# Live Chat Staffing Calculator

Canonical: https://orka.chat/live-chat-staffing-calculator
Updated: 2026-11-09
Publisher: Orka

Estimate the number of agents you need online in a busy hour and the number to put on the schedule once breaks and meetings are included.

## Inputs

- New chats in your busiest hour
- Average chat duration (minutes) — Use elapsed time while an agent is handling the conversation.
- Average chats handled at once per agent
- Target occupancy (%) — The share of available time agents spend handling chats.
- Scheduled time away from the inbox (%) — Include breaks, meetings and training.

## How the calculation works

Multiply new chats per hour by the average elapsed handling time. Divide that workload by 60 minutes, average simultaneous chats and the occupancy fraction. Round up to a whole number of online agents. Divide that count by the share of scheduled time available for chat, then round up again.

## Worked example

36 chats lasting 10 minutes generate 360 chat-minutes in one hour. At two simultaneous chats and 75% occupancy, one online agent covers 90 chat-minutes. You need four online, or five on the schedule when 20% of scheduled time goes to breaks and meetings.

## Frequently asked questions

### How do I measure live chat concurrency?

During representative busy intervals, divide the total minutes conversations were actively assigned by the minutes agents spent handling at least one chat. Use the resulting average, which can be fractional.

### Which duration should I enter for asynchronous conversations?

Use the active part of the conversation during which a chat occupies an agent’s capacity. Exclude overnight gaps and long stretches waiting for a customer. If you measure hands-on agent minutes instead, enter a concurrency of one.

### Will this headcount guarantee a first response target?

This calculation estimates workload capacity over an hour. Arrivals clustered into a few minutes can still produce a queue. Check the estimate against real arrival patterns and observed wait times before finalizing shifts.

## Related tools

- [Support Backlog Calculator](https://orka.chat/support-backlog-calculator)
- [First Response Time Calculator](https://orka.chat/first-response-time-calculator)