Alternatives / Answer.co.uk
Answer.co.uk or While You Work: which suits your business?
Answer.co.uk runs a pay-as-you-go human answering service at £2.20 a call plus VAT for new customers, with a £25 minimum credit and no monthly fee. Its AI receptionist has a Lite plan at £10 a month plus 85p a call, and bundles of 50 calls for £30, 200 for £120 and 500 for £300 a month, with extra calls at 85p.
Prices checked on answer.co.uk on 16 October 2026. Always confirm current prices with each provider.
The short answer
Choose Answer.co.uk if you want pay-as-you-go with no monthly fee, or a very low-volume AI plan. Choose While You Work if you want a monthly plan with a set number of calls, a receptionist set up for your kind of business, and the details sent to you in a minute.
Side by side
Answer.co.uk and While You Work compared
| Answer.co.uk | While You Work | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Human: £2.20 a call plus VAT, £25 minimum credit. AI: £10 a month plus 85p a call, or 50 calls for £30 a month | Starter £39, Pro £69 or Business £129 a month + VAT. The first 50 UK businesses get Pro for £49 a month + VAT for their first 12 months, then £69 |
| How you pay | Per call, or AI call bundles | Flat monthly plan with a set number of calls, then a set price for each extra call. A call counts once however long it lasts, up to 10 minutes |
| Who answers | Human receptionists, or the AI receptionist | AI receptionist with a separate script and set-up form for each kind of business |
| Hours | 24/7 | 24 hours a day, 365 days a year |
| Trial | Check the website | 7-day free trial with no card, up to 30 calls or 60 minutes, then a card keeps the line or it stops. Once you pay, a money-back guarantee: cancel within 14 days of your line going live for a full refund |
| Contract | Pay as you go | None, cancel any time |
| After the call | Message by email, optional SMS at 10p each | Details by email a minute after the call on every plan, and on Pro and Business a text straight away for urgent calls, which can also be put through to your phone |
| Type of service | Human receptionists, plus an AI receptionist | AI receptionist |
Choose Answer.co.uk if
- You want pay-as-you-go with no monthly fee
- You want a human on every call and miss only a few calls
- You want a very cheap AI plan for occasional calls
Choose While You Work if
- You want a monthly plan with a set number of calls, from £39 + VAT for 50
- You want questions set for your kind of business and urgent calls flagged
- You want the details emailed to you in a minute and urgent calls texted straight away
Switching
How to switch in three steps
Check your notice
Look at your current provider’s terms for any notice period or unused credit.
Tell us about your business
A short form for your kind of business: hours, area, services and what callers should be told.
Change your divert
Point divert-on-no-answer at your While You Work number. Your callers keep ringing the same number.
Want the full picture on UK prices? Read how much a call answering service costs in the UK. And how ours works: a call answering service that answers in your name, or a virtual receptionist for the wider job.
Other comparisons: Moneypenny, ReceptionHQ, Jodie, Cyberstaff, Face For Business, Answer4u, IONOS AI Receptionist, Fasthosts AI Receptionist, The Answer Centre, Vocalenda, Team Connect, AnswerConnect.
Questions
Answer.co.uk alternative FAQs
How much does Answer.co.uk cost?
Answer.co.uk’s human pay-as-you-go service is £2.20 a call plus VAT for new customers, with a £25 minimum credit. Its AI receptionist starts at £10 a month plus 85p a call.
Is pay-as-you-go cheaper?
For a few calls a month, often yes. At 50 calls a month, human pay-as-you-go at £2.20 plus VAT is £110 plus VAT, against £39 plus VAT on While You Work Starter. Answer.co.uk’s AI bundle of 50 calls for £30 a month costs less than our Starter plan.
Sources, checked 16 October 2026: Answer.co.uk pay-as-you-go call answering, Answer.co.uk AI virtual receptionist. Answer.co.uk is a trademark of its owner. While You Work is not connected with Answer.co.uk.
See what it does with your own missed calls
Start a free 7-day trial with no card, or ring 01202 144997 and hear our own receptionist answer. Priced per call, not per minute: Starter £39 and Pro £69 a month plus VAT, with a 7-day trial first and a 14-day money-back guarantee once you pay.