The short answer
AI receptionist pricing is messy. One provider charges by call, another charges by minute, and another says unlimited. Put those prices side by side and the cheapest number can look obvious, even when it buys a completely different service.
The published UK prices in this guide run from a £25 starting price to £199 a month, before bespoke work or excess usage. But the range is not the answer. The useful number is what the service will cost for your calls, with the booking, routing and follow-up work you actually need.
| Provider | Published monthly price | Included usage | Important pricing note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moneypenny AI | From £25 | Confirm with quote | Full rate and human back-up cost require confirmation |
| IONOS Starter | £39 excluding VAT | 30 calls | £0.49 per additional call |
| Sayora | £49 | Unlimited minutes | No setup fee or long contract |
| Jodie | £49, £99 or £199 | Unlimited minutes | Feature boundaries vary by tier |
| ARROW | £99 | 150 minutes | Higher volume follows a quote path |
| BookedSolid | £99 excluding VAT | Unlimited calls and messages | Specialist plan for up to four healthcare practitioners |
Prices were checked against each provider's website on 13 August 2026. Recheck the live plan, included usage and VAT treatment before buying, because a tidy comparison table goes stale the moment a provider changes its pricing.
What changes the price?
Before you compare plans, find the meter. The monthly price is only the top line.
An AI receptionist can be priced around:
- calls
- connected minutes
- extra calls or minutes
- numbers, locations or practitioners
- booking, transfer and outbound actions
- integrations
- setup and configuration
- human hand-off
Two plans can both cost £49 and produce very different bills. One might include unlimited minutes but fewer integrations. Another might cover a small number of calls, then charge every time the phone rings.
The quickest way through the confusion is to write down three things: how much you use, what the receptionist must do, and what happens when you exceed the plan. Until you have those answers, you are comparing labels rather than costs.
Current UK price examples
Here is what the published prices mean once you look past the largest number on the page.
Moneypenny AI Receptionist
Moneypenny advertises its AI Receptionist from £25 a month, with 24/7 answering, lead qualification, booking and human back-up.
The human route makes Moneypenny interesting. But “from” is not a complete price, so ask for the full rate, included usage and hand-off cost.
IONOS AI Receptionist
IONOS publishes three plans excluding VAT:
- Starter: £39 for 30 calls, then £0.49 per call
- Plus: £69 for 100 calls, then £0.39 per call
- Pro: £99 with unlimited calls
Starter suits low, stable volume. Once calls rise, overage can push it past Plus.
Sayora
Sayora costs £49 a month with unlimited minutes, a UK landline, 24/7 answering, SMS summaries, booking, recordings and transcripts. There is no setup fee or long contract.
The flat meter fits repeatable calls with variable volume. The catch is clear: Sayora is AI, not a remote human team.
Jodie
Jodie publishes plans at £49, £99 and £199 a month with unlimited minutes.
The decision is not minutes, then. It is which tier contains the booking, routing and integration work you need.
ARROW
ARROW publishes a £99 plan with 150 minutes, 24/7 answering and lead notifications.
ARROW is easier to value when call length is predictable. Fifty three-minute calls use the allowance. Fifty one-minute calls use a third.
BookedSolid
BookedSolid costs £99 a month excluding VAT for up to four healthcare practitioners, with unlimited calls and messages.
It is the specialist option. That can justify the price in healthcare and add little outside it.
How to compare unlike plans
Start with your phone records, not the pricing pages.
Write down:
- calls the service would answer
- average connected minutes
- calls needing booking, transfer or human help
- peak simultaneous calls
- coverage hours
- numbers, locations and calendars
Then add the subscription, overage, setup, upgrades, human usage and VAT.
Run the total for a quiet, normal and peak month. The cheapest normal month can become the expensive option as soon as a campaign or seasonal rush changes the call pattern.
Cost per call is not enough
A cheap answered call that creates another phone call for your team is still expensive.
Measure complete leads, correct bookings, screened sales calls, correct escalations and messages you can act on without chasing details.
A service that captures the postcode, urgency and callback number may cost more per call and less per useful result.
Setup fees and setup work
No setup fee and no setup work are not the same thing.
Someone still needs to describe the business, choose the questions, connect the number and calendars, define boundaries and make awkward test calls.
Ask who owns that work and how later changes are made. A cheap plan that needs constant correction simply moves the cost from the invoice to your working day.
Unlimited does not remove every limit
“Unlimited” normally applies to one unit, usually calls or minutes. It does not automatically include unlimited numbers, calendars, outbound calls, human transfers or changes.
Ask what is unlimited, what can still create a charge and how many calls can be answered at once.
Unlimited can be excellent value. It just needs a noun attached to it.
When a lower allowance is best
A smaller allowance wins when volume is low and stable, overage is clear and the entry plan completes the whole job.
Calculate the peak bill. If it still costs less than the flat alternative, there is no value in paying for unlimited use you do not need.
