting 60 calls a week of about 3 minutes: 60 × 3 × 4.3 ≈ 775 minutes a month.
If you only forward the calls you can't answer, you'll use fewer minutes than your total calls. Your dashboard shows the minutes used, so you can move plans once you know.
Our plans and what's included
| Plan | Price | Call minutes included | Extra minutes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | £19 a month | 200 minutes | 18p a minute |
| Business | £59 a month | 800 minutes | 13p a minute |
| Pro | £149 a month | 2,500 minutes | 10p a minute |
Every plan includes all of it: 24/7 answering, bookings into its own diary or your booking system, answers from your website, messages texted to you, urgent calls put through while you're open, and every call in your dashboard with a summary and transcript.
- Extra minutes are 18p (Starter), 13p (Business) or 10p (Pro) a minute.
- No set-up fee and no contract. Paid monthly in advance, or yearly for less than 12 monthly payments (the minutes are still a month's); cancel any time.
- Keeping your own number with call forwarding costs nothing from us. A new local number is £4.99 a month (£47.90 a year on a yearly plan).
- No VAT is charged.
Set it up and talk to it in your browser before you pay. See pricing.
Questions to ask before you buy
- What happens when I go over my minutes? Is there a cap?
- Is there a set-up fee or a minimum contract?
- Can I keep my own number? What does forwarding cost? (See call divert codes.)
- Can I hear it answer before I pay?
- Does it book into my diary, or only take messages?
- Who owns the call data, how long is it kept, and is there a Data Processing Agreement?
- Does it tell callers it's an AI?