cyberstaff

The best AllDayPA alternatives for UK businesses in 2026.

AllDayPA has been picking up UK calls since 1999, and we will say plainly: that experience counts for something. What we are less comfortable with is that the price hides behind a quote form and the contract carries a minimum term plus a notice period before you can walk. So we laid the leading alternatives out in the open — on price you can read, freedom to leave, and reviews that are not cherry-picked — and let the facts decide which one suits how you really take calls.

John Oberlin-Harris

Written by John Oberlin-Harris

CRO, Cyberstaff

Last updated 25 June 2026

The quick verdict

Let us be straight with you. If a seasoned UK human team is what you are after and a quote-based contract does not bother you, AllDayPA is a warm, well-rated pick and we will happily say so. But if you would rather see the number before you commit, keep the freedom to leave, and get round-the-clock cover at one flat price, that is exactly what an AI receptionist is built to do. For most UK trades and SMBs that means Cyberstaff, from £30 a month with 24/7 and setup included, a price we publish openly, and no contract holding you in place.

Why businesses look beyond AllDayPA

A name you can trust, but the price and the contract stay frustratingly out of sight.

Pricing hidden behind a quote

No price is posted anywhere, so you sit through a sales call before anyone will tell you what a full year really costs.

Minimum term and notice period

A 30-day minimum plus a notice period, reported as long as 60 to 90 days, ties you in longer than you might expect.

Undisclosed setup fees

Activation fees show up in the small print but never on the page, so the opening bill can catch you out.

Per-minute overage adds up

Once you pass your bundle, calls run around £1 a minute — meaning your busiest, best months quietly cost you the most.

No free trial

There is no try-before-you-buy, so you sign the contract before you have ever heard it handle one of your own calls.

Lower away from Trustpilot

It shines on Trustpilot, and credit where it is due — but Google (3.7) and Indeed (2.5) paint a more uneven picture worth knowing about.

What to look for in an alternative

What is worth checking before you switch.

  1. 1

    Pricing you can see up front. The real monthly figure, on a page, with no sales call to unlock it.

  2. 2

    No lock-in or long notice period. The freedom to leave on your terms, not whenever the contract finally lets you.

  3. 3

    No hidden setup or activation fees. The price you are shown is honestly the price you pay.

  4. 4

    A real free trial. Proof on your own calls before a penny or a signature changes hands.

At a glance

AllDayPA and six alternatives, side by side.

Provider From Overage 24/7 Setup Min term Rating Notes
Cyberstaff Customisable AI £30/mo £0.30/min ✓ Included Free Rolling monthly 4.6 Trustpilot
Moneypenny Customisable AI £99/mo £1.80/call ✓ Included £250 4 months 4.8 Trustpilot Changes @ £150/hr
Moneypenny Virtual Receptionist £282/mo £2.35/min +£75/mo Included 4 months 4.8 Trustpilot
Reception HQ Virtual Receptionist £99/mo £1.10/min ✓ Included From £20 Rolling monthly 3.4 Trustpilot
AnswerConnect Virtual Receptionist £168.75 £1.75/min ✓ Included £49.99 Rolling monthly 4.9 Trustpilot Transcripts @ +£30/mo, Transfer @ +£30/mo

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 AllDayPA alternatives, with the honest case for each.

1

Cyberstaff AI

Best for: UK trades and SMBs wanting 24/7 AI at a flat price

From £30/mo

100 mins, 24/7, no setup

A British AI receptionist that picks up in your company name day or night, slots jobs straight into your diary and texts the particulars over to you. One flat, predictable monthly figure, and live in under 60 seconds.

Flat pricing, 24/7 included on every plan

Answers unlimited calls at once, no queue

Reads your website and is live in under 60 seconds

No setup fee, cancel anytime

Newer brand than the incumbents

Built for inbound, not large outbound campaigns

4.6 Trustpilot

Customers single out the swift setup and the way calls become booked jobs; a handful would welcome more native integrations.

2

Moneypenny Human + AI

Best for: Businesses wanting a polished, named human PA

From £99/mo

+£75/mo for 24/7

One of the best-known UK answering services, with a strong name and a decent app. But 24/7 costs extra, the included minutes are stingy, and you pay per minute over your bundle on a multi-month deal.

Well-known UK brand with a polished app

Option of a named, dedicated receptionist

High 4.6 Trustpilot score

24/7 costs around £75/mo extra

Per-minute overage of £1.65 to £1.85

Three to six month contracts

4.6 Trustpilot

People rate the professional UK receptionists. The usual grumbles are cost, add-ons and the contract length.

3

AnswerConnect Human

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

From £168.75/mo

100 mins, +£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.

24/7 human cover included as standard

Excellent 4.9 Trustpilot from over 200 reviews

Bilingual cover, app and integrations

Per-minute overage gets expensive at volume

Over 5 times the price of leading AI agent options

Extensive use of Add On Pricing and set up fees

4.9 Trustpilot

Reviewers applaud the dependable round-the-clock human cover and obliging account managers; the odd grumble surfaces over billing and message accuracy.

