Vapi Pricing Guide (2026)
Vapi is one of the most cost-effective platforms for building production voice AI agents. The $0.05 per minute headline rate is the platform hosting fee, not the total cost of a live voice stack. Speech recognition, language model inference, text-to-speech, telephony, concurrency, and optional compliance add-ons sit on top. This guide breaks down every cost layer so you can budget accurately before you deploy.
The two Vapi plans in 2026
Vapi offers two plans. The Build plan is self-serve and usage-based. The Scale plan is an annual contract with volume-based pricing. Prices below reflect standard rates verified from public Vapi pricing documentation.
| Plan | Contract | Call Rate | Concurrency | Support |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Build | Month-to-month | $0.05/min hosting + provider passthrough | 10 included + $10/line/month | Email and Discord community |
| Scale | Annual contract | Volume-based per minute | Custom | Dedicated account team, support SLA |
The Build plan includes 60 or more minutes before usage-based billing begins. The Scale plan adds enterprise-grade SOC 2, HIPAA, PCI, SSO, and RBAC compliance options, priority model and provider access, data residency, and a support SLA with a dedicated account team.
Five cost layers that stack on every call
Vapi pricing is not a single number. Every live call passes through five billing layers. Understanding each layer is the difference between an accurate budget and a surprise invoice.
| Layer | What It Covers | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Vapi Hosting | Orchestration and runtime for calls | $0.05 per minute (Build) |
| Speech-to-Text | Transcribing caller audio | Provider passthrough at cost |
| Language Model | Reasoning and response generation | Provider passthrough at cost |
| Text-to-Speech | Voice synthesis for agent responses | Provider passthrough at cost |
| Telephony | Phone number and carrier/PSTN costs | Billed separately per number and minute |
Vapi passes provider costs through at cost. If you bring your own API keys, Vapi stops billing you for that provider entirely. You are charged directly by the provider instead. This removes the platform markup on model costs, leaving only the $0.05 per minute hosting fee plus whatever your providers charge you directly.
Bring your own keys to control provider costs
Vapi’s bring-your-own-key model is the single most important feature for cost control. Here is how it works.
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Connect your provider keys in the Vapi dashboard
Navigate to the Integrations tab in the Vapi dashboard. Add your API keys for speech-to-text, language model, text-to-speech, and cloud storage providers.
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Validate each key
Once a provider key is validated, Vapi stops billing you for that provider. You are charged directly by the provider instead.
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Choose the model in your assistant configuration
Your assistant continues to reference the provider and model as before. Vapi handles the routing. You handle the provider billing separately.
The net effect is that your all-in cost drops to roughly $0.13 to $0.31 per minute depending on which providers you select and whether you bring your own keys. The $0.05 hosting fee is the only constant.
Ready to Test the Cost Math?
Create your Vapi account, add your provider keys, and run a test call. The dashboard shows the exact cost breakdown for every call so you can model your own numbers.
Concurrent call pricing for after-hours coverage
Call concurrency is the number of Vapi calls that can be active at the same time. Every Vapi account includes 10 concurrent call lines on the Build plan. Additional lines are $10 per line per month. All inbound and outbound calls share the organization’s capacity.
| Plan | Included Concurrent Lines | Additional Lines |
|---|---|---|
| Build | 10 | $10 per line per month |
| Scale | Custom | Volume-based |
| Usage only (Success Package) | 4 | Available as add-on |
| Core (Success Package) | 10 | Available as add-on |
| Pro (Success Package) | 30 | Available as add-on |
Concurrency is the metric that determines how many simultaneous calls your voice agent can handle. A brokerage expecting 20 calls at 2 AM needs 20 concurrent lines. A clinic that peaks at 8 calls per hour needs far fewer. Size the concurrency to your peak, not your average.
Optional support tiers that sit on top of usage billing
Success Packages are optional subscriptions that complement usage-based billing. They add higher support, service commitments, larger capacity, and compliance options. Usage-based billing remains active when you add Core, Pro, or Premier.
| Package | Support | Service Commitments | Concurrent Lines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Usage only | Documentation and Discord community | No SLA | 4 |
| Core | Email support | 2-business-day response SLA | 10 |
| Pro | Dedicated Slack channel | 1-business-day response, 99% uptime SLA | 30 |
| Premier | Named support team | 1-hour P0 response, 99.9% uptime SLA | Custom |
Core has a fixed monthly price. Pro pricing scales with Vapi hosting spend and has a monthly minimum. Premier pricing and terms depend on your agreement. All Success Packages include higher data retention, more Vapi phone numbers, and role-based access control depending on the tier.
Compliance and capacity add-ons
Add-ons increase a specific capability without replacing usage-based billing or your Success Package. The table below lists the current add-ons available on both Build and Scale plans.
| Add-On | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| HIPAA Compliance | $2,000 per month | Available on Build and Scale. Requires signed BAA. HIPAA mode and Zero Data Retention are mutually exclusive. |
| Zero Data Retention | $1,000 per month | Available on Build and Scale. Stops Vapi from storing call content entirely. Cannot be enabled at the same time as HIPAA mode. |
| Additional Concurrency | $10 per line per month | Build plan only. Purchase from Billing and Add-Ons in the dashboard. |
| Vapi Phone Numbers | Included per tier, extras billed separately | 1 included on Usage only, 5 on Core, 10 on Pro. |
For healthcare deployments, the HIPAA add-on is mandatory. Our HIPAA voice AI setup guide walks through the full configuration, including the Business Associate Agreement requirements and the PHI handling rules that sit on top of the platform add-on.
What a realistic monthly bill looks like
The following example models a freight brokerage running 10,000 voice agent minutes per month with a typical provider stack (Deepgram Nova-3, GPT-4o-mini, and a mid-tier TTS voice) and 20 concurrent lines. Numbers are illustrative and actual bills vary by usage and provider selection.
Example Monthly Bill – Freight Brokerage
- Vapi hosting – 10,000 minutes @ $0.05$500.00
- Deepgram Nova-3 STT – 10,000 minutes @ approximately $0.0058$58.00
- GPT-4o-mini LLM – 10,000 minutes @ approximately $0.02$200.00
- TTS voice – 10,000 minutes @ approximately $0.01$100.00
- Telephony – 10,000 minutes @ approximately $0.01$100.00
- Additional concurrency – 10 lines @ $10$100.00
A solo operator running a low-volume voice agent with 500 minutes per month lands under $50 total. A clinic running 2,000 minutes per month for intake and scheduling lands around $250. A high-volume brokerage running 20,000 minutes per month with additional concurrency lands between $2,000 and $2,500. The plan fee is the floor, not the ceiling.
What HIPAA adds to the bill
The HIPAA add-on is $2,000 per month on both Build and Scale plans. Zero Data Retention is a separate $1,000 per month add-on. HIPAA mode and Zero Data Retention cannot both be enabled at the same time.
Enabling HIPAA mode requires a signed Business Associate Agreement with Vapi. It also restricts the organization to HIPAA-compliant providers for every assistant. If you are using non-compliant providers, you will need to switch them before HIPAA mode will activate.
HIPAA cost example
A clinic running 2,000 voice agent minutes per month with a compliant provider stack would pay the following:
HIPAA add-on: $2,000 per month
Vapi hosting: 2,000 minutes at $0.05 = $100
Provider costs (STT, LLM, TTS): 2,000 minutes at approximately $0.04 = $80
Telephony: 2,000 minutes at approximately $0.01 = $20
Total: $2,200 per month
The HIPAA add-on represents the majority of the bill at this volume. At higher volumes, the add-on becomes a smaller percentage of the total. Practices that need HIPAA compliance should budget for the add-on as a fixed monthly cost on top of usage.
Common Questions About Vapi Pricing
How much does Vapi cost in 2026?
Vapi offers two plans in 2026. The Build plan is usage-based at $0.05 per minute for Vapi hosting, plus model provider costs passed through at cost. The Scale plan is an annual contract with a fixed platform fee and volume-based per-minute pricing. Build includes 10 concurrent call lines, then $10 per line per month for additional lines.
Does the $0.05 per minute rate cover the full cost of a voice agent?
No. The $0.05 per minute rate covers only Vapi’s hosting and orchestration layer. Speech-to-text, language model, text-to-speech, and telephony costs are billed separately. With a typical provider stack, the all-in cost lands between $0.13 and $0.31 per minute depending on the providers selected. If you bring your own API keys for those providers, you pay the provider directly instead.
What is Vapi’s bring-your-own-key model?
Vapi allows you to add your own API keys for speech-to-text, language model, and text-to-speech providers. Once a provider key is validated in the Vapi dashboard, Vapi stops billing you for that provider. You are charged directly by the provider instead. This removes the platform markup on model costs entirely, leaving only the $0.05 per minute hosting fee.
How much does Vapi’s HIPAA add-on cost?
Vapi’s HIPAA add-on costs $2,000 per month on both the Build and Scale plans. Zero Data Retention is a separate add-on priced at $1,000 per month. HIPAA mode and Zero Data Retention are mutually exclusive and cannot both be enabled at the same time.
How much does Vapi charge for additional concurrent calls?
Every Vapi account includes 10 concurrent call lines on the Build plan. Additional lines are $10 per line per month. If you need more capacity for peak traffic, you purchase reserved concurrency from Billing and Add-Ons in the dashboard. All inbound and outbound calls share the organization’s concurrency capacity.
What are Vapi Success Packages?
Success Packages are optional subscriptions that complement usage-based billing. Core has a fixed monthly price and adds email support with a two-business-day response SLA. Pro scales with Vapi hosting spend, has a monthly minimum, and adds a dedicated Slack channel with one-business-day response and 99 percent uptime SLAs. Premier includes a named support team with one-hour P0 response and 99.9 percent uptime SLAs.
Is there a free tier for Vapi?
Vapi does not currently offer a permanent free tier. The Build plan includes 60 or more free minutes before usage-based billing begins. Vapi also runs a startup grant program that lists up to 90,000 free minutes, 7,500 minutes per month for 12 months, dedicated Slack support, and priority feature access. Applications for the startup grant are currently on hold.
Where can I verify this pricing?
All pricing on this page is sourced from public Vapi documentation, including the official Vapi pricing page, the Pricing and Success Packages documentation, and the Provider Keys documentation. Prices may change; always confirm current pricing on the official Vapi site.
Ready to Deploy on Vapi?
Create your Vapi account, connect your provider keys, and run your first production voice agent. The blueprints walk through the full configuration for each vertical.