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