Call Duration Billing

Call duration billing (also called 'length-based pricing') charges buyers based on how long the call lasts. Instead of a flat $30/call, the price might be: <20 sec = $5 (failed), 20-60 sec = $20, 1-5 min = $30, >5 min = $50. This aligns pricing with value: longer calls usually mean more engagement and higher conversion probability.

Call duration billing is common in verticals where call length correlates with conversion: legal, insurance, home services. A 90-second quote call is typically more valuable than a 25-second 'is this the right service?' call.

Implementation challenges:

**Minimum call duration**: Most publishers enforce a floor (e.g., calls under 20 seconds are free because they're likely accidental dials). This prevents gaming.

**Price tiers**: Billing is configured as tiers (0-20 sec, 20-60 sec, 1-5 min, 5+ min) rather than continuous (e.g., $1/second).

**Buyer incentive**: Duration-based pricing incentivizes buyers to stay on the call and convert. If you're only paid for <1 min calls, why spend 5 min on the call? This is a subtle alignment issue.

**Fraud prevention**: Buyers might artificially extend calls to trigger higher tiers. Call monitoring and outcome classification (did the call result in a real quote/appointment?) help validate legitimacy.

Call duration billing is more sophisticated than flat-rate billing but can increase publisher revenue and improve call quality (longer calls = more engaged buyers).

Note: CallMatrix's platform typically uses flat-rate-per-call billing (fixed price regardless of duration), but some network operators implement duration-based pricing on top.