cyberstaff

24/7 out-of-hours call answering that never sends a caller to voicemail.

Out-of-hours and overflow answering services cover nights, weekends and bank holidays, but most charge a premium for after-hours cover and bill by the minute on top. Cyberstaff answers every call 24/7 at a flat monthly fee, books the job and texts you the details, so nothing rings out when you are closed.

John Oberlin-Harris

Written by John Oberlin-Harris

CRO, Cyberstaff

Last updated 16 July 2026

The quick verdict

If you only need a human to take the occasional after-hours message and budget is not the constraint, a traditional out-of-hours service can work. If you want every call answered 24/7 at a flat price, with no premium for nights and weekends and jobs booked into your diary, an AI receptionist is purpose-built for that. For most UK trades and SMBs that is Cyberstaff, from £30 a month with setup included, no per-minute surprises and no contract.

Why businesses look beyond Traditional out-of-hours answering

Cover when you are closed, but the bill rarely stops at the headline price.

A premium for nights and weekends

Out-of-hours cover is usually charged at a higher rate than daytime answering, so the hours you most need cost the most.

You wake up to a backlog

Messages taken overnight sit in an inbox until you open, by which time the caller has often rung someone else.

Per-minute charges add up

Calls beyond your bundle are billed at about £1.65 to £1.85 a minute, so busy months get expensive fast.

Operators do not know your business

A general overflow team cannot triage an emergency or answer questions on your services, so urgent calls are not handled as urgent.

Overflow queues when it spikes

A shared after-hours team handles one call at a time, so a busy evening is exactly when callers ring out.

Light on AI, transcripts and CRM

Message taking is largely handwritten notes, with limited call transcripts, analytics or deep CRM integration.

What to look for in an alternative

Five things worth checking before you switch.

  1. 1

    Transparent, published pricing. You should see exact costs without booking a sales call.

  2. 2

    24/7 cover included as standard. After-hours calls matter most, and the cost should be baked in.

  3. 3

    Low or no setup fee and no lock-in. Avoid hundreds upfront and multi-month contracts.

  4. 4

    UK and EU data residency and GDPR. Confirm calls and data stay in the UK and EU, ICO registered.

  5. 5

    Calendar and CRM integration. Bookings should land in your diary with no double entry.

At a glance

The leading out-of-hours answering services, side by side.

Provider From Overage 24/7 Setup Min term Rating Notes
Cyberstaff Customisable AI £30/mo £0.30/min ✓ Included Included Rolling monthly 4.6 Trustpilot
Moneypenny Customisable AI £99/mo £2.20/call ✓ Included £250 4 months 4.8 Trustpilot Some changes chargeable @ £70/hour
Moneypenny Virtual Receptionist £282/mo £2.25/min +£150/mo Included 4 months 4.8 Trustpilot
Reception HQ Virtual Receptionist (My Assistant) £99/mo £1.10/min ✓ Included From £20 Rolling monthly 3.2 Trustpilot
AnswerConnect Virtual Receptionist £168.75 £1.75/min ✓ Included £49.99 Rolling monthly 4.9 Trustpilot Transcripts @ +£30/mo, Transfer @ +£30/mo
AllDayPA Virtual Receptionist £123 £1.34/min ✓ Included Included 3 months 4.8 Trustpilot
JAM Virtual Receptionist £109.60 £1.15/min ✓ Included Included 4 months 4.6 Trustpilot + post call transcription costs
Face for Business Inclusive Minutes Plan · Virtual Receptionist From £189/mo Not stated Not available Included 4 months 5.0 Verified Trusted No charge for sales/nuisance calls

Based on 100 minutes/50 calls minimum using cheapest published/quoted plan. As of June 2026. Trustpilot ratings used where found, otherwise first ranking independent review site from Google search with ≥5 reviews.

The alternatives, ranked

Six answering service alternatives, with the honest case for each.

1

Cyberstaff AI

Best for: Small businesses looking for instant set up, great support and market leading pricing

From £30/mo

100 mins then £0.30/min

A UK based AI receptionist that configures a bespoke AI receptionist based on a 1 minute website scan. Rated Excellent on Trustpilot with great reviews and a growing list of integrations, but newer on the block.

Flat pricing, 24/7 included on every plan

Answers unlimited calls at once, no queue

No setup fee, cancel anytime

Reads your website and is live in under 60 seconds

Newer brand than the incumbents

Built for inbound, not large outbound campaigns

4.6 Trustpilot

The recent reviews for Cyberstaff are overwhelmingly positive, with users giving the company a 5-star rating for its AI receptionist service. Reviewers consistently praise the tool for sounding natural, saving them hours of admin work, and efficiently handling customer bookings and calls while they are busy.

