Two ways to answer the phone when you can't.
A telephone answering service puts a person on your calls. An AI receptionist puts software on them. This guide sets out what each actually does, what UK providers publish as prices, and which suits which kind of business.
Same job, different workers.
A team of receptionists, shared across clients
Your calls divert to a call centre. A receptionist answers with your greeting, takes a message or transfers the call, and sends you the details by email, text or app. Many UK services staff office hours as standard and charge more for evenings and weekends.
Software that holds the conversation
Your calls divert to a number where an AI assistant answers. It speaks in your business's name, asks the questions you've set, takes the caller's details and sends you a summary. It answers every call at once, at any hour, and does not go home at five.
At Klyp the assistant is called Cora. She answers 24/7 in your business's name, says she is an AI if anyone asks, takes every caller's details and sends a summary to your team in 60 seconds. On Growth and Pro she also books call-backs into your diary and puts urgent calls through live. You can hear her on the demo line at the end of this page.
Five things to compare before the price.
1. Hours
Human services usually quote for office hours, with out-of-hours cover as an add-on. Pocket Receptionist's published plans cover 08:00 to 20:00; Face for Business lists evening and weekend support as a feature of its higher plan. An AI receptionist answers at 2am for the same price as 2pm.
2. Busy moments
A shared team can only answer as many calls as it has people free. Software answers every call at once, so nobody waits in a queue when three people ring at lunchtime.
3. How you are billed
Human services bill per call or per minute of a person's time, on top of a monthly fee. AI services bill by included minutes. Short calls and sales calls cost you less on a per-minute model; long chats cost more.
4. Judgement
A person can read tone, take a card payment, or calm an angry caller. An AI receptionist follows the script you agree, which makes it consistent but not a substitute for a colleague on a delicate call.
5. Honesty with the caller
A human receptionist can sound like staff. An AI should say what it is when asked. Cora does. If a provider's assistant pretends to be human, ask why.
Published monthly prices, side by side.
Only providers that state a price on a public page are listed. Several large UK answering services, including Moneypenny and Verbatim, quote individually and do not publish prices.
| Provider (type) | Monthly fee | Included | Beyond the allowance | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pocket Receptionist (human) | £75 to £635 | 30 to 300 calls | £2.99 a call | 08:00 to 20:00 |
| Face for Business (human) | From £49, £99 or £115 | Billed by the second on two plans | Per plan; 90-day minimum term | Core hours; evenings and weekends on the higher plan |
| AnswerConnect (human) | £45/month to get started | Plan details behind a form | Not published | 24/7 |
| Smith.ai (human, US, in dollars) | $300 to $2,100 | 30 to 300 calls | $8.50 to $11.50 a call | 24/7 |
| Moneypenny AI Receptionist (AI) | "From £49" | Quote for details | Not published | 24/7 |
| Dialzara (AI, US, in dollars) | $29 to $349 | 60 to 1,000 minutes | $0.35 to $0.48 a minute | 24/7 |
| Klyp Starter | £49 | 100 minutes (about 40 calls) | Cora keeps answering and taking messages, and we'll suggest moving up a plan. No surprise bills. | 24/7 |
| Klyp Growth | £99 | 500 minutes (about 200 calls) | Cora keeps answering and taking messages, and we'll suggest moving up a plan. No surprise bills. | 24/7 |
| Klyp Pro | £149 | 1,000 minutes (about 400 calls) | Cora keeps answering and taking messages, and we'll suggest moving up a plan. No surprise bills. | 24/7 |
Prices checked 4 Nov 2026 on each provider's own public price page, linked in the table. Klyp: No VAT added. Other providers may add VAT; check each page. Prices in US dollars are shown as published and not converted. Prices change, so treat the table as a starting point, not a quote.
A plain rule of thumb.
Choose a human answering service if your calls need a person to act in the moment: taking payments, handling complaints, or holding a long conversation with a vulnerable caller. Choose an AI receptionist if what you mostly miss is first contact: new enquiries, bookings, call-backs and out-of-hours calls, where the job is to capture who rang and why, and get the right person back to them. Many small firms use both: a person in the office by day, Cora on everything else.
Klyp: Starter £49, Growth £99, Pro £149 a month. First month free. No contract. No VAT added.
Common questions.
Is an AI receptionist cheaper than an answering service?
Usually, per call. Published UK answering-service plans start at about £45 to £75 a month for a small bundle of calls, with extra calls at around £3 each (Pocket Receptionist, Face for Business, AnswerConnect). AI receptionists are priced by the minute or by the plan: Klyp starts at £49 a month for 100 minutes (about 40 calls), with no VAT added. Go over your minutes? Cora keeps answering and taking messages, and we'll suggest moving up a plan. No surprise bills.
Will callers know they are speaking to an AI?
They should. Klyp's receptionist, Cora, answers in your business's name and tells the caller she is an AI if they ask. Many human services, by contrast, answer as if the receptionist sits in your office.
Can an AI receptionist put a call through to me?
Yes, depending on the plan. On every Klyp plan, Cora takes every caller's details and sends a summary to your team in 60 seconds. On Growth and Pro, urgent calls are put through live and call-backs are booked into your diary.
Which is better for a business that takes payments over the phone?
A human service. Taking card payments or handling a difficult complaint is still a job for a person. An AI receptionist is better suited to first contact: who is calling, what about, how urgent, when to call back.