AI Voice Agent Cost per Minute in 2026
Headline rates leave out the LLM, the voice or the phone line. Here is what a minute really costs on each platform.
By , research by the BestBots team · Updated Oct 18, 2026
Fact checked against each company's published pricing, documentation and verified user ratings. How we score
An AI voice agent costs about $0.06 to $0.17 per minute all in, in October 2026. Telnyx is cheapest at about $0.06 with its hosted LLM, Vapi and Retell land at $0.08 to $0.10 on budget models, and Bland charges $0.12 to $0.14 with models included. That is $296 to $899 a month at 5,000 minutes.
What a minute is made of
Every AI phone call runs through five billable layers. Vendors bundle them differently, which is why headline rates are not comparable.
- Telephony. The phone line, from your own carrier or the platform.
- Speech to text. Transcribing the caller in real time.
- LLM. The model that decides what to say. This is the most variable cost, from $0.0032 to $0.16 per minute on Retell's list alone.
- Text to speech. The synthetic voice, from $0.015 to $0.10 per minute.
- Orchestration. The platform fee for turn taking, interruptions, tools and hosting.
What each rate includes
| Platform | Headline rate | Telephony | Speech to text | LLM | Voice |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Telnyx | $0.05 | From $0.0032 extra | Included | About $0.006 (Kimi) or pass through | Included |
| Vapi | $0.05 | Free on Vapi, Twilio extra | $0.0095 to $0.0099 | $0.0077 to $0.0452 | $0.0146 to $0.0238 |
| Retell AI | $0.055 | $0.015 US Twilio, SIP free | Included | $0.0032 to $0.16 | $0.015 to $0.10 |
| Twilio ConversationRelay | $0.07 | $0.0085 in, $0.014 out | Included | Your own | Included |
| ElevenLabs Agents | $0.08 | Included | Included | Extra, shown in product | Included |
| Bland AI | $0.12 to $0.14 | Included on Bland numbers | Included | Included | Included |
| Millis AI | $0.02 | Not listed | $0.0043 | $0.00018 to $0.008 | Per 1,000 characters |
| Synthflow, PolyAI, Thoughtly | Quote only | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
All rates are per minute in USD from each vendor's pricing page, October 2026.
All in per minute
These are our sums of the published components, using the cheapest reasonable stack and, where offered, a premium one.
- Telnyx: $0.05 + $0.006 Kimi + $0.0032 carrier = $0.0592. Telnyx itself states about $0.06.
- Vapi: $0.05 + $0.0095 + $0.0077 + $0.0146 on Vapi telephony = $0.0818. Top of every range plus Twilio outbound: $0.1429.
- Twilio ConversationRelay: $0.07 + $0.0085 inbound = $0.0785 plus your LLM.
- ElevenLabs Agents: $0.08 plus your LLM, telephony included.
- Retell AI: $0.055 + $0.0096 Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite + $0.015 voice + $0.015 Twilio = $0.0946. Claude 5 Sonnet with ElevenLabs Flash: $0.174.
- Bland AI: $0.14 on Start, $0.12 on Build ($299 per month), models included.
Worked example at 5,000 and 20,000 minutes
Assume an average 3 minute call, so 5,000 minutes is about 1,670 calls a month and 20,000 minutes is about 6,670 calls.
| Platform and stack | 5,000 minutes | 20,000 minutes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Telnyx, Kimi | $296 | $1,184 | 500 concurrent calls, HIPAA included |
| Vapi, low end | $409 | $1,636 | Add $29 Core for more than 4 lines |
| ElevenLabs Agents | $400 plus LLM | $1,600 plus LLM | Pro at 5,000; Business at 20,000 |
| Twilio ConversationRelay | $393 plus LLM | $1,570 plus LLM | Inbound; plus $1.15 per number |
| Retell AI, budget | $473 | $1,892 | 20 concurrent calls and HIPAA included |
| Bland AI | $700 (Start) | $2,699 (Build) | Start caps at 100 calls a day |
| Vapi, high end | $715 | $2,858 | Top of every range, Twilio outbound |
| Retell AI, premium | $870 | $3,480 | Claude 5 Sonnet, ElevenLabs Flash |
ElevenLabs: Pro is $99 for 1,238 minutes, then $0.08 each, so 5,000 minutes is $399.96; Business is $990 for 12,375 minutes, so 20,000 minutes is $1,600. Bland at 20,000 minutes needs Build because about 222 calls a day exceeds Start's cap: $299 + 20,000 x $0.12 = $2,699.
Fixed fees that change the answer
Per minute rates only tell part of the story. These line items can outweigh minutes at small volume:
- HIPAA. Vapi charges $2,000 per month, which adds $0.40 per minute at 5,000 minutes. Retell and Telnyx include it; ElevenLabs needs Enterprise.
- Concurrency. Retell includes 20 lines, Vapi 4, Telnyx 500. Extra lines cost $8 (Retell) or $10 (Vapi) per month.
- Contract floors. Synthflow starts at $30,000 a year. At 5,000 minutes a month that floor alone is $0.50 per minute; at 20,000 minutes, $0.125.
- Per attempt fees. Bland bills at least $0.015 per outbound call, including failed calls; Retell adds $0.005 per batch dial.
- Add ons. Retell knowledge bases are $8 per month each; ElevenLabs burst minutes are $0.16.
How to cut your rate
Pick the smallest LLM that passes your test calls; on Retell, moving from Claude 5 Sonnet to Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite saves about $0.054 per minute. Use a standard voice unless the brand needs a premium one. Bring your own SIP trunk where the platform does not charge for it. Keep prompts short, since long prompts raise LLM cost and latency.
Every rate on this page is tracked in the AI Price Index. To model your own volume against a human agent's wage, use the cost calculator. For the ranked list, see the best AI voice agents.
Frequently asked questions
How much does an AI voice agent cost per minute?
About $0.06 to $0.17 per minute all in on the self serve platforms we compared in October 2026. The low end is Telnyx at about $0.06 with its hosted LLM; the high end is Retell with Claude 5 Sonnet and an ElevenLabs voice at $0.174.
What is included in an AI voice agent's per minute price?
It varies. Bland includes speech, LLM and voice in one rate. Telnyx includes speech and voice but not the LLM or carrier. ElevenLabs includes telephony but not the LLM. Retell, Vapi and Millis charge a platform fee and bill the LLM and voice separately.
Is an AI voice agent cheaper than a human?
On minutes alone, by a wide margin. At $0.10 per minute an AI agent costs $6 per hour of talk time. Use our calculator to compare against a local wage, and remember to add the setup and prompt tuning time.
What hidden fees should I watch for?
Concurrency (Retell $8 and Vapi $10 per extra line per month), HIPAA (Vapi $2,000 per month), burst pricing (ElevenLabs doubles to $0.16), outbound attempt minimums (Bland $0.015 per call), batch dial fees (Retell $0.005) and knowledge base fees (Retell $8 per month).
Which AI voice agent is cheapest?
Millis AI has the lowest headline fee at $0.02 per minute, but its LLM, speech and per character voice fees are separate and its changelog has not been updated since April 2025. On a complete published rate, Telnyx is cheapest at about $0.06 per minute.