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Bland AI alternatives (2026 prices)

Short answer. Bland AI Start costs $0.14 a minute with no platform fee, so 1,000 minutes runs $140. Telnyx estimates near $0.06 a minute ($60). Vapi's calculator puts 1,000 minutes at $82 to $129. Retell's default setup is $0.11 a minute ($110). ElevenAgents Creator plus extra minutes comes to $80 before LLM costs. We read all seven pricing pages on October 26, 2026.

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What Bland charges

Item	Start	Build
Talk time	$0.14 a minute	$0.12 a minute
Platform fee	$0	$299 a month
Transfer time	$0.05 a minute	$0.04 a minute
Concurrent calls	10	50
Daily cap	100 calls	2,000 calls

Bland's rate covers the LLM, speech to text, and text to speech. Telephony is billed on top, on your own carrier or Bland's at pass-through cost. Start comes with 2 credits and an inbound number Bland values at $15 a month. Source: Bland AI pricing, checked October 26, 2026. Read our Bland AI pricing guide for the details.

Alternatives at 1,000 minutes a month

Platform	How it bills	1,000 minutes
Telnyx Voice AI	$0.05 a minute voice engine, near $0.06 all in by its estimate	$60
ElevenAgents Creator	$22 a month with 275 minutes, then $0.080 a minute, LLM on top	$80 plus LLM
Vapi	$0.05 a minute hosting plus models and phone	$82 to $129, by its calculator
Retell AI	$0.07 to $0.31 a minute, default setup $0.11	$110
Bland AI Start	$0.14 a minute, no platform fee	$140
Trillet AI Receptionist	$49 a month for 150 minutes, $0.20 a minute after	$219
Bland AI Build	$0.12 a minute plus $299 a month	$419
Synthflow	Enterprise from $30,000 a year	$2,500 a month at the floor

Source: each vendor's pricing page, listed at the end, checked October 26, 2026.

When Bland makes sense

Bland's page says its rate has no token charges and no model pass-throughs. Vapi and Retell price each part of the stack. Bland's FAQ claims most production stacks land at $0.13 to $0.30 a minute on Vapi and $0.11 to $0.25 on Retell. That is Bland's estimate, not ours. Our table uses each vendor's own numbers.

Pick Bland if you want one rate per minute and no bill for each model. Pick an alternative if you need a lower rate or more control over voices and models.

Free ways to test

Platform	Free start
Bland AI	Start plan, no card
Vapi	$5 in free credits
Retell AI	$10 in free credits
ElevenAgents	Free plan with 15 minutes
Telnyx	Pay as you go, $0 a month
Trillet	28-day money-back guarantee on the receptionist

Concurrency compared

A trade shop with two or three phone lines fits any of these. Bland Start allows 10 concurrent calls. Retell gives 20 free, then $8.00 a month each. Vapi gives 4 free and charges $10 a line a month after. ElevenAgents runs from 4 on Free to 40 on Business. Telnyx lists 500 on pay as you go.

Compare Bland AI: Bland AI pricing · Vapi vs Bland AI · Bland AI vs Retell AI

FAQ

What is a cheaper alternative to Bland AI? Telnyx estimates near $0.06 a minute. Retell's default setup is $0.11 a minute. Vapi's calculator puts 1,000 minutes at $82 to $129. Bland Start is $0.14 a minute.

How much does Bland AI cost? Start is $0.14 a minute with no platform fee. Build is $0.12 a minute plus $299 a month. Enterprise is custom. Transfer time costs $0.05 or $0.04 a minute.

Is Bland AI better than Vapi? It depends on who builds the agent. Bland bundles the LLM and voice into one rate. Vapi charges $0.05 a minute for hosting and passes model costs through, so a developer can swap parts.

Does Bland AI have a free plan? The Start plan needs no card and comes with 2 credits plus an inbound number. You pay $0.14 a minute for talk time.

Which Bland AI alternative fits a trade business? For a plain phone answerer, a receptionist product like Trillet at $49 a month takes less setup. For a custom agent that books into your field service software, Vapi or Retell give more control.

Checked 2026-10-26. Prices and policies change. Confirm on the source before you buy.