Bland AI Pricing 2026: Start and Build Plans, Per Minute
Published · prices checked October 26, 2026
Key takeaways
- At 3, 5 and 13 three-minute calls a day, Bland's talk time on its Start plan costs $37.80, $63 and $163.80 a month, before the build work.
- Transferred-call time is billed on top of talk time: $0.05 a transfer minute on Start, $0.04 on Build.
- Build costs $299/month plus $0.12 a minute. At 13 calls a day the whole Start talk-time bill is $163.80.
- The rate covers the model, speech-to-text and voice. Telephony, transfers and the work of building the agent are outside it, so we publish no all-in figure for Bland.
Bland's Start plan is pay as you go at $0.14 a minute, so 5 three-minute calls a day bill $63 of talk time a month (prices checked October 26, 2026). Bland is a build-your-own voice AI platform, not a ready-made receptionist: the rate buys the model, speech and voice, and you build the rest.
Bland pricing plans
Prices checked against each vendor's own pricing page on October 26, 2026.
| Plan | Price and allowance | Past the allowance | The math |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start (build your own) | $0.14 a minute, pay as you go | $0.14 a minute | $0.14/min used |
| Build (build your own) | $299/month plus $0.12 a minute | $0.12 a minute | $299 base + $0.12/min used |
Our arithmetic: each vendor's cheapest published plan for that volume plus its published overage, at 3-minute calls. Taxes, setup fees and add-ons are not included. How we price.
A third plan, Enterprise, has no price: it reads "Custom" and "Contracted to your volume." (bland.ai/pricing, read October 26, 2026). Start is pitched at developers, Build at teams.
The pricing page lists what the per-minute rate includes: the LLM with "No token charges", real-time transcription and "Premium voices". That is the difference from Vapi, whose hosting fee leaves each of those as its own bill (see Vapi pricing).
What Bland costs at 3, 5 and 13 calls a day
The table is talk time on Start at 3 minutes a call, the only part of the bill we can compute from the page.
| Plan | 3 calls/day (90/mo) | 5 calls/day (150/mo) | 13 calls/day (390/mo) | Per call | A year at 13/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start (build your own) | $37.80 | $63 | $163.80 | $0.42 a call | $1,966 |
The bill moves in a straight line with minutes: double the calls and talk time doubles. Nothing in it is a fixed monthly charge on Start.
Build works the other way round: a monthly fee buys a lower rate, $0.12 a minute. At 13 calls a day the whole Start talk-time bill is $163.80, against Build at $299/month plus $0.12 a minute. Build is for teams running thousands of minutes, not for one business line.
How Bland counts a minute
- Billing unit: Per minute, plus a monthly platform fee on Build
- Rounding: Not published
- Time billed beyond the call: Transferred-call time billed separately
- Spam and short calls: Not published
- Setup fee: None stated
- Contract: No contract stated on self-serve plans
- Trial: None found; Start has no platform fee
The compare table on the pricing page names two meters: a "Talk Time Rate" and a "Transfer Time Rate". Talk time is $0.14 a minute on Start; transfer time is $0.05 a minute on Start and $0.04 on Build (bland.ai/pricing, read October 26, 2026).
The page does not say how a call is rounded, whether a call that never connects is billed, or how spam calls count. Until Bland publishes those, a short-call-heavy line can bill more than the 3-minute arithmetic shows.
