Bland AI alternatives
Bland AI Alternatives: 7 Options Compared on Price and Fit (2026)
Competitor prices verified on October 25, 2026. Page updated October 25, 2026.
What are the best Bland AI alternatives?
The closest Bland AI alternatives are Vapi and Retell AI, which host the voice agent and charge per minute with the model and voice priced separately. ElevenLabs Agents sells plan minutes with its own voices. Synthflow is now enterprise-only from $30,000 a year. SignalWire runs an AI agent directly on its carrier network, and Twilio ConversationRelay gives you the call and leaves the agent to you. AgentLine is for people who already run an agent in Claude Code, Cursor, OpenClaw, Hermes or Codex and need a phone number: $3.00 a month per additional number and $0.12 a minute all-in.
Bland AI prices talk time at $0.14 a minute on its Start plan and $0.12 a minute on Build, which adds a $299 monthly platform fee. The rate includes the model and the voice, but telephony is billed separately at pass-through cost on your carrier or Bland's, transfers cost $0.04 to $0.05 a minute, and SMS is only on Enterprise. Start includes two credits and one inbound number, listed as a $15 a month value, with no card required.
Bland built its reputation on volume: thousands of concurrent outbound calls and a visual pathway builder. Teams look elsewhere when their volume is small, when the pass-through telephony and transfer fees make the bill hard to forecast, or when they already have an agent and do not want to rebuild it as a pathway. This page covers seven alternatives with prices read from each vendor's pricing page on the verification date.
The alternatives
01Vapi
$0.05 a minute hosting plus providers at cost, about $0.08 to $0.13 a minute all-in; $5 free credit
Vapi is the developer-first version of what Bland does. You choose the transcriber, model and voice, and pay each at cost on top of $0.05 a minute. Telephony on Vapi's own numbers is free. The free package includes one number and $5 of credit, Core is $29 a month with five numbers, and Pro starts at a $999 a month minimum.
Best for: Developers who want to pick every component and accept several meters on the bill.
02Retell AI
$0.07 to $0.31 a minute all-in, $3.00 a month per additional number, $10 free credit
Retell publishes a complete price list: $0.055 a minute for its voice infrastructure, $0.015 a minute telephony on a Retell number, and a per-minute rate for every model and voice. Its example stack is $0.11 a minute. Billing is per second with no rounding up, and the MCP server lets an outside assistant manage agents. Retell is the most transparent of the hosted platforms.
Best for: Teams who want a hosted agent with per-second billing and a visible rate card.
03ElevenLabs Agents
Plans from $6 a month, up to 12,375 minutes on Business at $990, $0.08 a minute overage
ElevenLabs sells conversation minutes on monthly plans with its own voices and says telephony is included. Language-model usage is billed separately from the plan. At 300 minutes the Creator plan is the cheapest hosted option on this page. SMS is $0.003 a message.
Best for: Teams who want premium voices and a predictable monthly plan.
04Synthflow
Enterprise contracts from $30,000 a year; no self-serve plan listed
Synthflow is a no-code voice agent builder. On the verification date its pricing page listed only Enterprise contracts starting at $30,000 a year, with per-minute rates, included minutes and number prices left unpublished. It is an option for large deployments with onboarding, not for a team costing out 300 minutes.
Best for: Enterprises that want a managed rollout and are ready for an annual contract.
05SignalWire AI Agent
$0.16 a minute AI agent plus $0.0066 a minute inbound or $0.008 a minute outbound; numbers $0.50 a month
SignalWire runs the agent runtime on its own carrier network, so there is no separate telephony vendor. The $0.16 a minute includes standard text to speech. The Agents SDK can connect to MCP servers and expose the agent as one. It is a hosted agent at carrier prices for numbers and SMS.
Best for: Teams who want agent and carrier from one vendor with cheap numbers.
