Skip to content
Cyberstaff

The AI telephone answering service that books the job, not just the message.

A traditional telephone answering service puts a person on the line to take a message, then the price climbs once you add 24/7 cover, setup and per-minute charges. Cyberstaff answers every call in your business name, qualifies it and books the job straight into your diary, for a flat monthly fee with nothing charged per minute.

Start free trialJump to comparison table
John Oberlin-HarrisWritten by John Oberlin-HarrisCRO, CyberstaffLast updated

The quick verdict

If every caller must hear a warm human voice and budget is not the constraint, a traditional telephone answering service remains a strong choice. If you want every call answered 24/7 at a flat price, qualified and booked into your diary, with your data stored in the UK and EU, an AI telephone answering service 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 answering services

A friendly voice on the line, but the bill rarely stops at the headline price.

What to look for in an alternative

Five things worth checking before you switch.

At a glance

The leading telephone answering services, side by side.

Traditional answering services and the alternatives compared on starting price, overage, 24/7 cover, setup fee, minimum term and customer rating
ProviderFromOverage24/7SetupMin termRatingNotes
CyberstaffCustomisable AI£30/mo£0.30/minIncludedIncludedRolling monthly4.8 Trustpilot-
MoneypennyCustomisable AI£99/mo£2.20/callIncluded£2504 months4.8 TrustpilotSome changes chargeable @ £70/hour
MoneypennyVirtual Receptionist£282/mo£2.25/min+£150/moIncluded4 months4.8 Trustpilot-
Reception HQVirtual Receptionist (My Assistant)£99/mo£1.10/minIncludedFrom £20Rolling monthly3.2 Trustpilot-
AnswerConnectVirtual Receptionist£168.75£1.75/minIncluded£49.99Rolling monthly4.9 TrustpilotTranscripts @ +£30/mo, Transfer @ +£30/mo
AllDayPAVirtual Receptionist£123£1.34/minIncludedIncluded3 months4.8 Trustpilot-
JAMVirtual Receptionist£109.60£1.15/minIncludedIncluded4 months4.6 Trustpilot+ post call transcription costs
Face for BusinessInclusive Minutes Plan · Virtual ReceptionistFrom £189/moNot statedNot availableIncluded4 months5.0 Verified TrustedNo 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

CyberstaffAI

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

From £30/mo100 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

4.8Trustpilot

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

AnswerConnectHuman

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

From £168.75/mo100 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

4.9Trustpilot

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

AllDayPAHuman

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

From £123/mo100 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)

4.8Trustpilot

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

MoneypennyHuman 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

4.8Trustpilot

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 HQHuman

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

From £99/mo100 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

3.2Trustpilot

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

JAMHuman

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

From £109.60/mo100 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

4.6Trustpilot

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 BusinessHuman

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

From £189/mo100 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

5.0Verified 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 telephone answering service.

Cyberstaff and Traditional answering services, feature by feature
FeatureCyberstaffTraditional answering services
24/7 coverIncluded free+£75/mo add-on
Pricing modelGenerous bundled minutes + lowest overage ratesBase + per-minute
Starting priceFrom £30/moFrom £99/mo
Included minutes/calls100 to 600 mins/moVariable, with premium overages
Per-minute overage20p to 30p/min, same as contract rate£1.10 to £2.35/min
Setup fee£0Up to £250
Minimum contractRolling monthly4 months with some providers
Calls at onceUnlimited parallelLimited by staffing
Calendar and CRM bookingBuilt inMostly message taking
Call transcriptsIncludedOften an additional charge
Time to go liveUnder 60 secondsDays 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.

What you pay at 100, 300 and 600 minutes a month: Cyberstaff (AI), AnswerConnect (human), AllDayPA, Moneypenny (Virtual Receptionist), Moneypenny (AI Receptionist), Reception HQ, JAM, Face for Business
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/notesSimple 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 telephone answering 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:

Switching from Traditional answering services

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.

FAQ

Telephone answering services 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.

Rated Excellent on Trustpilot· No card · Cancel anytime