How much does a virtual receptionist cost in the UK?
Between about £45 and £250 a month for most small businesses, depending on whether a person or an AI answers, how many calls you get, and what hours you need covered. Here is where those numbers come from.
Three price bands.
Entry plans. A small bundle of calls or minutes, office hours, extras charged on top.
AnswerConnect, Face for Business, Pocket Receptionist, Moneypenny AI, Klyp Starter (£49).Mid plans. Enough calls or minutes for a busy small firm, with call-backs, transfers and longer hours.
Pocket Receptionist Growth £145 and Pro £230; Klyp Growth £99 and Pro £149.High-volume human plans, or anything quoted individually.
Pocket Receptionist Enterprise £635 for 300 calls; Moneypenny and Verbatim quote only.Four things move the number.
Who answers
A person costs more per minute than software, because a person can only be on one call at a time. That is why human plans bundle 30 to 300 calls and AI plans bundle 100 to 1,000 minutes for similar money.
Call volume
Every published plan is a bundle. Go over it and most providers charge you per call (about £3 a call at Pocket Receptionist) or per minute. On Klyp, go over your minutes and Cora keeps answering and taking messages, and we'll suggest moving up a plan. No surprise bills. Pick the plan from your real monthly call count, not a hopeful one.
Hours
Office hours are the base price for most human services. Evenings, weekends and 24/7 cover cost more, or sit on a higher plan. AI receptionists answer around the clock at one price.
Contract and VAT
Check the minimum term (Face for Business states 90 days before a 30-day rolling plan; Pocket Receptionist states month to month; Klyp has no contract) and whether VAT is added. Klyp adds none.
Published UK prices, checked 4 Nov 2026.
| Provider | Type | Monthly fee | Included | Over the allowance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AnswerConnect | Human, 24/7 | £45/month to get started | Plans shown after a form | Not published |
| Face for Business | Human | From £49 (Taster), £99 (Message Only), £115 (Inclusive Minutes) | Billed by the second on two plans | Per plan; 90-day minimum term |
| Pocket Receptionist | Human, 08:00 to 20:00 | £75 / £145 / £230 / £635 | 30 / 60 / 100 / 300 calls | £2.99 a call |
| Moneypenny | Human | Quote only | — | — |
| Verbatim | Human | Quote only; 30-day trial | — | — |
| Moneypenny AI Receptionist | AI, 24/7 | "From £49" | Quote for details | Not published |
| Klyp | AI, 24/7 | £49 / £99 / £149 | 100 / 500 / 1,000 minutes (about 40 / 200 / 400 calls) | No surprise bills: Cora keeps answering and taking messages, and we'll suggest moving up a plan |
Klyp: No VAT added. Other providers may add VAT at 20%; check their page. US-based AI receptionists such as Dialzara ($29 to $349 a month) and My AI Front Desk ($99 a month for 200 minutes) publish prices in dollars and are not converted here.
What an employed receptionist costs.
For comparison, a full-time receptionist on the National Living Wage (£12.71 an hour from April 2026) working 37.5 hours a week earns £24,785 a year before anything else. Add employer National Insurance at 15% on earnings above £5,000, the 3% minimum employer pension contribution and 28 days' paid holiday that someone else must cover, and the real figure for one person covering office hours only is roughly £28,560 a year. On a £25,000 salary (the National Careers Service "experienced" figure, just above that floor): £25,000 wages + £3,000 employer NI ((£25,000 − £5,000) × 15%) + £563 pension ((£25,000 − £6,240) × 3%) = £28,563, or about £2,380 a month (£2,130 if the Employment Allowance covers the NI). We work this through line by line on the hiring comparison page.
Ring Cora and judge for yourself.
Klyp's receptionist answers the demo line as a fictional firm. Ask her awkward questions. If you like what you hear, the first month is free, there is no contract and no VAT is added.
Common questions.
What is the cheapest virtual receptionist in the UK?
On published prices checked 4 Nov 2026, entry plans sit between £45 and £75 a month: AnswerConnect advertises £45/month to get started, Face for Business a Taster plan from £49, Moneypenny's AI Receptionist "from £49" and Pocket Receptionist £75 for 30 calls. Klyp's Starter plan is £49 a month for 100 minutes (about 40 calls), with no VAT added and the first month free.
Is a virtual receptionist charged per call or per minute?
Both models exist. Human services often charge per call (Pocket Receptionist bills £2.99 for each call beyond the plan) or by the second of a receptionist's time. AI receptionists usually include a block of minutes; some, such as Dialzara, charge a per-minute rate above it. On Klyp: go over your minutes? Cora keeps answering and taking messages, and we'll suggest moving up a plan. No surprise bills.
Do virtual receptionist prices include VAT?
Not always. Many providers show prices before VAT. Klyp: No VAT added, so £49 means £49.
How much does an in-house receptionist cost by comparison?
At least £24,785 a year in wages alone for a 37.5-hour week on the National Living Wage of £12.71, before employer National Insurance at 15% above £5,000, the 3% minimum pension contribution and 28 days' paid holiday. The hiring comparison page works it through with gov.uk figures.