Vapi · Alternatives · Checked Oct 27, 2026
Vapi alternatives: cheaper voice AI platforms compared by real cost
The main Vapi AI alternatives by cost are Retell AI ($0.055/min voice infra, 20 concurrent calls included), Bland AI ($0.14/min bundled) and GoHighLevel Voice AI ($0.10/min speech-to-speech). Teams leave Vapi because included concurrency is only 4 / 10 / 30, then lines or Core, on top of hosting. At 1,000 minutes Vapi costs $110.80–$157.90.
Vapi alternatives at a glance
| # | Platform | From | Monthly fee | At 1,000 min | vs Vapi | Concurrency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vapi Current | $0.05 /min | $0–$29 /mo | $110.80–$157.90 | — | 4 / 10 / 30 |
| 2 |  Deepgram Voice Agent API | $0.075 /min | Pay as you go | $84.65 | −$26.15 | 45 |
| 3 |  Retell AI | $0.055 /min | $0 /mo | $99.80 | −$11.00 | 20 |
| 4 |  GoHighLevel Voice AI | $0.045 /min | $97 /mo | $100.00 | −$10.80 | Not published |
| 5 |  ElevenLabs Agents | $0.08 /min | $0–$990 /mo | $102.45 | −$8.35 | 4–40 |
| 6 |  Bland AI | $0.14 /min | $0–$299 /mo | $149.65 | +$38.85 | 10–50 |
At 1,000 minutes on our stated stack. Vapi is a range. Sorted by the low end, with the current tool pinned first. Monthly or plan fee Sources: retellai.com · Oct 27, 2026; bland.ai · Oct 27, 2026; elevenlabs.io · Oct 27, 2026; help.gohighlevel.com · Oct 27, 2026; deepgram.com · Oct 27, 2026
Vapi pricing in one table
Hosting is $0.05/min. Providers are at cost ($0.0095–$0.0099/min STT, $0.0077–$0.0452/min LLM, $0.0146–$0.0238/min voice). Concurrency is 4 / 10 / 30. Core is $29/month. At 1,000 minutes and 10 concurrent calls the total is $110.80–$157.90. Full page: Vapi pricing.
Vapi alternatives compared by cost
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.
| Platform | 500 min | 1k min | 5k min | 10k min | $/min @1k |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retell AI | $50.90 | $99.80 | $491.00 | $980.00 | $0.0998 |
| Vapi | $69.90 to $93.45 | $110.80 to $157.90 | $438.00 to $673.50 | $847.00 to $1,318.00 | $0.1108 to $0.1579 |
| Bland AI | $75.40 Start | $149.65 Start | $743.65 Start | $1,585.15 Build | $0.1497 |
| ElevenLabs Agents | $51.80 Creator | $102.45 Creator | $507.61 Pro | $1,014.11 Pro | $0.1024 |
| GHL Voice AI, speech-to-speech | $50.00 | $100.00 | $500.00 | $1,000.00 | $0.10 |
| GHL Voice AI, engine + TTS + LLM | $36.40 | $72.80 | $364.00 | $728.00 | $0.0728 |
| Deepgram Voice Agent API | $42.90 | $84.65 | $418.65 | $836.15 | $0.0847 |
Scenario: 10 concurrent calls, 3-minute inbound calls, one US number. 500 min/mo. 1,000 min/mo. 5,000 min/mo. 10,000 min/mo. Per min at 1,000 Sources: retellai.com · Oct 27, 2026; vapi.ai · Oct 27, 2026; bland.ai · Oct 27, 2026; elevenlabs.io · Oct 27, 2026; help.gohighlevel.com · Oct 27, 2026; deepgram.com · Oct 27, 2026
The alternatives, one by one
Retell AI
Retell charges $0.055/min for voice infra, with LLM, voice and telephony on top. It includes 20 concurrent calls, and extra lines are $8/concurrent call/month. Full breakdown: Retell AI pricing.