2

AnswerConnect Human

Best for: Businesses wanting human receptionists with 24/7 included

From £168.75/mo

100 mins then £1.75/min

A long-standing human answering service that bundles round-the-clock and bilingual cover as standard, and carries the highest Trustpilot score in this field. The catch is per-minute pricing that mounts as volume grows and most plans have a £49.99 set up fee.

24/7 human cover included as standard

App to manage and integrations with many popular CRMs

Excellent 4.9 Trustpilot from over 200 reviews

Over 5 times the price of leading AI agent options and £49.99 set up fees

Per-minute rates are towards the higher end at £1.75/min

Transcripts and Transfers each come with a £30/month add on price

4.9 Trustpilot

Recent reviews for AnswerConnect UK are overwhelmingly positive, with customers highly praising the supportive customer service team, smooth onboarding processes, and quick, professional call handling. While the service is widely described as reliable and highly effective at filtering calls, a minor critique notes that it can be quite expensive.

3

AllDayPA Human

Best for: UK firms wanting a human team and willing to commit for long term

From £123/mo

100 mins then £1.34/min

A Manchester outfit that has been at it since 1999 and claim to cover a number of sectors including Business Support and Finance. Provides 24/7 service as standard.

UK-based human receptionists

Can handle web chat and email management as additional services

Strong 4.8 Trustpilot for staff friendliness

Pricing not published and sits behind a quote form

90-day notice period to terminate in the Terms and Conditions

Weaker review score on Google Reviews (3.7)

4.8 Trustpilot

Recent reviews for AllDayPA are overwhelmingly positive, with clients consistently praising the team's professional, reliable, and friendly call handling that seamlessly extends their own business operations. Reviewers frequently highlight their prompt communication, quick turnaround times, and exceptional long-term support spanning over many years.

4

Moneypenny Human or AI

Best for: Businesses wanting a hybrid human/AI service and willing to pay a premium for it

From £282/mo (human), £99/mo (AI)

100 mins then £2.25/min (human) or £2.20/call (AI)

One of the best-known UK answering services, with a strong name, a decent app and a hybrid human/AI service. But 24/7 costs extra, the included minutes are lower than others, overages are among the highest in the market and there's a minimum 4 month term.

Well-known UK brand with a polished app

High 4.8 Trustpilot score

Use of a dedicated group of agents

Overages high at £2.25 per minute

24/7 costs around £150/mo extra

Four month or longer contracts

4.8 Trustpilot

Recent reviews overwhelmingly praise Moneypenny for its exceptionally friendly, professional, and reliable staff, with many customers noting that the team acts as a seamless extension of their own business. While the feedback is highly positive, a rare minor complaint noted an issue with incorrect account settings that resulted in zero work being carried out.

5

Reception HQ Human

Best for: Businesses looking for a great value human agent option and 24/7 coverage included as standard

From £99/mo

100 mins then £1.10/min

UK receptionists handle the weekday calls, with offshore teams taking the after-hours shift so 24/7 comes built in, all billed by the second and free of any contract. A neat fit for overflow and seasonal spikes, though reviews do flag the odd billing and cancellation snag.

24/7 included, no after-hours surcharge

No lock-in, 7-day free trial

Per-second billing, no minute rounding and some of the lowest rates for human agents

Out of hours and surge calls are answered off shore

Small number of mainly negative reviews on Trustpilot

A human handles one call at a time

3.2 Trustpilot

The page currently has only one review, which gives the company a 1-star rating. The reviewer strongly advises against using the service, warning that receptionists mispronounced or incorrectly used their company name during a trial and offered no apology for the mistake.

6

JAM Human

Best for: Businesses wanting the longest-running UK human service at a reasonable price

From £109.60/mo

100 mins then £1.15/min

The longest-established answering service in the UK, running since 1977, with dedicated PA teams, 24/7 cover at no extra charge and a 4-month minimum (a 3-month minimum plus 30 days' notice).

Long UK track record, bespoke PA teams

24/7 included at no extra charge

Transparent pricing published online

Charges for type up time on top of calls

One team, not unlimited parallel calls

Premium versus AI on cost

4.6 Trustpilot

Recent reviews for JAM are largely positive, with customers frequently praising the professional call handling, efficient support team, and the service's role as a helpful extension of their business. While most users are satisfied, a few noted minor issues regarding setup, spam call filtering, and occasional delays in administrative processes like refunds.

7

Face for Business Human

Best for: SMEs wanting UK PAs with per-second billing

From £189/mo

100 mins, overage not stated

UK-based virtual PAs, running since 2011, billed by the second with no setup fee. Evenings and weekends for an extra fee but not 24/7. A dedicated team rather than a call-centre queue, on a 4-month term.