When a flat plan is best
A flat plan earns its place when call volume changes, seasonal peaks are common or budget certainty matters.
But predictable pricing does not rescue a poor result. Test whether the receptionist gets the right information and takes the right action before paying for unlimited use.
Questions to ask before buying
Get these answers in writing:
- Is VAT included?
- What exactly is unlimited?
- What is the overage rate and unit?
- Are calls or minutes rounded?
- Are setup and number rental included?
- Which features need a higher tier?
- Does human hand-off cost extra?
- How many calls can be answered at once?
- Can you keep your number?
- What is the minimum term?
If the provider cannot explain what makes the bill change, the price is not ready to compare.
Calculate first-year cost, not just monthly cost
Monthly prices are built for pricing pages. First-year cost is built for decisions.
Add four things:
- Subscription. Use the normal price after any introductory offer.
- Variable usage. Price quiet, normal and peak months, including rounding.
- Implementation. Add setup, number porting and paid integrations.
- Operating time. Allow for correcting bookings, reviewing exceptions and updating instructions.
The useful formula is:
annual subscription + overage + one-off charges + internal operating cost
Then divide by complete outcomes, not total calls. You do not need a fake calculation down to the penny. You need enough honesty to spot a cheap subscription creating expensive work elsewhere.
Worked examples using published plans
These examples use prices checked on 13 August 2026 and include only published charges.
IONOS Starter at 50 calls
Starter includes 30 calls for £39 a month excluding VAT. Another 20 calls at £0.49 add £9.80.
Total: £48.80 excluding VAT.
That is easy to calculate. You still need to check that Starter performs the actions you need.
IONOS Starter at 100 calls
Another 70 calls add £34.30, taking Starter to £73.30 excluding VAT.
Plus includes 100 calls for £69. On allowance alone, Plus is £4.30 cheaper. That is why “from £39” does not answer “what will this cost me?”
Sayora at variable minutes
Sayora's £49 subscription stays the same in a quiet and busy month because the plan includes unlimited minutes.
That gives certainty around connected time, not every possible feature or integration.
ARROW at longer calls
ARROW includes 150 minutes for £99. Fifty three-minute calls use the full allowance. Fifty one-minute calls use a third.
Call count cannot price a minute-based plan without duration.
Hidden costs to check
The expensive parts are often missing from the big number.
- Overage: Is it per call, connected minute or started minute?
- Upgrades: Does booking, transfer or multiple calendars require another tier?
- Telephone setup: Is a number, forwarding or porting included, and who owns the number?
- Integrations: Is calendar access standard while CRM work costs extra?
- Human support: What triggers it and how is it charged?
- Changes: Can you edit instructions yourself?
- Retention: Can you export recordings or transcripts before cancellation?
- Contract: What is the maximum commitment and notice date?
Price the lowest plan that completes the job. A cheaper plan doing half the work is not a direct alternative.
Price versus value by business type
The same plan can be excellent value for one business and a waste for another.
Trades and mobile services
Prioritise complete lead capture and a fast summary. Variable demand makes flat pricing worth a look.
Appointment-based businesses
Pay more for booking only if it respects real durations, buffers, staff and availability. Message-taking is not booking.
Professional services
A human or hybrid service can earn its premium when judgement and discretion are part of the first conversation.
Multi-location teams
Check whether price is per business, number, location, user, calendar or practitioner. A simple headline can multiply quickly.
Very low call volume
Voicemail, a reliable callback process or a small allowance may be enough. Do not buy a sophisticated receptionist to avoid fixing a simple callback problem.
How to test whether the plan earns its cost
Easy test calls prove very little.
Use your number and try a clear lead, a caller missing one detail, an unavailable booking, a cold sales call, two simultaneous calls and a failed transfer.
Track complete leads, correct bookings, screened calls, failed interactions, repair time and total cost. Compare that with your current process.
The break-even question is simple: how many extra complete outcomes, or how much saved time, pays for the monthly bill?
Use your own gross profit and staff cost. A dramatic statistic from another industry cannot answer it for you.
Is an AI receptionist cheaper than a person?
For repeatable phone intake, AI plans cost far less than employing a person or buying substantial human receptionist time.
But a person earns the higher cost when judgement, reassurance or complex exceptions are part of the call. AI earns its place when the outcome can be described clearly and the business needs consistent capacity.
Choose the least expensive model that completes the job safely, not the cheapest thing capable of saying hello.
The virtual receptionist comparison explains where each model fits.
Verdict
Start with the meter, then test the work.
Choose a small allowance for low, predictable volume. Choose a flat plan when calls change and you want the bill to stay put. Pay more for specialist or human support when that extra work genuinely matters.
The best value is not the smallest number on the page. It is the service that leaves you with a complete lead, correct booking or useful message at a cost you can still live with in a busy month.