Compare AI phone answering services for UK businesses. See what each plan really costs once your calls run past the included allowance, and which vendors can actually give you a UK number.
30 AI minutes a month (Lite), 250 (Business Pro), 750 (Enterprise), each alongside a separate divert allowance of 250, 750 and 1,500 incoming minutes
None. Exceeding your tier's call count releases your phone numbers, which is a cutoff rather than a charge.
None published. There is no allowance to exceed.
None. Unlimited minutes on every plan, "without surprise overage charges".
£0.25 a minute (Starter and Growth), £0.20 (Pro). The vendor states "a per-account safety ceiling prevents runaway costs" and does not publish its value.
Not a per-minute rate: extra AI minutes are sold as prepaid packs that work with any plan, £34.99 for 150 minutes, £99.99 for 500 and £169.99 for 1,000. The page never states what happens when the included minutes run out.
Not stated either way
Not stated either way
None, "no setup fees, no minimum term"
Not stated either way
Not stated either way
Yes, 14 days
Yes, 7 days
Yes, 7 days: "Try Jodie risk-free for 7 days, no card required"
Yes, 14 days: "Every plan includes a 14-day free trial. Cancel anytime."
Yes, length not published
Monthly. The vendor's own pricing feed publishes no annual term.
Monthly, or a yearly term labelled "Save 15%"
None, "no setup fees, no minimum term"
Monthly. No annual term is published.
None. The vendor states "No contracts" and "Cancel Anytime", and no annual term is published.
What the AI Does
Books appointments, takes messages and answers questions on every plan. The tier buys AI agents, languages and phone numbers (1, 5 or 20), not features.
24/7 answering, custom greetings and questions, and outbound calling on the base plan. Pro adds business-trained AI, automated text follow-ups and personal contact exclusion.
AI phone answering with unlimited minutes, custom message-taking, call recordings and instant lead qualification on every plan. Appointment bookings, call transfers and team members are not on the entry plan.
Booking and lead capture on every plan. 30+ languages, WhatsApp, hotel bookings, reschedules and multi-staff scheduling are on Growth and above; unlimited staff and services are Pro only.
24/7 AI call answering with voicemail-to-text and email notifications. Lite adds live transfer, appointment booking, basic analytics and UK support; Business Pro adds premium voices, CRM and webhooks, advanced analytics and priority support; Enterprise adds custom AI training, API access, an SLA and a dedicated manager.
Yes, on every plan
Not published on any plan. Clara publishes its product as answering calls and taking messages.
Yes, on Professional and above. Not on Basic.
Yes, on every plan. Reschedules and multi-staff scheduling are on Growth and above.
Yes, listed on Lite and in the vendor's own product description
Yes, "the call transferred to a member of your team", and calls can be routed or escalated to different numbers
Not on either purchasable plan. The only routing line on the pricing page, "Call routing to the right person", sits on the Teams tier, which the vendor marks "Coming Soon".
Yes, on Professional and above. Not on Basic.
No live transfer is published on any plan. The cards offer "Email escalation & lead capture" and nothing else in this class.
Yes, "Live transfer & intelligent routing", listed on Lite and in the vendor's own product description
No vendor-supplied humans. Transfers reach your own team.
No
No
No vendor-supplied humans. Escalation is by email to your team.
Yes, "24/7 human backup", on Enterprise only
Calls & Coverage
Yes, and the vendor publishes its full country list, including the United Kingdom (+44) and Australia (+61). It covers the cost of the line.
Yes, use a Clara number as a dedicated second business line, or forward your existing one
No number is provisioned, by design. You forward your existing one: "no porting, no new numbers."
Yes, a free UK local number is included, or keep your own. Pro adds an 0800 freephone option. UK only: "international support is on the way."
Yes, UK numbers included: 2 on Lite, 5 on Business Pro, 10 on Enterprise
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Yes, 24/7 answering on every plan
Yes, 24/7: "Start answering your business calls 24/7 with our AI receptionist"
Yes, 24/7: "Answers phone calls 24/7", on the entry plan card
Yes, 24/7 AI call answering, on the header and on every plan card
English in US, British and Australian accents, among others. The tier buys 1, 5 or 20 languages.
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30+ languages on Growth and above
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Integrations & Support
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Zapier on the higher tiers
WhatsApp on Growth and above
CRM and webhooks on Business Pro and above; API access on Enterprise
No, US dollars only whatever country you are in. The figure shown here is converted.
Yes, a genuine GBP rate card on the vendor's UK locale path, not a converted US price
Yes, a genuine GBP rate card on the vendor's UK locale path
Yes, a genuine GBP rate card from a UK company, and the tax basis is stated: "Prices exclude VAT"
Yes, a genuine GBP rate card from a UK vendor
Estimates based on £15,000/mo volume. Rates can change without notice, confirm current pricing with the provider before signing on.How we calculate this
Estimated cost: each provider’s published prices and rates applied to the inputs you set above (such as volume, team size, or invoices), plus any fixed monthly fees.
Providers with an incomplete cost (shown as “+ processing”) and quote-only providers are never ranked as the cheapest while a complete-cost option exists. A “+ payroll” tag means payroll is not built in, so you would run it on separate software; those providers are still ranked on cost, and you can hide them with the Payroll included filter.
These are estimates. Published rates can change and your final pricing depends on your business, so confirm current pricing with the provider before switching.
Provider details
The top providers, expanded.
Same data as the table above, broken out per provider with the use cases each one fits best.
We may earn a commission when you click through to a provider. This never affects ranking or data shown. Read our terms.
Simple Phones
The one vendor here that publishes a full country list, including UK and Australian numbers.
Est. cost
£37/mo
★
Best for
UK and Australian businesses that want an AI receptionist with a local number and a local accent
Entry plan
£37/mo (Basic)
Included
Up to 100 calls a month (Basic), 500 (Advanced), 2,500 (Premium)
Overage
None. Exceeding your tier's call count releases your phone numbers, which is a cutoff rather than a charge.
Local number
Yes, and the vendor publishes its full country list, including the United Kingdom (+44) and Australia (+61). It covers the cost of the line.
£0.25 a minute (Starter and Growth), £0.20 (Pro). The vendor states "a per-account safety ceiling prevents runaway costs" and does not publish its value.
Local number
Yes, a free UK local number is included, or keep your own. Pro adds an 0800 freephone option. UK only: "international support is on the way."
UK numbers and AI minutes bundled together, with prepaid voice packs that work with any plan.
Est. cost
£90/mo
★
Best for
UK businesses that want several numbers and a modest AI allowance on one bill
Entry plan
£19.99/mo (Lite)
Included
30 AI minutes a month (Lite), 250 (Business Pro), 750 (Enterprise), each alongside a separate divert allowance of 250, 750 and 1,500 incoming minutes
Overage
Not a per-minute rate: extra AI minutes are sold as prepaid packs that work with any plan, £34.99 for 150 minutes, £99.99 for 500 and £169.99 for 1,000. The page never states what happens when the included minutes run out.
Local number
Yes, UK numbers included: 2 on Lite, 5 on Business Pro, 10 on Enterprise
Not sure which AI phone answering service is right for you?
Almost every plan here bundles a set number of calls or minutes, so the cheapest option flips the moment you run past that allowance. Tell us your call volume and we can help you work out which one actually fits.