# 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

What missed calls cost, with 82% trying a competitor (examples, not industry averages)
| 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](/guides/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](/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.

[Start free trial](/signup/) [See pricing](/pricing/)

## 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
1. [Missed calls cost businesses more than ever (survey of 1,000 US consumers)](https://www.callrail.com/blog/missed-calls-cost-businesses-more-than-ever), CallRail, September 25, 2025
1. [Small business callback statistics (16.7 million missed calls)](https://www.quo.com/blog/small-business-callback-statistics/), Quo, August 20, 2026

Checked 2026-10-20. Third-party prices and features change; check the vendor before you buy.

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Source: https://julius.dealsflow.ai/missed-call-calculator/
Updated: 2026-10-20