Pricing guide
Call answering service cost in the UK
Per call, per minute or flat fee — here's what UK answering services actually charge, what a typical trade business ends up paying, and how to work out which is cheapest for you.
The three ways answering services charge
Answering service pricing looks confusing because providers use different units. There are really only three models, and once you know which one you're looking at you can compare like for like.
Per call: you pay a fixed amount each time the service picks up, typically around £1.50 to £4 depending on how much the receptionist has to do. Simple, but the bill moves every month.
Per minute: you pay for talk time, typically £1 to £2.50 a minute, often with a minimum charge per call. A chatty customer explaining a bathroom job can cost several pounds on its own.
Flat monthly fee: one price, all calls included. Predictable, and usually the cheapest option once you take more than roughly 30 calls a month.
What each pricing model actually costs
Illustrative monthly cost for a trade business taking 60 calls a month averaging two minutes each. Check each provider's current published prices before signing up.
| Pricing model | Typical rate | 60 calls a month | Bill varies? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per call | £1.50–£4 per call | £90–£240 | Yes |
| Per minute | £1–£2.50 per minute | £120–£300 | Yes |
| Bundled minutes | Monthly bundle + overage | £60–£250 | Yes, over the bundle |
| Flat fee (TradeRing) | £89 a month, all calls | £89 | No |
The costs that don't show on the price list
Setup fees are common, and so are 12-month minimum terms. Both matter more than the headline rate if the service turns out not to suit you.
Out-of-hours cover is the big one. Plenty of services quote a daytime price and charge extra for evenings, weekends and bank holidays — which is exactly when homeowners ring a trade.
Then there's the cost of calls that still get missed. A cheap plan that caps your monthly calls, or one that only takes a name and number, leaves you ringing people back cold. The true cost of a service is the price plus the jobs it fails to capture.
How to compare quotes properly
- Work out your real monthly call volume before you ask for a price
- Convert every quote into a cost per month at that volume, not a cost per call
- Ask specifically what evenings, weekends and bank holidays cost
- Ask what happens when you go over the bundle
- Check the minimum term and the notice period to cancel
- Check what you actually receive after a call — a name, or the full job details
What TradeRing costs
TradeRing is £89 a month paid monthly, or £79 a month paid annually. That is the whole price: every call answered, 24/7, no per-call or per-minute charges, no setup fee and no minimum term.
Every call comes back to you as a lead card with the caller's name and number, what the job is, the postcode, how urgent it is, and a full transcript — so you can decide who to ring first instead of starting from a blank message.
There's a 28-day money-back guarantee, so you can see what a month of answered calls is actually worth to your business before committing.
Working out whether it pays for itself
The maths is simple: if your average job is worth £400 and you currently miss two enquiries a week, you're losing far more than the monthly fee. Recovering a single job a month covers the cost several times over.
Use the missed call calculator to put your own average job value and missed-call count in and see the number for your business.
Call answering service cost — common questions
How much does a call answering service cost in the UK?
Most UK answering services charge either per call (roughly £1.50–£4 a call), per minute (roughly £1–£2.50 a minute), or a monthly bundle of calls. In practice a small trade business taking 40–80 calls a month usually ends up somewhere between £80 and £300 a month. TradeRing is a flat £89 a month, or £79 a month paid annually, with no per-call charges.
What is the cheapest call answering service?
The cheapest headline price is usually a low-volume message-taking plan, but those plans charge for every call over the bundle, so a busy month can cost far more than expected. A flat monthly fee with unlimited calls is normally cheaper once you take more than about 30 calls a month.
How much does a 24 hour answering service cost?
With most human services, out-of-hours and weekend cover is a paid add-on or a higher tier, so 24-hour cover typically costs more than a daytime-only plan. TradeRing includes 24/7 answering, evenings, weekends and bank holidays, in the same £89 a month.
Is an answering service cheaper than hiring a receptionist?
Yes, by a wide margin. A part-time UK receptionist costs several hundred pounds a month once salary, National Insurance and holiday cover are included, and they only work set hours. An answering service costs a fraction of that and never goes off shift.
Are there setup fees or contracts?
Some services charge a setup fee and ask for a 12-month term. TradeRing has no setup fee, no minimum term, and a 28-day money-back guarantee. Always check the small print for minimum terms and per-call overage before you sign.
What should I budget as a solo tradesperson?
Budget around £80–£100 a month for full 24/7 cover with lead details captured properly. If one recovered job a month is worth more than that to you — and for most trades it is — the service pays for itself on the first call it saves.