TL;DR
Indian businesses handle missed calls in seven ways, from free call forwarding to a colleague (free on Jio) to an AI receptionist (Superfone's works out to ₹1,500 a month before GST). For most small teams, a shared business number that logs every missed call (₹300 to ₹999 a month plus GST), plus a weekly missed-call scorecard and a daily callback routine, recovers the most callers for the least money.
Indian businesses handle missed calls in seven ways, from free call forwarding to a colleague's phone to an AI receptionist that costs about ₹1,500 a month before GST. For most small teams, a shared business number that logs every missed call (₹300 to ₹999 a month plus GST), a weekly scorecard and a daily callback routine recover the most callers for the least money.
This page covers calls customers expected you to answer on your main number. If you want a number that deliberately cuts calls for ad campaigns, see our missed call alert service guide instead.
Seven ways to handle missed calls, compared
| Option | Cost, before GST | Catches | Still misses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward unanswered calls to a colleague | Free on Jio | Calls you can't take | Calls the colleague misses; no shared log |
| Voicemail on a business number | Heyo from ₹300 a month | After-hours callers who leave a message | Callers who hang up without one |
| Shared number that rings the team | Heyo ₹600; Superfone ₹599; TalkEasy ₹999 | Calls one person can't answer | Calls when everyone is busy |
| Automatic callback | TalkEasy; plan and price not published | Every missed call, any hour | Callers who ignore the callback |
| IVR with routing | MyOperator ₹5,000 for 10 users, yearly | Calls meant for another department | Callers who won't wait |
| AI receptionist | Superfone ₹9,000 per 6 months | After-hours and overflow calls | Questions only a person can answer |
| Missed-call number for campaigns | Vi from ₹1,000; Knowlarity ₹5,000 | Ad leads who choose to ring | Calls to your main number |
How we compared: prices and features from each provider's official page, checked in September 2026. Prices exclude 18% GST unless stated.
What each option costs and where it breaks
1. Call forwarding to a colleague (free)
Jio says its call forwarding "is free of cost" with an active plan, to any mobile or landline except BSNL numbers, your own Jio number and international numbers. It costs nothing, but your colleague answers on a personal phone, callbacks go out from their personal number, and nobody gets a shared record of who called. For the codes on each network, see our guide to missed-call text-back without porting.
2. Voicemail and missed-call alerts on a business number
Heyo Phone sends unanswered callers to voicemail and alerts the team by pop-up, in-app notification or SMS, with missed calls marked in red in the shared call log for a quick callback. Lite costs ₹300 a month plus GST for 2 users and Pro ₹600 for 5.
3. A shared number that rings the whole team
One number that several people answer from their own phones fixes the most common miss: the one person who "owns" the phone is busy. Heyo Pro (₹600, 5 users), Superfone (₹599, 3 users, ₹200 per extra user) and TalkEasy by GrowEasy (₹999, unlimited users) all do this. TalkEasy routes incoming calls by team, department or who is available, with different rules for office hours and after-hours, and logs every call against the number whoever answers.
4. Automatic callback
With missed-call automation turned on, TalkEasy calls back customers whose calls were missed, 24x7, following your routing and availability rules. Its call analytics show total calls, answer rate, missed calls and peak calling hours, per agent. TalkEasy doesn't publish which plan includes missed-call automation or what it costs; its Pro plan is ₹999 a month plus GST.
5. An IVR that routes calls
An IVR sends "press 1 for billing" callers to the right person instead of whoever happened to pick up. MyOperator's Sedan includes one for ₹5,000 a month for 10 users, billed yearly, and Exotel includes missed-call services and a multi-level IVR in every pack from ₹9,999 for 5 months. For a 2-person shop, an IVR adds cost without adding people to answer.
6. An AI receptionist
An AI receptionist answers when nobody else can. Superfone's costs ₹9,000 for 6 months plus 18% GST with 1,800 AI minutes: ₹9,000 ÷ 6 = ₹1,500 a month, or ₹1,770 with GST (our calculation), which covers about 300 AI minutes a month.
TalkEasy's AI receptionist answers after office hours, on weekends and on holidays, captures lead details, and then transfers the call or books a callback. Its price isn't published. More options are in our guide to an AI receptionist in India.
7. A missed-call number for campaigns
This is a different product: a number printed on ads that cuts the call after a ring and logs the caller. Vi Business's Lead Management starts at ₹1,000 a month and Knowlarity's missed-call number costs ₹5,000 a month with 2 lakh free missed calls. It won't help callers who ring your main line.
How to track missed calls: a weekly scorecard
You can't fix what you don't count. Fill in these four lines every week from your business number's call log, or from a notebook if you're still on personal SIMs:
| Measure | How to calculate | Example week | What to do with it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Missed-call rate | Missed ÷ incoming × 100 | 40 ÷ 250 = 16% | Push it down week by week |
| Callback time | Minutes from miss to first callback | Median 35 minutes | Set a promise, then measure against it |
| Recovery rate | Callers reached ÷ missed × 100 | 28 ÷ 40 = 70% | Chase the unreached with a message |
| Worst hour | Hour with the most misses | 1 to 3 pm | Add lunch cover, not software |
Example figures are illustrative, not benchmarks.
Business phone apps collect most of this for you: Heyo marks missed calls in red in the shared call log, and TalkEasy's call analytics count missed calls and answer rate per agent, with daily and monthly reports you can download. Once the scorecard shows where calls slip, fix the cause first: cover for the worst hour, a second person on the number, then automation.
Calling back, and the rules that apply
Call back about what the caller wanted and nothing else. For ready-to-send wording, use our missed-call reply templates in English and Hinglish, and for a paper callback register with fixed callback times, the simplest missed-call response system.
An automatic SMS needs a DLT-registered header and template (TRAI), and any link or call-back number in it must be whitelisted (TRAI direction). Adding an offer turns a follow-up into a promotional message. Automatic callbacks placed by software count as A2P calls under TRAI's amendment notified on 18 September 2026, which must be declared to the operator; that part applies 60 days after Gazette publication (TRAI).
Which option should you pick?
- Solo owner: forward unanswered calls to a family member or colleague, and call back from your log twice a day. Cost: nothing.
- 2 to 5 people sharing one public number: a shared business number. Heyo Pro if you want voicemail and an IVR for ₹600; TalkEasy if you want automatic callbacks and per-agent missed-call reports, with no charge for extra users.
- Clinics, salons and home services with evening enquiries: add an AI receptionist for after-hours calls.
- Several departments: an IVR such as MyOperator's.
- Newspaper, hoarding or packaging campaigns: a missed-call number, as explained in the missed call alert service guide.
Keeping your current number? Read how missed-call automation works with an existing number.
Stop losing callers who ring once and give up. TalkEasy by GrowEasy calls back missed customers automatically, 24x7, on a shared number for your whole team. See TalkEasy missed-call automation.
Last reviewed 24 September 2026.
