Cost comparison
What does a call answering service really cost you?
Human answering services usually charge a monthly fee plus a rate for every call. BusinessRunAI charges one flat £149 a month on Launch. Put your own quoted figures in below and see where the line crosses.
Your cost calculator
Take the figures straight from a provider’s quote. We deliberately do not pre-fill competitor rates — they change often and differ by provider, so the only honest number is the one you have been quoted.
Human answering service, per month
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Enter the quoted fee and per-call rate to see the total.
BusinessRunAI Launch, per month
£149.00
Flat price, up to 300 AI conversations, no per-call charge.
Subscribe NowFigures for the human service are the ones you enter. BusinessRunAI prices are our own published prices: Launch £149, Growth £299, Pro £499 a month, tax inclusive.
Where the two differ
Price is only half of it. A message taken is not a job booked.
Billing model
Usually a monthly bundle plus a charge for every call, with overage once the bundle runs out.
One flat monthly price. Launch is £149 a month and includes up to 300 AI conversations.
Hours covered
Out-of-hours and weekend cover is often an add-on or a higher tariff.
Answers at 3am on a Sunday at the same price as a Tuesday morning.
What happens after the call
You normally receive a message or email and still have to call back, quote and book.
Captures the job details, checks your availability and drafts the booking for your approval.
Knowledge of your business
A script you supply, read by someone who does not know your prices or your patch.
Answers from your Business Brain — your services, prices, areas covered and policies.
Sensitive decisions
Escalated back to you, usually as a message.
Parked in the approval centre with a plain-English summary before anything is sent.
Common questions
- How much does a call answering service cost in the UK?
- Providers price differently — some quote a monthly bundle with a per-call rate on top, others quote per minute. Because published rates change and vary by provider, we do not reproduce them here. Ask two or three providers for their monthly fee, included call allowance and per-call rate, then put those numbers into the calculator above.
- Is an AI receptionist cheaper than a human answering service?
- It depends entirely on your call volume and the rates you are quoted. The calculator shows the crossover point using your own figures rather than ours.
- What is included for £149 a month?
- The Launch plan includes the AI Receptionist and the AI Admin Assistant, your Business Brain and CRM, the website chat widget and up to 300 AI conversations a month. Growth is £299 and Pro is £499.
- Does the AI ever hand over to a human?
- Yes. Anything outside the rules you set — unusual pricing, complaints, refunds — is escalated to you instead of being answered.
One flat price. Every enquiry answered.
No per-call meter running in the background. Set up your AI Receptionist, train it on your business and test it as a customer before it goes live.