Alternatives / Face For Business
Face For Business or While You Work: which suits your business?
Face For Business, which trades as FFB, is a UK telephone answering service staffed by human PAs, with managed live chat as well. It publishes three plans: Taster from £49 a month, Message Only from £99 a month and Inclusive Minutes from £115 a month. On Taster and Inclusive Minutes, calls are charged by the second and not rounded up to the minute; Message Only is a set price per call, and there are no set-up or onboarding fees. It offers a 7-day free trial, and there is a 90-day minimum term, then a 30-day rolling plan with 30 days’ notice to cancel. Its pricing page does not state whether the prices include VAT. Note that its live website is ffb.co.uk; the older faceforbusiness.co.uk address does not respond.
Prices checked on ffb.co.uk on 24 October 2026. Always confirm current prices with each provider.
Price at a glance
Face For Business price compared with While You Work
| Face For Business | While You Work | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | Taster from £49, Message Only from £99, Inclusive Minutes from £115 (VAT not stated) | Starter £39, Pro £69, Business £129 a month + VAT |
| Call charges | By the second on Taster and Inclusive Minutes, a set price per call on Message Only | 50, 150 or 400 calls included, then 60p, 50p or 40p a call + VAT |
| Who answers | Human PAs | AI receptionist, 24 hours a day |
| Minimum term | 90 days, then 30-day rolling with 30 days’ notice | None, cancel any time |
| Trial | 7-day free trial | 7-day free trial with no card, then a 14-day money-back guarantee once you pay |
The short answer
Choose Face For Business if you want a named human PA who learns your business, live chat handled too, and you are comfortable with a plan price plus per-second call charges. Choose While You Work if you want a set number of calls for a monthly price with no per-second charges, 24-hour cover on every plan and the details sent to you in a minute. FFB plans have a 90-day minimum term. While You Work has none: cancel any time.
Side by side
Face For Business and While You Work compared
| Face For Business | While You Work | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Taster from £49 a month, Message Only from £99, Inclusive Minutes from £115. VAT treatment not stated | 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 | Plan price plus calls charged by the second (a set price per call on Message Only), no set-up fee | 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 PAs, with managed live chat available | AI receptionist with a separate script and set-up form for each kind of business |
| Hours | The Taster plan lists support in core business hours and Inclusive Minutes adds evening and weekend support; another part of the pricing page says evening and weekend support is standard, so check for your plan | 24 hours a day, 365 days a year |
| Trial | 7-day free trial, no obligation | 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 | 90-day minimum term, then 30-day rolling with 30 days’ notice | None, cancel any time |
| After the call | Message to your inbox, call recordings and appointment booking on the higher plans | 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 PAs, plus managed live chat | AI receptionist |
Choose Face For Business if
- You want a human PA who gets to know your business
- You want website live chat covered as well as calls
- You want CRM integration today
Choose While You Work if
- You want a set number of calls each month, with no per-second charges on top
- You want 24-hour cover on the one plan, with no need to check which hours it includes
- You want no minimum term, not 90 days
- You want the details sent to you in a minute with name, number, postcode and urgency
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, Answer.co.uk, Answer4u, IONOS AI Receptionist, Fasthosts AI Receptionist, The Answer Centre, Vocalenda, Team Connect, AnswerConnect.
Questions
Face For Business alternative FAQs
What is Face For Business?
Face For Business, which trades as FFB, is a UK telephone answering service. Human PAs answer your calls in your business name and send the messages to your inbox, and it runs managed live chat for websites as well. Its live website is ffb.co.uk.
How much does Face For Business cost?
Its published plans start at £49 a month for Taster, £99 for Message Only and £115 for Inclusive Minutes, with calls charged on top, by the second or per call. Its pricing page does not say whether those figures include VAT. While You Work is £39 a month + VAT for 50 calls on Starter or £69 + VAT for 150 calls on Pro, with each call counted once up to 10 minutes.
Is Face For Business the same price as While You Work?
No. Its Taster plan starts at £49 a month and then charges for the time its PAs spend on your calls, so a busy month costs more. While You Work Starter is £39 a month + VAT for 50 calls and Pro £69 + VAT for 150, however long each call lasts up to 10 minutes, and both include evenings and weekends.
Which is better for a sole trader?
If you want a person who can hold a longer conversation, take live chat and use judgement, Face For Business is the better fit and we would say so. If you mainly need every missed call answered and the details with you within a minute for a set monthly price, While You Work is built for that.
Sources, checked 24 October 2026: Face For Business answering service pricing, Face For Business home. Face For Business is a trademark of its owner. While You Work is not connected with Face For Business.
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.