Their headline prices measure different things. They cannot establish the cheapest completed outcome. The following is a public-pricing snapshot reviewed on 23 October 2026, not a set of equivalent quotations.
| Offer | Publicly documented price or charging structure | What the headline does not establish | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retell pay-as-you-go voice agents | Advertised range of $0.07–$0.31 per minute | The exact configured model, telephony, optional services, implementation and support total | Retell pricing. (retellai.com) |
| Vapi usage | $0.05 per minute hosting, with model costs passed through; optional support/capacity packages | A complete call price or a managed operational service | Vapi pricing. (vapi.ai) |
| Bland Start | $0.14 per connected minute, no platform fee; $0.05 per transfer minute listed | Full invoice treatment for the chosen transfer and telephony configuration | Bland pricing. (bland.ai) |
| Bland Build | $299 per month plus $0.12 per connected minute; $0.04 per transfer minute listed | Whether the lower usage rate offsets the subscription at your volume and call mix | Bland pricing. (bland.ai) |
| Smith.ai AI Receptionist Pro | $150 per month for 75 calls, displayed as $2 per call | The cost and scope of live-agent involvement and the economics of unsuccessful calls | Smith.ai pricing and service description. (smith.ai) |
| Genesys virtual-agent products | Qualifying licence plus token-based consumption; documentation distinguishes Virtual Agent and Agentic Virtual Agent | A universal dollar-per-minute rate or proof that a feature is included without additional cost | Genesys token model. (help.genesys.cloud) |
For Vapi, production requirements can change the comparison materially: its reviewed page lists a Pro support package at 10% of hosting fees with a $999 monthly minimum, and a $2,000 monthly HIPAA-eligible data-handling add-on. Check the applicable package and contract rather than importing these charges into every deployment. (vapi.ai)
What happens to billing after a transfer?
Do not assume all suppliers stop the same meter at the same event. Retell says its AI voice-agent charge stops after transfer while telephony charges continue; it also says silence and hold time remain billable during the call. (retellai.com)
Bland’s billing guide gives a worked example of eight AI minutes followed by two human-transfer minutes. The example charges the connected-minute rate across all ten minutes and adds the transfer charge for the two-minute human portion. Ask for an invoice simulation for your exact configuration instead of assuming the AI-time boundary. (docs.bland.ai)
What should you do when official pricing pages disagree?
Record the discrepancy and obtain written clarification. Bland’s reviewed billing guide still lists a Scale plan at $499 per month and $0.11 per connected minute, whereas its main pricing page displays Start, Build and Enterprise. That does not establish whether Scale is available to a new buyer. (docs.bland.ai)
This is a procurement issue, not grounds for inventing a definitive plan comparison. Attach the applicable rate schedule, effective date, charging examples and availability confirmation to the order form.