The best AI receptionists in the UK, compared honestly
Most "best AI receptionist" lists are written by one of the companies on the list. So is this one — so here is the version that tells you when to pick someone else.
The honest starting point
The UK market for answering your phone splits into three shapes. Self-serve AI tools (Ringmere, Hey Jodie, Rosie, Goodcall, My AI Front Desk) give you a dashboard and unlimited or generous minutes for £49 to around £200 a month, and you do the building. Human answering services (Moneypenny, alldayPA, AnswerConnect, Smith.ai's human plans) put a real person on the line and bill per minute or per call. Managed plans, which is what we sell, put the AI receptionist inside a wider package — website, chatbot, follow-up — and charge a flat fee for someone else to run it.
None of the three is the right answer for everyone. The cheapest option is the self-serve tool if you will genuinely do the work. The best call quality for a distressed caller is a human. The lowest total effort for an owner who wants the whole enquiry problem to go away is a managed plan. Below is each option on the same terms, with prices taken from each supplier's own published pricing page where they publish one.
The comparison
| Type | Published price | Swift Solution | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ringmere | Self-serve AI, UK-built | £49 / £99 / £249 + VAT, 150–700 minutes | Managed, from £497/month |
| Hey Jodie | Self-serve AI | £49 / £99 / £199 per month, unlimited minutes | Managed, from £497/month |
| Rosie | Self-serve AI, US | $49 / $149 / $299, 250–2,000 minutes | Managed, from £497/month |
| AnswerConnect | Human, per minute | £205–£395/month, then £1.75/min | Managed, flat fee |
| Goodcall | Self-serve AI | $79 / $129 / $249 per agent, unlimited minutes | Managed, from £497/month |
| My AI Front Desk | Self-serve AI bundle | $99/month, 200 minutes, chat + SMS + CRM | Managed, from £497/month |
| Smith.ai | AI and human, per call | $300/month for 30 AI calls, then $8.50–$11.50 each | Managed, flat fee |
| Moneypenny | Human, per minute | On quote — not published | Managed, flat fee |
| alldayPA | Human, per minute | Not verified from their site | Managed, flat fee |
| Swift Solution | Managed AI plan | £497 / £897 + setup; site, chatbot, follow-up included | — |
Competitor figures read from the supplier’s own published pricing page, September 2026. Where none is published we say so. Prices change — check theirs before deciding.
So which should you pick?
Take the self-serve tool if you are hands-on and your only problem is the phone. Take a human service if your callers need a human. Take a managed plan if you want one bill, one supplier and one person accountable for enquiries end to end. If you are not sure, the free call is twenty minutes and we will tell you which — including when it is not us.
One plan, everything included
Website, AI, automation and ongoing management in a single monthly fee. No contracts — 30 days' notice.
- ✓3–5 page professional website
- ✓AI chatbot trained on your business
- ✓Lead capture + instant alerts
- ✓Automated enquiry follow-up
- ✓Missed call text-back
- ✓Online booking & monthly reporting
- ✓Everything in Starter
- ✓5–8 page website with live chat
- ✓AI voice receptionist — 200 mins/mo
- ✓Full lead & sales pipeline
- ✓Client onboarding automation
- ✓Invoice chasing & weekly reporting
- ✓Everything in Growth
- ✓Unlimited page website
- ✓AI voice receptionist — 400 mins/mo
- ✓Staff onboarding automation
- ✓Social scheduling & knowledge base
- ✓Priority support & strategy calls
All plans include hosting, edits, updates and ongoing management. Cancel any time with 30 days' notice. Full pricing details →