Telnyx vs Vapi: tool pricing compared
Updated 2026-11-10 · listed A to Z, not ranked
Telnyx is a telecom carrier with APIs for messaging, voice, numbers and AI inference. Its published prices split each service into separate invoice lines: Telnyx’s own rate, plus pass-through fees such as carrier fees or the SIP trunk a call rides on.
Vapi is a platform for building voice AI agents. A call’s cost is Vapi’s own hosting fee plus the providers you pick for transcription, the language model and the voice, which Vapi passes through at cost, plus telephony if you use an outside carrier.
Listed A to Z, from telnyx.com and vapi.ai. Every figure below is quoted from those pages.
- Main price table
- Send outbound, Receive inbound
- Free option
- None in the published plan table
- Published prices
- SMS from $0.004 per part plus carrier fees, voice API $0.002 per minute plus SIP trunking, volume tiers, and its x402 route.
- Main price table
- Vapi hosting, Transcriber, model, voice, Vapi telephony / SIP, WebSockets, Daily WebRTC, Twilio inbound / outbound (charged by the carrier), Vonage / Telnyx (charged by the carrier)
- Free option
- Vapi telephony / SIP, WebSockets, Daily WebRTC: Free
- Published prices
- $0.05 per minute Vapi hosting, provider costs passed through at cost, Core $29 and Pro $999 packages, concurrency and add-ons.
How we checked: Prices quoted from each official pricing page: Telnyx checked Nov 10, 2026, Vapi checked Nov 10, 2026. Taxes, usage overages and promotions can change what you pay; confirm with each provider before you buy.
How they compare
- Main price table. Telnyx lists 2 entries (Send outbound, Receive inbound); Vapi lists 5 (Vapi hosting, Transcriber, model, voice, Vapi telephony / SIP, WebSockets, Daily WebRTC, Twilio inbound / outbound (charged by the carrier), Vonage / Telnyx (charged by the carrier)).
- Free option. Telnyx: none in the published plan table. Vapi: Vapi telephony / SIP, WebSockets, Daily WebRTC: Free.
- How prices are quoted. Telnyx: “SMS and MMS (US, pay as you go)”. Vapi: “What a minute is made of”.
Telnyx plans and prices
| Direction | SMS | MMS |
|---|---|---|
| Send outbound | $0.004 per message part + carrier fee | $0.015 per message part + carrier fee |
| Receive inbound | $0.004 per message part + carrier fee | $0.005 per message part + carrier fee |
Charged per message part. Carrier pass-through fees are listed by carrier on the same page (for example $0.0035 to $0.0045 per SMS part for most large US carriers). Above 100M messages a month, outbound rates step down automatically, for example SMS to $0.0020 per part for the next 150M.
| Line | Price |
|---|---|
| Outbound calls | $0.002 per minute + the SIP trunking fee for outbound calls |
| Inbound on a local or toll-free number | $0.002 per minute + the SIP trunking fee for inbound calls |
| Call recording | $0.002 per minute |
| Conference calls | $0.002 per participant, per minute |
| Call transfer | $0.10 per invocation |
| Standard / premium answering machine detection | $0.002 / $0.0065 per call |
| Telnyx speech-to-text | $0.015 per minute |
Telnyx’s own worked example on the page uses $0.005 per minute for outbound and $0.0032 per minute for inbound SIP trunking. Phone numbers are priced separately (from $1.00 per number per month on its numbers page).
From telnyx.com, checked Nov 10, 2026. Full breakdown: Telnyx pricing.
Vapi plans and prices
| Line | Price on vapi.ai/pricing |
|---|---|
| Vapi hosting | $0.05 per minute (prepaid) |
| Transcriber, model, voice | Passed through at the provider’s cost, no markup |
| Vapi telephony / SIP, WebSockets, Daily WebRTC | Free |
| Twilio inbound / outbound (charged by the carrier) | $0.008 / $0.014 per minute |
| Vonage / Telnyx (charged by the carrier) | $0.00814 / $0.0055 per minute |
New accounts get $5 in free credits. Vapi’s calculator shows ranges for one example setup: Deepgram transcriber $0.0095–$0.0099, OpenAI model $0.0077–$0.0452 and ElevenLabs voice $0.0146–$0.0238 per minute; its 1,000-minute example totals $82–$129 a month (Nov 3, 2026).
| Package | Price | Concurrent calls | Included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Usage only | Pay per minute | 4 | 2 organizations, 1 Vapi phone number, 14 days data retention |
| Core | $29 / month | 10 | 5 Vapi numbers, 30 days retention, ZDR, 2 business day email SLA |
| Pro | 10% of the Vapi hosting fee, $999 / month minimum | 30 | 10 numbers, 180 days retention, Slack support, 99% uptime SLA |
| Premier | Contact sales | Custom | 99.9% uptime SLA, SSO, dedicated SIP available |
Add-ons seen Nov 1, 2026: extra concurrent lines $10 per line per month, extra organizations $20 each per month, HIPAA $2,000 per month.
From vapi.ai, checked Nov 10, 2026. Full breakdown: Vapi pricing.
FAQ
How much does Telnyx cost?
SMS from $0.004 per part plus carrier fees, voice API $0.002 per minute plus SIP trunking, volume tiers, and its x402 route. (checked Nov 10, 2026).
How much does Vapi cost?
$0.05 per minute Vapi hosting, provider costs passed through at cost, Core $29 and Pro $999 packages, concurrency and add-ons. (checked Nov 10, 2026).
Do Telnyx and Vapi have a free option?
Telnyx: none in the published plan table. Vapi: Vapi telephony / SIP, WebSockets, Daily WebRTC: Free.
Which is better, Telnyx or Vapi?
We do not pick a winner. The two price and package their products differently; the tables above quote each official pricing page so you can match a plan to your own usage.
Where do these prices come from?
Each vendor's own pricing page: telnyx.com (checked Nov 10, 2026) and vapi.ai (checked Nov 10, 2026). Prices change; confirm on the vendor's page before you buy.
Sources (official pages, read 2026-11-10)
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