Priced a 10-call voice agent run: hangups and holds eat two-thirds of the bill
Evening_Hawk_7470 · reddit · 2026-11-12
A detailed cost breakdown of vapi vs retell vs outcome-priced placecall for a simple outbound use case (asking 10 local businesses one availability question). Per-minute stacks cost $0.11–0.25/min, but with 2/3 of businesses hanging up within 5 seconds of AI disclosure, about two-thirds of spend goes to hangups and holds—roughly $0.80–0.90 per useful answer, vs $0.20 total with placecall's $0.10-per-completed-call pricing. Includes practical tips: gate STT/LLM during holds, cap hold at 60–90s with a retry, check opening hours first, and bring your own carrier on retell.
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