Vapi

Vapi is a platform for developers building voice AI agents. It handles the hard parts of a live voice conversation (speech recognition, the AI model, the voice, interruptions and phone lines) and lets you choose the provider for each, such as Deepgram, OpenAI, Anthropic or ElevenLabs. You build agents through its API, SDKs, CLI or dashboard and connect them to phone numbers, websites or apps.

Pick it when a developer or agency is building a custom voice product and wants full control over models, voices and logic. Retell AI is easier for non-developers who want a phone receptionist set up quickly; Agentforce suits Salesforce shops.

The catch: the $0.05 a minute headline is only Vapi's hosting fee. Once you add the speech, model, voice and phone costs, typical calls cost several times that. Reviews from production users mention slow support and things breaking after updates, so test carefully and keep a fallback.

• Developers
• Voice AI agencies
• Startups
• Product teams

Developers and voice AI agencies building custom phone or in-app voice agents.

• Bring your own providers

  Pick the transcriber, AI model and voice for each agent, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Deepgram and ElevenLabs.

• Phone and web

  Connect agents to phone numbers, SIP lines, websites and mobile apps.

• Tools and actions

  Agents call your APIs mid-conversation to look things up, book or transfer.

• Workflows

  Build multi-step conversations visually or in code.

• Testing and monitoring

  Run test calls, review transcripts and track performance.

• Developer tools

  API, SDKs, CLI and an MCP server so you can build agents from your code editor.

• Our pick

  Pay as you go

  $0.05/min hosting, plus provider costs

  Developers building and testing.

  • $5 in free credits
  • 4 concurrent calls and 1 phone number
  • Community support

• Core

  $29/mo plus usage

  Builders and early teams going live.

  • 10 concurrent calls, 5 phone numbers
  • Zero data retention option
  • Email support

• Pro

  10% of hosting fee, $999/mo minimum

  Teams running voice agents in production at scale.

  • 30 concurrent calls
  • Dedicated Slack support
  • 99% uptime SLA

• Premier

  Custom

  Large organisations.

  • Named support team
  • SSO and 99.9% uptime SLA

Prices in USD unless noted, checked 22 October 2026. Vendors change plans often, so confirm on their site before you buy.

Ways Vapi can slot into your week.

1. 1

   Custom AI receptionist

   An agency builds a receptionist that checks a client's booking system through its API and books jobs on the call.

2. 2

   Voice in your app

   A startup adds a voice assistant to its web app that answers questions and fills in forms by voice.

3. 3

   Outbound qualification

   Call new leads within minutes of a form fill, ask qualifying questions and push results to the CRM.

4. 4

   Build from your editor

   Use Claude Code with Vapi's MCP server or CLI to create and update agents from code.

It is the voice layer in a developer's stack: you bring the AI model, voice and phone provider, and connect it to your own systems through APIs or n8n and Make.

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