06Twilio ConversationRelay
$0.07 a minute plus $0.0085 a minute inbound or $0.014 a minute outbound; numbers $1.15 a month
ConversationRelay does the speech work on a Twilio call and streams text to a WebSocket server you run with your own language model. Bland uses Twilio for its built-in telephony, so moving here means keeping the carrier and replacing the agent with your own code.
Best for: Teams with a backend who want to own the conversation logic on Twilio numbers.
07AgentLine
plans from $20 a month with included numbers, minutes and SMS; beyond the plan $0.12 a minute all-in, $3.00 a month per US or Canada number, $0.02 per SMS
AgentLine assumes the agent already exists. Install one skill file or the MCP server in Claude Code, Cursor, OpenClaw, Hermes or Codex, buy a number, and the agent makes and answers calls. The $0.12 a minute includes telephony, speech recognition, the voice and the hosted phone agent. The same number sends and receives SMS through the REST API at $0.02 a message. There is no platform fee and no transfer fee.
Best for: Anyone who already runs an agent and needs it on the phone this afternoon.
Bland AI alternatives compared
Prices as shown on each vendor's pricing page on October 25, 2026. AgentLine prices are current.
| Tool | Per-minute price | Number price | Setup time | Hosted agent or bring your own | SMS | MCP / skill support | Free tier | Contract |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bland AI | $0.14/min on Start, $0.12/min on Build, plus telephony at pass-through cost | One inbound number included on Start (listed as a $15/month value) | Hours to days to build a conversational pathway | Hosted agent | Enterprise plan only | Bland MCP server | 2 credits, no card required | None on Start; Build is $299/month; Enterprise is contracted |
| Vapi | $0.05/min hosting, plus transcriber, model and voice at provider cost (Vapi's own estimate: $0.08 to $0.13/min) | 1 Vapi number on the free package, 5 on Core ($29/month) | Hours to configure an assistant, tools and telephony | Hosted agent | Not listed on the pricing page | Vapi MCP server; MCP tools inside assistants | $5 free credits | None on the free package; Pro has a $999/month minimum |
| Retell AI | $0.07 to $0.31/min all-in (voice infra $0.055 plus LLM, TTS and $0.015 telephony) | $2.00/month for a Retell number | Hours to build an agent and a conversation flow | Hosted agent | $0.01/message with a $20/month SMS add-on | Retell MCP server; MCP node for agent tools | $10 free credits | None; enterprise is custom |
| ElevenLabs Agents | Plan minutes, then $0.08/min overage. LLM billed separately | Telephony included on every plan; bring Twilio or SIP at cost | Under an hour for a basic agent | Hosted agent | $0.003/message | External MCP servers as agent tools | Free plan with 15 minutes | Monthly plans from $6 to $990 |
| Synthflow | Not published. Enterprise contracts start at $30,000 a year | Not published | Days, with onboarding from Synthflow | Hosted agent (no-code) | Not published | Not published | None listed | Annual enterprise contract |
| SignalWire AI Agent | $0.16/min AI agent plus $0.0066/min inbound or $0.008/min outbound | $0.50/month local, $0.80/month toll-free | Hours with the Agents SDK | Hosted agent runtime on a carrier | $0.00415/segment local | Agents SDK connects to MCP servers and can expose one | Trial credit on signup | None |
| Twilio ConversationRelay | $0.07/min ConversationRelay plus $0.0085/min inbound or $0.014/min outbound, plus your LLM | $1.15/month local, $2.15/month toll-free | Days: a WebSocket server, LLM loop and call state are yours | Carrier API (bring your own agent and server) | $0.0083/segment plus carrier fees, in and out | Twilio Alpha MCP server for the API; the call loop is your code | Trial credit on signup | None |
| AgentLine | $0.12/min beyond the plan allowance, all-in, per second after a one-minute minimum | $3.00/month beyond the plan, US or Canada | About 2 minutes from one skill file or the MCP server | Bring your own agent | SMS $0.02/message in either direction on the same number | MCP server, skill file, REST | Plans from $20 a month with numbers, minutes and SMS included. | None |
What a month costs
300 minutes a month
One number, 300 connected minutes. Bland's telephony is pass-through and not published, so its total is a floor.
