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April 1, 2026 · 6 min read
The true cost of a missed phone call (by industry)
A missed call costs a plumber $250-500, a lawyer $5,000-10,000, a dentist $850 in lifetime patient value, and a roofer $3,500-15,000. Multiply by the calls you miss per week, and you'll find the number that should keep you up at night.
Most business owners think of missed calls as a minor inconvenience. They're not. Each one is a measurable revenue loss with compounding consequences. Here's the industry-by-industry breakdown.
Missed call cost by industry
These numbers represent the average value of a single missed call - including the initial job and the estimated lifetime customer value:
| Industry | First Job Value | Lifetime Value | Missed/Week | Monthly Loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plumber | $250-500 | $2,000+ | 5-10 | $5,000-20,000 |
| Lawyer | $1,500-5,000 | $5,000-10,000 | 3-8 | $18,000-80,000 |
| Dentist | $200-400 | $850+ | 5-15 | $4,000-51,000 |
| HVAC | $300-800 | $3,000+ | 5-12 | $6,000-38,400 |
| Roofer | $3,500-15,000 | $5,000-20,000 | 3-8 | $42,000-480,000 |
| Electrician | $200-600 | $1,500+ | 4-10 | $3,200-24,000 |
| Hair salon | $60-150 | $2,400+ | 5-15 | $1,200-9,000 |
| Auto repair | $300-800 | $3,500+ | 5-12 | $6,000-38,400 |
Monthly loss = first job value x missed calls/week x 4 weeks. Lifetime value losses are significantly higher.
Why the real cost is higher than the table shows
The table above only counts the immediate job value. The real cost of a missed call includes several hidden factors:
- Referrals you'll never get - A happy customer refers 2-3 people over their lifetime. A customer you never had refers zero.
- Reviews you'll never earn - Every missed call is a 5-star review that goes to your competitor instead.
- Repeat business - The salon customer who comes back monthly for years. The homeowner who calls you for every plumbing issue. That relationship starts with one answered call.
- Wasted marketing spend - If that caller found you through an ad, you paid $15-50 to make your phone ring and then didn't answer it.
Your personal missed call cost
Here's how to calculate your specific number:
Step 1: Check your phone's missed call log for the past week. Count them.
Step 2: Multiply by your average job value.
Step 3: Multiply by your close rate (typically 40-60% for inbound calls).
Step 4: Multiply by 4 for monthly cost.
Example (plumber):
8 missed calls/week x $350 avg job x 50% close rate x 4 weeks = $5,600/month
How much are missed calls costing you?
CallHush captures every call for $49/mo. That's less than the cost of a single missed plumbing job.
Get started - $49/moThe highest-risk missed calls
Not all missed calls are equal. Some are disproportionately costly:
- First-time callers - These are new leads with zero loyalty. Miss them once and they're gone forever.
- Emergency calls - A burst pipe at 9 PM, a broken AC in August. These callers have urgent needs and high willingness to pay. They'll call down the list until someone answers.
- After-hours calls - 35-40% of calls come outside business hours. These callers are actively trying to solve a problem. By morning, they've already hired someone else.
- Ad-driven calls - You paid $15-50 to make that phone ring. Not answering it is like burning cash.
The $49 fix
Compare the cost of missed calls to the cost of answering them all:
AI phone answering: $49/month for 100 calls, 3-minute cap per call
Extra calls if needed: $9.99 per 25 additional calls
Revenue saved: $2,000-10,000+/month in captured leads
ROI: 40x-200x depending on your industry
Even if AI answering only captures one extra lead per month that you would have otherwise lost, it pays for itself many times over in every single industry listed above.
How to stop the bleeding
- Sign up for CallHush and describe your business
- Get your dedicated number
- Forward unanswered calls to your AI number
- Every missed call becomes an email summary instead of a lost lead