What Bland connects to
| Tool | Connection | How we know |
|---|---|---|
| Clio | Via Zapier (a Zap you set up) | Vendor's own documentation (page) |
| MyCase | Via Zapier (a Zap you set up) | Vendor's own documentation (page) |
| Lawmatics | Via Zapier (a Zap you set up) | Vendor's own documentation (page) |
| HubSpot | Yes, built in | Listed in the tool's app directory (page) |
| GoHighLevel | Via Zapier (a Zap you set up) | Vendor's own documentation (page) |
| Google Calendar | Via Zapier (a Zap you set up) | Vendor's own documentation (page) |
| Calendly | Yes, built in | Vendor's own documentation (page) |
| Jobber | Via Zapier (a Zap you set up) | Vendor's own documentation (page) |
| ServiceTitan | Via Zapier (a Zap you set up) | Vendor's own documentation (page) |
| Housecall Pro | Via Zapier (a Zap you set up) | Vendor's own documentation (page) |
| Towbook | Not documented | Nothing found on its pages or the tool directory |
Bland's pricing page lists "Integrations" under its core features without naming a tool (bland.ai/pricing, read October 26, 2026). Whatever the agent writes to, you wire it up. See which receptionists write to Clio, HubSpot, Jobber and more.
Fees, contract and trial
- Platform fee: none on Start, where the page adds "No card required." Build carries the monthly fee in the plan table.
- Phone number: Start includes "2 credits + an inbound number ($15/mo value)."
- Telephony: "Telephony is billed separately, on your own carrier or Bland's at pass-through cost." The pass-through rate is not printed.
- Contract: none stated on Start or Build. Enterprise is "Contracted to your volume."
- Trial: none found. Start is the way in, with the two credits.
- Your number: Bland's terms page was not part of our capture, so we do not know what happens to a Bland number when you leave. Ask before you print it on anything.
All quotes from bland.ai/pricing, read October 26, 2026.
The catch
- Transfers run a second meter. When the agent hands a caller to your cell, the transferred time runs at $0.05 a minute on Start. A receptionist that transfers most calls pays talk time and transfer time on nearly every call. Bland's FAQ adds one exception: "BYOT customers do not pay transfer fees."
- "No surprise bills" covers the AI, not the line. The headline reads "No token charges. No model-provider pass-throughs. No surprise bills." The FAQ then says telephony is billed separately, at a pass-through cost the page does not print.
- Start caps your day. The compare table sets a "Daily Cap" of 100 calls and an "Hourly Cap" of 100 calls on Start. Thirteen calls a day is far inside it; a launch-day spike or a robocall wave is not.
- Nothing answers until you build it. Bland says "Most teams deploy a first agent within a day on the self-serve plans." That day, and every later change to prompts, transfers and booking, is your time, and no line of the price covers it.
Where Bland is a good buy
One number covers the model, speech and voice. That makes Bland's bill easier to forecast than Retell's, whose rate is a range set by the model and voice you pick, or Vapi's, whose hosting fee excludes all three.
At 3 calls a day Bland's talk time, $37.80, is under the whole bill of every ready-made AI receptionist in the table below. Upfirst, the lowest of them at that volume, costs $59.95. The gap is what you pay yourself to build and run the agent, plus the phone line.
At 13 calls a day Bland's talk time comes to $163.80, less than Phonely's $292.50 to $389.50 but more than Goodcall's whole plan at $129, for a receptionist you set up rather than build.