4

Reception HQ Human

Best for: Flexible pay-as-you-go human reception with no lock-in

From £99/mo

+£1.75/min

UK receptionists handle the weekday calls, with Australian and US 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

Per-second billing, no minute rounding

No lock-in, 7-day free trial

Out of hours and surge calls are answered off shore

A human handles one call at a time

Billing and cancellation complaints in reviews

3.6 Trustpilot

Commended for friendly, reliable cover at fair value; the persistent gripe is disputes over billing and cancellation.

5

Smith.ai AI + human

Best for: Professional services needing CRM-deep AI plus human backup

From ~£230/mo

Per-call charges apply

A hybrid arrangement in which AI fields the routine calls and humans step in for the knotty ones, backed by 30+ native CRM integrations. It is US-based, so the UK hours and per-call costs are worth scrutinising.

Hybrid AI plus human agents

30+ native CRM integrations

Strong lead qualification

Per-call charges add up

US-based, UK timezone and pricing vary

Human tiers get pricey

4.0 G2

Valued for its CRM integrations and lead capture; per-call charges and US hours are the criticisms UK users return to.

6

Synthflow AI AI (DIY)

Best for: DIY teams happy to build their own voice agent

From ~£23/mo

No-code, you build it

A no-code platform for assembling your own AI voice agent. The most affordable way in here, but the setup, the tuning and the call flows are all yours to own, rather than a receptionist handed to you ready to go.

Lowest entry price

True no-code builder

Templates for common use cases

You build and maintain the agent

Minute caps on lower tiers

Not a managed UK service

Limited G2

The early verdict praises the no-code builder; just bear in mind the setup and ongoing tuning fall to you, not a done-for-you service.

Head to head

Cyberstaff vs AllDayPA, feature by feature.

Feature Cyberstaff AllDayPA
24/7 cover ✓ Included free +£75/mo add-on
Pricing model Flat monthly + low overage Base + per-minute
Starting price From £30/mo From £99/mo
Included minutes 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 (inbound) £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 per-minute AI pricing holds steady, while a per-minute human service quietly climbs with every call it answers. AllDayPA quotes rather than publishes, so to be upfront, the figures below are estimated from reported rates at a four-minute average call.

Monthly mins/callsCyberstaff (AI)AllDayPA (human)AnswerConnect (best published plan)
100 mins (c. 50 calls) £30/mo +£0.30/min~£220£168.75/mo +£1.75/min
300 mins (c. 150 calls) £75 +£0.25/min~£670£332.50/mo +£1.75/min
600 mins (c. 300 calls) £120/mo +£0.20/min~£1,400£692.50/mo +£1.75/min
Additional fees Simple pricing+£30/mo transcriptions +£30/mo transfers

For honesty: AllDayPA posts no prices, so its column is estimated from third-party figures at ~£1/min. Re-verify rates before publishing.

The honest take

When AllDayPA is genuinely the better choice.

A comparison that crowns the same winner every time is not worth your time — so here, in plain terms, is when AllDayPA is the right call:

You want an established UK human team. Over 25 years of Manchester-based receptionists and a brand that has earned its standing at scale.

You prefer a tailored, scripted service. Call handling shaped to order and a quote drawn up around your exact requirements.

You want humans across channels. Real people staffing phone, email, live chat and social messaging, all in one place.

A contract is not a dealbreaker. If committing to a term for a dedicated setup sits fine with you, the lock-in stops being a sticking point.

Switching from AllDayPA

Move across without missing a single call.

  1. 1

    Start free, no card needed

    Open your account and a fresh Cyberstaff AI number is yours immediately — keep your existing one too. It reads your website to pick up your services and your patch.

  2. 2

    Keep your number

    Point conditional forwarding from your current business number at Cyberstaff. Your customers carry on dialling the number they already know, none the wiser.

  3. 3

    Run both in parallel

    Leave AllDayPA running for 7 to 14 days while you listen back to calls and tidy up the script and call flows. No leap of faith required.

  4. 4

    Give notice and cut over

    AllDayPA holds you to a minimum term and notice period, so give notice per your contract, then switch over fully when it lapses. You leave when you are ready, not a day sooner.

How to choose

Pick by how your business actually takes calls.

Choose Cyberstaff

You want a price you can read, no lock-in, and 24/7 cover at one flat cost, with jobs landing straight in your diary.

Choose a human service

AllDayPA, Moneypenny or AnswerConnect fit when every caller has to reach a real person and a contract does not put you off.

Choose Smith.ai

You want trained humans on the tricky calls and deep US CRM workflows, and US hours are no obstacle for you.

Choose Synthflow

You are technical, on a tight budget, and content to build and maintain your own AI voice agent.

FAQ

AllDayPA vs Cyberstaff, 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.