| Tool | Arithmetic | Monthly total |
|---|---|---|
| Bland AI (Start) | 300 × $0.14 = $42.00, plus telephony at pass-through cost | $42.00 plus telephony |
| Vapi | 300 × $0.05 hosting = $15.00, plus 300 × $0.03 to $0.08 for transcriber, model and voice = $9.00 to $24.00. Free package, one number included | $24.00 to $39.00 |
| Retell AI | Retell's example stack is $0.11/min (LLM $0.04, voice infra $0.055, TTS $0.015). Add $0.015/min telephony on a Retell number: 300 × $0.125 = $37.50, plus a $2.00 number | $39.50 |
| ElevenLabs Agents | Creator plan $22 includes 275 minutes. 25 extra × $0.08 = $2.00. LLM usage is billed on top | $24.00 plus LLM |
| SignalWire AI Agent | 300 × $0.16 = $48.00, plus 300 × $0.0066 inbound = $1.98, plus a $0.50 number | $50.48 |
| Twilio ConversationRelay (inbound) | 300 × $0.07 = $21.00, plus 300 × $0.0085 = $2.55, plus a $1.15 number. Your LLM and your server are extra | $24.70 plus LLM and hosting |
| Synthflow | Enterprise contracts start at $30,000 a year, which is $2,500 a month before usage | $2,500.00 a month minimum |
| AgentLine | Individual plan $20 includes one US/CA number and 100 minutes. 200 extra × $0.12 = $24.00 | $44.00 |
1,000 minutes a month
Bland's Build plan only beats Start above about 15,000 minutes a month ($299 ÷ $0.02). Below that, Start is cheaper.
| Tool | Arithmetic | Monthly total |
|---|---|---|
| Bland AI (Start or Build) | Start: 1,000 × $0.14 = $140.00. Build: $299 platform fee plus 1,000 × $0.12 = $419.00. Telephony is extra on both | $140.00 or $419.00 plus telephony |
| Vapi | Vapi's own estimate: $50 hosting, $10 transcriber, $8 to $45 model, $15 to $24 voice | $83.00 to $129.00 |
| Retell AI | 1,000 × $0.125 = $125.00, plus a $2.00 number | $127.00 |
| ElevenLabs Agents | Pro plan $99 includes 1,238 minutes. LLM usage is billed on top | $99.00 plus LLM |
| SignalWire AI Agent | 1,000 × $0.16 = $160.00, plus 1,000 × $0.0066 = $6.60, plus a $0.50 number | $167.10 |
| Twilio ConversationRelay (inbound) | 1,000 × $0.07 = $70.00, plus 1,000 × $0.0085 = $8.50, plus a $1.15 number. Your LLM and your server are extra | $79.65 plus LLM and hosting |
| Synthflow | Enterprise contracts start at $30,000 a year, which is $2,500 a month before usage | $2,500.00 a month minimum |
| AgentLine | Individual plan $20 includes one number and 100 minutes. 900 extra × $0.12 = $108.00 (Startup at $200 includes all 1,000 minutes and 12 numbers) | $128.00 |
Verdict
Pick Bland AI if
- You run high-volume outbound campaigns and need thousands of concurrent calls with a visual pathway builder.
- You want one talk-time rate that already includes the model and the voice, and you can absorb pass-through telephony.
- You are an enterprise buyer who needs BAA, SSO, data residency or on-prem options under a contract.
Pick AgentLine if
- You already have an agent in Claude Code, Cursor, OpenClaw, Hermes, Codex or your own loop and want it to make and answer calls.
- Your volume is hundreds or low thousands of minutes a month and you want a bill with two lines: numbers and minutes.
- You want two-way SMS on the same number without an enterprise plan, and no transfer or platform fees.
