What it costs to give an AI agent a phone number in 2026
A phone number for an AI agent runs from about $10 a month for light use to a flat $29.99 a month. Bland's Agent Phone Plan is $14.99 for the first month.
An AI agent's phone costs depend on the number fee, usage charges, and plan limits. Bland's Agent Phone Plan is $14.99 for the first month, then $29.99 a month, and includes one US number with unlimited US and Canada voice minutes and SMS under fair use. That fair-use policy caps the account at one call at a time, 20 calls an hour, 50 a day, 1,000 call minutes a day, 60 minutes max per outbound call, and 20 texts an hour, 100 a day, to US and Canada numbers only. AgentPhone and Dial charge $3 a month for the number plus $0.13 a minute for voice and $0.02 a message for SMS, so their total depends entirely on how much the agent actually calls and texts.
This post is published by Bland. Figures for AgentPhone and Dial come from their own pricing pages, checked in October 2026, with sources listed in the table.
The three ways a phone number for an agent gets priced#
- A flat monthly plan: you pay one price and get a number plus calling and texting up to a fair use limit. Bland's Agent Phone Plan works this way.
- A number plus metered use: you pay a small monthly fee for the number, then a per minute rate for voice and a per message rate for SMS. AgentPhone and Dial both work this way, with the same published rate card: $3 a number, $0.13 a minute for calls the agent places itself, $0.22 a minute if the vendor hosts the calling, and $0.02 a text.
- Per call or per minute with no number at all: some tools dial out for an agent without giving it a number of its own. That model is not covered in this post; see the comparison posts linked below for Bland against named rivals.
Price and what is included, as of October 2026#
Three worked examples#
The examples compare ongoing monthly costs after Bland's $14.99 first month and assume each text is one billable SMS segment, with no MMS or additional fees. Count both sent and received messages. AgentPhone passes carrier surcharges through at cost, so its totals below are base-rate estimates. AgentPhone and Dial come out the same because their self-hosted rate cards match.
Light use: 50 minutes of voice and 50 texts a month
- AgentPhone or Dial: $3 number + (50 x $0.13 = $6.50) voice + (50 x $0.02 = $1.00) SMS = $10.50
- Bland: $29.99 flat (or the $2 free credit route, which covers about 14 minutes at $0.14 a minute with no texting)
Medium use: 150 minutes of voice and 300 texts a month
- AgentPhone or Dial: $3 + (150 x $0.13 = $19.50) + (300 x $0.02 = $6.00) = $28.50
- Bland: $29.99 flat
Heavy use: 900 voice minutes and 2,000 total sent and received texts a month, distributed within every hourly and daily cap; automatic SMS replies also count toward the text limits
- AgentPhone or Dial: $3 + (900 x $0.13 = $117.00) + (2,000 x $0.02 = $40.00) = $160.00
- Bland: $29.99 flat, unlimited voice and SMS under fair use, with one dedicated number, one active call across the account and a 1,000 minute per day cap
At light use, the metered rate is cheaper. Around 150 minutes a month the two models land close to each other, and past that a flat plan wins for as long as usage stays inside the plan's fair use limits.
What the price does not cover#
Check each vendor's own pricing page for current rates before you commit to one, since this comparison does not list every possible add-on fee. Dial's SMS rate rises outside the US, from $0.02 up to $1.00 a message depending on the destination country[^1]. Bland's plan is priced only for US and Canada calls, transfers and SMS; international destinations are not included.
Bland's limits, stated plainly#
Bland's Agent Phone Plan includes one dedicated US local number, one active call across the whole account (inbound and outbound combined), a maximum outbound call length of 60 minutes, and 1,000 call minutes a day shared between inbound and outbound, resetting at midnight UTC. "Unlimited" on the plan always comes with fair use limits attached, so the plan stays priced for one agent's normal use[^2]. The Agent Phone Plan page states up to 20 calls per hour and 50 calls per day.
Where a metered plan fits better than Bland's flat plan#
If an agent makes a handful of calls a month, or its calling is unpredictable and sometimes zero, a metered number from AgentPhone or Dial is cheaper than Bland's flat $29.99, because you pay only for what the agent uses. AgentPhone also sells Canadian numbers, and Dial prices SMS to more than 200 countries, which Bland's plan does not cover at all.
Before your agent calls or texts anyone, make sure you have their consent and have checked your state's or country's recording rules; see Bland's terms (/legal/terms). This is not legal advice.
For a pricing summary you can scan, see the AI phone number cost page or the AI phone number plan details. For examples beyond the bill, what ChatGPT can do once it's connected and how to give Meta Muse its own number cover ChatGPT's capabilities and Muse's setup respectively, and can your AI agent answer its own phone covers inbound.
FAQ#
How much does a phone number for an AI agent cost?#
Bland's Agent Phone Plan costs $14.99 for the first month, then $29.99/month. Metered providers charge separately for the number and usage.
Is there a free way to try it first?#
Bland offers $2 of free credits instead of the plan, billed at $0.14 a connected minute, with calls going out from a shared pool of numbers and no texting. AgentPhone and Dial each offer a free starting credit of their own, $5 in both cases, applied against their per minute and per message rates.
Does the price include texting?#
On Bland's plan, yes: unlimited US and Canada SMS under fair use is included in the $29.99. On AgentPhone and Dial, SMS is billed per message on top of the number fee.
Is Canada included?#
Bland's plan covers US and Canada calls, transfers and SMS. AgentPhone also sells US and Canadian numbers; Dial lists US and Canada SMS in its lowest price tier.
Which is cheaper, a flat plan or a metered one?#
It depends on volume. Metered pricing is cheaper at low use; a flat plan becomes cheaper once calling and texting pass roughly the point where the metered total would exceed $29.99. The worked examples above show where the two models cross over.
What happens if the agent goes over Bland's limits?#
The docs describe hard caps on concurrency, daily call minutes and texts, each returning an error code when hit. The plan allows up to 20 calls per hour and 50 calls per day.
Facts checked October 2026.