How Much Does Voice AI Cost? Real Production Data
Voice AI infrastructure costs range from $0.02 to $0.10+ per minute depending on architecture and caching. Loqui Auris costs about $0.02–0.03 per minute (measured on real conversations, July 2026). The primary cost driver is audio output (about two thirds of total cost), followed by audio input (about a third). Prompt caching of the repeated instructions is part of keeping voice AI economics sustainable.
How Much Does Voice AI Cost Per Minute, by Platform?
| Provider | Cost/Min |
|---|---|
| Loqui Auris (measured, July 2026) | $0.02-0.03 |
| OpenAI Realtime API (direct) | $0.08-0.12* |
| Bland.ai | $0.07-0.12* |
| Vapi.ai | $0.05-0.10* |
| Retell AI | $0.06-0.10* |
| Human phone support | $0.71-2.14* |
* Competitor figures are estimates based on published pricing as of February 2026. Verify current pricing on provider websites.
What Drives Voice AI Costs?
Audio processing dominates voice AI costs. Measured on real Loqui Auris conversations in July 2026, audio output (the AI speaking) was about two thirds of the cost and audio input about a third. Optimizing these pipelines — through provider selection, caching, and parallel processing — is how Loqui Auris keeps voice at about $0.02–0.03 per minute.
| Component | Share |
|---|---|
| Audio Output | ~66% |
| Audio Input | ~31% |
| Text Output | ~3% |
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