Prison call cost calculator.
Checked against the published rates.
Do the sum
The published rates.
Same calls, same weekly limit. Only the rate changes. The saving rounds down.
- 5.50p a minuteTo a mobile, on a weekday.
- 2.48p a minuteTo a landline, on a weekday.
- 2.53p a minuteLeft in their account per minute, averaged over the week.
- More than twice the talkFrom the same money.
They talk for min
£45.61
stays in their account every month
More than twice the calls for the same money.
You pay £20 a month. Never from their money.
How we work it out
About 1,800 minutes a month. Their calls cost £88.74 to a mobile and £43.13 to a landline, on the published rates, weekdays and weekends blended. We count 7 minutes in 10 at the weekday rate. The difference is rounded down.
How it works
Every assumption, so you can check it.
How do I work out what prison calls are costing us?
Take the length of a typical call. Times it by how often they ring. Then times it by the rate. On a weekday a mobile is 5.50p a minute and a landline is 2.48p. Weekends cost less. So an hour a day comes to about £88.74 a month to a mobile, and about £43.13 to a landline. That is the sum in the calculator above.
What does the calculator assume?
It uses the published HMPPS rates for England and Wales. Those took effect on 1 April 2025. Weekday calls cost more than weekend calls, so it blends the two. We count 7 minutes in 10 at the weekday rate. That is our estimate, not a published figure. The saving rounds down, so the figure is never better than the truth.
Does the 11 August rule change this sum?
No. The rates stay the same. Since 11 August 2026, prisons are told to restrict numbers that pass calls on.[3, 7.9] Ours passes nothing on. It is a real landline. It rings the phone you already have. So it is not the kind of number the rule is about.
Does the money come back to me or to them?
To them. Calls are paid from the account of the person inside. A lower rate leaves more of their own money in it. On average, each minute to a landline leaves 2.53p more. That money can go on the prison shop or more calls. You pay for the number. They keep the saving.
Why does the spending cap matter to the calculation?
It sets a ceiling. Prisons cap what a person can spend each week.[7] At the Standard level, the middle one, it is up to £21.75. A prison can set it lower. That buys about 1,911 minutes a month to a mobile, or about 3,933 to a landline. Sending in more money cannot lift the cap. The highest level is £36.25 a week. Past what that buys, the calculator says the limit runs out first.
Check us
- Interception, monitoring and security of prisoner communications policy framework. HM Prison and Probation Service / Ministry of Justice, issued 11 August 2026. Read 26 August 2026. Paragraph 7.9 points to a separate operations manual for exceptions. We have not read it. Read it yourself
- Incentives policy framework. HM Prison and Probation Service / Ministry of Justice, current version. Read 30 August 2026. Sets the weekly spending limit for each incentive level. The figures on this site are the most allowed. A governor can set a lower limit, never a higher one. Read it yourself
Hear from them twice as often.
No term. Stop any time.