Running ads · Updated October 20, 2026
CallRail or CallTrackingMetrics: which call tracking should a local business use?
Updated October 20, 2026
Both show which ad, search or page made the phone ring and send those calls to Google Ads. CallRail is the simpler start when you mainly need calls tracked and recorded. CallTrackingMetrics fits a team that answers the phones and wants routing, texts and forms in one account. Compare both bills at your own call volume.
Both track calls to their source; choose on how your phones are answered
Pick CallRail if one or two people answer the phone and the job is knowing which marketing made it ring. Pick CallTrackingMetrics if a team answers, calls need routing to the right person, or you want calls, texts and forms run from one account. Either one does the core job well.
The core job is the same in both. Each gives every marketing source its own phone number, shows a different number to each website visitor so a call can be tied to the search or ad they came from, records the call, and passes the result to Google Ads. CallRail says its integration "sends attribution data on phone calls, texts, and form fills to Google Ads." CallTrackingMetrics lists Google Ads, Google Local Services Ads and GA4 integrations on its entry plan.
- CallRail
- Its entry plan, Lead Tracking, includes call recording and routing, transcription and AI call insights. Form tracking comes only on the two Complete plans.
- Right when the main question is which marketing makes the phone ring, and one or two people take the calls.
- CallTrackingMetrics
- Its entry plan, Marketing Lite, lists unlimited users, call and text attribution, recording, forwarding and phone menu routing. Form tracking starts on Marketing Pro.
- Right when several people answer, calls need routing, or texts and forms belong in the same account.
Simpler to start
Built for a phone team
Start with Google's free option if Google Ads is your only paid marketing. Google's forwarding numbers count a call as a conversion when it lasts longer than a minimum length you set, and show which keywords, ads and campaigns led to calls. A paid tool earns its cost when calls also come from your Business Profile, organic search, Facebook, mailers or radio, and you want all of them in one report with recordings.
Compare what you will actually pay for
Count your numbers and call minutes before you compare plans
Before you compare either price page, write down how many tracking numbers you need and how many minutes of calls you take in a normal month. Both tools charge a plan fee plus usage, so the cheaper plan on paper is not always the cheaper bill.
Both bill usage on top of the plan. CallRail says "additional minutes and numbers not included in the chosen plan will be billed in addition to your base fee," and that "minutes are calculated by rounding each call up to the nearest minute and then summing the minutes." CallTrackingMetrics says you buy "only the numbers you need" and are "billed only for the minutes you’ve used." Your phone bill or your current call log shows your minutes; one number per marketing source, plus a pool for website visitors, sets your number count.
For example
A plumbing company wants to track Google Ads, its Business Profile, organic search, Facebook and a yard sign. That is five sources. If the website shows a different number to each visitor, the website needs a pool of numbers on top of the source numbers, and the pool grows with traffic. Ask each tool how many numbers its visitor tracking would need at your traffic, then price both plans with that count and last month's call minutes.
Check who needs to log in, and whether forms count
List everyone who will listen to calls or read reports: the owner, the office manager, whoever runs your ads. Then check how each plan treats them, and whether the plan you are looking at tracks form fills as well as calls.
CallTrackingMetrics lists unlimited users on its plans. CallRail's pricing page does not state a user count, so ask before you buy. For forms, CallRail puts form tracking on its Lead Tracking Complete and Lead Conversion Complete plans, and CallTrackingMetrics starts it on Marketing Pro. If you already track form leads another way, you may not need either upgrade.
Medical and other HIPAA businesses need a specific plan in either tool
If your calls carry patient health information, choose the plan that includes HIPAA protections from day one, and get the business associate agreement before the first call is recorded.
CallTrackingMetrics says its "HIPAA compliant features are included in the Marketing Pro plan and above." CallRail says it will "sign a business associate agreement (BAA) with each of our Healthcare clients," on its Healthcare plans. In both, the entry plan is the wrong place to start for a medical practice.
Before you sign up
Send only the calls that matter to Google Ads, at a value
Whichever tool you choose, set the Google Ads connection to send calls that meet a rule, such as a minimum length or a tag your team applies, not every call that rings. Then give those calls a value so Google Ads bids toward the calls you want.
Google says importing call conversion information lets you "track when phone calls lead to sales or other valuable customer actions." A tool left sending every call teaches Google Ads that a wrong number is worth the same as a booked job. The full setup is in the guide to sending calls from your call tracking tool into Google Ads.
Ask in writing whether you can take your numbers with you
Your tracking numbers end up on your Business Profile, your truck wraps and your mailers. Before you print them anywhere, ask how you would move them to another provider and what it costs.
CallTrackingMetrics' plan questions say "There’s no additional fee to port numbers away to a new provider," and that you can "cancel at any time directly within the software." CallRail's pricing page does not cover moving numbers out, so get its answer in writing. Open the account in the business's own name either way, so the numbers and recordings stay with you if the person who set it up leaves.
Use the free first weeks to test one real call per source
Use the trial or the free first month to call each tracking number yourself and check three things: the call reached the right phone, the report shows the right source, and the call appeared in Google Ads within a day or two.
CallRail says "Every account starts with a 14-day free trial" and that it does not require a credit card to start. CallTrackingMetrics says it will "waive the first month’s subscription fee," with month-to-month terms and no contracts. Either way, a few test calls in the first week show whether the setup works before your marketing depends on it.