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AI receptionist or human receptionist: which costs less?

Put in your call volume and what you would pay each option. You get the cost per year and per answered call, side by side. The starting figures for a receptionist and an answering service are placeholders, so replace them with real quotes.

Three questions. We use typical figures for the rest.

Your calls

Calls a month

Everything on your business line.

A receptionistSalary and the costs that come with employing someone.

Receptionist salary a year

Before employer costs.

Employer costs on top

NI, pension and holiday cover. Roughly a fifth.

Hours a week they cover

A full-time week is about 37.

Calls arriving outside those hours

Evenings, weekends, lunch and holiday.

An answering serviceUse a real quote if you have one.

Answering service, monthly fee

From your quote. 120 is a placeholder.

Charge per call answered

From your quote. 1.00 is a placeholder.

Hours a week they cover

Many cover extended hours.

Calls arriving outside those hours

Whatever is left after their cover.

An AI receptionistOur published starting price, excluding VAT.

Set-up, once

Our published starting price.

Monthly care

Our published starting price.

Usage cost per call

Placeholder. Ask us for your usage estimate.

Calls the AI answers

The rest go to a person or voicemail.

Want to change the rest of the figures? Switch to Advanced.

Working it out

Or call 07442 569900 / book a call

See the full breakdown

Year one for the AI receptionist includes the one-off set-up. From year two it is only the monthly cost and usage.
A receptionist, an answering service and an AI receptionist do different jobs. Price is one thing to weigh. Quality, tone and what happens on a complicated call matter too.
Only the AI receptionist set-up and monthly figures are ours. The receptionist, answering service and usage figures are placeholders until you replace them with your own.

A worked example

A business takes about 120 calls a month. A full-time receptionist on £24,000, around £28,800 with employer costs, answers roughly 936 calls a year at about £31 each, because 35% of calls arrive outside their hours. An answering service on placeholder pricing of £120 a month plus £1 a call costs about £2,700 a year and answers around 1,224. An AI receptionist costs about £3,900 in year one and £1,900 from year two, and answers around 1,368. On these figures the answering service is cheapest per answered call, but the AI receptionist costs about £24,900 less than a receptionist in year one and covers all 168 hours a week. Replace the placeholders with real quotes and the answer may change.

What it counts

Salary and employer costs for a receptionist.
Monthly fee and per-call charge for an answering service.
Set-up, monthly and usage cost for an AI receptionist.

What it leaves out

The quality of the conversation, which matters as much as price.
Training, management time and equipment.
Calls the AI hands to a person or voicemail beyond the share you set.

Questions people ask

Is an AI receptionist cheaper than a human receptionist?

A salary is a fixed cost for set hours. An AI receptionist is a set-up fee and a monthly fee that covers every hour, so the gap can be wide. The calculator shows it on your own numbers, including the cost per call actually answered.

How much does a receptionist cost a UK business?

More than the salary. Add employer National Insurance, pension and holiday cover, roughly a fifth on top by default, then divide by the calls actually answered. Enter your own salary and the calculator works out the cost per answered call.

How much does an AI receptionist cost in the UK?

An AI receptionist starts from £2,000 set-up plus £99 a month, excluding VAT and usage costs. The usage figure in the calculator is a placeholder until we estimate it for your call volume.

How much does a call answering service cost?

It depends on the provider, your hours and your call volume, so most quote individually. We do not quote any provider here. Enter the monthly fee and the charge per call from your own quote and the calculator puts it beside the other two options.

What is the cheapest way to answer every call?

Compare the cost per call answered, not just the monthly bill: a cheaper option that answers fewer calls can cost more per call. The calculator shows all three and names the cheapest on your numbers, including when that is not the AI receptionist.

What does price leave out?

Tone, judgement and the relationship a person builds with regular callers. An AI receptionist handles routine calls well and passes complicated or sensitive ones to a person. Price is one thing to weigh, not the only one.

Where do the answering service figures come from?

They are placeholders. We do not quote the prices of any provider here. Replace them with a real quote from the service you are considering.

Are these figures a promise?

No. It is an estimate built from the numbers you enter and a small set of assumptions that are shown on the page. Real results depend on your business and how well the service is set up. Check your figures against your own records before you commit to anything.

Is my information stored?

The numbers you type stay in your browser. We record that the calculator was used and the verdict it gave, not your figures. Nothing is sent to us unless you press the send button and give us your contact details.