1. The two pricing models

Per-minute: you pay for every minute your AI agent spends on calls. It suits low or seasonal volume because there is no fixed fee, but the bill grows with every call. Per-channel: you pay a flat monthly fee for each channel — one channel is one call that can be live at a time — and the minutes are unlimited. It suits steady volume, because the cost stays the same however much you call.

On VaaniAI both are available: ₹9,999 per channel per month with unlimited calls (₹24,999 a month for 3 channels), or pay-as-you-go at ₹3.20 per answered minute, where unanswered and busy dials cost nothing. Prices exclude 18% GST.

2. What drives the cost

Five things: 1) how many calls you make a month; 2) how long the answered calls last (most qualification and reminder calls take 1–3 minutes); 3) how many calls you need running at the same time, which sets the number of channels; 4) telephony — phone numbers and carrier charges, which some vendors bill separately; 5) add-ons such as CRM seats, WhatsApp messaging and extra numbers.

3. Worked examples (2-minute average answered call)

1,000 calls a month = 2,000 answered minutes. Pay-as-you-go: ₹6,400. One channel: ₹9,999. Pay-as-you-go is cheaper at this volume.

5,000 calls a month = 10,000 minutes. Pay-as-you-go: ₹32,000. One channel handles roughly 200–300 conversations a day, so one channel (₹9,999) or two (₹19,998) covers it.

20,000 calls a month = 40,000 minutes. Pay-as-you-go: ₹1,28,000. About 770 calls a working day needs three or four channels: ₹24,999 for 3 channels, or ₹34,998 with a fourth.

All figures exclude 18% GST and use VaaniAI list prices.

4. Hidden costs to check

1) Telephony billed separately from the AI. 2) Per-minute rounding — a 61-second call billed as 2 minutes adds up. 3) Charges for unanswered or busy dials. 4) Setup or onboarding fees. 5) CRM, seat or number fees. 6) US-dollar pricing and forex swings. 7) Minimum commitments or annual lock-ins.

5. Which model should you pick?

Choose pay-as-you-go if you use fewer than about 3,000 answered minutes a month (₹9,999 ÷ ₹3.20 ≈ 3,100 minutes), your volume is seasonal, or you are still testing. Choose channels once volume is steady — the cost per call falls the more you use each channel. Many businesses start on pay-as-you-go and move to channels when campaigns settle.

6. Try it at your real volume first

Run a pilot on your own leads before committing: measure answer rate, average call length and conversions, then price both models on those numbers. VaaniAI's free trial is 14 days or 50 calls, whichever comes first, with no credit card required.