Moneypenny or an AI receptionist? Zatio and Moneypenny compared
Moneypenny is best known for its UK-based human receptionists, and it also offers a separate AI Receptionist. Zatio is an AI receptionist for phone, WhatsApp and website chat. Here’s how the three compare, using only what each company publishes.
In short
Moneypenny
Real people answering your calls, with 25 years in the market, plus an AI Receptionist that can escalate to its human team 24/7. Pricing is by quote.
Zatio
One AI assistant for your phone, WhatsApp and website chat, trained on your website, with published monthly plans and no minimum term.
Who each suits
If you want a person on every call, Moneypenny is built for that. If you want published pricing, month-to-month terms and WhatsApp and website chat alongside calls, Zatio is built for that.
Side by side
Checked on 10 October 2026 against each company’s own pages. Numbers in brackets link to the sources below.
| Feature | Zatio | Moneypenny telephone answering (people) | Moneypenny AI Receptionist |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who answers | An AI receptionist that says it is an AI at the start of every new conversation[8] | Human receptionists, 100% UK-based[2] | An AI receptionist, with escalation to Moneypenny’s human receptionists 24/7[3] |
| Channels | Phone, WhatsApp and website chat, same assistant, in every plan[6] | Calls, with messages to you by email and SMS; live chat is a separate service[2] | Calls (WhatsApp and website chat not listed)[3] |
| Published price | Essential £69, Professional £129, Growth £259 a month, plus VAT; extra minutes £0.10[6] | Not published (“pricing is flexible and based on your needs”)[4] | Not published (price by quote)[3] |
| Minimum term and notice | Month to month, no minimum term[6] | Plans of 150 minutes or less: 3-month minimum and 1 month’s notice. Larger plans: 6 or 12 months and 3 months’ notice[4] | Not published[3] |
| Free trial | Free 14-day trial, no card, plus a test call from our home page[7] | A free trial is mentioned; length not published[2] | Not published (demo numbers by sector)[3] |
| Set-up | Self-service from your website, no set-up fee; optional done-for-you set-up, £179 one-off[6] | Not published[2] | Done for you by a Moneypenny Solutions Architect; live in days[3] |
| Hours | 24/7 or the hours you choose, in every plan[6] | Standard 8:30am to 6pm; 24/7 available as an option[2] | 24/7[3] |
| Keep your number | Yes, forward your calls to your Zatio line[7] | Calls forward to a Moneypenny number: all calls, or only when you’re busy or don’t answer[2] | Yes, keep your number and forward calls[3] |
| Integrations | Bookings into Microsoft Bookings, Calendly or Cal.com. Leads to your CRM by CSV export or signed webhook (Make, Zapier, n8n, Zoho Flow)[8][9] | Slack, Calendly, HubSpot, Microsoft Teams, Salesforce, Clio, Dynamics 365, Zapier, Jotform and others[1][2] | HubSpot, Salesforce, Calendly and more[3] |
| Languages | British English, Polish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch and Spanish[7] | Not published[2] | Not published[3] |
| Data location | EU (Stockholm); calls are transcribed, not recorded[7][8] | Not published[2] | Not published[3] |
Human or AI: what each is best at
A human receptionist brings judgement, warmth and experience to sensitive or high-value calls, and Moneypenny’s customers rate that highly. An AI receptionist answers every call and message at once, at any hour, at a fixed monthly price. Many businesses weigh exactly that trade-off.
Pricing you can see vs pricing by quote
Moneypenny doesn’t publish prices for either service: its pricing page says pricing is flexible and based on your needs. Zatio publishes three plans: Essential £69, Professional £129, Growth £259 a month plus VAT, with 400, 1,000 or 2,000 voice minutes and extra minutes at £0.10. As one price is published and the other isn’t, we don’t claim either is lower.
Contracts and notice periods
According to Moneypenny’s pricing page (checked 10 October 2026), telephone answering plans of 150 minutes or less have a 3-month minimum term and 1 month’s notice, and larger plans 6 or 12 months with 3 months’ notice. The AI Receptionist page doesn’t publish a term. Zatio is month to month with no minimum term.
Channels: calls, WhatsApp and website chat
Moneypenny’s receptionists take your calls and send you messages by email and SMS; live chat is a separate Moneypenny service. Zatio answers calls, WhatsApp and your website chat with the same assistant, and passes conversations to your team when needed.
Hours
Moneypenny’s standard telephone answering hours are 8:30am to 6pm, with 24/7 as an option; its AI Receptionist runs 24/7. Zatio works 24/7, or on the hours you choose, in every plan.
When Moneypenny is the better choice
There are good reasons to choose it:
You want a person on every call
Moneypenny’s receptionists are real people, 100% UK-based. Zatio is an AI and says so.
High-value or sensitive calls
For calls where tone and judgement matter most, an experienced receptionist can be the right fit.
Legal and enterprise software
Moneypenny lists integrations such as Clio, Dynamics 365 and Salesforce.
Highly rated service
Moneypenny is rated 4.8 out of 5 on Trustpilot from 1,318 reviews (checked 10 October 2026).
Questions
Does Moneypenny publish prices?
No. Its pricing page says pricing is flexible and based on your needs, and the AI Receptionist is priced by quote. Zatio’s plans are published on its pricing page.
What is Moneypenny’s minimum contract?
For telephone answering, its pricing page states a 3-month minimum and 1 month’s notice on plans of 150 minutes or less, and 6 or 12 months with 3 months’ notice on larger plans (checked 10 October 2026). Zatio is month to month.
Can an AI receptionist hand over to a person?
Yes. Zatio transfers the call live to your team when you set it up, and your team gets the summary and transcript. Moneypenny’s AI Receptionist escalates to its own human receptionists.
Will callers know it is AI?
With Zatio, yes: it says it’s an AI at the start of every new conversation.
Can I keep my number?
Yes, with both. With Zatio you forward your calls to your Zatio line: all of them, out of hours, or the ones you don’t pick up.
Can I use both?
Yes. For example, Moneypenny could keep answering your calls while Zatio handles WhatsApp and your website chat. How you split calls depends on the forwarding options of your phone line.
Can I try Zatio for free?
Free 14-day trial with no card, including 30 voice minutes and 100 chat conversations. Your phone number and WhatsApp go live when you add your card.
Sources, checked on 10 October 2026
- Moneypenny, UK home page: https://moneypenny.com/uk/
- Moneypenny, telephone answering: https://moneypenny.com/uk/telephone-answering/
- Moneypenny, AI Receptionist: https://moneypenny.com/uk/ai-receptionist/
- Moneypenny, pricing: https://moneypenny.com/uk/pricing/
- Trustpilot, Moneypenny reviews: https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/moneypenny.com
- Zatio, pricing: https://zatio.io/pricing
- Zatio, home page: https://zatio.io/
- Zatio, product: https://zatio.io/product
- Zatio, integrations: https://zatio.io/integrations
Moneypenny is a trademark of its owner. This page is independent and not endorsed by Moneypenny. Moneypenny’s details come from its own website, checked on 10 October 2026, and may change. If anything is out of date, email hello@zatio.io.
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