Remi and Ringmere are two AI phone receptionists sold by UK companies to owner-run businesses. Both answer every call 24/7, both book appointments into your calendar while the caller is on the line, both put urgent calls through to a person, and both offer a 7-day free trial. The differences are in the minutes you get for your money, the booking software each one connects to, and how much of the setup you do yourself.
We are Remi, so read this with that in mind. Every Ringmere figure below is quoted from ringmere.com (its home, pricing, features and FAQ pages) as published on 15 October 2026, and we say plainly where Ringmere wins. Prices change; check their page before you buy.
The short answer
- Ringmere is cheaper to start (£49 a month), sets itself up in minutes, speaks 30+ languages on its £99 plan and books into Outlook calendars and hotel channel managers.
- Remi includes more than three times the minutes for £89 (500 against 150), charges less per extra minute (15p against 25p), books into Cliniko and Acuity as well as Google Calendar, handles WhatsApp on its £89 plan, and is set up for you.
If you take a handful of short calls a week, Ringmere Starter is the cheaper bill. If the phone is busy, or your diary lives in Cliniko or Acuity, Remi is.
Prices, as published
| Remi | Ringmere | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price for the phone receptionist | £89 a month (Lite) | £49 a month (Starter) |
| Minutes included | 500 talk-minutes | 150 call minutes |
| Extra minutes | 15p each | 25p each (20p on Pro) |
| Next plans up | Complete £329 (adds invoice chasing, deposits and the growth tools) | Growth £99 (240 minutes across calls and chat), Pro £249 (700 minutes) |
| WhatsApp and SMS | Booking over WhatsApp and SMS from £89 | Two-way chat from £99 (Growth) |
| Free trial | One week | 7 days, card taken at the start |
| Contract | Monthly, no setup fee | Monthly |
| VAT | Prices exclude VAT | Prices exclude VAT |
Ringmere's Growth and Pro minutes are shared across calls and chat. Remi's talk-minutes are phone minutes; messages are not counted against them.
The sum at four call volumes
Here is what each would bill, ex VAT, taking Ringmere's cheapest plan at each volume and assuming three-minute calls over a 22-day working month.
| Volume | Minutes a month | Ringmere (cheapest plan) | Remi Lite |
|---|---|---|---|
| About 5 calls a day | 300 | £86.50 (Starter: £49 + 150 × 25p) | £89 |
| About 8 calls a day | 500 | £136.50 (Starter: £49 + 350 × 25p) | £89 |
| About 15 calls a day | 1,000 | £261.50 (Starter: £49 + 850 × 25p) | £164 (£89 + 500 × 15p) |
| About 20 calls a day | 1,320 | £341.50 (Starter: £49 + 1,170 × 25p) | £212 (£89 + 820 × 15p) |
The two lines cross at roughly 310 minutes a month. Below that, Ringmere Starter is the cheaper bill by a few pounds; above it, Remi is, and the gap widens with every extra call. Busier practices can ask us about a larger bundle of minutes.
One thing the table does not show: at 1,320 minutes Ringmere Starter is still calls only. To answer WhatsApp as well you would move to Growth, which at that volume is £369.
What each one books into
Remi books, reschedules and cancels in Google Calendar, Acuity Scheduling and Cliniko, checking real availability before it offers a time. That makes it a natural fit for clinics, physios, therapists and salons already running on Cliniko or Acuity.
Ringmere books into Google Calendar and Outlook / Microsoft 365 calendars, and for hotels and B&Bs it syncs with Beds24 and Cloudbeds, which keeps Booking.com and Airbnb in step. It also publishes an API and signed webhooks for connecting your own systems.
So the choice can be made for you by your diary. An Outlook calendar or a hotel channel manager points to Ringmere; Cliniko or Acuity points to Remi. If you use Outlook for email but keep the diary in Google Calendar, Acuity or Cliniko, Remi covers both: forward the inbox and Remi answers booking emails as well as calls.
Setup
Ringmere is self-serve: connect your number, tell it your services, prices and hours (it can import them from your website), and go live, often the same day. You can hear your own receptionist on a call in your browser before you add a card.
Remi is done for you: we set up your services, hours, booking rules and call handling with you, at no setup fee, so you are not configuring anything yourself. It takes a short call rather than a few minutes on your own.
Where Ringmere wins
- A lower starting price. £49 a month is the cheaper entry point, and for a quiet line it stays cheaper.
- Languages. 30+ languages, or auto-detecting the caller's, on Growth and Pro.
- Outlook calendars and hotel systems. Outlook / Microsoft 365 calendars, Beds24 and Cloudbeds are all published integrations.
- Try before you start. You can hear it in your browser before entering a card.
- Built for tinkerers. A public API, webhooks and department routing on the higher plans.
Where Remi wins
- More minutes for the money. 500 included for £89, and 15p a minute after that rather than 25p.
- Clinic booking software. Cliniko and Acuity, as well as Google Calendar.
- WhatsApp from the first voice plan. Booking over WhatsApp and SMS is included at £89.
- Done-for-you setup. No configuration on your side.
- Getting paid. Invoice chasing from Xero, QuickBooks or Sage is available (built into Complete, or on its own as PaidUp from £19 a month). Ringmere's pages do not list invoice chasing.
How to choose
- Check your diary software first. An Outlook calendar or Beds24 / Cloudbeds: Ringmere books into it and Remi does not. Outlook email is fine with either. Cliniko or Acuity: Remi connects and Ringmere does not. Google Calendar: both work.
- Count your minutes. Look at last month's call log. Under about 300 minutes, Ringmere Starter is cheaper; above it, Remi is.
- Decide whether you want WhatsApp. On Ringmere that means Growth at £99; on Remi it is included at £89.
- Decide who sets it up. If you would rather do it yourself tonight, Ringmere is built for that. If you would rather it was done for you, that is how Remi works.
Both have a 7-day free trial, so the cheapest way to decide is to put each one on your line for a week and listen to the calls. For a wider view of the market, see AI receptionist pricing in the UK and Moneypenny alternatives.