Agentric vs hiring a VA: the real maths
Agentric Team ·
Virtual assistants (VAs) are the other obvious answer to "I can't answer my phone" — remote humans doing admin including calls. They're better than voicemail and cheaper than employees. Here's how they really compare to AI reception.
What a VA costs and does
UK/offshore VAs typically run £8–£25/hour. For genuine phone-answering cover (not 24/7 — contracted hours), realistic spend is £200–£600/month for meaningful coverage.
What they bring: real humans, real judgement, flexible tasks (calls + email + admin) — a genuine staff member, just remote and part-time.
The honest comparison
| VA | AI receptionist | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | £200–£600 (part coverage) | £29–£99 |
| Availability | Contracted hours | 24/7/365 |
| Instant answer | When working | Always |
| Knows your business | Trained by you | Reads the knowledge base |
| Books into calendar | Yes (manually) | Yes (automatically) |
| Judgement & nuance | Human — good | Bounded — honest limits |
| Scales to call surges | One at a time | Infinite |
| Consistency | Variable | Identical |
Where the VA genuinely wins
- Cross-task flexibility — calls, emails, invoicing, chasing quotes, supplier calls. AI does calls+chats; VAs do everything.
- Complex judgement — nuanced situations, difficult callers, creative problem-solving.
- Outbound work — chasing, confirming, arranging (Agentric is inbound-only by design).
Where AI wins decisively
- Cost for pure answering — £600/month of VA still isn't 24/7; £49/month of AI is.
- Instantness — the VA answers when working; the AI answers at 3am during a storm.
- Volume — a VA takes one call; a surge of twenty hits the AI simultaneously.
- Never unavailable — no holidays, sick days, or resignation.
The pattern that works
For most small businesses: AI reception handles the always-on front line (the biggest gap by far), and a VA — if you need one — handles the admin work AI doesn't do. They're complements, not competitors: the VA does the work that needs a human; the AI does the work that just needs answering.