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Best voice AI APIs for developers (2026)
13 vendors that offer an API or SDK for developers, ranked on published data only. Nobody pays for position and we have not tested these products; latency and concurrency figures are the vendors' own claims. Checked Oct 26, 2026.
8 of 13 publish a per-minute rate, from $0.01 to $0.14. Top of the list: Retell AI, Bland AI, Dasha, Vapi, Cartesia Managed Agents and 8 more.
| # | Vendor | Starts at | Per-min | Build | Telephony | LLM choice | Latency (claimed) | Concurrency | HIPAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Retell AI Voice agent platform · site | Free | $0.07 | No-code and API | Included | Yes | ~600ms | 20 free concurrent calls; no cap on Enterprise | BAA available |
| 2 | Bland AI Voice agent platform · site | Free | $0.14 | Developer / API | Bring your own | — | — | 10 (Start), 50 (Build), custom (Enterprise) | BAA available |
| 3 | Dasha Voice agent platform · site | Free | $0.08 | Developer / API | Bring your own | Yes | 893 ms turn latency (vendor benchmark) | Up to 1,000 concurrent calls per agent on Growth; 1 on Developer | Not stated |
| 4 | Vapi Voice agent platform · site | Free | $0.05 | Developer / API | Included | Yes | Sub-500ms | 4, 10 or 30 concurrent calls by package; add-ons available | BAA available |
| 5 | Cartesia Managed Agents Voice agent platform · site | Free | $0.06 | No-code and API | Included | — | — | Concurrency pool per service; high/custom limits on Scale and Enterprise | Claims HIPAA |
| 6 | LiveKit Agents Voice agent platform · site | Free | $0.01 | Developer / API | Included | Yes | Under 250ms media delivery worldwide | Plan-based concurrent session limits (5 and 20 concurrent calls listed on lower plans) | BAA available |
| 7 | Telnyx Voice AI Agents Voice agent platform · site | $0.05/min | $0.05 | Developer / API | Included | Yes | Sub-200ms response times (edge inference) | — | Claims HIPAA |
| 8 | Millis AI Voice agent platform · site | $0.02/min | $0.02 | No-code and API | Included | Yes | 600ms (title); 500ms also cited | — | Not stated |
| 9 | ElevenLabs Agents Voice agent platform · site | Not published | — | No-code and API | Bring your own | Yes | Ultra-low latency (no figure published) | — | BAA available |
| 10 | Deepgram Voice Agent API Voice agent platform · site | Not published | — | Developer / API | — | — | — | — | BAA available |
| 11 | Twilio ConversationRelay Voice agent platform · site | Not published | — | Developer / API | Included | Yes | Low-latency infrastructure (no figure published) | — | Claims HIPAA |
| 12 | Kore.ai Enterprise voice AI · site | Quote | — | No-code and API | — | — | Sub-second responses | — | Claims HIPAA |
| 13 | PolyAI Enterprise voice AI · site | Quote | — | Developer / API | Bring your own | — | <300ms (vendor figure; ~280–600ms cascade) | 10,000 concurrent | Not stated |
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Questions
Which voice AI APIs and developer platforms publish a per-minute price?
8 of 13: LiveKit Agents ($0.01/min), Millis AI ($0.02/min), Vapi ($0.05/min), Telnyx Voice AI Agents ($0.05/min), Cartesia Managed Agents ($0.06/min), Retell AI ($0.07/min), Dasha ($0.08/min), Bland AI ($0.14/min). Most add telephony, LLM or voice costs on top; see each listing.
Which ones only quote on request?
2 of 13: Kore.ai, PolyAI.
Which have a free plan, trial or credits?
8 of 13: Retell AI, Bland AI, Dasha, Vapi, Cartesia Managed Agents, LiveKit Agents, Deepgram Voice Agent API, Twilio ConversationRelay.
Which are no-code and which are developer platforms?
No-code or low-code builders: Retell AI, Cartesia Managed Agents, Millis AI, ElevenLabs Agents, Kore.ai. API/SDK-first: Retell AI, Bland AI, Dasha, Vapi, Cartesia Managed Agents, LiveKit Agents, Telnyx Voice AI Agents, Millis AI and 5 more. 0 don't make it clear on the pages we read.
Do they include phone numbers and telephony?
Retell AI, Vapi, Cartesia Managed Agents, LiveKit Agents, Telnyx Voice AI Agents, Millis AI, Twilio ConversationRelay provide numbers or telephony themselves. Retell AI, Bland AI, Dasha, Vapi, Cartesia Managed Agents, LiveKit Agents, ElevenLabs Agents, PolyAI let you bring your own carrier or SIP trunk.
Can I choose the LLM?
Retell AI, Dasha, Vapi, LiveKit Agents, Telnyx Voice AI Agents, Millis AI, ElevenLabs Agents, Twilio ConversationRelay say you can choose or bring your own model.
What latency do they claim?
Vendor claims, not our measurements: Retell AI: ~600ms; Dasha: 893 ms turn latency (vendor benchmark); Vapi: Sub-500ms; LiveKit Agents: Under 250ms media delivery worldwide; Telnyx Voice AI Agents: Sub-200ms response times (edge inference); Millis AI: 600ms (title); 500ms also cited; ElevenLabs Agents: Ultra-low latency (no figure published); Twilio ConversationRelay: Low-latency infrastructure (no figure published).
Which sign a HIPAA BAA?
Retell AI, Bland AI, Vapi, LiveKit Agents, ElevenLabs Agents, Deepgram Voice Agent API say they sign a BAA.
Which integrate with existing contact centers?
Telnyx Voice AI Agents (Amazon Connect); ElevenLabs Agents (Genesys, Salesforce, Zendesk, Cisco); Deepgram Voice Agent API (Amazon Connect).
How did you choose these 13?
Every vendor we verified that offer an API or SDK for developers, from its own site. Order uses published data only: published price first, then how many facts the vendor publishes. Nobody pays for placement, and we have not tested these products. Checked Oct 26, 2026.