LiveKit vs Vapi — Pricing, Plans, and Verified Costs (2026)
LiveKit starts at $50/mo. Vapi starts at Free. Vapi is $50/mo cheaper on the entry tier than LiveKit.
How pricing works
These two tools don't price the same way, so the headline numbers below aren't directly comparable until you plug in your own volume.
- LiveKit (Hybrid) — LiveKit is hybrid: a fixed subscription from $50/mo plus metered usage on top. Your real bill moves with volume, not seat count.
- Vapi (Per Usage) — Vapi bills purely on usage — PAYG. There is no fixed per-seat fee, so the monthly cost depends entirely on how much you consume.
Per-minute, per-credit and per-token rates exclude any downstream model, speech or telephony costs unless the vendor states otherwise.
Open-source real-time audio/video infrastructure. LiveKit powers WebRTC for voice, video, and AI agent applications. Cloud pricing: Free tier (100 max concurrent participants, 10K minutes/mo), Build $50/mo (500 participants, 150K minutes), Ship $500/mo (3K participants, 1.5M minutes), Enterprise custom. Self-hosted is fully free (Apache 2.0). LiveKit Agents framework powers voice AI at OpenAI (ChatGPT Advanced Voice), Character.ai, and many voice startups.
Voice AI agent platform for developers building conversational voice apps. Base orchestration at $0.05/minute PAYG (STT/LLM/TTS/telephony billed separately, ~$0.07–0.25/min all-in). 10 concurrent lines included; extra lines $10/mo each. HIPAA add-on $2K/mo, ZDR $1K/mo. Enterprise starts $40K–70K/year. Backed by Bessemer and Y Combinator. Direct competitor to Retell AI and Bland AI.
All plans compared
| Tier role | Plan | LiveKit monthly | LiveKit annual | Vapi monthly | Vapi annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free / starter | Self-hosted / PAYG | Free | Free | Free | Free |
| Entry paid | Ship / — | $50 | $50 | — | — |
| Pro / power | Scale / — | $500 | $500 | — | — |
| Enterprise | Enterprise | Custom | Custom | $3333 | $3333 |
Tier names differ across vendors. Rows are aligned by tier role, not name. Full tier structures on each tool's page.
What each is best for
LiveKit is worth it if… developers building real-time voice or video features into their products — voice AI agents, video conferencing, live streams. 0).
Vapi is worth it if… developers who want maximum control over the voice stack — swap any STT, LLM, TTS, or telephony provider without vendor lock-in. 05/min is the lowest orchestration fee in the category, but the real cost is what you stack on top.
Bottom line: Choose based on how you want to pay — LiveKit is hybrid, Vapi is per usage.
Choose LiveKit over Vapi if…
Choose LiveKit if…
- You're fine with a base subscription plus metered usage on top (from $50/mo).
- You match the profile LiveKit is built for: developers building real-time voice or video features into their products — voice AI agents, video conferencing, live streams.
- You need a general-purpose voice agents & speech/audio option rather than a vertical-specific one.
Choose Vapi if…
- You want a fully open voice stack — swap STT, LLM, TTS, or telephony providers freely.
- You're a developer prioritising maximum control over opinionated defaults.
- You need HIPAA or zero-data-retention compliance without switching platforms.
At a glance
| LiveKit | Vapi | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Entry price | $50/mo | Free |
| Enterprise available | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing model | Hybrid | Per Usage |
| Last verified | September 20, 2026 | September 10, 2026 |
| Full pricing | View full pricing | View full pricing |
Pricing last verified September 20, 2026. Tracked daily.