Vapi · Retell AI · Compare · Checked Oct 27, 2026
Vapi vs Retell AI pricing: which is cheaper for your call volume?
On the same stack with 10 concurrent calls, Retell AI is cheaper at 500 and 1,000 minutes a month ($99.80 versus $110.80–$157.90 at 1,000). From 5,000 minutes, Vapi's low end is cheaper and its high end is not. Vapi charges $0.05/min hosting; Retell charges $0.055/min for voice infra. Checked Oct 27, 2026.
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Vapi vs Retell AI pricing at a glance
| Minutes/month | Vapi | Retell AI | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 | $69.90 to $93.45 | $50.90 | Retell Retell cheaper |
| 1,000 | $110.80 to $157.90 | $99.80 | Retell Retell cheaper |
| 5,000 | $438.00 to $673.50 | $491.00 | Depends Vapi cheaper at the low end; Retell cheaper than Vapi's high end |
| 10,000 | $847.00 to $1,318.00 | $980.00 | Depends Vapi cheaper at the low end; Retell cheaper than Vapi's high end |
Vapi (10 concurrent, Core). Retell AI (10 concurrent). Which is cheaper
Per-minute components side by side
| Item | Vapi | Retell AI |
|---|---|---|
| Platform fee per minute | $0.05/min | $0.055 /min |
| Transcriber / STT | $0.0095–$0.0099/min | No separate STT line on retellai.com/pricing |
| LLM | $0.0077–$0.0452/min | $0.0128 /min |
| Voice (TTS) | $0.0146–$0.0238/min | $0.015 /min |
| Telephony | Bring your own carrier No Vapi fee on your own SIP; carriers bill you: Twilio $0.008/min in, $0.014/min out; Vonage $0.00814/min; Telnyx $0.0055/min | $0.015 /min |
| Monthly fee | $0 (usage only); Core $29/month adds concurrency | $0 /mo |
| Free credit | $5 credits | $10 credits one-time |
| Concurrency included | 4 / 10 / 30 | 20 concurrent calls |
| Extra concurrency | $10/line/month | $8/concurrent call /mo |
| Phone number | Not published Vapi lists carrier pass-through, not a number fee | $2 /mo |
Sources: vapi.ai · Oct 27, 2026; retellai.com · Oct 27, 2026
Cost at 500, 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000 minutes (same stack)
Scenario (our assumptions, not vendor figures): inbound calls on one US local number; average call 3 minutes; the business needs 10 calls at once; a GPT-4.1-mini-class LLM; each platform's cheapest published voice. Where a platform bills the LLM by token and publishes no per-minute figure, we use Retell's published GPT 4.1 mini rate ($0.0128/min) as a stand-in and label it assumption. Vapi uses the low and high ends of its own calculator for STT, LLM and voice. Retell uses GPT 4.1 mini, a platform voice and Retell Twilio.
Full line items: Vapi pricing and Retell pricing. Presets: Vapi and Retell.
Concurrency: included calls differ
| Calls at once | Vapi | Retell AI |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| 10 | Core $29.00 or 6 × $10.00/line = $60.00 | $0.00 |
| 20 | Pro (10% of hosting fee, $999 minimum) or Core + 10 lines = $129.00 | $0.00 |
| 30 | Pro (10% of hosting fee, $999 minimum) or Core + 20 lines = $229.00 | 10 × $8.00 = $80.00 |
Sources: vapi.ai · Oct 27, 2026; retellai.com · Oct 27, 2026
Phone numbers, HIPAA and packages
- Numbers: No Vapi fee on your own SIP; carriers bill you: Twilio $0.008/min in, $0.014/min out; Vonage $0.00814/min; Telnyx $0.0055/min. Retell numbers are $2/month.
- Vapi extras: HIPAA is $2,000/month. Extra organizations are $20/org/month. Usage is paid from prepaid credits.
- Retell extras: Batch call +$0.005/dial; branded call +$0.10/outbound call; verified number $10/number/month + one-time $10; Retell SMS $20/month; KB $8/KB/month after 10 free; SMS $0.01/msg; silence and hold time are billed.
- Outbound: Retell batch calls are inside that fee list. Twilio outbound local is $0.014/min.
Our test calls on both
We have not run billed test calls on Vapi and Retell. This phase records list prices only: no sign-ups and no spend. Until a billed call is logged, the tables above are the sourced model, not a measured invoice.
Pick Vapi if… / Pick Retell AI if…
Pick Vapi if you want to choose every provider, you run only the free concurrent lines, or you are at 5,000+ minutes on a cheap model and voice, where Vapi’s low end wins on our model.
Pick Retell AI if you need 10–20 concurrent calls without a package fee, or you run under about 1,000 minutes a month on this stack.
Vapi alternatives · Retell AI alternatives · ElevenLabs Agents pricing
FAQ
Is Vapi cheaper than Retell?
At 500 and 1,000 minutes with 10 concurrent calls, no: Retell was cheaper on our same-stack model ($99.80 versus $110.80–$157.90). At 5,000 minutes and up, Vapi's low end is cheaper.
Which includes more concurrent calls?
Retell includes 20 concurrent calls. Vapi includes 4 / 10 / 30 depending on the package.
Do Vapi and Retell charge for phone numbers?
Vapi adds no telephony fee on your own SIP; carriers bill you (Twilio $0.008/min in, $0.014/min out). A Retell number is $2/month.
Sources
- vapi.ai ·
- retellai.com ·
- twilio.com ·