Missed call calculator: what unanswered calls cost you
Enter how many new-customer calls you miss in a week and what a new customer is worth. The calculator shows what goes to competitors each month and each year, and you can share the result with a link.
The cost of missed calls is the new-customer calls you miss each week, times what a new customer is worth, times the share of callers who call a competitor instead. With 5 missed calls a week, $250 a customer and the 82% from CallRail's 2025 survey, a business loses about $4,440 a month, or $53,300 a year.
How the missed call calculator works
It multiplies three numbers:
- New-customer calls you miss a week. Count only people who could become customers: new inquiries, quote and booking calls. Leave out existing customers, sales pitches and robocalls.
- What a new customer is worth. The revenue or profit from a typical first job, visit or order. A lifetime value is bigger and fair if customers come back; the first job gives a cautious number.
- The share who try a competitor. 82% by default: in CallRail's September 2025 survey of 1,000 US consumers, 82% said they would call a competitor if a business doesn't answer, and 21% said they immediately call another business.
A month is 52 weeks divided by 12, so about 4.33 weeks. Monthly results are rounded to the nearest $10 and yearly results to the nearest $100.
Examples
| Missed new-customer calls a week | Worth of a new customer | Lost a month | Lost a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | $150 | $1,070 | $12,800 |
| 5 | $250 | $4,440 | $53,300 |
| 10 | $500 | $17,770 | $213,200 |
| 3 | $2,000 | $21,320 | $255,800 |
Why calling back isn't enough
A missed call is usually lost before you can call back. Only 42% of people in CallRail's survey said they leave a voicemail when a business doesn't answer. And when Quo looked at 16.7 million missed business calls on its platform over three months in 2026, 69% got no callback within 48 hours. The full picture, with every source and caveat, is in our missed call statistics.
The way to bring the number down is to answer more calls: during the busy hour, on the job site, after hours and on weekends. That's what an answering service is for, and Julius Answer does it with AI, from $79 a month.
Stop losing calls to voicemail
Start a 7-day free trial and have Julius Answer answering your missed calls today.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate the cost of missed calls?
Multiply the new-customer calls you miss in a week by what a new customer is worth to you, then by the share of callers who try a competitor instead. Multiply by 52 for a year, or by 52 and divide by 12 for a month. With 5 missed calls a week, $250 a customer and 82%, that's about $4,440 a month.
What share of callers call a competitor when nobody answers?
In CallRail's September 2025 survey of 1,000 US consumers, 82% said they would call a competitor if a business doesn't answer, and 21% said they immediately call another business. The calculator uses 82% by default; change it if your callers are more patient.
Which calls should I count?
Only calls from people who could become new customers: new inquiries, quote requests, booking calls. Leave out existing customers, sales pitches, robocalls and wrong numbers, so the estimate isn't inflated.
What is a new customer worth?
Use the profit or revenue from a typical first job, visit or order. If customers come back for years, a lifetime value is fairer but bigger; use the first-job value if you want a cautious number.
How do I find out how many calls I miss?
Pull a month of call records from your phone system or carrier account and count calls answered, sent to voicemail and missed. Forwarding only unanswered calls to an AI receptionist for a week also shows you how many you would have missed.
What does it cost to stop missing calls?
Julius Answer answers every call 24/7 from $79 a month for 300 call minutes, with a 7-day free trial. If it saves even one or two new customers a month, it usually pays for itself.
Sources
- Missed calls cost businesses more than ever (survey of 1,000 US consumers), CallRail, September 25, 2025
- Small business callback statistics (16.7 million missed calls), Quo, August 20, 2026
Checked 2026-10-20. Third-party prices and features change; check the vendor before you buy.