cyberstaff

The best Moneypenny alternatives for UK businesses in 2026.

Moneypenny earned its reputation on the strength of human receptionists, yet it publishes no pricing at all — the real cost only surfaces once you request a quote, and round-the-clock cover is a paid add-on on top. We weighed six alternatives against one another on price, contract terms and the Trustpilot scores customers actually leave, so the one that suits the way your phone really rings becomes obvious.

John Oberlin-Harris

Written by John Oberlin-Harris

CRO, Cyberstaff

Last updated 16 July 2026

The quick verdict

Where every caller deserves a warm human voice and the budget can stretch to it, Moneypenny and its human peers remain hard to beat. But if what you need is genuine round-the-clock cover at one predictable price and jobs dropped straight into your diary, an AI receptionist was built for precisely that brief. For the great majority of UK trades and small businesses, the answer is Cyberstaff, from £30 a month with 24/7 and setup folded in, one flat price and nothing to sign.

Why businesses look beyond Moneypenny

A fine reputation — but you won’t see a price until you ask.

No published pricing

Moneypenny lists no prices at all. Every plan is quote-only, hidden behind a contact form, so you cannot compare the real cost without first booking a sales conversation.

24/7 cover costs extra

Answering through the night is a chargeable add-on, around £150 a month on top, rather than something you get as standard.

Overage on top of your bundle

Calls beyond your inclusive minutes are billed as overage at your plan’s contract rate, not at a premium — but with quote-only pricing you won’t know what that rate is until you have signed up.

Long contracts and stacked extras

Minimum terms run to four months or longer, with notice required on top, pinning you in place while each add-on is layered onto the base price.

A receptionist is a single point of failure

One dedicated person can hold only one conversation at a time, so a sudden rush of calls either queues or slips away unanswered.

Light on AI, transcripts and CRM

Messages tend to arrive as handwritten notes, with little in the way of call transcripts, analytics or any real depth of CRM integration.

What to look for in an alternative

What is worth checking before you switch.

  1. 1

    Transparent, published pricing. The full cost should be there in black and white, no sales call required.

  2. 2

    24/7 cover included as standard. The after-hours calls are the ones that count, so the cost ought to be built in.

  3. 3

    Low or no setup fee and no lock-in. Steer clear of hundreds of pounds upfront and contracts measured in months.

  4. 4

    Calendar and CRM integration. Bookings ought to appear in your diary on their own, with nothing to re-key.

At a glance

Moneypenny 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 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 Moneypenny alternatives, each with its honest case made.

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

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.

3

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.

4

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.

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 Moneypenny, feature by feature.

Feature Cyberstaff Moneypenny
24/7 cover ✓ Included free +£150/month (human), Included (AI)
Pricing model Generous bundled minutes + lowest overage rates Bundled minutes + overage
Starting price From £30/mo From £169/mo (human), £99/mo (AI)
Included minutes/calls 100 to 600 mins/mo 50-500 mins (human), 50-3000 calls (AI)
Per-minute overage 20p to 30p/min, same as contract rate £2.09-2.35/min (human), £1.10-£2.20/call (AI)
Setup fee £0 £0 (human), £250 (AI)
Minimum contract Rolling monthly 4 months
Calls at once ✓ Unlimited parallel Limited by staffing (human), Multiple (AI)
Calendar and CRM booking ✓ Built in Some CRMs, no Google Calendar, API available (human); no Google Calendar integration (AI)
Call transcripts ✓ Included Full transcripts not available
Time to go live Under 60 seconds 2 days (human), about a week or so (AI)

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)Moneypenny (Virtual Receptionist)Moneypenny (AI Receptionist)
100 mins (c. 50 calls) £30/mo +£0.30/min£282/mo +£2.35/min£99/mo +£2.20/call
300 mins (c. 150 calls) £75/mo +£0.25/min£679.50/mo +£2.09/min£260/mo +£1.90/call
600 mins (c. 300 calls) £120/mo +£0.20/min£1,298/mo +£2.09/min£489/mo +£1.80/call
Additional fees/notes Simple pricing inc. full transcripts and transfers+£150/mo for 24/7 coverage£250 set up fee

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

The honest take

When Moneypenny is genuinely the better choice.

A comparison that pretends one tool always wins is not worth your time. Moneypenny is the right call when:

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

A long-established name. Moneypenny has two decades behind it and one of the highest Trustpilot scores in this field; for some teams that track record is worth paying for.

You want a named, dedicated PA. Moneypenny can school one particular person on your business over time, an arrangement some teams genuinely prefer.

Brand voice is the whole product. Where the receptionist experience is itself the thing you are selling, a polished human team earns its premium.

Switching from Moneypenny

Move across without dropping a single call.

  1. 1

    Start free, no card needed

    Open an account and your Cyberstaff AI number is yours at once — and you can hold on to your existing number besides. It reads your website to learn your services and your patch.

  2. 2

    Keep your number

    Point conditional forwarding from your current business number to Cyberstaff. Your customers go on dialling the number they already know.

  3. 3

    Run both in parallel

    Leave Moneypenny running for 7 to 14 days while you listen back to calls and refine the script and the call flows.

  4. 4

    Give notice and cut over

    Once it feels right, serve Moneypenny notice as your contract requires (usually one to three months) and switch over fully. You cancel when you are ready, and not a moment sooner.

How to choose

Choose by the way your business actually takes calls.

Choose Cyberstaff

You want round-the-clock cover at one predictable price, you run a UK trade or small business, and you want jobs landing in your diary without a surprise bill.

Choose a human service

AnswerConnect, AllDayPA or Reception HQ are for you when every caller must reach a person, when volume is low and steady, or when brand voice comes first.

Choose Smith.ai

You want deep CRM workflows, with AI on the routine calls and humans on the complex ones, and US hours pose no problem.

Choose Synthflow

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

FAQ

Moneypenny 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.