Calculate What Manual Phone Screens Are Actually Costing You
Most recruiting teams spend $35–$45 per first-round screen without realizing it. AI Recruiter cuts that to about $3.80 for a 10-minute screen. Run the numbers for your team in 60 seconds — then use your free interview to test it on a real role.
Your numbers
Adjust the inputs
US median: ~$45/hr
Median includes prep, call, notes, ATS update: 58 min
Your estimate
Cost comparison
| Manual | Vettika AI | |
|---|---|---|
| True cost per screen | $43.50 | $3.80 |
| Monthly spend | $3,263 | $285 |
| Annual spend | $39,150 | $3,420 |
| Annual savings | $35,730 | |
| Recruiter hours freed | 73 hrs/month |
Annual savings with Vettika
$35,730
Most teams see positive ROI within their first hiring cycle.
The real math
The $43 Hidden Inside Every 30-Minute Phone Screen
| Task | Time |
|---|---|
| Resume review before call | 8 min |
| Scheduling coordination | 10 min |
| No-show buffer — 20% industry average, amortized | 3 min |
| The call itself | 28 min |
| Notes + ATS update | 9 min |
| Total per candidate | 58 min |
At $45/hr fully loaded rate: $43.50 per candidate screened. Vettika Starter plan: $3.80 for a 10-minute interview. Savings per screen: $39.70. A no-show still spends its scheduled minutes — automatic no-show refunds are not live yet (#612).
Annual savings by volume
| Monthly screen volume | Manual cost/yr | Vettika cost/yr | Annual savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 screens | $15,660 | $1,368 | $14,292 |
| 75 screens | $39,150 | $3,420 | $35,730 |
| 150 screens | $78,300 | $5,364 | $72,936 |
| 300 screens | $156,600 | $10,728 | $145,872 |
How it works
From Application to Scored Report in 12 Minutes — No Recruiter Time Required
Build your campaign from the job description — under 5 minutes.
Paste a JD or use the AI builder. Configure questions and rubric. Connect your ATS. Once published, the campaign runs indefinitely.
Candidates complete a 12-minute voice interview on their schedule.
Share a link. No scheduling. No Zoom link. No calendar negotiation. A candidate who applied at midnight is scored and queued before your morning standup.
Review a scored transcript in under 3 minutes.
Your dashboard shows every candidate ranked by rubric score with a full AI-generated report: overall recommendation, per-criterion scores with direct transcript quotes, identified strengths, and flagged concerns.
vs. alternatives
Vettika vs. Every Alternative — Cost and Capability
| Feature | Vettika | HireVue | Hireflix | Karat | In-house screen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost per screen | $2.98–$3.80 | ~$25–$60 (enterprise) | ~$8–$15 | ~$100–$200 | ~$35–$65 (loaded) |
| Interview type | Real-time voice AI | Video AI | Video only (no AI) | Human interviewer | Human phone screen |
| Rubric scoring output | Structured rubric + AI report | Behavioral signals only | None | Human-scored | Ad hoc notes |
| NYC LL144 / AEDT | Audit published | Enterprise tier only | Not disclosed | N/A | N/A |
| No-show cost | $0 | Charged | Charged | N/A | Full recruiter time |
| Free tier | 3 interviews, no card | Demo only | Trial gated | Quoted only | N/A |
| Setup time | Under 5 minutes | Weeks + enterprise contract | Hours | Weeks + onboarding | N/A |
Full-picture ROI
The ROI Beyond the Dollar Line
Faster time-to-hire: 5 days → 48 hours to first decision.
Candidates complete interviews within 24 hours of receiving the link. Most teams cut time-to-first-decision from 5 business days to under 48 hours — directly reducing the risk that a top candidate accepts elsewhere.
Consistent assessment: same rubric for every candidate, always.
No off-day assessments. No variance between recruiters. Structured rubric scoring is more predictive of downstream hire quality than unstructured phone screens.
Scale without headcount: same cost from interview 1 to interview 1,000.
The marginal cost of your 101st interview is the same $2.98–$3.80 as your first.
Compliance built in: NYC LL144 / AEDT documentation produced automatically.
Every screening session produces structured rubric data — the adverse impact evidence enterprise HR and legal teams require.
Candidate experience: lower stress, higher completion rates.
Candidates consistently rate async AI interviews as less stressful than live phone screens.
Questions
ROI Questions, Answered Directly
Does the calculator account for no-show rates?
Not yet. It prices the interviews you schedule, and a no-show still spends its scheduled Interview Minutes today. Industry no-show averages run 18–22%, so build that into the estimate before comparing against a human screen.
What is the real all-in price per interview?
Your plan's per-minute rate multiplied by the length you chose. Growth is $49 for 150 Interview Minutes — $0.33 a minute — so a 10-minute screen costs about $3.27 and a 30-minute screen about $9.80. Charged once, no per-seat fees, no platform fees. AI writing draws on Workspace Credits and email on Email Sends, both included in the same purchase.
What does it cost to set up a campaign?
Nothing financially. Most recruiters complete their first campaign in under 5 minutes using the AI builder.
Can I use this output in a budget proposal to my CFO?
Yes — the calculator is designed for exactly that use case. The methodology is transparent: fully-loaded hourly rate × minutes per screen ÷ 60 = true cost per screen.
Will candidate quality drop with AI screening?
The data points the other direction. Structured rubric scoring is more predictive of downstream performance than unstructured phone screens.
How does this compare to RPO or agency fees?
Agency placement fees average 15–20% of first-year salary. Vettika eliminates the screening cost that agencies bundle into their service fee.
See Your Number. Then Run Your First 3 Free.
The calculator gives you an estimate based on industry averages. Your first one free interview give you a real data point — your candidates, your role, your rubric. No card. No sales call.