A cheaper Moneypenny alternative for UK tradespeople
Moneypenny is a great service, but it costs £100–£300/month and is built for office-based businesses. TextBack Pro does the same job for tradespeople at a fraction of the price.
Moneypenny vs TextBack Pro, side by side
Both services help you recover missed calls. Here is how they compare for a typical UK tradesperson.
| Feature | Moneypenny | TextBack Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Starting monthly price | £100–£300+ | £47/month |
| Setup fee | Yes (varies) | None |
| Per-minute / per-call charges | Yes | No |
| Free trial | Limited | 14 days free |
| Instant response to missed calls | Yes (human answers) | Yes (auto SMS in seconds) |
| Works while you're on site | Yes | Yes |
| SMS auto-reply | No | Yes, instant |
| AI follow-up sequences | No | Yes (Pro + Scale) |
| Google Calendar booking | No | Yes (Pro + Scale) |
| UK phone number included | Yes (at extra cost) | Yes, included |
| Built for UK tradespeople | No (general purpose) | Yes, trades-first |
| Human receptionist | Yes | No (automated) |
Which one is right for you?
Moneypenny and TextBack Pro solve the same problem differently. Here is an honest breakdown.
- You need someone to take detailed messages by voice
- Callers expect to speak to a person immediately
- You run a professional services firm (solicitor, accountant)
- Budget is not a constraint (£150–£300+/month is fine)
- You miss calls while working and need leads recovered fast
- You want an instant SMS sent within seconds of a missed call
- Budget matters, you want results without a £150+/month bill
- You want AI follow-ups and Google Calendar booking included
Why tradespeople are switching from Moneypenny
Moneypenny is one of the UK's leading telephone answering services. They have trained receptionists who answer your calls in your business name, take messages and transfer calls. It's a genuinely good service, but it was built for office-based businesses with professional services clients.
For a plumber in Birmingham or an electrician in Manchester, the economics rarely stack up. Most tradespeople who call us after leaving Moneypenny mention two things: the cost, and the fact that callers don't really want to speak to a receptionist, they want to know when you'll call them back.
Moneypenny pricing, what does it actually cost?
Moneypenny does not publish pricing on their website, you have to request a quote. Based on publicly available information and user reports, small business pricing typically includes:
- A monthly retainer of £100–£300+ depending on call volume
- Per-minute or per-call handling charges on top
- A setup fee to configure your account
- Additional charges for out-of-hours or overflow coverage
For a sole trader or small team, this adds up quickly, especially in busy months when call volume is high. TextBack Pro charges a flat monthly fee with no per-call or per-minute charges.
What TextBack Pro does instead
Rather than having a human answer your calls, TextBack Pro watches for missed calls on your Twilio UK number and fires an automatic SMS to the caller within seconds. That SMS can include your business name, a message explaining you're on a job, and a call to action, book online, reply to this message, or wait for a callback.
For most tradespeople, this is exactly what callers want. They don't need to speak to a receptionist, they need to know you've seen their call and you'll be in touch. The instant SMS does that job at a fraction of the cost.
When Moneypenny is still the better choice
TextBack Pro is not the right fit for every business. If your callers genuinely need to speak to a human, to describe a complex problem, provide sensitive information or make a detailed booking, then Moneypenny's trained receptionists are the better option. Law firms, medical practices and financial advisers often fall into this category.
For tradespeople, plumbers, electricians, gas engineers, builders, roofers, the SMS-first approach tends to convert just as well, at a much lower cost.