Vapi
A developer platform for voice AI agents that charges $0.05 a minute for hosting and passes through speech, model, voice and telephony costs, so production calls typically land around $0.10 to $0.30 a minute.
- Free trial
- Agentic tool
- Vendor-sourced
- Verified 13 Nov 2026Sources are dated on this profile
- 7 sourcesLinked, typed and dated
- Vendor and official documentationHow this profile was compiled
- Not an endorsementStack18 has not tested this product
What is Vapi?
Vapi is a developer platform for building, testing and deploying voice AI agents that answer and place phone calls or run in web and mobile apps. Developers choose their own speech-to-text, language model and text-to-speech providers, and Vapi orchestrates them with low latency, charging a per-minute hosting fee.
- Best forDevelopers and agencies building voice agents
- Pricing$0.05 a minute hosting plus provider costs (often $0.10 to $0.30 all-in); Scale custom.
- Main limitationAdvertised $0.05 is only part of the bill.
- AlternativesRetell AI · Bland AI · Synthflow · compare all
Vapi overview: who it is for and what it does.
Vapi is an orchestration layer for voice agents. Developers configure assistants through an API or dashboard, pick providers for transcription, the LLM and the voice (or bring their own keys), connect phone numbers, SIP trunks or their own carrier, and add tools, workflows and squads of assistants that hand off to each other. It is popular with agencies and startups building AI receptionists, outbound callers and support lines.
The published price is $0.05 a minute for Vapi hosting, with provider costs passed through at cost; independent guides put typical production costs between about $0.10 and $0.30 a minute. Build is pay-as-you-go and Scale is a quoted annual contract with SOC 2, PCI, SSO, RBAC and an SLA; HIPAA costs $2,000 a month and zero data retention $1,000 a month. Vapi raised a $50 million Series B in May 2026 at about a $500 million valuation.
Main problem it solves
Gives developers fine-grained control over every layer of a voice agent.
Typical customer segment
Developers, startups and agencies building voice products.
Target users
- Developers building voice agents
- Contact centre and operations teams
- Agencies building for clients
Primary use cases
- AI receptionists and appointment booking
- Outbound qualification calls
- Customer support phone lines
- Voice features inside apps
What makes it distinct
- Bring any STT, LLM and TTS provider.
- Low published platform fee.
- Squads of assistants and tool calling.
Vapi features explained.
Build
- Assistants API
- Configure voice agents in code or dashboard.
- Provider choice
- Pick STT, LLM and TTS providers or bring keys.
- Squads and workflows
- Multiple assistants that hand off.
Telephony
- Phone numbers and SIP
- Numbers, SIP trunks or your own carrier.
- Concurrency
- Additional lines at $10 a month each.
Operate
- Testing and analytics
- Call logs, evaluation and monitoring.
- Compliance add-ons
- HIPAA and zero data retention.
Vapi pricing and plans.
Prices from a vendor-published source. Checked 13 Nov 2026 against UsagePricing · CloudTalk · Cekura.
Pricing model
Per-minute hosting fee plus pass-through provider costs; Scale annual contracts; compliance add-ons.
Free plan
No permanent free plan; trial credits are provided for testing.
Free trial
Yes, testing credits.
Vapi plans and prices (USD)
-
Build (pay-as-you-go)
$0.05 per minute
Usage
Plus STT, LLM, TTS and telephony at provider cost.
-
Scale
Custom
Annual
Committed volume, SOC 2, PCI, SSO, RBAC, SLA.
-
HIPAA add-on
$2,000 per month
Monthly
HIPAA compliance.
-
Zero data retention
$1,000 per month
Monthly
ZDR add-on.
Hosting fee and add-ons from vapi.ai/pricing as captured in June and October 2026; all-in ranges are third-party estimates.
Prices change. Confirm current plans and terms on the vendor's site before you decide.
Visit official website (external) ↗See alternativesVapi integrations, API and platforms.
Important integrations
- OpenAI
- Anthropic
- Deepgram
- ElevenLabs
- Cartesia
- Twilio
- Telnyx
- Vonage
- SIP trunks
Supported platforms
- Web (cloud)
- Phone (SIP and numbers)
- Web and mobile SDKs
- API
API
REST API and SDKs for web and mobile.
Data import and export
Knowledge is imported from help centres, documents and connected systems; export options were not reviewed.
Integration availability can depend on plan. Confirm with the vendor before you rely on a specific connector.
How Vapi works as an AI product.
Attributes are listed only where documented. We do not infer autonomy levels, certifications or model capabilities.
Classification: Agentic tool. A human-directed tool that can plan, edit and run actions, with the user reviewing or approving changes. Developer: Vapi.
| Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
| Supported models | Any major LLM provider or your own keys. [4] |
| Tools and integrations | Tool and function calling to external APIs. [3] |
| Ability to execute actions | Agents call tools, transfer calls and book appointments. [3] |
| Execution environment | Not documented in the sources reviewed. |
| Human-in-the-loop controls | Call transfer to humans; testing before launch. [2] |
| Permissions and access | Not documented in the sources reviewed. |
| Memory and context | Not documented in the sources reviewed. |
| Deployment options | Cloud; Scale contracts with SLA. [1] |
| Data handling and privacy | Not documented in the sources reviewed. |
| Security and compliance | SOC 2 and PCI on Scale; HIPAA and ZDR add-ons. [1] |
| Pricing and usage limits | $0.05 a minute hosting plus providers; $10 per extra concurrent line. [5] |
| Languages and platforms | Not documented in the sources reviewed. |
| Limitations and known constraints | Real cost per minute depends on stacked providers. [6] |
Primary tasks
- Answering and placing phone calls
- Booking and qualification calls
- Transferring calls to humans
Best-fit workflows
- Inbound call handling
- Outbound reminders and follow-ups
- Appointment booking
Vapi pros and cons.