Switch cost at 1,000 minutes: $99.80 versus $110.80–$157.90 on Vapi, a change of −$58.10 to −$11.00 a month.
Bland AI
Bland bundles the LLM, transcription and voice at $0.14/min on Start or $0.12/min on Build ($299/month). Telephony is separate: Not published by Bland. Page says Bland's built-in Twilio is 'pass-through cost'; no figure stated. Start is capped at 10 concurrent; 100 calls/day; 100 calls/hour; 1 voice; 10 KBs. Bland AI pricing.
Switch cost at 1,000 minutes: a change of −$8.25 to +$38.85 a month.
ElevenLabs Agents
Extra minutes are $0.08/min. The LLM is Not published by ElevenLabs. LLM billed separately by model, 'shown in the platform's user interface'; not on public page. A 10-call setup needs a plan with enough concurrency; Free is 4 concurrent calls and Creator is 10 concurrent calls. ElevenLabs Agents pricing.
Switch cost at 1,000 minutes: a change of −$55.45 to −$8.35 a month.
Try ElevenLabs AgentsAffiliate link
GoHighLevel Voice AI
The Voice Engine is $0.045/min, or $0.10/min on speech-to-speech. Unlimited is $97/month per sub-account. Phone is GoHighLevel lists LC Phone rates in a separate pricing guide; our totals exclude phone. GoHighLevel Voice AI pricing.
Switch cost at 1,000 minutes, speech-to-speech, phone excluded: a change of −$57.90 to −$10.80 a month.
Start a GoHighLevel free trialAffiliate link
Deepgram Voice Agent API
Deepgram bundles STT, LLM and voice at $0.075/min on the Standard tier. It is an API: you bring telephony. Standard allows 45 concurrent connections.
Switch cost at 1,000 minutes: a change of −$73.25 to −$26.15 a month.
Open-source and self-hosted Vapi alternatives
These are frameworks, not hosted platforms. You pay for the STT, LLM, TTS, telephony and servers yourself.
| Project | License |
|---|---|
 LiveKit Agents | Apache-2.0 |
 Pipecat | BSD-2-Clause |
 Dograh | BSD-2-Clause |
Sources: github.com · Oct 27, 2026; github.com · Oct 27, 2026; github.com · Oct 27, 2026
A rough floor: Deepgram's bundled API is $0.075/min, and Twilio inbound local is $0.0085/min.
How we picked
- Published prices only. A missing figure stays Not published.
- Same stack and the same calculator at 500 to 10,000 minutes.
- Order is cost and fit. Commissions do not move a row.
| Platform | Affiliate status |
|---|---|
| Retell AI | Yes. 15% for 12 months. Tracking link not connected. |
| Bland AI | No public program. |
| ElevenLabs Agents | Yes. 22% on Starter through Scale, 11% on Business, for 12 months. Enterprise excluded. The button on this page is a live /go/elevenlabs link. |
| GoHighLevel Voice AI | Yes. 40% recurring. The $97 Starter plan is not named in the policy. The button on this page is a live /go/ghl link. |
| Deepgram | None checked. |
| Vapi | Applications on hold. This page has no Vapi affiliate link. |
Vapi vs Retell AI · Calculator preset
FAQ
What is the cheapest Vapi alternative?
On our same-stack model at 1,000 minutes, GHL's engine pipeline ($72.80 before phone) and Deepgram's Voice Agent API ($84.65) came out lowest. GHL's phone rate is not published, and Deepgram needs your own telephony.
Is there a free Vapi alternative?
LiveKit Agents, Pipecat and Dograh are free to use, and you still pay for models and telephony. Hosted credit: Retell $10 credits (one-time), ElevenLabs 15 min/month, Deepgram $200.
Is there an open-source Vapi alternative?
Yes. LiveKit Agents (Apache-2.0), Pipecat (BSD-2-Clause) and Dograh (BSD-2-Clause).