Bland against other AI options
| Service | Entry plan | 3 calls/day (90/mo) | 5 calls/day (150/mo) | 13 calls/day (390/mo) | If calls double (13 to 26 a day) | Overage | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bland (build your own) | Pay as you go at $0.14 a minute | $37.80 | $63 | $163.80 | +$163.80 | $0.14 a minute | bland.ai/pricing, read Oct 26, 2026 |
| Retell AI (build your own) | Pay as you go at $0.07 to $0.31 a minute | $18.90 to $83.70 | $31.50 to $139.50 | $81.90 to $362.70 | +$81.90 to $362.70 | $0.07 to $0.31 a minute | retellai.com/pricing, read Oct 26, 2026 |
| Goodcall | $79/month (100 unique callers) | $79 | $118.50 | $129 | +$72.80 | $0.15 to $0.79 a caller | goodcall.com/pricing, read Oct 26, 2026 |
| NextPhone | $199/month (unlimited calls) | $199 | $199 | $199 | No change | None, unlimited calls | getnextphone.com/pricing, read Oct 26, 2026 |
| Upfirst | $24.95/month (30 calls) | $59.95 | $119.95 | $227.45 | +$197.55 | $0.70 to $1.50 a call | upfirst.ai/pricing, read Oct 26, 2026 |
| Phonely | Free (100 minutes), then $50/month (200 minutes) | $67.50 to $74.50 | $112.50 to $137.50 | $292.50 to $389.50 | +$292.50 to $409.50 | $0.25 to $0.35 a minute | phonely.ai/pricing, read Oct 26, 2026 |
| Rosie | $49/month (250 minutes) | $149 | $149 | $299 | Not computable | Moves up to the next plan | heyrosie.com/pricing, read Oct 26, 2026 |
| My AI Front Desk | $99/month (240 minutes: 200 voice plus a 1,000-credit pool worth 40) | $106.50 | $151.50 | $331.50 | +$292.50 | $0.25 a minute | myaifrontdesk.com/pricing, read Oct 26, 2026 |
| Synthflow (build your own) | Quote only | Quote only | Quote only | Quote only | Quote only | Not published | synthflow.ai/pricing, read Oct 26, 2026 |
| Vapi (build your own) | Pay as you go: $0.05/min hosting, plus each speech, model, voice and phone provider billed per minute | Not computable from the published price | Not computable from the published price | Not computable from the published price | Not computable | $0.05/min hosting, plus each speech, model, voice and phone provider billed per minute | vapi.ai/pricing, read Oct 26, 2026 |
Rows marked "build your own" are platform usage only; the other rows are a ready-made receptionist's whole monthly bill. Vapi's cost is not computable because its hosting fee excludes the model, speech and voice providers. For the full field, see Bland alternatives and what it costs to build your own AI receptionist.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Bland AI cost per minute?
Bland's Start plan is pay as you go at $0.14 a minute, with no platform fee, read from its pricing page on October 26, 2026. Build costs $299/month plus $0.12 a minute. Transferred-call time is billed separately on both plans.
Does Bland charge for transferred calls?
Yes. Bland bills a "Transfer Time Rate" of $0.05 a minute on Start and $0.04 on Build, on top of talk time. Its FAQ says customers who bring their own Twilio or SIP telephony do not pay transfer fees.
What does Bland cost for a small business?
At 5 three-minute calls a day, Bland's Start plan bills $63 a month of talk time. Telephony, transfer minutes and the time to build and maintain the agent come on top, and Bland publishes no figure for them together.
Does Bland include a phone number?
The Start plan comes with "2 credits + an inbound number", which Bland values at $15 a month on its pricing page. Its FAQ also says you can bring your own Twilio account or SIP trunks.
Is Bland an AI receptionist?
Bland is a build-your-own voice AI platform. It sells the parts of an AI phone agent at a per-minute rate, and you write the agent's instructions, call flow and transfers. Ready-made AI receptionists sell the finished service at a monthly price.
Does Bland have a free plan?
Bland's Start plan has no platform fee and needs no card, according to its pricing page. Talk time is billed by the minute once the two starting credits are used.
How these numbers were made
Every vendor price on this page was read from the vendor's own pricing page on the date in its Source cell and saved as a dated capture. Monthly costs use each vendor's cheapest published plan for the volume plus its published overage, at 3-minute calls. Vendors that hide prices stay in the tables as quote only. We do not test answering quality and publish no ratings.
