What do your phones actually cost you?

An honest estimate — not a rigged sales calculator. Every assumption below is editable, the math is shown, and the result is a range, not a promise.

All results are estimates from YOUR inputs

Your practice

Defaults are deliberately conservative. Drag to match your reality.

Wage + payroll taxes + benefits. US front-desk median is well below the top of this range.
Rings-out, hold hang-ups, after-hours, lunch. Check your phone system's report if unsure.
Use collections per visit, not charges. This drives revenue — profit depends on your margins.

Estimated monthly impact

Three capture scenarios applied to the same inputs.

Recovered bookings from missed calls —
Estimated recovered revenue (not profit) —
Front-desk phone time redeployed —
Value of redeployed time (at your loaded rate) —
MedReceptionist cost — flat, no per-call fees −$349
Estimated net monthly upside
— /month
Redeployed hours are staff time freed for in-office patients, recalls, and follow-up — not payroll removed. We count revenue and time separately so nothing is double-counted.
See it answer your calls — book a demo

Pricing models, compared honestly

We compare the pricing mechanics that determine your real annual cost — not cherry-picked dollar figures that go stale. Verify every vendor's current pricing on their own site.

ApproachHow you're billedWhat that means at scale
MedReceptionist $349/month flat per practice ($249/month with a MedSiteAI website plan). No per-call metering, no per-provider fees, no annual lock-in. Cost is identical in your busiest and slowest month. The calculator above uses this number.
Per-call / per-minute AI & human answering services A monthly tier that includes N calls, with overage charges beyond it. Your best month (most calls) is your most expensive month. Overage shock is the most common complaint pattern in this category.
Platform suites with receptionist add-ons Per-location and often per-feature pricing, commonly with annual contracts and setup fees. The phone answering is bundled with software you may not need, and leaving mid-contract is costly.
Hiring additional front-desk coverage Loaded payroll for the hours you staff — including hours with few calls. Full coverage (evenings, lunch, sick days) is structurally expensive; partial coverage is where calls get missed.

Category mechanics summarized from public vendor pricing pages and customer complaint patterns, reviewed 2026-07-09. We intentionally don't print competitors' dollar prices — they change; check their sites.

Exactly how the math works

  1. Recovered bookings = missed calls/weekday × 21.4 weekdays × your bookable share × the scenario capture rate (low 25%, base 45%, high 65%). Not every answered call books — that's what capture means.
  2. Recovered revenue = recovered bookings × your average revenue per visit. This is top-line revenue; your margin determines profit.
  3. Redeployed time = handled calls × minutes per call × the scenario share the AI takes end-to-end (low 35%, base 55%, high 70%). Complex calls still reach your staff.
  4. Net upside = recovered revenue + redeployed-time value − $349. If your inputs make this negative, it will say so — an ROI tool you can't drive negative is an ad, not a tool.

Frequently asked questions

How does this calculator estimate the cost of missed calls at a medical practice?

It multiplies the missed or abandoned calls you enter by the share you believe were bookable and by your average visit revenue, then applies a conservative capture rate. Every input is editable and the result is labeled an estimate — it is only as accurate as your numbers.

Does answering calls with AI remove front-desk payroll?

Usually not directly. The calculator reports front-desk phone time as hours redeployed to in-office patients and follow-up work, not as payroll removed. Treating every phone hour as eliminated salary overstates savings, so we don't.

What does MedReceptionist cost?

MedReceptionist is $349 per month flat per practice ($249 per month with any MedSiteAI website plan), including 500 AI voice minutes and 10,000 texts a month, then $0.10/min and $0.02/text. No per-provider fees and no annual contract requirement.

Why show low, base, and high scenarios instead of one number?

A single ROI number implies false certainty. The three scenarios apply conservative, midpoint, and optimistic capture assumptions to the same inputs so you can see the honest range before a demo.