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The Bland AI Insider’s Guide

Everything we know about Bland AI in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.

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ToolGPANovember 2026

Bland AI

The Insider’s Guide

AI phone agents with one all-in per-minute rate

Bland AI, as pictured on bland.ai

Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among AI agents, read from Bland AI’s own pages.

Made by Bland · checked Nov 12, 2026 · toolgpa.com

2.2GPA

Contents

  1. 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
  2. 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
  3. 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
  4. 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
  5. 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
  6. 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
  7. 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

ToolGPA put this guide together from Bland AI’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Bland AI’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Nov 12, 2026.

Part 01 · Overview

Welcome

What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first

2.2

GPA, above 36 of the 101 other AI agents we grade

Bland builds AI voice agents that answer and make phone calls, with SMS and web chat on its higher plans. Its per-minute rate covers the language model, transcription and voice in one number, and it markets to developers, teams and regulated enterprises.

To get you started, here are 9 things to know about Bland AI, taken from its own pages and our grades.

Pathways, voices and phone numbers all need setting up.
From our grade for ease of use
  1. 1

    Best for AI phone agents billed by the minute

    Telephony is billed separately and transfer minutes have their own rate.

  2. 2

    What it costs

    Paid plans start at $0 platform fee at $0.14 per minute; Build is $299 per month at $0.12 per minute.

  3. 3

    You can try it first

    Sign-up includes 2 credits and an inbound number valued at $15 a month; no card.

  4. 4

    It runs on Web

    Web.

  5. 5

    All-in per-minute rate

    The talk-time rate includes the language model, real-time transcription and premium voices, with no token charges. Telephony is billed separately.

  6. 6

    Conversational pathways

    Call flows are built as pathways, with knowledge bases, automations and integrations available on every plan.

  7. 7

    Telephony choices

    Connect an existing Twilio account or a SIP trunk, or use Bland's built-in Twilio at pass-through cost.

  8. 8

    A 2.2 GPA, above 36 of 101

    That is against the other AI agents we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.

  9. 9

    Keep it

    To replace Bland AI you would be making an AI agent, with the models and the safeguards behind it. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.

Bland AI at a glance

Pricing
Free trial, from $0 platform fee at $0.14 per minute; Build is $299 per month at $0.12 per minute
Free plan
No
Free trial
Sign-up includes 2 credits and an inbound number valued at $15 a month; no card.
Runs on
Web
Made by
Bland
Category
AI Agents
Our grade
2.2 GPA, fair

The report card

Best for AI phone agents billed by the minute

Bland runs AI phone agents billed per minute: $0.14 on Start with no platform fee, $0.12 on Build with $299 a month. Telephony is billed separately and transfer minutes have their own rate. Start caps at 100 calls a day.

ToolGPA report cardBland AIGraded Nov 12, 2026
SubjectGradeComment
Value for moneyCStart has no platform fee and $0.14 a minute, which has no monthly figure to compare, so it sits in the middle.
Free plan and trialCSign-up includes 2 credits and an inbound number valued at $15 a month, and no card is needed. It is a trial, not a free plan.
FeaturesCConversational pathways, knowledge bases, voices, messaging and telephony, but telephony is billed separately and limits scale by plan.
Ease of useCNo store rating on record. Pathways, voices and phone numbers all need setting up.
Platforms and integrationsBWeb only, with eight named integrations and your own carrier option.
Grade point averageFair, out of 4.02.2

An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.

Who Bland AI is for

  • Fits if you want to build voice agents and pay by the minute
  • Works for a team that wants its own telephony carrier

Who it is not for

  • Tight if you grow: Start is capped at 100 calls a day and Build at 2,000
  • Watch out: telephony is billed separately, plus $0.05 or $0.04 a transfer minute
  • Not for you if you need BAA, SSO or data residency, which are Enterprise
  • Watch out: its comparisons with Vapi and Retell are the vendor's own marketing

Good to know

Good for

  • Teams that want one per-minute price instead of separate model, voice and transcription bills
  • Regulated organizations that need on-prem or VPC deployment and a BAA

Worth knowing

  • Telephony is billed separately, on your own carrier or at Bland's pass-through cost, and transfer minutes carry their own rate.
  • Start is capped at 100 calls a day and Build at 2,000; unlimited calls are Enterprise only.
  • BAA, SSO, data residency and on-prem or VPC deployment are listed for Enterprise.
  • The per-minute rates are the vendor's own comparison basis; its FAQ comparisons with Vapi and Retell are its marketing claims.

Part 02 · Pricing

What it costs

Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved

$0

To start

Bland AI is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $0 platform fee at $0.14 per minute; Build is $299 per month at $0.12 per minute.

  • Start

    $0

    platform fee, then $0.14 per minute

    Transfer minutes $0.05, 10 concurrent calls, 100 calls a day, 10 knowledge bases and 1 voice.

  • Build

    $299

    per month platform fee, plus $0.12 per minute

    Transfer minutes $0.04, 50 concurrent calls, 2,000 calls a day, 50 knowledge bases and 5 voices.

