Enter the total hold time of all customers and the number of customers into the Calculator (choose minutes, seconds, or hours). The calculator will evaluate the Average Hold Time. 

Holding Time Calculator
Average Hold Time
Total Hold Time
Customers
Result: —
Average Hold Time: —
Total Hold Time: —
Customers: —

Average Hold Time Formula

AHT = THT / C

Variables:

  • AHT is the Average Hold Time (min/customer)
  • THT is the total hold time of all customers (min)
  • C is the number of customers

To calculate Average Hold Time, divide the total hold time of all customers by the number of customers.

How to Calculate Average Hold Time?

The following steps outline how to calculate the Average Hold Time.

  1. First, determine the total hold time of all customers. 
  2. Next, determine the number of customers. 
  3. Next, gather the formula from above = AHT = THT / C.
  4. Finally, calculate the Average Hold Time.
  5. After inserting the variables and calculating the result, check your answer with the calculator above.

Example Problem : 

Use the following variables as an example problem to test your knowledge.

total hold time of all customers (min) = 1200

number of customers = 300
AHT = 1200 / 300 = 4 min/customer

FAQ

What is the importance of calculating Average Hold Time in customer service?

Average Hold Time measures how long customers spend placed on hold during live interactions (most commonly phone calls). Monitoring it helps identify staffing or routing bottlenecks and is closely tied to customer satisfaction, abandonment rates, and perceived service quality.

How can businesses reduce their Average Hold Time?

Common ways to reduce hold time include improving forecasting and staffing, smoothing demand (callbacks or virtual hold), optimizing call routing/skills-based routing, and equipping agents with better tools and knowledge so they can resolve issues without repeatedly placing customers on hold.

Are there any downsides to focusing too much on reducing hold time?

Yes. If teams avoid using hold when it is genuinely needed to research or verify information, they may provide incomplete answers or increase transfers and repeat contacts. Hold time should be balanced with outcomes like first-contact resolution and overall customer experience.

Can Average Hold Time be applied to other forms of customer service outside of phone calls?

Average Hold Time is mainly a metric for real-time channels where customers can be explicitly put “on hold” (such as phone and sometimes live chat). For email or social media, similar concepts are typically measured using response time, time to first reply, or time to resolution rather than “hold time.”