Per-minute vs per-call vs per-caller cost calculator
Enter your monthly calls, their length and how often people call back. See that month billed per minute, per call and per caller.
Lowest bill this month
Per call
400 calls, 1,000 minutes, 300 different callers.
The same month, three ways
- Per call, GreetKeeper StarterLowest$0.35 a call$139
- Per minute$2.59 a call$1,035
- Per unique caller$0.48 a call$190
- Per minute matches per call below
- 0.46 min a call
- Per caller matches per call above
- 46.3% repeat calls
Per-minute bill if calls ran longer
- 1 min average
- $375 vs $139
- 2 min average
- $815 vs $139
- 3 min average
- $1,255 vs $139
- 5 min average
- $2,135 vs $139
- 8 min average
- $3,455 vs $139
The per-call column is GreetKeeper's published plan table, on the cheapest plan for your volume. Calls and callers round up to whole numbers.
What the tool tells you
- Which of the three pricing models gives your month the lowest bill, and what each one comes to per answered call.
- The average call length below which a per-minute quote would match per-call pricing.
- The repeat-caller share above which a per-caller quote matches it.
It runs in your browser in under a minute, with no email asked. You'll learn more from the break-even lines than from the headline. If your real average call sits far above the per-minute line, a minute-based quote will keep costing you more as calls stretch out.
Three units, one month of calls
Answering services bill by one of three units. A per-minute plan counts talk time. A per-call plan counts answered calls, whatever their length. A per-unique-caller plan counts different phone numbers, so a customer who rings three times is billed once.
Each unit sounds cheap in the right month. That's why a fair test uses your month. Your call count, your average length and your share of repeat callers decide which unit is kind to you and which one quietly adds up.
The formulas the calculator uses
Minutes are calls times the average length. Unique callers are calls times the share that are first calls this month, rounded up. Anything past the plan's allowance bills at its overage rate, worked in whole cents.
The per-call column is GreetKeeper's own table. The tool puts your volume on the cheapest plan: Starter at $0.45 a call over 200, Professional at $0.35 over 750, or Scale at $0.25 over 2,000.
Break-even length is the allowance plus the price gap divided by the minute rate, spread across your calls. Break-even callers work the same way with the caller rate.
The opening example, worked by hand
Example numbers only. They match no vendor and no real business.
Count the units
400 calls at 2.5 minutes is 1,000 minutes. With 25% repeat calls, 300 different people rang.
Bill it per minute
850 minutes over the 150 included, at $1.10, is $935. With the $100 base that's $1,035.
Bill it per unique caller
150 callers over the 150 included, at $0.60, adds $90. The month comes to $190.
Bill it per call
GreetKeeper Starter covers 400 calls for $139, or $0.35 a call. The per-caller quote only matches it once repeat calls pass 46.3%.
Published rate cards in the calculator
Read on each vendor's own pricing page, September 2026. Each button in the calculator loads one row.
| Plan | Unit | Monthly price | Included | Each extra unit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PATLive $99 plan | Minute | $99 | 50 | $2.29 |
| PATLive $349 plan | Minute | $349 | 200 | $1.99 |
| PATLive $759 plan | Minute | $759 | 500 | $1.79 |
| Goodcall Starter | Unique caller | $79 | 100 | $0.50 |
| Goodcall Growth | Unique caller | $129 | 250 | $0.50 |
| Goodcall Scale | Unique caller | $249 | 500 | $0.50 |
Vendor figures as of September 2026. Rate cards change, so confirm on the vendor's page before you sign.
Load a card, then change only your average call length. Watch the per-minute bill climb while the per-call plan holds still. For the full picture on a busy month, run the same numbers through the overage calculator, or read why we price per call.
Questions about pricing units
Is per-minute or per-call pricing better for an answering service?
Per call is cheaper once your calls run longer than the break-even length. In the opening example that line sits at 0.46 minutes a call, so per minute wins only if calls average under half a minute. Enter your own quote and average to find your line.
What does per-unique-caller pricing mean?
You pay for each different phone number that calls in the month, however often it rings. Goodcall prices this way: its Starter plan was $79 for 100 unique customers, with $0.50 for each extra one, as of September 2026. It rewards a business whose customers call back a lot.
How does call length change a per-minute bill?
Directly. At 400 calls a month, the example quote bills $375 at a one-minute average and $3,455 at eight minutes. On a per-call plan the same month stays at $139.
How do I find my average call length?
Your phone provider's call log shows total talk time for a month. Divide it by the number of answered calls. If you already use a per-minute service, its invoice gives billed minutes, which is the figure your bill is really worked from.
Why does GreetKeeper charge per call?
So a long call is never punished. A caller who takes six minutes to describe a burst pipe costs the same as a thirty-second booking. Plans run $49 for 200 calls, $149 for 750 and $349 for 2,000, each with its overage rate printed.
One price per answered call
Plans from $49 a month. Every plan starts with a 14-day free trial, every feature on, no card.