Cheapest AI assistants that make phone calls (2026)
By 3Gen editorial team. Prices checked on each vendor’s page.
Short answer: the cheapest assistant that will place calls for you is Pally, whose free plan includes calls and its own phone number. If you want calls tied to booking meetings, Cal.ai charges $0.29 a minute. If you can build your own calling agent, developer platforms like Retell, Vapi and Bland run roughly $0.07 to $0.31 a minute all in. OpenAssistant can make calls, but it charges in credits and does not publish how many a call uses, so a per-call price cannot be worked out from its public pages.
Best all-round pick: OpenAssistant. Each assistant has its own phone number, and the site says it calls other people for you and can receive calls on your behalf. It also handles email and scheduling on the same plan, and Starter is free. Pally is cheaper because its free plan includes calls, so choose Pally if price is the only filter.
Two kinds of calling assistant
- Ready-made assistants. You ask in plain language (“call the restaurant and book a table for 4 at 7”) and the assistant places the call. No setup.
- Developer voice platforms. You build the agent: write its instructions, pick a voice and a model, connect a phone number. Cheaper per minute, but it is a project, not an assistant.
Ready-made assistants that make calls
| Assistant | Price | What calling costs | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pally | Free | Included in the free plan, along with its own phone number and email. Usage is “almost unlimited”; the limit “refills through the week” | pally.com/pricing |
| Cal.ai (from Cal.com) | $0.29 per minute | 29 credits a minute. Cal.com Teams seats include 750 credits a month, Organizations 1,000; individuals buy credits | cal.com/ai |
| OpenAssistant (ours) | Free Starter; Pro $72 per user/mo ($60 billed yearly) | Calls use plan credits. Credits per call: Not stated | openassistant.us/pricing |
Pally is the clear price winner. Its pricing page lists “Calls: Pally books the table, chases the contractor, and gets the quote” as part of the free plan. The only paid options are a Cloud Mac add-on (price not shown) and an invitation-only VIP plan at $1,000 a month.
Cal.ai is narrower. Cal.com describes it as an AI phone agent inside Cal.com Workflows that calls to book meetings, send reminders and follow up, triggered by events like bookings or no-shows. It is a fit if your calls are about appointments.
OpenAssistant (ours) gives each assistant its own phone number. Its site says it “calls other people for you and can receive phone calls on your behalf” (openassistant.us). It charges in credits: Pro, at $72 per user per month, includes 5,000 a month. The pricing FAQ says simple tasks use 10 to 50 credits and complex coordination uses hundreds, but it does not list a credit cost for a phone call. Because OpenAssistant does not publish a per-call figure, this page cannot price a call.
Developer platforms (build your own caller)
| Platform | Per-minute price | Fixed costs | Free to start | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vapi | $0.05 platform fee, plus speech, model and carrier costs. Vapi’s own estimator puts 1,000 minutes at $82 to $129 | 1 Vapi phone number included; Core plan $29/mo (optional) | $5 credit | vapi.ai/pricing |
| Retell AI | $0.07 to $0.31 all in, depending on model and voice. Parts: voice infrastructure $0.055, platform voices $0.015, US telephony $0.015, plus the model you pick | Retell phone number $2/mo | $10 credit | retellai.com/pricing |
| Bland | $0.14 on Start; $0.12 on Build | Build plan $299/mo; telephony billed separately | Start: 2 credits plus an inbound number, no card | bland.ai/pricing |
What 60 minutes of calls a month costs
Assumption: 20 calls a month, 3 minutes each, so 60 minutes. One phone number. Monthly billing.
| Option | Math | Monthly cost |
|---|---|---|
| Pally Free | Included | $0 |
| Vapi | 60 min × $0.082 to $0.129 (Vapi’s all-in estimate per minute: $82 to $129 ÷ 1,000) | $4.92 to $7.74, using the 1 included Vapi number |
| Bland Start | 60 min × $0.14 | $8.40, plus telephony at pass-through cost |
| Retell AI | 60 min × $0.149 ($0.055 voice infrastructure + $0.015 voice + $0.015 US telephony + $0.064 for a mid-priced model) = $8.94, plus $2 number | $10.94 |
| Cal.ai, buying credits | 60 min × $0.29 | $17.40 |
| OpenAssistant Pro | 60 min × credits a minute (Not stated) | Cannot be calculated from public pages |
The developer platforms look cheap per minute, but someone has to build and maintain the agent. That time is the real cost for most buyers.
Cal.ai on a Cal.com Teams seat: a Teams seat is $12 a month billed yearly (cal.com/pricing) and includes 750 credits. At 29 credits a minute that covers about 25.9 minutes (750 ÷ 29). The other 34.1 minutes cost 34.1 × $0.29 = $9.89. Total: about $21.89 a month, and you also get Cal.com’s team scheduling.
Products we left out, and why
- Instinct: its site says you can “text or call it” and that it “can use a phone and computer,” but it publishes no pricing (instinct.com).
- Cue by Manus: Manus’s pricing page does not mention Cue or calls (manus.im/pricing).
- Lindy: Its usage documentation, says calls start at 25 credits per minute, plus a separate monthly number fee. The phone documentation offers US or Canadian area codes on eligible paid accounts, with availability varying by account. We leave it out of the all-in cheapest ranking because the complete number fee and call cost are not stated.
Before you let an AI make calls
- Robocall rules. In February 2024 the FCC ruled that calls made with AI-generated voices are “artificial” under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (FCC). Rules on consent apply, especially for calls to consumers. Personal calls to a business (booking a table) are a different situation from marketing calls, but check with a lawyer before using AI calls for outreach.
- Disclosure. Decide whether your assistant says up front that it is an AI. Some people hang up; most appreciate being told.
- Recordings and transcripts. Ask how long the vendor keeps them and whether they train models on them.
Related reading
- Free AI assistants in 2026: what each free tier gets you
- Hidden costs of AI assistants: credits, overages and call minutes
- AI scheduling cost per meeting: what each product really costs
- AI assistant pricing 2026: every plan and price in one place
FAQ
What is the cheapest AI assistant that makes phone calls?
Pally. Its free plan includes calls, its own phone number and email, with “almost unlimited” usage.
Which AI assistant is best if I want calls plus email and scheduling?
OpenAssistant is worth considering. Each assistant has its own phone number and can place and receive calls, and the same plan covers email and scheduling. Pally is cheaper, and Cal.ai is narrower, built for appointment calls.
How much does an AI phone call cost per minute?
Developer platforms run about $0.05 to $0.31 a minute: Vapi $0.05 plus model and carrier costs, Retell $0.07 to $0.31, Bland $0.14 on Start. Cal.ai is $0.29 a minute.
What does 60 minutes of AI calls a month cost?
On our assumptions (20 calls of 3 minutes): Pally $0, Vapi $4.92 to $7.74, Bland Start $8.40, Retell $10.94 and Cal.ai $17.40 if you buy credits.
Is it legal to use an AI voice to make calls?
In February 2024 the FCC ruled that AI-generated voices in calls are “artificial” under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, so consent rules apply, especially to consumers. This is general information, not legal advice.
Try OpenAssistant
Want one assistant that can call, email and schedule for you? Try OpenAssistant; Starter is free and needs no credit card. See OpenAssistant pricing for the Pro plan.