Voice AI Cost Calculator
Calculate precise costs for your voice AI application using real-time pricing from major providers. Get detailed breakdowns and optimize your stack for cost efficiency.
Provider Selection
Cost Configuration
Calculation Assumptions
Cost Breakdown
Cost Details
Token Usage
Latency Calculator
Analyze and optimize the latency components of your voice AI pipeline. Adjust individual components to see their impact on total latency.
Latency Performance Guide
Latency Breakdown Configuration
Input Path
AI Processing
Output Path
Formula Documentation
Understand how costs and latencies are calculated in your voice AI application. All calculations are based on industry-standard formulas and real-world usage patterns.
Cost Calculations
LLM Costs
Input Cost = Input Tokens × Input Rate per TokenOutput Cost = Output Tokens × Output Rate per TokenTotal LLM Cost = Input Cost + Output CostSTT Costs
STT Cost = Conversation Length (minutes) × Rate per MinuteTTS Costs
TTS Cost = Characters Generated × Rate per CharacterHosting Costs
Hosting Cost = (vCPU Cost × Conversation Length) ÷ Agents per vCPUToken Calculations
Input Tokens = (Words/Min × Tokens/Word ÷ Turns/Min) × (Turns/Min × Convo Length) × (Turns/Min × Convo Length + 1) ÷ 2Output Tokens = Words/Min × Tokens/Word × LLM Speech Ratio × Convo LengthLatency Calculations
Total Latency = Mic Input + Opus Encoding + Network Transit + Packet Handling + Jitter Buffer + Opus Decoding + Transcription + LLM Inference + Sentence Aggregation + Text-to-Speech + Opus Encoding + Packet Handling + Network Transit + Jitter Buffer + Opus Decoding + Speaker OutputFAQs
- How accurate are the cost estimates provided by this calculator?
The cost estimates are based on current pricing from major AI providers and industry-standard usage patterns. However, actual costs may vary depending on your specific use case, provider discounts, volume pricing, and other factors. We recommend using these estimates as a starting point for budgeting and comparing different provider options.
- What factors affect the total cost of my voice AI application?
The total cost depends on several factors: conversation length, number of concurrent users, provider pricing, token usage (which grows quadratically with conversation length), voice synthesis requirements, and infrastructure hosting costs. The calculator accounts for all these variables to give you a comprehensive cost breakdown.
- How does latency impact the user experience in voice AI applications?
Latency is crucial for natural conversations. Total latency under 200ms is considered fast and provides excellent user experience. 200-500ms is acceptable for most use cases, while over 500ms can feel sluggish. The latency calculator helps you optimize each component of your voice pipeline to achieve the best possible performance.
- Can I save or export my calculations for future reference?
Currently, the calculator runs in your browser and doesn't save data automatically. We recommend taking screenshots or noting down your preferred configurations. Future versions may include export functionality for sharing calculations with your team or saving them for later use.
- How often are the provider prices updated in the calculator?
The calculator uses hardcoded pricing data that reflects current market rates. However, AI provider pricing can change frequently. We recommend verifying current pricing directly with providers before making final decisions, especially for high-volume applications where small price differences can have significant impact.
- What's the difference between input and output tokens in LLM costs?
Input tokens represent the text you send to the LLM (including conversation history), while output tokens are the text the LLM generates in response. Input tokens grow quadratically with conversation length due to context accumulation, while output tokens grow linearly. This is why longer conversations become increasingly expensive.
- How do I choose the best provider combination for my use case?
Consider your priorities: cost optimization, latency requirements, voice quality, and reliability. Use the calculator to compare different combinations. For cost-sensitive applications, consider GPT-4o Mini with efficient TTS providers. For low-latency needs, prioritize faster STT/TTS providers even if they cost more.
- What does 'agents per vCPU' mean in the hosting cost calculation?
This represents how many concurrent voice AI conversations can run on a single virtual CPU. The actual number depends on your infrastructure setup, conversation complexity, and optimization. A higher number means better resource utilization and lower per-conversation hosting costs, but may impact performance.