PolyAI vs Vapi (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, PolyAI and Vapi share a 2.2 GPA, neither has a free plan, and Vapi starts cheaper, at $29 a month against $49 a month.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
PolyAI grades higher on ease of use. Vapi grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
PolyAI
Voice AI agents for phone calls, from small shops to contact centers
Vapi
Developer platform for building and running voice AI agents
Which one is for you
Pick PolyAI if
- Fits if you want a phone agent for a single small business line
- Works for developers who want to pay by the minute through the model API
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you take many calls: Essentials covers 250 minutes
- Pricey if you have several sites, as Scale is per location
- Watch out: the trial length is not stated
- Watch out: the developer tab bills by connected time, 2c a minute for the model API and from 9.5c for the full platform
Pick Vapi if
- Fits if you are a developer who wants to choose each voice and model provider
- Makes sense if you want to pay for minutes as you use them
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you want one price, as model, voice and call charges sit on top of the $0.05 hosting
- Watch out: HIPAA-eligible handling is a $2,000 a month add-on
- Pricey if you grow, since Pro has a $999 a month minimum
- Watch out: extra lines cost $10 each and extra organisations $20 each a month
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAPolyAIFair | 2.2GPAVapiFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CEssentials is $49 a month for 250 minutes, just under the category's $50 dearer-quarter line. Plus is $199 and Scale $299 per location, so heavy use costs more. | CCore is $29 a month and hosting is $0.05 a minute, but the page's own 1,000-minute estimate is $82 to $129 a month, and Pro starts at $999. |
| Free plan and trial | CA free trial is offered on Essentials, Plus and Scale, but its length is not stated. Developer accounts get free credit. | C$5 in free credits to start. The page does not say whether a card is needed. |
| Features | CVoice agents, an assistant called Wren, its own speech model, call insight and bring-your-own phone line. Developer billing is separate, at 2c to 9.5c a minute. | BOrchestration, a choice of providers, testing and simulation, and telephony options. The core job of a voice agent is covered. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. Building and testing call flows is a learning curve. | DNo store rating, and the platform is built around API calls and provider settings. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, with eight integrations listed and a developer API. No phone or desktop app. | BWeb, with Twilio, Vonage, Telnyx, Deepgram, OpenAI, ElevenLabs and Daily listed. |
| Best for | AI phone agents for customer calls | developers building voice agents on their own stack |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: PolyAI and Vapi. How we grade
Price against what you get
PolyAI starts at $49 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Vapi starts at $29 a month and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and Vapi starts $20 a month lower. Of the other AI agents on the chart, 30 score higher than PolyAI for less, and 22 score higher than Vapi for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- PolyAI also covers AI support agent and appointment booking.
At a glance
| PolyAI | Vapi | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $49 per month for 250 minutes | $29 per month (Core); usage-only starts at $0.05 per minute hosting |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | Free trial offered on Essentials, Plus and Scale; length not stated | $5 in free credits to start; usage-only accounts then pre-pay for minutes. |
| Web | ||
| Made by | PolyAI | Vapi, Inc. |
| Price read from | poly.ai | vapi.ai |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
PolyAI
- The Scale price is per location, so ten locations is not a single price.
- A separate Developer tab bills by connected time: the Model API at 2c a minute and the full platform from 9.5c a minute.
- The pricing page lists $20 of free credit for developer pay-as-you-go accounts.
Vapi
- Without a success package, hosting is $0.05 per minute, pre-paid, and Deepgram, model and voice costs are added on top; the page's 1,000-minute estimate is $82 to $129 a month.
- HIPAA-eligible data handling is a $2,000 per month add-on.
- Extra concurrent lines cost $10 per line per month and extra organizations $20 per organization per month.
- Twilio, Vonage and Telnyx call charges are billed by those providers, such as $0.008 per minute for Twilio inbound.
Key features
PolyAI
- Dialog Agent
- Builds agents with flows, tools and brand voice, from no-code to full code on one platform.
- Wren
- An assistant that designs, builds, tests and optimizes agents from a plain-English description.
- Dialog-RSN-1 model
- The vendor's audio-native model, which it says responds in under 300ms median first-token latency.
- Call insight
- Every call gets a summary and a PolyScore, with latency and agent details visible in real time.
- Bring your own phone line
- Keep an existing number and connect a carrier over SIP at no charge, or take a number from PolyAI.
Vapi
- Voice agent orchestration
- Configure voice, conversation flow, telephony and integrations for an agent, then deploy it behind a phone number or an API.
- Choice of providers
- The pricing calculator lets you pick the transcriber, language model and voice, for example Deepgram, OpenAI and ElevenLabs. Models are passed through at cost.
- Testing and simulation
- Calls can be simulated before they reach customers, and monitoring flags issues in live calls.
- Telephony options
- Vapi telephony and SIP, WebSockets and Daily WebRTC are listed as free transport; Twilio, Vonage and Telnyx are charged by those providers.
- Enterprise controls
- The site lists SSO, OAuth, RBAC and AI guardrails, and says SOC 2, HIPAA and PCI compliance are supported.
Plans
PolyAI
Essentials$49
per month, 250 minutes included
Then 30c a minute. 1 number, 5 calls at once; Google Calendar, Calendly, Cal.com and Zapier.
Plus$199
per month, 1,000 minutes included
Then 25c a minute. 10 calls at once; adds HubSpot, Zoho CRM, Dynamics 365 and Microsoft 365.
Scale$299
per location per month, 1,500 minutes each
Then 20c a minute. Up to 9 locations with pooled minutes; adds Salesforce, Zendesk and Slack.
EnterpriseCustom
Sold through sales: HIPAA with a BAA, SSO, uptime SLA, data residency and 24/7 support.
Vapi
Core$29
per month, pre-paid, auto-renew
2 organizations, 5 included phone numbers, 10 concurrent calls, 30 days of raw data retention and email support.
Pro$999
per month minimum, 10% of the hosting fee
10 organizations, 30 concurrent calls, 180 days retention, RBAC, a dedicated Slack channel and a 99% uptime SLA.
PremierCustom
Direct sales only: higher limits, named support team, 99.9% uptime SLA, SSO and dedicated SIP.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, PolyAI or Vapi?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Vapi is cheaper to start with: $29 a month, against $49 a month for PolyAI. PolyAI starts at $49 per month for 250 minutes, and Vapi starts at $29 per month (Core); usage-only starts at $0.05 per minute hosting.
Which has a free plan, PolyAI or Vapi?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither PolyAI nor Vapi has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.