Vapi review

Vapi ranks first for this audience because it treats a voice agent like any other piece of software you build: you pick the transcriber, the language model, the voice and the transport, and Vapi bills $0.05 per minute for hosting while passing model costs through with no markup. Every plan includes unlimited agents, critical monitoring and call testing and simulation, and you can start on usage-only billing with $5 in free credits. Vapi's own calculator shows a 1,000-minute month landing between $82 and $129 with Deepgram, OpenAI and ElevenLabs, which makes the stack cost easy to see. The limits show up as you grow. Usage-only accounts get 4 concurrent calls and 14 days of raw data retention, the Core package costs $29 a month for 10 concurrent calls and email support, and HIPAA-eligible handling is a $2,000 per month add-on. Teams that want a single all-in rate will find Bland AI or Telnyx simpler to budget.

Who it is for

Developers who want full control over models, voices and telephony

Price

$5 in free credits; usage-only billing at $0.05 per minute for Vapi hosting plus provider costs; Core success package $29 per month.

Pre-paid, $0.05/min Vapi hosting. Models pass-through at cost
Quoted from the vendor pricing page on November 12, 2026.

Key features

• Unlimited agents on every plan, billed only for minutes used
• Model providers billed at cost with no markup
• Testing and simulation of calls before they reach customers
• Vapi Telephony, SIP, WebSockets and Daily WebRTC transport at no charge
• HIPAA-eligible data handling with a BAA as a $2,000 per month add-on

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Starts with $5 in free credits and no success package required
• Strength: Choice of transcriber, LLM and voice provider for each agent
• Strength: Extra concurrent call lines cost $10 per line per month on any package
• Weakness: Usage-only accounts are limited to 4 concurrent calls and 14 days of raw data retention
• Weakness: Final cost per minute depends on the LLM, voice and transcriber you choose
• Weakness: The Pro package has a $999 per month minimum

Key facts

• Hosting fee: $0.05 per minute, pre-paid
• Free credits: $5
• Core package: $29 per month, 10 concurrent calls, 5 included Vapi phone numbers
• Concurrency on usage only: 4 concurrent calls

Where it ranks

Vapi is No. 2 in our Best AI Voice Agent Platforms verdict.