How Bland's bill is built
Bland's pricing page lists two self-serve plans. Start is $0.14 a minute with no platform fee, daily caps of 100 calls, and $0.05 a minute on transfers. Build is $299 a month plus $0.12 a minute, 2,000 calls a day, and $0.04 a minute on transfers. Enterprise is contracted to volume. All plans quote a 99.9% uptime SLA.
Telephony is the line to watch. Bland's FAQ says it is billed separately on your own carrier or on Bland's built-in Twilio at pass-through cost, and the page does not publish those rates or a billing increment. Customers who bring their own telephony do not pay transfer fees. SMS appears only in the Enterprise column.
Hosted agent or bring your own agent
Bland, Vapi, Retell, ElevenLabs, Synthflow and SignalWire host the agent. You build it in their product and reach your systems through tool calls or webhooks. That is the right fit when the voice agent is the product.
AgentLine is the other shape. The agent you already run owns the phone agent through MCP, a skill file or REST. For a scripted call, the hosted phone agent follows the prompt your agent wrote and the transcript comes back when the call ends. When the call needs live tools or data, the persistent relay or a public webhook streams each turn to your runtime. Your code never touches audio.
Moving off Bland
A Bland pathway maps to a Retell conversation flow or a Vapi assistant with tools. Expect a day for a simple agent and a week for one with transfers, knowledge bases and reporting. Numbers on Bland's built-in telephony are Twilio numbers and may need to be re-provisioned.
Moving to AgentLine means not moving the agent. Install the skill from agentline.cloud/skill.md or add the MCP server, buy a number ($3.00 a month beyond your plan), and place a test call. The runtime guides for Claude Code, Hermes and OpenClaw walk through it.
FAQ
What are the best Bland AI alternatives?
The closest Bland AI alternatives are Vapi and Retell AI, which host the voice agent and charge per minute with the model and voice priced separately. ElevenLabs Agents sells plan minutes with its own voices. Synthflow is now enterprise-only from $30,000 a year. SignalWire runs an AI agent directly on its carrier network, and Twilio ConversationRelay gives you the call and leaves the agent to you. AgentLine is for people who already run an agent in Claude Code, Cursor, OpenClaw, Hermes or Codex and need a phone number: $3.00 a month per additional number and $0.12 a minute all-in.
How much does Bland AI cost per minute?
Bland's pricing page lists $0.14 a minute on the Start plan and $0.12 a minute on the Build plan, which also carries a $299 monthly platform fee. Transfers cost $0.05 and $0.04 a minute respectively, and telephony is billed separately at pass-through cost.
Does Bland AI have a free trial?
Start includes two credits and one inbound number with no card required. The page does not state the dollar value of a credit.
Is Vapi or Retell cheaper than Bland?
Usually, at low volume. Vapi's own estimate is $0.08 to $0.13 a minute all-in and Retell's example stack is about $0.125 a minute with a Retell number. Bland's Start rate is $0.14 a minute before telephony. At high volume with Bland's Enterprise contract the comparison depends on your negotiated rate.
Which Bland alternative supports SMS without an enterprise plan?
Retell ($0.01 a message plus a $20 a month add-on), ElevenLabs ($0.003 a message), SignalWire and Twilio (carrier per-segment rates), and AgentLine ($0.02 per message in either direction beyond the plan allowance, on the same number as voice, sent through POST /v1/messages).
Can I use my existing AI agent instead of rebuilding it in Bland?
Yes, with AgentLine. Claude Code, Cursor, OpenClaw, Hermes, Codex or a custom loop installs the skill or MCP server, buys a US or Canada number ($3.00 a month beyond your plan), and makes or answers calls at $0.12 a minute. The agent writes the prompt, the hosted phone agent runs the call, and the transcript comes back.
Set it up on your agent
More comparisons
AgentLine is not affiliated with any company named on this page. Competitor prices were read from each company's public pricing page on the date shown and can change without notice. Found a price that has changed? Email support@agentline.cloud.