Build AI voice agents that answer and make phone calls, paid by the minute.
- Company
- Vapi
- Best for
- Developers and agencies building phone agents for businesses
- Free plan
- Pay as you go with $5 in free credits to start
- Starting price
- Pay by usage with $5 free credits. Core package $29/month (US dollars)
- Details checked
- 28 October 2026
Standout features
- Unlimited agents; you pay for the minutes used
- Choose your own speech, AI model and voice providers
- Telephony through Vapi is free; Twilio, Vonage and Telnyx charge their own per-minute fees
- Add-ons for extra concurrency ($10 per line per month) and HIPAA handling ($2,000 per month)
Best uses
- Answering calls out of hours and booking appointments
- Qualifying leads by phone
- Appointment reminders
- Handling simple repeat questions before passing to a person
Pros
- Low start-up cost with free credits
- Flexible: swap models and voices as better ones appear
- Clear published add-on prices
- Works for both inbound and outbound calls
Cons
- Needs a developer or agency to set up well
- Total cost is the sum of several providers per minute, so estimate carefully
- Prices are in US dollars
- Check call-recording and consent rules for UK customers before going live
How to use Vapi
- Create an account at vapi.ai and use the free credits.
- Pick a speech-to-text, AI model and voice provider for your agent.
- Write the agent instructions: what it can do, and when to transfer to a person.
- Connect a phone number and test with real calls.
- Review call transcripts and tune the instructions.
Example setups for a small business
Receptionist
Answer as the receptionist for [business]. Take a name, number and reason for calling. Offer a callback. Do not give prices.
Booking
Offer the next three free slots, confirm by repeating the date and time, then send a text confirmation.
Hand-over
If the caller is upset or asks for a person, say you will transfer them and do so.
Pricing
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| By usage | Pay only for minutes | $5 free credits, 2 organizations, 1 included Vapi phone number, 4 concurrent calls, community support. |
| Core | $29 / month | 2 organizations, 5 included phone numbers, 10 concurrent calls, 30 days data retention, email support. |
| Pro | $999 / month minimum (10% of Vapi hosting fee) | 10 organizations, 30 concurrent calls, 180 days retention, dedicated Slack support, 99% uptime SLA. |
| Premier | Contact Vapi | Custom limits, SSO, dedicated SIP, named support team. |
| Provider costs per minute (examples) | $0.0095-$0.0099 transcription, $0.0077-$0.0452 AI model, $0.0146-$0.0238 voice | These are charged on top; Vapi lists them with no markup on models. |
Prices change often. Always confirm on the official site. We last checked on 28 October 2026.
