Missed call cost calculator

Put in how many calls you miss in a week, how many of those callers move on, and what a job is worth to you. See the jobs and profit going to whoever answered instead, and whether answering every call would pay.

ProfitNot just sales

Month and yearFrom your weekly count

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Profit going to whoever answered, each month

$1,872

$3,744 in jobs, about 8.3 jobs a month, $22,464 in profit a year

34.7Missed calls a month

$1,623 a monthLeft after paying to answer them

1.1Missed calls a week where answering pays for itself

How we got this

Missed calls a month8 a week × 52 ÷ 12 = 34.7A month is 52 ÷ 12 = 4.33 weeks.
Callers who go elsewhere34.7 × 60% = 20.8
Jobs those callers would have booked20.8 × 40% = 8.3 jobs
Sales lost8.3 × $450 = $3,744
Profit lost$3,744 × 50% margin = $1,872Profit, not sales, is what answering has to beat.
After the cost of answering$1,872 − $249 = $1,623

Missed a week	Jobs lost a month	Sales lost	Profit lost	After the cost of answering
2	2.1	$936	$468	$219
4	4.2	$1,872	$936	$687
8 (yours)	8.3	$3,744	$1,872	$1,623
12	12.5	$5,616	$2,808	$2,559
20	20.8	$9,360	$4,680	$4,431

Sources: Local Services Help: How leads work; Local Services Help: About ad rankings; Ruby: plans and pricing; Smith.ai: pricing; Rosie: pricing; Koira: pricing. Checked 2026-10-09.

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Key takeaways

Count missed calls from unknown numbers for one normal week. That is the input that matters most.
Profit lost, not sales lost, is what any answering option has to beat.
If you pay for leads, a missed call can cost twice: the lead fee and the job.

How the calculator works

Missed calls a month = missed a week × 52 ÷ 12
Callers who go elsewhere = missed a month × share who never call back or leave a message
Jobs lost = those callers × share who would have booked
Sales lost = jobs lost × average job
Profit lost = sales lost × gross margin
After the cost of answering = profit lost minus what answering every call would cost a month

With the starting numbers, an example only: 8 missed calls a week, 60% of those callers move on, 40% of them would have booked, a $450 average job and a 50% margin, against $249 a month to answer.

Step	Math	Result
Missed calls a month	8 × 52 ÷ 12	34.7
Callers who go elsewhere	34.7 × 60%	20.8
Jobs lost	20.8 × 40%	8.3
Sales lost	8.3 × $450	$3,744
Profit lost	$3,744 × 50%	$1,872
After the cost of answering	$1,872 − $249	$1,623

How to count your missed calls

Pick an ordinary week, not your busiest and not a holiday. Open your phone's recent calls and count the missed calls from numbers that are not saved as contacts. Leave out spam you recognize. If you use a second line or a call tracking number, add those too.

Then look at what happened next. How many called back? How many left a voicemail? How many did you reach when you returned the call? The share who did none of those is your "never call back" input. Many owners are surprised by how high it is, because people looking for a contractor often just call the next name on the map.

When the missed call was a paid lead

If you advertise per lead, a missed call can cost you twice. Google's help page lists a missed call during your business hours as a valid, charged lead when the caller stays on the line for more than 20 seconds. Google says missed calls may count against your responsiveness, which is part of the ranking. So the call you could not take from a ladder may show up on your bill and lower your ranking for the next one.

That does not mean you must answer every call live. It means the caller should hear back quickly, ideally while they are still deciding. A text with three open times, sent within a minute, keeps many of them from calling the next company. See the cost per lead calculator for what paid leads really cost per job.

Ways to stop losing those calls

There are three common ways to cover the phone, each with its own published pricing. One plan from each, with the same columns:

Option	Price a month	Included	Past the allowance	Per-person fee
Ruby (live people)	$250	50 minutes	Not listed on its pricing page	Not listed
Smith.ai (live people)	$300	30 calls	$11.50 a call	Not listed
Rosie (AI)	$49	250 minutes	Not listed on its pricing page	Not listed
Koira Grow (AI receptionist and text-back)	$249	Receptionist, text-back, site, estimates, invoices, campaigns	Usage at cost: texts, call minutes and emails	None: same price with one person or fifteen

Prices are from each company's own pricing page, checked on the date at the bottom. For the full comparison, including more plans and AI services, see answering service cost.

Reading your result

If the profit lost is far more than any answering option, the case is simple. If it is close, look at when you miss calls. Many contractors miss most of them during a few busy hours, or in one season. Covering those hours, or just texting back every missed caller, can recover most of the work for less.

If the number is small, good. Keep checking it each season, because missed calls tend to rise exactly when you are busiest and least likely to notice.

How Koira handles missed calls

Koira's AI receptionist answers on your number and, when you cannot pick up, texts the caller back in about a minute with three open times from your day. One reply books the visit, and it lands on your day with the address and the problem. It answers in English or Spanish and never invents a price. Koira Grow is $249 a month plus usage at cost: texts, call minutes and emails with nothing added. Koira has no per-person fee: the same price with one person or fifteen.

Last checked October 9, 2026.

FAQ

How much does a missed call cost a contractor?

It depends on how many callers move on, how many would have booked and what a job is worth to you. The calculator multiplies those out to profit lost a month and a year.

How many callers leave a voicemail?

It varies by trade and customer. Count your own: of last week's missed calls from unknown numbers, how many left a message or called back. That share goes into the calculator.

Am I charged for missed calls on Google Local Services Ads?

Google's help page lists a missed call during business hours as a valid lead when the caller stays on the line for more than 20 seconds.

Is texting back as good as answering?

Not always, but a fast text with open times keeps many callers from calling the next company. It is far better than a callback hours later.

What does an answering service cost?

Published plans range from AI services under $50 a month to live services over $2,000. See the table above and the answering service cost page for the same columns across each.

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