Per-second billing, no rounding

No setup fee and no charges for sales/nuisance calls

Dedicated UK PA team, ISO 9001 accredited

Still per-time human pricing at volume and expensive minimum package of £115

No Trustpilot reviews found

24/7 coverage not available

5.0 Verified Trusted

Recent reviews overwhelmingly praise Face For Business for their professional, efficient, and friendly telephone answering service, noting that they act as a seamless extension of clients' teams. Many small business owners highlighted how the service prevents missed calls, saves time, and smoothly integrates with their existing setups.

Head to head

Cyberstaff vs a traditional out-of-hours answering service.

Feature Cyberstaff Traditional out-of-hours answering
24/7 cover ✓ Included free +£75/mo add-on
Pricing model Generous bundled minutes + lowest overage rates Base + per-minute
Starting price From £30/mo From £99/mo
Included minutes/calls 100 to 600 mins/mo Variable, with premium overages
Per-minute overage 20p to 30p/min, same as contract rate £1.10 to £2.35/min
Setup fee £0 Up to £250
Minimum contract Rolling monthly 4 months with some providers
Calls at once ✓ Unlimited parallel Limited by staffing
Calendar and CRM booking ✓ Built in Mostly message taking
Call transcripts ✓ Included Often an additional charge
Time to go live Under 60 seconds Days to weeks

Pricing in the real world

What you actually pay as call volume grows.

Flat AI pricing stays low while per-minute human services climb with volume. Below is each provider on its cheapest published or quoted plan, at three usage tiers.

Monthly mins/callsCyberstaff (AI)AnswerConnect (human)AllDayPAMoneypenny (Virtual Receptionist)Moneypenny (AI Receptionist)Reception HQJAMFace for Business
100 mins (c. 50 calls) £30/mo +£0.30/min£168.75/mo +£1.75/min£123/mo +£1.34/min£282/mo +£2.35/min£99/mo +£2.20/call£99/mo +£1.10/min£109.60/mo +£1.15/min£189 +£2.00/min
300 mins (c. 150 calls) £75/mo +£0.25/min£332.50/mo +£1.75/min£369/mo +£1.34/min£679.50/mo +£2.09/min£260/mo +£1.90/call£265/mo +£1.10/min£309.60/mo +£1.15/min£465 +£1.70/min
600 mins (c. 300 calls) £120/mo +£0.20/min£692.50/mo +£1.75/min£738/mo +£1.34/min£1,298/mo +£2.09/min£489/mo +£1.80/call£505/mo +£1.10/min£618/mo +£1.09/min£875 +£1.70/min
Additional fees/notes Simple pricing inc. full transcripts and transfers+£30/mo for transcripts +£30/mo for transfers+£150/mo for 24/7 coverage£250 set up feeSet up from £20 depending on complexityType up time charged on top of call time.

Data from published plans or quotes provided by email as at June 2026.

The honest take

When a traditional out-of-hours service is the better choice.

No comparison is worth reading if it pretends one tool wins every time. A traditional answering service is the right answer when:

Every caller must hear a human. In premium law, wealth management or healthcare, where a human voice on every call is the value.

Low, unpredictable volume. A handful of calls a month can make any minutes-based plan, AI or human, hard to justify.

You want a named, dedicated PA. A good provider can train a dedicated team on your business over time, which some teams prefer.

Brand voice is the whole product. If the receptionist experience is itself the service you sell, a polished human team is worth the premium.

Switching from Traditional out-of-hours answering

Move across without missing a single call.

  1. 1

    Start free, no card needed

    Create your account and you get a new Cyberstaff AI number straight away, and you can keep your existing number too. It reads your website to learn your services and area.

  2. 2

    Keep your number

    Set conditional forwarding from your existing business number to Cyberstaff. Customers carry on calling the number they know.

  3. 3

    Run both in parallel

    Keep your current service live for 7 to 14 days while you listen to calls and fine-tune the script and call flows.

  4. 4

    Give notice and cut over

    Once you are happy, give your current provider notice per your contract (typically one to three months) and switch fully. Cancel when ready, not before.

How to choose

Pick by how your business actually takes calls.

Choose Cyberstaff

You need 24/7 cover at a predictable flat cost, you are a UK trade or SMB, and you want jobs booked into your diary without per-minute bills.

Choose a human service

AnswerConnect, AllDayPA, JAM or Face for Business suit you if every caller must reach a person, volume is low and steady, or brand voice is the priority.

Choose pay-as-you-go

Reception HQ or Face for Business bill per second or per call with no lock-in, handy for overflow and seasonal spikes.

Try before you switch

Run Cyberstaff free alongside your current service for a week or two and compare the call logs before committing.

FAQ

Out-of-hours call answering vs an AI receptionist, answered.

Make the switch in under 60 seconds.

Start free and keep your number. Your AI receptionist is answering as your business in about 60 seconds.