Strengths, limitations and best fit. Each point cites a source; editorial summaries are not customer reviews.
Strengths
Limitations
Best for
- Developers and agencies building voice agents
- Teams wanting provider choice
- Products embedding voice in apps
May be less suited to
- Non-technical teams
- Buyers wanting one all-in price
Top Vapi alternatives and competitors.
Vapi alternatives
Teams look for Vapi alternatives when they want an all-in per-minute price, a no-code builder, or a managed…
Explore →Related productRetell AI
A voice AI agent platform with a visual flow builder and API, priced pay-as-you-go from $0.07 to $0.31 a…
Explore →Related productBland AI
A platform for AI phone agents that bundles the model, speech and voice into one per-minute rate: free…
Explore →Related productSynthflow
A no-code platform for voice AI agents that make and take phone calls, which dropped its self-serve plans…
Explore →Vapi compared with similar AI agent and chatbot builders.
Summaries come from each profile. This is a side-by-side aid, not a ranking.
| Product | Channels | AI models | Free tier | Pricing model | Human oversight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vapi | Phone, web and mobile; API | Any provider or your own keys | No (trial credits) | $0.05 a minute plus providers | Call transfer; testing tools |
| Bland AI Compare | Phone and SMS; API | Bundled models | Yes (Start tier) | Plan fee plus $0.11 to $0.14 a minute | Call transfer to humans |
| ElevenLabs Agents Compare | Web, apps, phone, chat and email | Choice of major LLMs | Yes (small allowance) | About $0.08 a minute; plans | Call transfer; tools |
| Retell AI Compare | Phone, web chat and API | Choice of LLMs | No ($10 free credit) | $0.07 to $0.31 a minute | Call transfer; QA add-on |
| Synthflow | Phone (telephony and SIP) | Not disclosed | No | Enterprise from $30,000 a year | Monitoring and call transfer |
| Parloa | Phone, chat and messaging | Not disclosed | No | Custom; per minute for voice | Works alongside human agents; testing |
Vapi vs competitors: head-to-head comparisons.
ElevenLabs Agents vs Vapi
ElevenLabs Agents and Vapi are platforms for building conversational voice agents.
Explore →ComparisonVapi vs Bland AI
Vapi and Bland AI let developers build AI voice agents that make and take phone calls.
Explore →ComparisonVapi vs Retell AI
Vapi and Retell AI are developer platforms for building voice AI agents.
Explore →Vapi discussions and buying questions.
Vapi questions and answers
What is Vapi used for?
Vapi is a developer platform for building, testing and deploying voice AI agents that answer and place phone calls or run in web and mobile apps. Developers choose their own speech-to-text, language model and text-to-speech providers, and Vapi orchestrates them with low latency, charging a per-minute hosting fee.
Is Vapi free?
No permanent free plan; trial credits are provided for testing.
How much does Vapi cost?
$0.05 a minute hosting plus provider costs (often $0.10 to $0.30 all-in); Scale custom.
Which models does Vapi support?
Any major LLM provider or your own keys.
What are the limitations of Vapi?
Advertised $0.05 is only part of the bill. Requires developer skills. HIPAA costs $2,000 a month.
Which platforms does Vapi run on?
Vapi is documented as available on: Web (cloud), Phone (SIP and numbers), Web and mobile SDKs, API.
Is Vapi an AI agent or an AI assistant?
We classify Vapi as: Agentic tool. A human-directed tool that can plan, edit and run actions, with the user reviewing or approving changes. The classification is based on vendor documentation and is not an endorsement.
What are the main alternatives to Vapi?
The main alternatives to Vapi covered on Stack18 are Retell AI, Bland AI, Synthflow and ElevenLabs Agents. See the Vapi alternatives guide for a side-by-side table.
When was the Vapi profile last verified?
Sources for this profile were last reviewed on 13 Nov 2026. 7 sources are listed under Sources, and prices and plans can change, so confirm with the vendor.
Where this information comes from.
- Vapi pricing blueprint UsagePricing Third-party Accessed 13 Nov 2026
- Vapi AI plans and pricing CloudTalk Third-party Accessed 13 Nov 2026
- Vapi AI pricing in 2026 Cekura Third-party Accessed 13 Nov 2026
- Vapi AI pricing guide Nurix Third-party Accessed 13 Nov 2026
- Vapi verified listing Developers Digest Third-party Accessed 13 Nov 2026
- AI voice agent pricing in 2026 Techsy Third-party Accessed 13 Nov 2026
- Vapi pricing AI Tools Atlas Third-party Accessed 13 Nov 2026
Further official pages: Vapi pricing (external)
Plans, features and status were checked against Vapi's published pages and the third-party sources listed. Agent behaviour was not tested, resolution rates quoted by vendors were not verified, and security certifications were not independently checked.
Stack18 has not tested this product or received anything from the vendor for this profile. Editorial summaries of vendor information are not endorsements. Confirm details with the vendor before buying.
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