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What does a telephone answering service cost in the UK?

From published UK price lists: message taking starts around £15 a month, live answering bundles run from about £45 to £230 or more, extra calls cost roughly £3 each, and several of the biggest names only quote per customer. AI answering has changed the shape of the market: a flat monthly price with 24/7 included. Every figure below links to its source.

Published UK prices, checked 22 July 2026

ProviderPublished priceWhat it coversHours
ReceptionHQFrom £15 to £30 a month by service, plus per-call or per-minute feesMessage taking up to appointment booking24/7 included
AnswerConnectFrom £45 a month; the full plan table appears after you register detailsLive answering with message delivery24/7 advertised
Face For BusinessFrom £49 a month; inclusive-minutes plans from £115 a monthLive answering billed by the secondOffice hours; out-of-hours by arrangement
Pocket Receptionist£75 a month for 30 calls; £2.99 per extra call (ex VAT)Live answering with transfers; £230 a month for 100 calls08:00 to 20:00
alldayPANo public rate card; pay per call or per minute, quoted per customerCall answering up to full reception, by quote24/7 advertised
MoneypennyNo public rate card; quoted per customerDedicated receptionist teams, by quote24/7 available
Kalvo (AI receptionist)£49 a month for 100 call minutes; £99 for 400; £199 for 1,000Answers, books appointments, takes messages; website chatbot and email included24/7 included on every plan

Prices are the providers' own published figures on the linked pages, checked 22 July 2026. Where a provider states ex VAT, so does the table. No prices are estimated.

The three pricing models, and how to compare them

UK call answering is sold three ways: per call, per minute, or as a monthly bundle of calls or minutes. Per-call pricing is simple but climbs with your call volume. Per-minute pricing rewards short calls and punishes chatty ones. Bundles smooth the bill but you pay for allowance you may not use, and overage rates apply beyond it.

The only fair way to compare them is the effective per-call rate: divide the monthly bill you expect by the calls you expect answered. A £75 bundle covering 30 calls is £2.50 a call. A quote that looks cheaper per month can be dearer per call, which is the number your missed-call maths actually runs on.

Costs that do not show on the price list

Ask about hours first: 24/7 cover is included with some providers, extra with others, and simply unavailable on some published plans. Then ask how time is counted. Billing by the second exists, Face For Business advertises exactly that, but rounding up to the minute is common and quietly inflates per-minute deals.

Also ask what counts as an answered call: some services charge for sales and nuisance calls, others exclude them. And check what a message actually contains. If every answered call still ends in a note for you to ring back, the service has moved your work, not removed it.

What AI answering changes about the maths

Human answering is priced per call because a person can only take one call at a time, and overnight cover means overnight staff. Software has neither constraint, so an AI receptionist like Kalvo sells a flat plan instead: £49 a month for 100 call minutes, 24/7 included, every simultaneous caller answered.

The capability trade is real and worth weighing honestly: a person can exercise judgment a script never captures, while an AI receptionist answers from your knowledge base, books the appointment on the call, and never queues a caller. Our AI receptionist vs answering service comparison takes that question on directly.

£1,200

the estimated cost of a single missed customer call

Source: BT Business research, 2014

Common questions

How much does a telephone answering service cost per call in the UK?

Where per-call rates are published, expect roughly £2 to £3 per answered call. Pocket Receptionist, for example, lists £2.99 per call beyond its bundles, and its £75-for-30-calls plan works out at £2.50 a call. Per-minute billing and custom quotes can land lower or higher, which is why the effective per-call rate matters more than the headline.

Why do so many providers not publish prices?

Larger services price per customer based on call volume, call length and script complexity, so they quote rather than publish. That is not a red flag in itself, but it makes comparison hard. When you get a quote, ask for the effective per-call rate, the out-of-hours policy, and what happens to unused allowance.

Is 24/7 answering usually included?

Not reliably. Some providers include it, others cover office hours or charge extra for nights and weekends, and one published plan on this page stops at 20:00. If out-of-hours calls are the reason you are shopping, confirm the overnight policy in writing before comparing prices.

What does an AI answering service cost by comparison?

Kalvo is £49 a month for 100 call minutes with 24/7 cover included, and larger plans at £99 and £199. There is no per-call fee inside the plan. The structural difference is that software answers simultaneous and overnight calls without staffing cost, which is what removes the per-call meter.

Are these prices current?

Every figure was taken from the named provider's public pricing page on 22 July 2026, and each table row links to its source so you can check today's price yourself. If a provider has changed its pricing since, the link will show it.

Related pages

AI receptionist vs answering serviceMissed-call statisticsKalvo pricingMissed-call answering

Answer every call for a flat price.

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