PolyAI vs Vapi — Pricing, Plans, and Verified Costs (2026)
Vapi starts at Free. PolyAI uses custom pricing — request a quote to compare.
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.
- PolyAI (Per Usage) — PolyAI bills purely on usage. There is no fixed per-seat fee, so the monthly cost depends entirely on how much you consume.
- 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.
Enterprise voice AI for customer-facing conversational agents in contact centers. Enterprise-only, all pricing custom-quoted. Focus on large enterprises (banks, retail, healthcare) replacing IVR trees with conversational voice agents. Deployed by JetBlue, Marks & Spencer, PG&E and other Fortune 500 brands.
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 | PolyAI monthly | PolyAI annual | Vapi monthly | Vapi annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free / starter | — / PAYG | — | — | Free | Free |
| 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
PolyAI is worth it if… enterprises replacing legacy IVR (press 1 for support) with natural-language voice agents that can handle multi-turn conversations. Deals typically start at $250K/year and go into the millions for high-volume deployments.
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: Similar positioning, closer to a preference call than a strategic one.
Choose PolyAI over Vapi if…
Choose PolyAI if…
- You want to pay only for actual usage (per usage, custom pricing).
- You match the profile PolyAI is built for: enterprises replacing legacy IVR (press 1 for support) with natural-language voice agents that can handle multi-turn conversations.
- You're building for healthcare and contact centers.
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
| PolyAI | Vapi | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Entry price | Custom | Free |
| Enterprise available | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing model | Per Usage | 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.