Call Centre Cost Per Call Calculator 2025/26
Calculate the fully loaded cost per call for your UK contact centre in 2025/26. Model agent salary, employer NI, supervisor overhead, technology, quality assurance and occupancy costs to find your true cost per interaction.
Key Inputs
- Number of FTE agents
- Average agent salary (£/year) — UK contact centre average £22,000-£28,000
- Employer NI and pension on-costs (calculated automatically or enter manually)
- Supervisor ratio (typically 1 supervisor per 8-12 agents)
- Supervisor and management salary (£/year)
- Technology cost per seat: telephony, CRM, WFM, QA (£/month)
- Occupancy cost per seat: office rent, rates, utilities (£/year)
- Average handle time (AHT) in minutes (including after-call work)
- Agent utilisation / occupancy rate (%)
What You'll Get
- Calls handled per agent per day
- Total calls handled per year (FTE basis)
- Cost per call: agent direct cost (£)
- Cost per call: fully loaded including all overhead (£)
- Technology cost per call (£)
- Occupancy cost per call (£)
- Comparison: in-house vs offshore outsourcing economics
Important Notes — 2025/26 Rates & Caveats
UK call centre cost benchmarks 2025: average fully loaded cost per inbound call £4-£8; outbound telesales £5-£10; complex customer service £8-£15. Average Handle Time (AHT) in UK contact centres: 4-6 minutes for simple transactions; 8-15 minutes for complex enquiries. Agent utilisation (occupancy): 75-85% is typical — above 85% causes burnout and quality deterioration. UK contact centre agent NLW compliance: agents on minimum wage (£12.21/hr from April 2025) cost approximately £25,000/year fully loaded including NI and pension. Technology costs per seat: basic telephony £20-£40/seat/month; full omnichannel CCaaS (Salesforce, Genesys, NICE) £80-£200/seat/month.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average cost per call in a UK contact centre?
UK inbound contact centre cost per call 2025: £4-£8 fully loaded for standard customer service (agent salary, NI, pension, supervisor, technology, occupancy). Simple transactional calls (balance enquiry, order status) handled by well-trained agents with good systems: £3-£5. Complex calls requiring specialist knowledge or longer AHT: £8-£15. Outbound telesales: £5-£10 per completed call. These figures assume average UK agent salaries and occupancy costs — London-based centres will be 20-30% higher.
How does agent occupancy rate affect cost per call?
Agent occupancy (the percentage of time agents are handling calls vs idle/available) directly drives cost per call. At 80% occupancy, agents handle 80% of their paid time in calls — effective cost per call-handling-minute is 25% higher than agent wage rate. At 90% occupancy (dangerously high — causes burnout), cost efficiency improves but quality suffers. Industry benchmark: 75-85% occupancy for inbound; 85-95% for outbound (predictive dialling). Workforce management (WFM) software optimises scheduling to hit target occupancy.
When does offshore call centre outsourcing make financial sense?
Offshore contact centres (India, Philippines, South Africa) offer agent costs of £1-£3/call vs £4-£8 for UK-based. The saving is real but must be weighed against: quality risk (accent, cultural misunderstanding — particularly for complex or emotionally sensitive calls); management overhead (time zone, travel); compliance risk (GDPR, PCI DSS, FCA regulated calls must meet UK standards regardless of location); and the reputational risk of customer perception. Many UK companies use a hybrid model: offshore for simple high-volume contacts, UK-based for complex/regulated or complaint-handling.
Related Calculators
Use the interactive Call Centre Cost Per Call Calculator
Run real numbers instantly — free, no sign-up required.
Go to Operations Calculators