Vapi: AI Voice Agent Platform for Phone Calls
Voice Agents
Vapi is a developer platform for building AI voice agents that make and answer phone calls and run inside web apps. It coordinates speech-to-text, a language model and text-to-speech, and lets you choose each provider. Vapi charges $0.05 per minute for hosting, with transcription, the model, the voice and any external telephony billed on top. In Vapi's own pricing-calculator example, that totals about $0.082 to $0.129 per minute at 1,000 monthly minutes. This page covers how Vapi works, current plans, limits, who it suits, and the main alternatives.
Last verified: November 5, 2026. Sources: vapi.ai/pricing and docs.vapi.ai.
- Pricing
- Usage-based
- Category
- Voice Agents
- Maker
- Independent
- Listed
- 17 Aug 2026
- Last verified
- 5 Nov 2026
Vapi at a glance
| Detail | Vapi |
|---|---|
| What it is | Developer platform for AI voice agents (phone and web) |
| Best for | Engineering teams that want to choose their own transcription, model and voice providers |
| Pricing model | $0.05/min hosting plus providers billed at cost |
| Free start | Starter credits for new accounts ($5 as reported) |
| Packages | Optional, from $29/month |
| Calls | Inbound and outbound |
| Official site | vapi.ai |
Quick verdict
Vapi is a strong choice for engineering teams that want control over every part of a voice agent, from the transcriber to the phone provider. The trade-off is cost and setup: charges come from several services, so the final price is harder to predict. Teams without developers, or those who want one flat per-minute rate, may prefer a more packaged platform.
See Vapi vs Retell AI vs Bland AIWhat is a Vapi AI voice agent?
A Vapi AI voice agent makes or answers phone and web calls using a chosen transcriber, language model and voice.
How a Vapi voice agent works
The caller’s speech is converted to text, the model decides the reply and can call tools or APIs, and a voice provider speaks the answer back.
What teams use it for
- Inbound support with knowledge-base access and escalation to a human
- Outbound sales calls and lead qualification
- Appointment scheduling
Vapi pricing: what a call really costs
Hosting fee and pass-through costs
Vapi charges $0.05 per minute for hosting. Transcription, the language model, the voice and any external telephony carrier are billed separately.
Success Packages
| Package | Price before usage | Reported limits |
|---|---|---|
| No package (usage only) | $0 to start | 1 phone number, 4 concurrent calls, 2 organizations, 14-day data retention |
| Core | $29/month | 5 numbers, 10 concurrent calls, 30-day retention, zero data retention, email support |
| Pro | 10% of hosting fee, $999/month minimum | 10 numbers, 30 concurrent calls, 180-day retention, RBAC, Slack support, 99% uptime SLA |
| Premier | Custom | Custom limits, SSO, dedicated SIP, named support team, 99.9% uptime SLA |
Add-ons
HIPAA compliance $2,000/month per organization; extra concurrency $10 per line per month; extra organizations $20 per month.
Example all-in cost
| Monthly minutes | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $81.80 | $128.90 |
| 10,000 | $818 | $1,289 |
| 50,000 | $4,090 | $6,445 |
Example only. Based on Vapi's hosting fee plus its calculator's example providers (Deepgram, OpenAI, ElevenLabs, Vapi Telephony). Excludes package fees, add-ons and external carrier charges. Always confirm current pricing at vapi.ai/pricing.
Key features
- Assistants (prompt, model, voice, transcriber and tools in one agent)
- Squads (hand a call between specialist assistants)
- Tool and API calling, webhooks, SDKs and a CLI
- Testing with evals and simulations
- Telephony including a free US number, imported numbers and SIP
- Call analysis and structured outputs
- A choice of speech, model and voice providers
Who Vapi is for
Good fit: engineering-led teams, custom provider stacks, agents that call your own APIs mid-conversation.
Look elsewhere if: you want one predictable per-minute rate, have limited engineering time, or want a visual builder.
Limitations
- Pricing comes from several layers
- Setup, testing and monitoring need developer time
- Concurrent-call limits depend on the package
Vapi alternatives
Explore the Vapi alternatives guide and Vapi vs Retell AI vs Bland AI comparison.
Ratings and community feedback
Community upvotes on AigentGallery: 9. Product Hunt: 4.9 from 25 reviews.
FAQ
- What is a Vapi AI voice agent?
- A Vapi AI voice agent makes or answers phone and web calls using a chosen transcriber, language model and voice.
- How much does Vapi cost per minute?
- $0.05 per minute for hosting plus providers at cost. Vapi's own calculator example totals about $0.082 to $0.129 per minute at 1,000 monthly minutes.
- Is Vapi free?
- Not for ongoing use. New accounts receive starter credits, and optional packages start at $29/month.
- Can Vapi make outbound calls?
- Yes. It handles outbound sales calls and lead qualification as well as inbound support.
- Do I need to code to use Vapi?
- A basic assistant can be built in the dashboard, but complex logic, outside data and production safeguards usually need developer work.
- What are the best Vapi alternatives?
- Retell AI and Bland AI are the main alternatives. See our Vapi vs Retell AI vs Bland AI comparison and Vapi alternatives guide. Compare the three or browse Vapi alternatives.
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