Paul Taylor of the Financial Times found the ZX81 to be "a powerful and flexible little computer ideally suited as a fun introduction to the mysteries of home computing" but cautioned readers about its limitations.
Paul Taylor, do Financial Times, achou que o ZX81 era "unha potente e flexible computadora idealmente tallada como introdución divertida ós misterios da informática doméstica" mais informaba os lectores sobre as súas limitacións.