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Vapi pricing for contractors

Short answer. Vapi charges $0.05 a minute for its hosting. You pay the speech, model, and voice providers on top, at cost. Vapi's own calculator puts 1,000 minutes a month at $82 to $129. You can start with no plan fee and $5 in free credits. The Core package costs $29 a month. Pro has a $999 a month minimum. Premier is custom. We read the Vapi pricing page on October 25, 2026.

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Compare Vapi. Vapi vs Bland AI and Vapi vs Retell AI put the per-minute rates side by side, with costs for 1,000 and 5,000 minutes.

Alternatives. Vapi alternatives compares Retell, Bland, ElevenAgents, and Telnyx on price and concurrency. Next, read Vapi vs ElevenLabs.

Cost per minute. checked October 25, 2026. Every package gets unlimited agents and the full model catalog.

What a Vapi minute costs

Vapi splits each minute into parts. The page lists these ranges for its default stack.

Part	Default provider	Cost a minute
Vapi hosting	Vapi	$0.05
Transcriber	Deepgram	$0.0095 to $0.0099
Model	OpenAI	$0.0077 to $0.0452
Voice	ElevenLabs	$0.0146 to $0.0238
Phone line	Vapi telephony or SIP	Free

If you bring your own carrier, the carrier bills you. The page lists Twilio inbound at $0.008 a minute, Twilio outbound at $0.014, Vonage at $0.00814, and Telnyx at $0.0055.

Add the parts and a minute runs about $0.08 to $0.13 on the default stack ($0.0818 to $0.1289). Our math from the ranges above.

Add-ons

Add-on	Price
HIPAA data handling with a BAA	$2,000 a month
Extra concurrent call line	$10 a line a month
Extra organization	$20 an organization a month

What a contractor would pay

500 minutes a month, no package: about $41 to $65. Half of Vapi's 1,000-minute estimate.
1,000 minutes a month, no package: $82 to $129, per the Vapi calculator.
1,000 minutes on Core: about $111 to $158 with the $29 package fee.
Inbound calls on your own Twilio line: add about $8 per 1,000 minutes.
Core for a year: $348 in package fees, before usage.

Our math from the prices above, before tax. Vapi is a build-it-yourself platform. You or a developer write the call flow, connect your calendar, and test it. A done-for-you AI receptionist costs more per minute but takes no build time.

Vapi vs Bland and Retell

Bland charges $0.14 a minute on its free Start plan, with the model, speech, and voice in that one rate. Phone costs bill on top. See Bland AI pricing. Source: Bland pricing.
Retell AI charges $0.07 to $0.31 a minute pay as you go and $2 a month per number. See Retell AI pricing. Source: Retell pricing.
Vapi gives you the most control over which model and voice you use, and you pay each provider at cost.

FAQ

How much does Vapi cost per minute? Vapi charges $0.05 a minute for hosting. With the default speech, model, and voice providers, a minute runs about $0.08 to $0.13.

Does Vapi have a monthly fee? No fee is required. You can pay for usage alone. Core costs $29 a month and Pro has a $999 a month minimum.

Does Vapi have a free trial? New accounts get $5 in free credits and one Vapi phone number.

What does 1,000 minutes on Vapi cost? Vapi's calculator shows $82 to $129 a month for 1,000 minutes on the default stack, with no package.

Is Vapi an AI receptionist? Vapi is a platform for building voice agents. You build the receptionist on it. Tools like Smith.ai or Upfirst sell a ready-made receptionist.

Checked 2026-10-25. Prices and policies change. Confirm on the source before you buy.