How much does an AI receptionist cost in the UK?

The three ways AI receptionists are priced

Providers package the same thing in different ways, which makes quotes hard to compare. Almost every price you see is one of these three.

• A fixed monthly plan with a set number of calls or minutes, plus a charge for anything over. Telecoms providers often sell it this way as an add-on to a phone line. For example, Fasthosts listed AI receptionist plans at £39, £69 and £99 a month when we checked in October 2026.
• Pay as you go: you top up call credit and each minute the AI is on the phone is taken from it. You pay nothing in a quiet week, and costs grow with the calls you actually get.
• Part of a wider platform: the AI receptionist comes with booking, messaging and client tools, with a monthly platform fee plus call usage. This is how HaloTasker works.

What pushes the price up

Two businesses can pay very different amounts for something that looks the same on the website. These are the things that make the difference.

• Call volume and length. Most pricing is driven by minutes, so a busy salon pays more than a plumber who gets six calls a day.
• Booking into a live diary. An AI that only takes a message is cheaper than one that checks availability and books the slot while the caller is on the line.
• Call transfers. Putting callers through to you or a colleague uses more minutes and sometimes a second phone line.
• A new phone number. Most providers can give you a UK number or work with your existing one by call forwarding. A new number may carry a small monthly charge.
• Set-up help. Some providers charge an onboarding fee to write your scripts and connect your diary. Others let you do it yourself in an afternoon.

AI receptionist vs a human answering service

Human answering services, such as Moneypenny in the UK, give you a real person who answers in your business name. They are excellent at handling unusual calls, but you pay for that person's time. Plans are typically built around a monthly fee plus a charge per call or per minute, which adds up quickly for a busy line.

An AI receptionist answers every call at once, never puts anyone on hold, works through the night and at weekends, and costs the same at 3am as at 3pm. Where it is weaker is the genuinely unusual call, which is why a good one hands those over to you with a summary rather than guessing.

AI receptionist vs hiring someone

A part-time receptionist on the National Living Wage costs well over £1,000 a month once you add employer costs, and only covers the hours they work. For most small businesses the point of an AI receptionist is not to replace a person, but to catch the calls nobody is free to answer: during appointments, on a job, at lunch, after hours and at weekends.

How to work out what you would pay

Look at your phone bill or call log for a typical month and note how many calls you get and how long they last. Then ask each provider what that volume would cost, including any set-up fee, number rental and charges for transferring calls. Ask whether unused minutes roll over, and whether you can try it free before you commit.

What HaloTasker costs

HaloTasker's AI Call Agent runs on pay-as-you-go call credit, so you only pay for the calls it actually handles. Your HaloTasker plan covers everything else: the booking calendar it books into, reminders, the client portal, invoices and workflows. You can start a 14-day free trial without a credit card and hear it answer your own calls before you pay anything. See the pricing page for current rates.

Frequently asked questions