Buyer's guide
Best AI receptionist UK 2026: how to choose and how the main options compare
The questions worth asking before you choose, and what each provider publishes about price, minutes and what is included.
The short version
Providers count usage in different ways, quote in different currencies and include different things, so a headline price tells you little on its own. Use the checklist to decide what matters for your business, then use the table to see what each provider says publicly.
Last updated 8 October 2026
A buyer's checklist
Eight questions to put to any provider, including us.
How the price is counted
Providers bill by the minute, by the call, or offer unlimited use. These do not compare directly, so work out what your own month of calls would cost on each basis, and check what happens when the allowance runs out.
Which taxes and fees are on top
Some prices exclude VAT, some say nothing, and some add a setup fee. Read the small print on the pricing page before you compare two headline numbers.
Whether you get a number or use forwarding
A provider can give you a new phone number, or answer calls you forward from your existing one. Forwarding keeps your number but depends on your phone provider's settings.
How it learns your business
Ask what it knows on the first call and how it got there. Hearing it answer questions about your own business, before you pay, tells you more than a list of features.
What happens when it cannot help
Look for a clear route to a person or a message to you, and ask whether that route costs extra. A receptionist that cannot answer should hand over cleanly.
Which integrations are live today
Check that the calendar or CRM you use is available now, not planned. Ask for the current status of anything you would depend on.
Where your data goes
Ask where calls are processed and stored, whether recordings are kept, and who the sub-processors are. A provider that answers plainly is easier to trust.
Trial and contract terms
A trial with no card details and no contract makes it cheap to find out. Note the notice period and whether the trial limits what you can test.
How the main options compare
Prices and features change. Every competitor figure below was read on 22 September 2026 from the page linked beside it. Where that page does not say, the cell reads Not published. Billing units and currencies differ, so read the cells before you compare the numbers.
| Provider | Price | Minutes or calls included | What is included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ringar AI (ours)Our own plans, from our pricing page | £60, £90, £320 a month, excluding VAT. Enterprise is custom. | 500 minutes, 900 minutes, 4,000 minutes on Entry, Lite, Pro. | Free trial with no card details. Google Calendar (live), Call summaries (live), Email notifications after each call (coming soon). |
| Fonio | Solo plan €119 a month, or €99 a month billed annually. Billed in euros; no pound pricing.Source, read on 22 September 2026 | 1,000 included minutes on Solo. Extra minutes €15 per 100.Source, read on 22 September 2026 | 1 concurrent call, 1 phone number (extra numbers €7 a month), 1 user, 30-day money-back guarantee.Source, read on 22 September 2026 |
| IONOS AI Receptionist | £39, £69 or £99 a month, excluding VAT.Source, read on 22 September 2026 | Priced per call: 30 calls, 100 calls or unlimited calls by plan. Extra calls £0.49 and £0.39 on the lower two.Source, read on 22 September 2026 | Dedicated phone number and a one-month free trial on the plans. Calendar booking from the middle plan.Source, read on 22 September 2026 |
| Answer.co.uk AI receptionist | £10 a month plus £0.85 per call, plus VAT. Bundles at £30, £120 and £300 a month.Source, read on 22 September 2026 | Priced per call: 50, 200 or 500 calls in the bundles, then £0.85 per extra call.Source, read on 22 September 2026 | Dedicated UK number. Calls can transfer to you or to their human service, with extra fees on the higher plans.Source, read on 22 September 2026 |
| Ringmere | £49, £99 or £249 a month, excluding VAT.Source, read on 22 September 2026 | 150, 240 or 700 minutes. Extra minutes £0.25 (£0.20 on the top plan).Source, read on 22 September 2026 | One UK number on each plan and a 14-day free trial. WhatsApp and SMS chat from the middle plan.Source, read on 22 September 2026 |
| Clara | £39.99 or £69.99 a month, or £399 or £699 a year. No VAT statement on the page.Source, read on 22 September 2026 | Unlimited calls answered.Source, read on 22 September 2026 | 7-day free trial. Built for tradespeople and works on forwarded calls; the base plan is for a single user.Source, read on 22 September 2026 |
| Jodie | £49, £99 or £199 a month, with taxes extra.Source, read on 22 September 2026 | Unlimited minutes on the three standard plans. The page shows no numeric difference between them.Source, read on 22 September 2026 | 7-day free trial with no credit card. Works by call forwarding; no number is provided.Source, read on 22 September 2026 |
| Sayora | £49 a month for a single early-access plan. VAT status not stated.Source, read on 22 September 2026 | Unlimited minutes, with no overage.Source, read on 22 September 2026 | Dedicated UK landline, no setup fee and a 7-day trial. Learns from the business website.Source, read on 22 September 2026 |
| AI Answerphone | £47, £77 or £97 a month.Source, read on 22 September 2026 | 350, 750 or 1,250 minutes. Overage rate: not published.Source, read on 22 September 2026 | No setup fees or contracts. Free trial: not published. SMS alerts are a pay-as-you-go extra.Source, read on 22 September 2026 |
| Norango | £69.95, £189.95 or £299.95 a month, with live receptionist backup on the upper two.Source, read on 22 September 2026 | 60, 200 or 500 AI minutes. Extra AI minutes 50p, 45p or 40p. Live agent time £1.50 a minute.Source, read on 22 September 2026 | 30-day free trial, with a card for verification only. CRM integration is a paid extra.Source, read on 22 September 2026 |
| Hand On Web | £149, £399 or £699 a month, plus a setup fee of £199, £399 or £499. VAT status: not published.Source, read on 22 September 2026 | 200, 500 or 1,000 included minutes. Overage rate: not published.Source, read on 22 September 2026 | 30-day money-back guarantee, no minimum contract and UK-based support.Source, read on 22 September 2026 |
| Moneypenny AI Receptionist | From £25 a month. No plan table is published.Source, read on 22 September 2026 | Not publishedSource, read on 22 September 2026 | Escalation to their live receptionists or your team. Names HubSpot, Salesforce, Calendly and Microsoft Teams as integrations. Trial length and minimum term: not published.Source, read on 22 September 2026 |
Competitor details were read on 22 September 2026 and may have changed since. Check the linked page before you decide. This is a list of what each provider publishes, not a ranking.
What is different about Ringar AI
With Ringar AI you enter your website address, and within about two minutes you can hear a receptionist trained on your own site, in your browser. The trial is free and needs no card details.
What should I look for in an AI receptionist in the UK?
Start with how the price is counted, which taxes and fees sit on top, whether you get a UK number, how it learns your business, what happens when it cannot help, which integrations are live today, where your data goes and what the trial terms are. The checklist on this page covers each of these.
Can I compare these prices directly?
Often not. Some providers charge per minute, some per call and some offer unlimited use. Some quote prices in euros, and some exclude VAT. Compare what a typical month of your calls would cost on each basis, not the headline numbers.
Where do the competitor details come from?
Each cell links to the provider's own page and shows the date it was read, 22 September 2026. Where the page does not say, the cell reads Not published rather than a guess.
Are these prices and features still current?
Prices and features change. The details were read on 22 September 2026, so check the linked page before you decide. We update the table when we re-read the pages.
How is Ringar AI different?
With Ringar AI you enter your website address, and within about two minutes you can hear a receptionist trained on your own site, in your browser. The trial is free and needs no card details.
Is this a ranking?
No. It sets out the questions worth asking and shows what each provider publishes, so you can decide for your own business. Our own row is labelled as ours.