  • Enterprise

    Custom

    Rates contracted to volume, with on-prem or VPC deployment, BAA, SSO, data residency and forward-deployed engineers.

Trying it first

Sign-up includes 2 credits and an inbound number valued at $15 a month; no card.

Read from bland.ai on Nov 12, 2026.

Part 03 · Features

What it does

Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it

1

Place it runs: Web

AI phone agents with one all-in per-minute rate. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: public API, AI features, AI agents, chatbots.

Conversational pathways, knowledge bases, voices, messaging and telephony, but telephony is billed separately and limits scale by plan.
From our grade for features
All-in per-minute rate
The talk-time rate includes the language model, real-time transcription and premium voices, with no token charges. Telephony is billed separately.
Conversational pathways
Call flows are built as pathways, with knowledge bases, automations and integrations available on every plan.
Telephony choices
Connect an existing Twilio account or a SIP trunk, or use Bland's built-in Twilio at pass-through cost.
Messaging
SMS and web chat, in-call text nodes and iMessage appear in the plan table with dashes under Start and Build, so they look Enterprise-only.
Compliance claims
The FAQ says Bland holds SOC 2 Type I and II and ISO 27001, signs a HIPAA BAA and is GDPR compliant. Documentation is under NDA.

Where it runs

  • Web

What it works with

  • Twilio
  • Salesforce
  • HubSpot
  • Genesys
  • Five9
  • Vonage
  • WhatsApp
  • Amazon Connect

Bland AI is made by Bland.

Part 04 · Standing

Where it stands

Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own

36/101

Other AI agents it is graded above

Bland AI's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 36 of the 101 other AI agents we grade, and level with 24.

It stands best on platforms and integrations (B, above 20 of 101) and worst on features (C, above 1).

Each grade against the category

Every bar is all 102 AI agents we grade, cut by the letter each got. Bland AI’s own letter is outlined.

  • CValue for moneyAbove 17 of 101
  • CFree plan and trialAbove 28 of 101
  • CFeaturesAbove 1 of 101
  • CEase of useAbove 14 of 101
  • BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 20 of 101

Keep it, or make your own?

Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.

Keep it

To replace Bland AI you would be making an AI agent, with the models and the safeguards behind it. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.

What you could not

  • An AI agent, with the models and the safeguards behind it.
  • A chatbot builder hooked into the messaging apps.
  • It plugs into other products, Twilio, Salesforce and HubSpot among them, and has an API.
  • What a company asks for before it lets staff use something: SOC 2 and HIPAA.

What this rests on. Bland AI’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.

Part 05 · Alternatives

The alternatives

The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side

Vapi, Retell AI, Synthflow, Thoughtly and Goodcall

The 5 tools Bland AI is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.

Part 06 · Questions

Quick answers

The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two

12

Questions, each answered in a line or two

The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.

Is Bland AI free?

No, Bland AI is a paid product, but you can try it first. Sign-up includes 2 credits and an inbound number valued at $15 a month; no card.

How much does Bland AI cost?

Bland AI lists 3 plans. Start: $0 platform fee, then $0.14 per minute.

What platforms does Bland AI work on?

Bland AI is available on Web.

Does Bland AI have an Android app?

No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. Bland AI is listed for Web.

Does Bland AI have an iPhone app?

No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. Bland AI is listed for Web.

Is Bland AI open source?

Bland AI is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 12, 2026.

Does Bland AI have an API?

Yes. Bland AI offers a public API, according to its own site.

What does Bland AI integrate with?

Bland AI's listing names Twilio, Salesforce, HubSpot, Genesys, Five9, Vonage, WhatsApp and Amazon Connect.

Who makes Bland AI?

Bland AI is made by Bland.

What are the alternatives to Bland AI?

The closest alternatives to Bland AI in our directory are Vapi, Retell AI, Synthflow, Thoughtly and Goodcall.

How does Bland AI compare with other AI agents?

Bland AI's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 36 of the 101 other AI agents we grade, and level with 24.

Could I make my own version of Bland AI?

To replace Bland AI you would be making an AI agent, with the models and the safeguards behind it.

Where this guide comes from

The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Bland AI’s own pages on Nov 12, 2026, and the grades were given on Nov 12, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Bland AI's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.

Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Bland. Prices change, so check bland.ai before you buy.

Part 07 · About

About ToolGPA

Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

5,038

Tools graded, in 95 categories

ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.

Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.

  • 5,038

    tools graded

  • 95

    categories

  • 739

    price changes on record

  • 579

    apps priced in 12 countries

What else is on toolgpa.com

Scan for the live page

Prices and grades as they are today

Quoting this guide?

Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:

ToolGPA, "Bland AI: The Insider's Guide", checked Nov 12, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/bland-ai

Know someone choosing between AI agents?

Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/bland-ai/guide

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See our other guides

The best-graded AI agents after Bland AI, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.

ToolGPA

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Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Bland AI’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Bland AI is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Bland. Prices and plans change: check bland.ai before you buy.