Answer AI vs IONOS AI Receptionist
The short answer
- IONOS AI Receptionist costs least: £69 (about $91) a month for 100 calls and £99 (about $131) for 500.
- Answer AI has the lowest advertised price, £10 (about $13), but costs £72.50 (about $96) through sales at 100 calls.
- Pick Answer AI if you want their own people to take over a call.
- Pick IONOS AI Receptionist if you want the lower bill.
 Answer AIUK sole traders and SMEs that miss calls after hours, from locksmiths to law firmsVisit site |  IONOS AI ReceptionistUK and US small businesses wanting GDPR-compliant, EU-hosted AI call answeringVisit site | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | ||
| At 100 calls a month | Answer AI£72.50 (about $96) through salesabout $96 | IONOS AI Receptionist£69about $91Lowest |
| At 500 calls a month | Answer AI£300 (about $397) through salesabout $397 | IONOS AI Receptionist£99about $131Lowest |
| Advertised from | Answer AI£10 (about $13) a monthabout $13 | IONOS AI Receptionist£39 (about $52) a monthabout $52 |
| The advertised plan covers | Answer AIThe £10 (about $13) plan it advertises covers 0 of 100 calls. Growth costs less for all 100. | IONOS AI ReceptionistThe £39 (about $52) plan it advertises covers 30 of 100 calls. AI Receptionist Flex Pro costs less for all 100. |
| Bills | Answer AIper call | IONOS AI Receptionistper call |
| Keeps answering past your allowance | Answer AIYesEach plan bundles a call allowance and extra calls simply continue at £0.85 (about $1.13) each | IONOS AI ReceptionistYesCalls past the allowance keep being answered and are charged per extra call |
| Free trial or plan | Answer AINoThere is no free plan or free trial on your own line | IONOS AI ReceptionistPartlyEvery package comes with a free first month |
| Month to month, cancel online | Answer AIYesPlans are monthly with no long-term commitment | IONOS AI ReceptionistYesAll three packages are month-to-month with cancellation any time |
| On the call | ||
| Books appointments | Answer AIPartlyThe vendor says appointment scheduling is a core capability | IONOS AI ReceptionistPartlyThe assistant checks real availability |
| Transfers to a person | Answer AIPartlyLive transfer is excluded from the cheapest Lite plan | IONOS AI ReceptionistPartlyYou save contacts with phone numbers |
| Human receptionists as backup | Answer AIYesCalls can be routed to the company's own human answering operators rather than only to the customer | IONOS AI ReceptionistNoThere is no human answering team behind the AI |
| After-hours rules | Answer AIPartlyRound-the-clock answering is stated plainly for every plan | IONOS AI ReceptionistPartlyThe assistant answers around the clock |
| Urgent calls escalated | Answer AIPartlyUrgency recognition is claimed for emergency trades | IONOS AI ReceptionistYesThe vendor states the assistant recognizes emergency trigger phrases |
| Texts your callers | Answer AINot stated | IONOS AI ReceptionistNot stated |
| Call summary by text | Answer AIYesMessage delivery is by email and the online portal as standard | IONOS AI ReceptionistPartlyEvery call produces an email summary with the caller's number, subject line |
| Language, privacy and trying it | ||
| Languages | Answer AIPartlyThe vendor claims 32 supported languages but publishes no list | IONOS AI ReceptionistNot stated |
| HIPAA, with a signed BAA | Answer AINot stated | IONOS AI ReceptionistNot stated |
| Hear it before you buy | Answer AIYesA public number is published to call the AI receptionist, and a form issues a test number | IONOS AI ReceptionistYesA public UK demo number connects a caller straight to the live AI receptionist at no cost |
| What it connects to | ||
| Google Calendar | Answer AINot stated | IONOS AI ReceptionistYesGoogle Calendar, Microsoft 365/Outlook, Cal.com |
| Outlook | Answer AIYesBooking into a calendar is possible where an integration is configured | IONOS AI ReceptionistYesGoogle Calendar, Microsoft 365/Outlook, Cal.com |
| Calendly | Answer AIYesBooking into a calendar is possible where an integration is configured | IONOS AI ReceptionistYesGoogle Calendar, Microsoft 365/Outlook, Cal.com |
| Your trade’s software | Answer AINot stated | IONOS AI ReceptionistNot stated |
| Keep your number | Answer AIYesYou keep your existing line and divert to the dedicated number supplied at no extra cost | IONOS AI ReceptionistYesYou keep your business number and divert it to the assistant's own number |
| In short | ||
| What it is | Answer AIAnswer AI is a UK AI virtual receptionist from Answer.co.uk that answers calls around the clock, handles FAQs from your website or documents, captures caller details and sends messages by email or SMS. It is sold on four monthly plans with per-call charging.All answers for Answer AI | IONOS AI ReceptionistIONOS AI Receptionist is a hosted AI phone answering service that takes calls on its own number or a forwarded business line, answers from your website content and books appointments. It is sold in three per-call packages alongside IONOS hosting and domain products.All answers for IONOS AI Receptionist |
| Checked | Answer AIOctober 14, 2026 | IONOS AI ReceptionistOctober 15, 2026 |
Costs are for 100 or 500 calls a month of 2½ minutes each, on the cheapest public plan. How we price
“About” figures are converted at the European Central Bank rate of Oct 15, 2026.