COMPARISON
YourReceptionist vs. human receptionist vs. call centre
All three options answer calls for your business — but they differ markedly on price, availability and consistency. YourReceptionist is trained on your prices and services before launch and can therefore answer every question correctly from the very first call — with no bedding-in period and no human margin of error. Human options need ongoing training and in practice can only work from a limited script. In the example below, YourReceptionist is both the cheapest option and the only one that covers every call around the clock with no queue or waiting time.
£82/month
Example calculation: At 150 calls a month of 3 minutes each, YourReceptionist costs approx. £82/month — compared with approx. £210–£235/month for a call centre (typically excluding set-up fees and minimum terms) and approx. £2,400–£2,900/month for a full-time receptionist once all employer costs are included. See assumptions and calculation below.
Comparison across parameters
An overview of the three types of service, as they typically work in practice for small and medium-sized businesses.
| Parameter | YourReceptionist | Human receptionist | Call centre |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £0.17/min + £5.70/month subscription — no contract | Full employer cost typically £2,400–£2,900/month (wages incl. employer NI, pension and holiday pay) | From approx. £56–£70/month subscription + £0.80–£1.30 per call — often plus a set-up fee |
| Availability | 24/7, including outside opening hours, weekends and holidays | During working hours — sickness, holidays and lunch breaks reduce cover | Often extended hours, rarely full 24-hour operation |
| Simultaneous calls | Unlimited — never a queue | One call at a time — the rest go to voicemail | Limited by the number of staff on shift |
| Consistency | Same answer and tone every time | Depends on mood, training and who picks up | Varies with which member of staff answers |
| Calendar integration | Direct real-time booking | Manual entry | Often requires access to your system — typically manual updates |
| Set-up time | Instant | Recruitment and training — typically weeks to months | Typically 1–2 weeks' implementation |
| Knowledge from the first call | Trained on your prices, services and FAQs before launch — answers correctly from the very first call, no bedding-in period | Has to get to know the business — risk of wrong answers while new staff are trained | Works from a fixed, limited script — can rarely answer questions outside the script |
| Margin of error | Consistently correct answers every time, no fatigue or Monday mistakes | Human margin of error — forgotten messages, wrong information, bad days | Margin of error depends on staff training and script coverage |
| Nuanced / sensitive conversations | Handled well, but escalated to you when needed | Strongest for complex, emotional conversations | Varies with the staff member's experience |
| Contract | None — prepaid, like pay-as-you-go phone credit | Employment contract, notice period | Varies — some call centres require a minimum term (typically 6–12 months), a few offer no contract |
Example monthly cost
A worked example — adjust the assumptions to your own call volume to see what really applies to you.
YourReceptionist
£82.20/month
£5.70 subscription + 450 min at £0.17. No contract, no extra costs.
Call centre (example)
~£210–£235/month
Based on the average of several providers' publicly listed prices (subscription from £56–£70/month + £0.80–£1.30 per call). Excluding any set-up fee. Several providers also require a minimum term — see the table above.
Full-time receptionist
£2,400–£2,900/month
Full employer cost: base pay at the National Living Wage (≈£2,065/month) plus employer NI, pension and holiday pay — and covers normal working hours only.
Assumptions for the example: 150 calls per month with an average duration of 3 minutes. The YourReceptionist price is your actual current subscription (£0.17/min + £5.70/month). The call centre example is an average of several providers' publicly listed starting prices (subscription £56–£70/month + £0.80–£1.30 per call), converted to GBP, and is not a fixed price from any one provider — the real price depends on volume, opening hours and negotiation, and several providers also charge a set-up fee and/or require a minimum term, which is not included here. The receptionist cost is based on the UK National Living Wage of £12.71/hour from April 2026 (≈162.5 hours/month), fully loaded at around £15–£18/hour including employer National Insurance, pension and holiday pay. By comparison, £0.17/min equals £10.20/hour of talk time — a saving of up to ~40% on talk time alone. Your own pay rates and pension arrangements may give a different figure.
The figures are example calculations for illustration and are not guaranteed savings. Your actual cost depends on the number of calls and call length. See the full price list or contact us for a calculation based on your own call pattern.
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