Alternatives / ReceptionHQ
ReceptionHQ or While You Work: which suits your business?
ReceptionHQ is a human answering service with published call bundles. Message-taking (MessageExpress) runs from £15 a month plus £1.15 a call, or £25 for 25 calls, £49 for 50 and £90 for 100. Call transfers (MyReceptionist) run from £19 a month plus £1.40 a call, or £39 for 25 calls, £65 for 50 and £115 for 100. Extra calls on the bundles cost £1.15 to £1.35. All prices are plus VAT. It offers a 7-day free trial with no card, 24/7 cover with no after-hours surcharge and no long-term contract.
Prices checked on receptionhq.co.uk on 1 November 2026. Always confirm current prices with each provider.
The short answer
Choose ReceptionHQ if you want a real person on every call, call transfers to your team, or you only miss a handful of calls a month. Choose While You Work if you miss more than about 35 calls a month, want extra calls at 60p or less rather than £1.15 or more, and want the details sent to you in a minute.
Side by side
ReceptionHQ and While You Work compared
| ReceptionHQ | While You Work | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | From £15 a month plus £1.15 a call, or bundles: 25 calls £25, 50 calls £49, 100 calls £90 (message-taking), all plus VAT | 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 | Monthly bundle of calls, extra calls £1.15 to £1.35 each | 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 | AI receptionist with a separate script and set-up form for each kind of business |
| Hours | 24/7, no after-hours surcharge | 24 hours a day, 365 days a year |
| Trial | 7-day free trial, no card | 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 | None, rolling monthly | None, cancel any time |
| After the call | Message by email or SMS, call transfers on MyReceptionist | 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 | AI receptionist |
Choose ReceptionHQ if
- You want a person on every call
- You need calls transferred to staff
- You miss fewer than about 25 calls a month
Choose While You Work if
- Your call volume goes up and down and you want extra calls to cost 40p to 60p, not £1.15 or more
- You miss more than about 35 calls a month
- You want questions set for your kind of business and the details sent to you in a minute
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, Jodie, Cyberstaff, Answer.co.uk, Face For Business, Answer4u, IONOS AI Receptionist, Fasthosts AI Receptionist, The Answer Centre, Vocalenda, Team Connect, AnswerConnect.
Questions
ReceptionHQ alternative FAQs
How much does ReceptionHQ cost?
On its website, ReceptionHQ message-taking starts at £15 a month plus £1.15 a call, with bundles of 25 calls for £25, 50 for £49 and 100 for £90. Call-transfer plans start at £19 a month plus £1.40 a call, or £39 for 25 calls. All prices are plus VAT.
Is ReceptionHQ cheaper than While You Work?
At low volumes, yes. 25 calls a month on MessageExpress is £25 plus VAT, against £39 plus VAT on While You Work Starter. At 50 calls it is £49 plus VAT against £39 on Starter, and at 100 calls £90 plus VAT against £69 on Pro, which covers up to 150 calls.
Does ReceptionHQ use real people?
Yes, ReceptionHQ uses human receptionists. While You Work uses an AI receptionist, which picks up straight away, with a set number of calls for a monthly price.
Sources, checked 1 November 2026: ReceptionHQ pricing, ReceptionHQ MessageExpress plans, ReceptionHQ MyReceptionist plans. ReceptionHQ is a trademark of its owner. While You Work is not connected with ReceptionHQ.
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.