For most small Pilates studios, I'd try a missed-call text before an AI receptionist. If you run a mat timetable with a loyal group, you may never need more. If you've got an empty reformer room to fill, you teach most of the classes yourself, and you're missing genuine new-client calls every week, an AI receptionist will probably pay for itself. That's my judgement, not a measured result.
Declaring my interest: we sell one, and two rivals in the table below cost less. If this article talks you into a text-back, or into a competitor, that's fine.
The short version
- First, count missed calls from new people for two weeks. Existing clients don't count, because they'll book in the app.
- I'd expect many studio enquiries to come by Instagram and web, so your phone may matter less than you think.
- The cheapest UK products I checked were £39 and £49 a month.
- On the example figures below, ours takes about 3 new clients a year to cover its first-year cost.
- If you've got waitlists, don't buy it. Raise prices.
Is the phone even your problem?
A studio's day doesn't run on the phone. Booking software takes the booking, and regulars use the app. So who's really ringing you?
- First-timers who want to be reassured.
- Older clients who prefer to talk.
- People with an injury or pregnancy question.
- Corporate wellness or teacher enquiries.
These are few, but they're valuable and hard to win back. Count before you decide. Also note the time. If nearly all of them ring around your busiest teaching hours, that's a strong case. If you get three a week, you can ring those back yourself.
What are your options?
| Option | Published UK price | Good at | Weak at |
|---|---|---|---|
| Voicemail | Free | Costs nothing | Only 6% of people say they'd leave a message |
| Missed-call text | Often part of a phone or software plan. Ours is one offer, from £99 a month. | Replies in seconds | The client has to reply |
| Human answering | Around 60p to £1.50 a minute, as Moneypenny estimates for the market | A real person, good with nervous callers | Costs more as you get busier, and may not know your classes |
| AI receptionist | From about £39 to £99 a month, usage varies | Answers at any hour, and every call | Some callers dislike it. See the risks for studios. |
| A studio manager | A wage, at least £12.71 an hour if aged 21 or over | Does everything, and greets people at the door | Far too much for most small studios, unless they also sell |
UK AI receptionist prices
These prices come from each provider's own page, read in November 2026. Fasthosts and ours exclude VAT. Moneypenny's page doesn't say. Allowances differ, so compare like with like.
| Provider | Monthly price | Calls or usage | What else to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fasthosts | £39, £69 or £99 | 30, 100 or unlimited calls, then 49p or 39p a call on the lower plans | One-month free trial. Booking from the middle plan. No long contract. |
| Moneypenny AI Receptionist | From £49 | See provider | Books appointments, and hands over to a person on complex calls |
| Real Business Systems | £99, £149 or £199 by team size | £10, £15 or £20 of usage included | Plus £500 set-up, or £990, £1,490 or £1,990 a year with none. 30-day money-back guarantee. Doesn't book on this plan. |
Your booking software may also have something. Mindbody mentions an AI Concierge, with no price on the page I read, and I couldn't confirm what it does on a phone line. Ask your supplier first, because a tool tied to your live timetable could answer "is there space on Thursday?" in a way ours can't on its own.
So why pay more for ours? We set it up and make the changes, and a CRM and one inbox on your phone come with it, which puts calls, texts and enquiries in one place. If you'd happily configure a tool yourself, a cheaper one may suit you better, and I'd rather you heard that from me.
How many new members pay for it?
The monthly fee tells you little on its own. Count the extra members it takes to cover the bill, and value each one by what she pays while she stays, not by a single class.
Worked example (made-up figures)
Say a new member pays £140 a month and stays six months. That's £840, and £600 of it is left after VAT aside, card fees and direct costs. All of these figures are invented.
| Option | Cost in year one | New clients a year to cover it |
|---|---|---|
| £39 a month tool | £468 | Less than 1 |
| £99 a month tool | £1,188 | About 2 |
| Ours, annual billing | £990 | About 2 |
| Ours, monthly billing | £1,688 (£500 + £99 × 12), or about £2,026 with VAT if you can't reclaim it. Usage above the included credit is extra. | About 3, or a little over 3 if you can't reclaim VAT |
Now the other side. If you miss 5 new-client calls a month and 1 in 10 of those would've joined if answered, that's about 6 clients a year. Those odds are a guess. So is how long your members stay.
So the sum tends to work for a studio with spare capacity, where one more member costs you almost nothing extra. It falls apart if your classes are full, since one more enquiry goes on a waitlist. It also falls apart if your members leave after two months. Then the fix is keeping them, not answering more calls.
There's one more honest catch. A caller who gets the AI still has to book, and ours doesn't book on the single offer. If you can't ring back the same day, she may book at the next studio. I'd expect a text back with your booking link to do much of the same job for less.
Who should buy one
- You're an owner-teacher, in class for most of the peak hours.
- You miss several genuine new-client calls a week.
- You've got reformer spots to fill.
- You're happy to ring back the same day.
Who shouldn't
- You've got waitlists at peak times. Raise your prices.
- Someone already answers your phone well, such as a studio manager.
- You mainly teach mat in a hired hall, and your regulars book by text.
- Your work is rehab-led, with clients who've got injuries or conditions. They want to talk to you. Keep a human route, and use a text back.
- Your clients are mostly older people who'd find it upsetting.
- You won't ring people back. Every captured enquiry still needs you.
Try it in stages
Here's my order, cheapest step first:
- Count new-client calls and messages for two weeks.
- Put your phone number and booking link where people look: on Google, on Instagram and on your beginners' page.
- Set up a missed-call text with your booking link. Ours or anyone's.
- Only if beginners are still falling through, trial an AI receptionist, for free if the supplier offers that.
- Get your safety script approved, set it, ring it yourself and read the first 20 summaries.
The text templates have the wording for step 3.
My verdict
Worth it for owner-teachers who are stuck in class, losing real new clients and filling spare reformers. Not worth it if your phone's quiet, your classes are full, or your clients want your voice.
The proof is thin. I found no independent research on results for UK Pilates studios, and we've got no customer results of our own to show you yet. So count your own new members, and cancel if they don't appear.
Questions Pilates studio owners ask
What would an AI receptionist cost a small studio?
From about £39 to £99 a month on the small business products we checked, and more with higher usage or set-up fees. Our lowest price is £99 a month plus £500 set-up.
Would a human answering service be better?
It depends on your callers. A person handles a nervous beginner better. The AI plans I read charge by the month or the call, not the minute, and they answer at any hour. A per-minute service can suit a very quiet studio.
Can an AI receptionist book classes?
Some can book appointments. Moneypenny and the middle Fasthosts plan say they can, but check how that'd work with your booking software and live class spaces. Ours doesn't on the single offer. Booking comes with the full AI Business Engine, from £499 a month plus £1,500 set-up.
Does it work with Mindbody or Momence?
Ours takes details and sends a summary, and on its own it doesn't connect to your live timetable. For any provider, ask for a demonstration with your own software.
Can I keep my existing number?
With ours, yes. For any provider, ask how it works. Calls usually forward to the service when you can't answer.
David Bell, founder of Real Business Systems
David helps small UK businesses get found, answer every enquiry and keep customers coming back. We sell some of the services mentioned here, and we say so where they come up.
Sources
- Fasthosts, AI Receptionist (read November 2026, vendor)
- Moneypenny, AI Receptionist and per-minute pricing (updated 5 November 2026)
- Mindbody, what it really costs (16 July 2026)
- GOV.UK, minimum wage rates
- YouGov for Answer4u, June 2026, 2,046 UK adults
Prices and rules change. Check the source before you rely on a figure. This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice.