Pricing breakdown
Vapi Pricing (2026): Build & Scale Plans, Real Cost Per Minute
A clear-eyed look at Vapi pricing for 2026 — what the usage-based Build plan actually charges, how the Scale plan works for enterprise volume, and what the real all-in cost per minute looks like once you add speech-to-text, LLM and text-to-speech provider fees. For the full feature verdict, read our Vapi overview and rating and see how it stacks up in Vapi vs Retell AI.
Table of contents
Pricing overview
Vapi runs on a usage-based model rather than fixed subscription tiers. The self-serve Build plan has no monthly minimum — you pay a $0.05/minute Vapi platform fee plus your STT, LLM and TTS provider costs, either passed through at cost or free if you bring your own provider API keys. The Scale plan replaces this with a custom annual contract: a fixed platform fee, committed volume, volume-based per-minute pricing, and enterprise features like SOC 2, HIPAA, PCI, SSO and RBAC. Because pricing and provider costs change, treat the figures below as a snapshot and confirm current numbers on the official Vapi pricing page.
Build vs Scale plans
| Plan | Price | Best for | Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Build | $0.05/min (Vapi fee) + provider costs at cost | Solo developers and small teams starting fast, no contract | No base subscription. 10 concurrent calls included, then $10/line/month. $0.005/message for SMS/chat. 14-day call data retention, 30-day chat retention. Community Discord + email support. |
| Scale | Custom — annual contract | Enterprises needing committed volume, compliance and an SLA | Fixed platform fee with committed volume and volume-based per-minute pricing. Custom concurrency and customizable data retention. SOC 2, HIPAA, PCI, SSO, RBAC and enterprise-grade uptime SLA. Dedicated account team with a named support engineer. |
Prices verified July 2026. Always confirm the latest figures on the official Vapi pricing page.
Real cost breakdown
The headline "$0.05/minute" is only Vapi's own platform fee. A real voice agent also needs speech-to-text, an LLM and text-to-speech, each billed by its own provider — passed through at cost by Vapi, or free if you supply your own provider API keys. Independent reviews estimate the realistic all-in cost lands closer to $0.30-$0.33/minute on the Build plan once those providers are added.
| Component | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Vapi platform fee | $0.05/min | Charged on every call regardless of provider choice. |
| Speech-to-text (STT) | At cost (pass-through) | $0 extra if you bring your own STT provider API key. |
| LLM | At cost (pass-through) | $0 extra if you bring your own LLM provider API key. |
| Text-to-speech (TTS) | At cost (pass-through) | $0 extra if you bring your own TTS provider API key. |
| Realistic all-in cost | ~$0.30–$0.33/min | Independent reviews' estimate once STT + LLM + TTS + telephony are added on Build. |
| Concurrency | 10 lines included, then $10/line/mo | Self-serve Build plan. |
| SMS / chat | $0.005/message | Build plan chat agent pricing. |
Compliance add-ons
Two compliance add-ons apply on top of either plan, priced flat per month rather than per minute:
| Add-on | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| HIPAA | $2,000/month | Available on both Build and Scale plans. |
| Zero Data Retention | $1,000/month | Available on both Build and Scale plans. |
Which plan should you choose?
- • Build — solo developers, indie builders and small teams validating a voice agent without a contract.
- • Build + bring-your-own provider keys — teams who want to minimize pass-through provider costs and control their own STT/LLM/TTS stack.
- • Scale — enterprises with committed call volume that need SOC 2, HIPAA, PCI, SSO, RBAC and a dedicated account team with an SLA.
- • Compliance add-ons — regulated industries (healthcare, finance) that specifically need HIPAA or Zero Data Retention on top of either plan.
Is Vapi worth it?
For developers who want flexibility to choose their own STT/LLM/TTS stack and a platform proven at real enterprise scale, Vapi is worth evaluating — the no-contract Build plan makes it cheap to test before committing further. The value case weakens if you expected the advertised $0.05/minute to be the full story, since realistic all-in costs run closer to $0.30+/minute, or if you need a fully proprietary, single-vendor stack with published enterprise pricing, where a tool like Retell AI may fit better. See our Vapi vs Retell AI comparison for that trade-off.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Vapi cost?
The self-serve Build plan is usage-based: $0.05/minute in Vapi platform fees plus STT/LLM/TTS provider costs passed through at cost (or $0 if you bring your own provider API keys), $10/line/month for concurrency above 10 lines, and $0.005/message for SMS. The Scale plan is a custom annual contract with a fixed platform fee and volume-based per-minute pricing.
Is Vapi's real cost higher than the advertised $0.05/minute?
Yes. The $0.05/minute figure is only Vapi's own platform fee. Once you add speech-to-text, an LLM and text-to-speech provider costs, independent reviews put realistic all-in costs around $0.30-0.33/minute unless you bring your own provider keys.
Can I use my own STT, LLM or TTS provider with Vapi?
Yes. Vapi supports bringing your own provider API keys, in which case provider costs are passed through at cost — you only pay Vapi's own per-minute platform fee plus whatever your provider charges directly.
What do the HIPAA and Zero Data Retention add-ons cost?
HIPAA support is a $2,000/month add-on and Zero Data Retention is a $1,000/month add-on, available on both the Build and Scale plans.
Does Vapi require a contract?
No — the self-serve Build plan is pay-as-you-go with no long-term contract. The Scale plan is a custom annual contract intended for enterprises with committed volume and compliance requirements.
Does Vapi offer a free trial?
Vapi's site references trying the platform for free, though an exact free credit amount isn't published on the official pricing page — confirm current trial terms directly on vapi.ai before building a cost model.
How do I cancel a Vapi subscription?
There's no self-service cancellation flow — canceling or removing payment details requires contacting support by email or through Vapi's Discord community, and some users report multi-day response times.