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The Moneypenny alternative that publishes its price.

Moneypenny is the best-known name in UK call answering, and for some businesses the right one. If you are looking for an alternative, it is usually for one of four reasons. Here is what Ringmere does differently, and when it is not the better choice.

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Ringmere is a UK AI receptionist with published flat pricing: £49, £99 or £249 a month, each with included minutes, a UK number and a 7-day free trial. It answers calls 24/7, quotes only what you approve, books appointments into your diary during the call and puts urgent callers through to your team. Moneypenny is a people-first answering service whose AI receptionist starts from £25 a month and whose human service is priced to your needs on a call.

Why people look for a Moneypenny alternative

Almost nobody leaves Moneypenny because the answering was bad. They leave, or never sign, because of what the model does not naturally give a small business:

  • A price you can see before you speak to sales. Moneypenny prices around what you need, on a call. Ringmere’s three plans are on the pricing page, with the overage rate and the safety ceiling.
  • The booking finished on the call. A message-taking service hands you a note to ring back. Ringmere checks your live availability and puts the slot in your calendar before the caller hangs up.
  • Setup today. Account-managed onboarding suits a firm with a switchboard. A salon or a garage wants to forward a number, import a price list and hear it answer within the hour.
  • WhatsApp and text, not just the phone. A growing share of customers never ring. On Growth and Pro, the same receptionist replies on WhatsApp and SMS.

Side by side

RingmereMoneypenny
Pricing modelPublished flat plans with included minutesPriced to your needs on a call; AI receptionist from £25 a month, human answering quote-led
Entry price£49 a month, 150 call minutes, UK number includedFrom £25 a month for the AI receptionist, per its own page
Who answersAI, with escalation to your own teamHuman receptionists at the core; an AI receptionist that can route to its people or yours
BookingChecks live availability and books into Google Calendar, Outlook or the built-in diary during the call, on every planAppointment scheduling is listed; the integrations named are HubSpot, Salesforce and Calendly
ChannelsPhone on every plan; two-way WhatsApp and SMS on Growth and ProPhone answering, plus live chat and other managed services
SetupSelf-serve, live the same dayAccount-managed onboarding
Trial7 days. You add a card when the trial starts and nothing is charged for 7 daysCheck its site for current trial terms
DataStored in the UK; every sub-processor named in our privacy policyDescribes its service as fully encrypted and GDPR-compliant; region not stated on its AI page
Built forSingle-site UK appointment businesses: salons, clinics, practices, garages, restaurants, hotelsBroad, from sole traders to large and regulated firms, with strength in legal and professional services

Moneypenny details are from its UK website and AI receptionist page as read on 26 September 2026. Its human answering service is quote-led, so confirm the specifics in your own quote. Prices exclude VAT.

Switching in an afternoon

Create your accountImport services and pricesForward your numberRing your own line

Keep your Moneypenny service running while you test: forward your number to Ringmere for an afternoon, ring it from your mobile, book a fake appointment and cancel it, and listen to how it handles a question it has not been taught. The how it works page walks through the three steps. When you are satisfied, the forwarding is the only thing that changes.

When Moneypenny is the right choice

  • You want a human being on the line, full stop, and you are happy to pay for that
  • Your calls are complex, regulated or high-stakes, as in legal and financial services
  • You want an account manager and a service that is run for you
  • You need a full switchboard: many departments, many extensions, many sites

When Ringmere makes more sense

  • Your calls are mostly bookings, reschedules and routine questions
  • You want genuine 24/7 cover at a flat, published price
  • You want the booking completed on the call, in your own calendar
  • You want customer data stored in the UK, with every sub-processor named in our privacy policy
  • You want to set it up yourself today, with a free trial rather than a sales call

Other Moneypenny alternatives worth quoting

If you still want people answering, the UK has established human answering bureaux worth a quote; per-call pricing suits low volumes and turns expensive when the phone gets busy. If you have decided on AI, the UK options with public prices are Hey Jodie (£49 a month with unlimited minutes; bookings and transfers from £99), IONOS and Fasthosts (£39 a month billed per call, with booking from £69), Cyberstaff (£30 a month, 100 minutes) and Answer.co.uk’s AI plans (from £10 a month plus £0.85 a call). RingCentral AIR is priced on request in the UK. All as published on 26 September 2026; our comparison of the best AI receptionists in the UK sets them side by side.

Questions

Before you switch.

Is Ringmere cheaper than Moneypenny?
Ringmere publishes three flat plans: £49, £99 and £249 a month, each with included minutes, a UK number and a 7-day free trial. Moneypenny prices its service around your needs on a call; its AI receptionist page says it starts from £25 a month, and its human answering service is quote-led. Get a Moneypenny quote for your call volume and set it against our public pricing for a true comparison. Prices exclude VAT.
Is Moneypenny AI or real people?
Both. Moneypenny built its name on human receptionists answering under your business name, and now sells an AI receptionist alongside them, with calls routed to its people or yours when needed. Ringmere is AI-first: the AI answers and books, and urgent or sensitive calls go to your own team rather than to an outsourced agent.
Can I keep my phone number if I switch?
Yes. Forward your existing number to Ringmere, or use the UK number included free with every plan. Nothing changes for your customers, and you can switch back by changing the forwarding.
Does Ringmere take messages like an answering service?
Yes, and it goes further. Where your services and diary are set up, it books the appointment during the call; where they are not, it takes the caller’s name, number and reason as a message and sends it to you. Urgent calls can be put through live to a number you choose.
How quickly can I switch from Moneypenny to Ringmere?
The same day. Create an account, import your services and prices, forward your number, and ring your own line to hear it answer. Most businesses are live within the hour, and the 7-day trial means you can run both side by side before you cancel anything.

Compare

The longer read.

Ringmere vs Moneypenny: which should answer your phone?

One is the UK’s best-known answering brand, with people at its heart. The other is a flat-fee AI built for small appointment businesses. We make Ringmere, and here is the honest comparison, including when Moneypenny is the right call.

Read more

The best AI receptionists for UK businesses (2026)

We build one of the products on this list, so this is not a neutral review. It is an honest one: published prices, real differences, and who each provider genuinely suits, including when the answer is not us.

Read more

Ringmere pricing

Starter £49, Growth £99 and Pro £249 a month, each with a UK number and a 7-day free trial.

Read more

Hear it answer before you decide.

Forward your number for an afternoon, ring your own line, and judge what you hear. 7-day free trial, cancel anytime.

Call answered2:47am · first ring
Booked in your calendarCut & blow dry · 2:30pm
£42 recoveredWhile you slept
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