Voice and conversational AI · Voice agent platforms for builders
Vapi
Voice agent orchestration for developers who bring their own speech, model and telephony providers.
- Vendor
- Vapi
- Pricing model
- $0.05 per minute platform fee; speech, LLM, voice and telephony passed through at cost or on your own keys.
- Runs on
- Vapi cloud
- Agentic OS layer
- Agents
- Industries
- Any industry
- Last reviewed
- November 2026
Our verdict
The most flexible developer platform: swap any model or voice, and pay a thin platform fee. Real all-in cost is several times the headline, and HIPAA adds a large monthly fee.
What it is
Vapi orchestrates real-time voice agents, connecting speech-to-text, LLMs, text-to-speech and telephony from the providers you choose. You can use your own API keys to pay providers directly, with tools, workflows and squads of agents.
Enterprise Scale contracts add SOC 2, PCI, SSO, data residency and an SLA.
Best for
Engineering teams building voice products or high-volume agents who want to tune every layer.
Not the right fit
Teams without engineers, or those wanting one simple bill.
Key capabilities
Bring your own models
Any speech, LLM or voice provider.
Tools and workflows
Agents call APIs during calls.
Squads
Hand-offs between specialised agents.
Telephony options
Twilio, SIP and others.
Strengths
- Maximum flexibility
- Thin platform fee
- Large developer community
Watch-outs
- All-in cost often $0.15 to $0.33 per minute
- HIPAA costs $2,000 a month
- Several vendor bills to manage
Pricing
The platform fee is $0.05 per minute, with speech, LLM, voice and telephony billed on top at cost or on your own keys, typically totalling $0.10 to $0.33 per minute. HIPAA compliance is $2,000 a month, extra concurrency $10 per line, and enterprise Scale plans are quoted.
Checked November 2026. Vendors change plans often, so confirm current pricing with Vapi before you budget.
Security and governance
SOC 2, PCI and SSO on Scale; HIPAA as a paid add-on.
How we would roll it out
- Model the full stack costAdd every provider per minute.
- Use your own keys at volumeNegotiate directly with providers.
- Load-test concurrencySize lines before launch.
Compare with
Other tools in Voice and conversational AI, closest match first.
Retell AI
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PolyAI
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Enterprise voice agents for contact centres, delivered as a managed service on its own dialog models.
Best for Large contact centres that want lifelike voice agents without building them.
Choosing between Vapi and the alternatives?
Book a call. We look at your systems, data and governance together and tell you which platform fits, and what to build on it first.