Free tool
Radio cost calculator: two-way radios vs push-to-talk on phones
Enter what your radios cost today and see a three-year comparison with TalkBeam Teams and Enterprise at our current prices. Results update as you type, and you don’t need to give us an email to see them.
Three-year cost
On these numbers, TalkBeam Teams would cost about $8,700 less than your radios over three years.
| Radio hardware, spread over a 5-year life | $6,000 |
|---|---|
| Lost and broken radios | $2,400 |
| Repeater, rental or airtime | $5,400 |
| Licensing | $300 |
| Radios, three years | $14,100 |
CH 01How it works
Assumptions, in plain sight.
Every figure is an estimate built from the numbers you enter. Change any of them and the results update.
- Your numbers, not ours. The example values are placeholders to show the math, not market averages. The best sources are your own radio invoices, dealer quotes, rental agreements and your license record in the FCC’s Universal Licensing System (ULS).
- Three years. Radio hardware counts the share of its life used in three years: price × people × 3 ÷ radio life. If your radios are already paid off, set the cost per radio to 0 and compare running costs only.
- Replacements for lost and broken radios are priced at the same cost per radio. Repeater, rental or airtime is the monthly figure × 36; licensing is the yearly figure × 3.
- TalkBeam Teams uses the yearly price, $6 per person per month ($8 paying monthly), and covers 5 to 50 people.
- TalkBeam Enterprise is $15 per person per month billed yearly from 25 people, $13 from 100. From 500 people pricing is custom, and the calculator uses $13 as an estimate.
- Phones. TalkBeam assumes each person already carries a smartphone with a data plan (iPhone today; Android coming soon on Google Play). If you’d buy phones, data plans, rugged cases or headsets, add them to your comparison.
- Not included: taxes, staff time, accessories you’d buy either way, or the value of what radios can’t do, like the live map, SOS and searchable transcripts.
Prices are loaded from our live pricing when the page opens. This calculator is a planning aid, not a quote.
CH 02FAQ
Questions about the numbers.
Why compare three years?
Radios are a multi-year purchase and TalkBeam is a subscription, so a single month or a single year flatters one or the other. Three years captures at least part of a radio’s life, a few rounds of replacements and running costs, and a realistic subscription period.
What if we keep some radios?
Many teams keep a few radios for places with no cellular coverage or for mission-critical work. Enter only the radios you’d stop buying and maintaining, and the people who’d move to TalkBeam.
Does TalkBeam need special phones?
No. It runs on iPhone today, with Android coming soon on Google Play, and works through the earbuds, headsets, Meta glasses, Apple Watch or CarPlay people already have. It needs cellular data or Wi-Fi.
Can I get this report by email?
Yes. Use the “Email me this report” form on this page to get your numbers in your inbox, for example to share with a manager or a finance team.
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