The best ReceptionHQ alternatives for UK businesses in 2026.

ReceptionHQ greets your callers with real people and folds 24/7 into the plan — yet only weekday daytime sits with a UK team, while evenings, weekends and overflow travel overseas, and one receptionist can still only hold one caller at a time. To help you feel confident that nobody slips through, we weighed the leading alternatives on coverage, handling several callers at once and genuine review scores, so the right fit for the way your phone actually rings becomes easy to see.

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John Oberlin-Harris Written by John Oberlin-Harris CRO, Cyberstaff Last updated

The quick verdict

When easy-going, pay-as-you-go human cover at a gentle entry price is what you are after, ReceptionHQ will serve you perfectly well. But if your real worry is a missed call — and you want every ring, day or night, weekend or rush hour, picked up by one UK service that never leaves a caller waiting — that peace of mind is exactly what an AI receptionist is made to give you. For most UK trades and SMBs that reassurance is Cyberstaff, from £30 a month with 24/7 built in, UK around the clock, and as many callers as ring at once all answered together.

Why businesses look beyond ReceptionHQ

Easy-going cover, with one quiet catch: the UK promise clocks off at 5:30pm.

What to look for in an alternative

Reassurances worth pinning down before you move.

At a glance

ReceptionHQ and six alternatives, side by side.

ReceptionHQ and six alternatives compared on starting price, overage, 24/7 cover, setup fee, minimum term and customer rating
Provider From Overage 24/7 Setup Min term Rating Notes
CyberstaffCustomisable AI £30/mo£0.30/min Included IncludedRolling monthly4.6 Trustpilot
Reception HQVirtual Receptionist (My Assistant) £99/mo£1.10/min Included From £20Rolling monthly3.2 Trustpilot
MoneypennyCustomisable AI £99/mo£2.20/call Included £2504 months4.8 TrustpilotSome changes chargeable @ £70/hour
MoneypennyVirtual Receptionist £282/mo£2.25/min +£150/mo Included4 months4.8 Trustpilot
AnswerConnectVirtual Receptionist £168.75£1.75/min Included £49.99Rolling monthly4.9 TrustpilotTranscripts @ +£30/mo, Transfer @ +£30/mo
AllDayPAVirtual Receptionist £123£1.34/min Included Included3 months4.8 Trustpilot
JAMVirtual Receptionist £109.60£1.15/min Included Included4 months4.6 Trustpilot+ post call transcription costs
Face for BusinessInclusive Minutes Plan · Virtual Receptionist From £189/moNot stated Not available Included4 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 ReceptionHQ alternatives, with a fair, honest word on each.

1

Cyberstaff AI

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

4.6Trustpilot

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

Reception HQ Human

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.

3

AnswerConnect Human

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.

4

AllDayPA Human

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.

5

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

4.8Trustpilot

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.

6

JAM Human

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 Business Human

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 ReceptionHQ, feature by feature.

Cyberstaff and ReceptionHQ compared feature by feature, on cover, pricing, contract, capacity and setup time
Feature Cyberstaff ReceptionHQ
24/7 coverIncluded freeIncluded
Pricing modelGenerous bundled minutes + lowest overage ratesBundled minutes + overage
Starting priceFrom £30/moFrom £30/month
Included minutes/calls100 to 600 mins/mo0 - custom
Per-minute overage20p to 30p/min, same as contract rate£1.10/min
Setup fee£0£20
Minimum contractRolling monthlyRolling monthly
Calls at onceUnlimited parallelLimited by staffing
Calendar and CRM bookingBuilt inGoogle Calendar + others, no native Zapier
Call transcriptsIncludedOn request only
Time to go liveUnder 60 seconds1-2 weeks if diary integration needed

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 cost for Cyberstaff (AI) and Reception HQ at 100, 300 and 600 minutes a month
Monthly mins/calls Cyberstaff (AI) Reception HQ
100 mins (c. 50 calls) £30/mo+£0.30/min £99/mo+£1.10/min
300 mins (c. 150 calls) £75/mo+£0.25/min £265/mo+£1.10/min
600 mins (c. 300 calls) £120/mo+£0.20/min £505/mo+£1.10/min
Additional fees/notes Simple pricing inc. full transcripts and transfers Set up from £20 depending on complexity

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

The honest take

When ReceptionHQ is genuinely the kinder choice.

No comparison is worth your time if it pretends one tool wins every time. ReceptionHQ is the right answer when:

Switching from ReceptionHQ

Move across without losing a single caller.

  1. 1

    Start free, no card needed

    Open your account and a new Cyberstaff AI number is waiting for you right away — and your existing number stays yours too. It quietly reads your website to learn your services and your area.

  2. 2

    Keep your number

    Point conditional forwarding from your existing business number over to Cyberstaff. Your customers keep dialling the number they already trust.

  3. 3

    Run both in parallel

    Leave ReceptionHQ running for 7 to 14 days while you listen in on calls and gently fine-tune the script and call flows until they feel right.

  4. 4

    Cancel when ready

    ReceptionHQ is month-to-month, so there is no long contract holding you back — once you are happy, switch over and cancel at your own pace.

How to choose

Pick by how your business actually takes calls.

  • Choose Cyberstaff

    You want the calm of every call cared for in the UK 24/7, as many callers as ring at once all answered together, and a flat price with booking and transcripts already included.

  • Choose a human service

    ReceptionHQ, AllDayPA or AnswerConnect feel right when every caller must reach a real person and your volume is light or seasonal.

  • Choose Smith.ai

    You want trained human agents on the complex calls and deep US CRM workflows, and US hours sit fine with you.

  • Choose Synthflow

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

FAQ

ReceptionHQ vs Cyberstaff, answered.

Is Cyberstaff cheaper than ReceptionHQ?

They sit close together at the very start, and Cyberstaff pulls ahead once you count what it includes for free. ReceptionHQ opens at around £30 a month for 25 calls, but appointment booking, voicemail-to-email and call diversion are each roughly £10 add-ons and calls bill about £1.10 over your bundle. Cyberstaff is a steady, flat £30 a month with booking and transcripts already in the box.

Is ReceptionHQ UK-based?

Only during weekday daytime. Once it is after-hours, the weekend or a busy spell, your calls pass to Australian and US teams, so out-of-hours callers hear overseas accents and your data is processed abroad. With Cyberstaff, every call is cared for in the UK, all day and all night.

Can ReceptionHQ handle several calls at once?

Not really. A human receptionist can only hold one caller at a time, so when a few people ring together the rest wait in a queue or drop to voicemail. Cyberstaff picks up as many calls as arrive together, so no caller is ever left holding.

Does Cyberstaff include 24/7?

Yes, on every plan, and all in the steady hands of the same UK AI. ReceptionHQ includes 24/7 too, but its out-of-hours and overflow calls travel overseas, whereas Cyberstaff keeps every single hour at home in the UK.

Can I keep my number?

Yes. Your existing business number stays exactly as it is — you simply point conditional forwarding over to your Cyberstaff AI number. Nothing changes for the people already calling you, and you can keep both services running side by side through the free trial before you fully switch.

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