Sources
Vendor pricing and terms pages, from the price index
- Bland: bland.ai/pricing (read October 26, 2026)
- Goodcall: goodcall.com/pricing (read October 26, 2026); help.goodcall.com/en/articles/8007566-terms-of-service (read October 27, 2026)
- My AI Front Desk: myaifrontdesk.com/pricing (read October 26, 2026); myaifrontdesk.com/terms-of-service (read October 27, 2026)
- NextPhone: getnextphone.com/pricing (read October 26, 2026)
- Phonely: phonely.ai/pricing (read October 26, 2026)
- Retell AI: retellai.com/pricing (read October 26, 2026)
- Rosie: heyrosie.com/pricing (read October 26, 2026); heyrosie.com/legal/terms (read October 27, 2026)
- Synthflow: synthflow.ai/pricing (read October 26, 2026)
- Upfirst: upfirst.ai/pricing (read October 26, 2026); upfirst.ai/terms-of-service (read October 27, 2026)
- Vapi: vapi.ai/pricing (read October 26, 2026)
Changes to these prices
- Upfirst: cancellation notice recorded as none. Its pricing FAQ says "You can cancel, upgrade, or downgrade anytime, no questions asked," the same strength as other cancel-anytime terms. Its setup-fee summary now reads "None stated": no page says there is no fee. No price changed.
- Retell AI: corrected the transfer term. Its pricing page says "Once the call is transferred, the AI voice agent fee stops. Only the telephony fee continues for the remainder of the transferred call." The index had said the whole call was billed after a transfer. No price changed.
- My AI Front Desk: the 1,000 monthly overage credits its pricing page lists as included ("Extra credits you get each month in case you go over your included usage") now count as 40 included minutes, so Business-in-a-Box covers 240 minutes before the $0.25 rate applies (was 200).
- Phonely: its Professional plan card says 650 minutes and its comparison table 750; the card is used. When two plans tie on their lowest cost, the one with the narrower range is chosen, so Phonely at 300 calls a month prices on Professional alone.
- My AI Front Desk: billing-term summaries (billing unit, rounding, time billed beyond the call, spam, setup fee, contract, trial) added from the vendor-data billing-terms and contracts files and their captures. No price changed.
- Phonely: billing-term summaries (billing unit, rounding, time billed beyond the call, spam, setup fee, contract, trial) added from the vendor-data billing-terms and contracts files and their captures. No price changed.
- Vapi: billing-term summaries (billing unit, rounding, time billed beyond the call, spam, setup fee, contract, trial) added from the vendor-data billing-terms and contracts files and their captures. No price changed.
- Retell AI: billing-term summaries (billing unit, rounding, time billed beyond the call, spam, setup fee, contract, trial) added from the vendor-data billing-terms and contracts files and their captures. No price changed.
- Bland: billing-term summaries (billing unit, rounding, time billed beyond the call, spam, setup fee, contract, trial) added from the vendor-data billing-terms and contracts files and their captures. No price changed.
- Synthflow: billing-term summaries (billing unit, rounding, time billed beyond the call, spam, setup fee, contract, trial) added from the vendor-data billing-terms and contracts files and their captures. No price changed.
- Rosie added from its own pricing page (captured October 26, 2026), with billing terms from its terms, FAQ and help pages (read October 27, 2026). Rosie moves an account up a plan instead of charging overage.
- Goodcall added from its own pricing page (captured October 26, 2026), with billing terms from its terms, FAQ and help pages (read October 27, 2026). Goodcall bills per unique caller a month; our arithmetic counts every call as a different caller.
- Upfirst added from its own pricing page (captured October 26, 2026), with billing terms from its terms, FAQ and help pages (read October 27, 2026). Upfirst does not bill calls under 15 seconds or spam.
- Added NextPhone Pro, Growth and Scale from its public pricing page. All three plans include unlimited calls with no per-minute charge or overage fee.
- My AI Front Desk: overage of $0.25 a minute (25 credits at $0.01) added; it was on the captured page but missing here.
Download the data
The first table on this page (CSV, 2 rows). The full price index (CSV), free to reuse under CC BY 4.0.
How to cite this page
ReceptionistPrices.com, Bland AI Pricing 2026: Start and Build Plans, Per Minute, prices checked October 26, 2026, https://www.receptionistprices.com/bland/pricing/