The short answer
GoHighLevel Voice AI costs $0.045 a minute for the voice engine plus $0.015 for a standard voice, then the AI model's tokens and the phone line on top. On a budget model that is about $0.068 a minute, or about $0.20 for a 2.5 minute inbound call including phone. Past roughly 1,426 AI minutes a month per client, the $97 AI Employee Unlimited plan is cheaper.
The four charges on every AI call
Since May 20, 2026, HighLevel bills Voice AI in parts instead of one bundled rate. Pages still quoting $0.13 or $0.06 a minute are using the old pricing. An inbound AI call on pay per use now carries four meters:
| Charge | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Voice engine | $0.045/min | Speech recognition and call handling |
| Text-to-speech voice | $0.015 to $0.17/min | OpenAI or Cartesia $0.015, ElevenLabs V2.5 $0.035, ElevenLabs V3 $0.17 |
| AI model tokens | varies | Priced per million tokens, from $0.05 (GPT-5 Nano) to $3.00 (Claude Sonnet) |
| Phone line | $0.01165/min in, $0.0166/min out | Rounded up to the full minute per call; forwarded calls cost $0.02/min |
Speech-to-speech agents skip the separate engine, voice and token lines and charge one all-in rate: $0.10 a minute on Google Gemini or $0.20 on OpenAI's realtime model. Phone minutes still apply.
Cost per minute by setup
HighLevel publishes token prices, not a per-minute AI figure. We assume about 20,000 tokens per call minute, because a voice agent re-reads its instructions and the conversation on every turn. Treat the token share as an estimate: long prompts and large knowledge bases raise it.
| Setup | AI per minute | With inbound phone |
|---|---|---|
| Standard voice, GPT-4.1 Mini | $0.068 | $0.08 |
| Standard voice, GPT-4o | $0.11 | $0.122 |
| ElevenLabs voice, GPT-4.1 Mini | $0.088 | $0.10 |
| Speech-to-speech, Gemini | $0.10 | $0.112 |
| Speech-to-speech, OpenAI | $0.20 | $0.212 |
Cost per call
Clients think in calls, not minutes, so price the call. The phone line rounds each call up to the next full minute, which matters on short calls: a 1.5 minute call bills 2 phone minutes.
| Call length | Standard voice, budget model | ElevenLabs voice | Speech-to-speech OpenAI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 min | $0.08 | $0.10 | $0.21 |
| 2.5 min | $0.20 | $0.25 | $0.53 |
| 4 min | $0.32 | $0.40 | $0.85 |
| 6 min | $0.48 | $0.60 | $1.27 |
To run your client's own numbers, use the cost and pricing calculator. It rounds phone minutes per call and picks the cheapest AI plan for you.
Pay per use vs Growth vs Unlimited
AI Employee is sold per sub-account, so each client can be on a different option.
| Option | Monthly fee | Voice AI included | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pay per use | $0 | None, billed per minute | Clients under about 1,426 AI minutes a month |
| AI Employee Growth | $50 | 100 minutes, then pay per use | Clients who also use chat AI (1,000 replies included), reviews and content AI |
| AI Employee Unlimited | $97 | Inbound, outbound and widget, fair use | Busy clients, or premium voices where minutes cost more |
For voice alone, Growth never beats pay per use on a standard voice: its $50 fee buys 100 minutes that would cost about $6.80 on pay per use. Growth earns its keep through the Conversation AI replies and other tools it bundles. Unlimited is the one to watch: at 1,426 minutes a month on a standard voice, or far fewer on an ElevenLabs or speech-to-speech voice, it becomes the cheaper choice.
Outbound calls and limits
Outbound Voice AI calls start from a workflow, for example calling a new lead within a minute of a form fill. HighLevel's current limits:
- Up to 5,000 outbound AI calls per location per day.
- Each number can be called once a day and 14 times in any 14 days.
- Calls only between 8am and 8pm in the contact's time zone, and only to numbers in the same country.
- You must accept the outbound terms, pass KYC, and collect consent that covers AI and automated calls.
Outbound phone minutes cost $0.0166 each. Consent is the part to take seriously: US rules on automated and AI-voiced calls apply to your client's campaigns, so get legal advice before switching on outbound for a client.
What Voice AI does
A HighLevel voice agent can answer calls around the clock or only after hours, book appointments into one calendar or route across several, collect and update contact details, transfer to a person, send a follow-up text or email, update opportunities, and trigger workflows during or after the call. It also works as a voice widget on a website. HighLevel lists 53 languages plus a multilingual English and Spanish mode, and more than 340 voices, with voice cloning available. Voice AI needs an LC Phone or Twilio number.
What to charge clients
HighLevel does not publish what agencies charge, and the ranges quoted online are unsourced. Price from your cost instead. A dental office taking 400 AI calls a month at 2.5 minutes costs about $82 a month in AI and phone on a standard voice. Whatever you charge on top pays for setup, prompt tuning, monitoring call quality and the support calls when the AI gets something wrong. The calculator's Price a client tab solves for the fee that hits your target margin, and our SaaS Mode guide covers rebilling with markup on Agency Pro.
Price an AI receptionist Try HighLevel
Questions
How much does GoHighLevel Voice AI cost per minute?
On pay per use: $0.045 a minute for the voice engine, plus $0.015 for an OpenAI or Cartesia voice ($0.035 for ElevenLabs V2.5), plus the AI model's tokens, plus phone minutes at $0.01165 inbound. With a budget model that is about $0.068 a minute before the phone line. Speech-to-speech agents are $0.10 or $0.20 a minute all in.
Is Voice AI included in the GoHighLevel plan?
No. No plan includes Voice AI minutes on its own. You pay per use, or buy AI Employee per sub-account: Growth at $50 a month includes 100 Voice AI minutes, and Unlimited at $97 a month covers Voice AI under fair use.
Do I need AI Employee Unlimited to use Voice AI?
No. Voice AI works on pay per use with no monthly fee. Unlimited only saves money once a client uses more than about 1,426 Voice AI minutes a month on a standard voice.
Are phone charges included in the AI Employee plans?
No. HighLevel bills phone minutes and texts on top of every AI plan, including Unlimited. An inbound AI call costs $0.01165 a minute for the phone line, rounded up to the full minute per call.
Can GoHighLevel Voice AI make outbound calls?
Yes. Outbound Voice AI calls are triggered from workflows. Limits: up to 5,000 outbound AI calls per location per day, each number called at most once a day and 14 times in 14 days, only between 8am and 8pm in the contact's time zone, with KYC and consent language required. Outbound phone minutes cost $0.0166 each.
Can I charge clients more than HighLevel charges me for Voice AI?
Yes, on Agency Pro. It rebills AI usage with a markup you set. