Telnyx launches real-time Cost Estimator for Voice AI Agents

Telnyx has added a real-time Cost Estimator for Voice AI Agents in the Mission Control Portal. When configuring a Voice AI assistant, an estimated cost bar dynamically updates with the latest per-minute cost estimate.

How it works

When building a Voice AI assistant in the Mission Control Portal, you’ll see an estimated cost bar in the upper-right corner of the interface.

The Cost Estimator breaks down the total cost by component, with color-coded segments showing how each input contributes to the overall rate. It includes a base rate that covers orchestration and call control and adds variable costs for your selected speech-to-text (STT), text-to-speech (TTS), and large language model (LLM) options.

Cost estimator in the Mission Control Portal

The estimated cost bar updates in real time as you adjust settings, always reflecting the current estimated cost per minute of running your Voice AI agent. These estimates exclude any pass-through fees for third-party models where you bring your own API key (BYOK). Users should treat the displayed figure as an estimate: actual fees will vary in production based on real-world call patterns, model behavior, or production-level traffic.

Key benefits

• Align model selection with budget: The Cost Estimator gives you the ability to fine-tune STT, TTS, and LLM choices to meet your organization’s budget constraints without guesswork.

• Better cost forecasting: The Cost Estimator helps you better predict and forecast Voice AI operating costs by showing a transparent per-minute estimate upfront.

Why it matters

By enabling real-time cost visibility during development, the Cost Estimator helps organizations design more cost-efficient Voice AI models and maximize their ROI across different use cases. It underscores Telnyx’s focus on transparency and control, allowing teams to innovate with Voice AI while keeping spend predictable and aligned with business goals.

Getting started

1. In the Mission Control Portal, create a new Voice AI assistant or open an existing one for editing.
2. Change any of the three inputs (STT, TTS, LLM) to see how each choice affects your corresponding cost.
3. When you make a change, the estimated cost bar instantly recalculates and displays the updated per-minute cost.
4. Continue tweaking the STT, TTS, and LLM settings until the estimated per-minute cost aligns with your budget and performance goals.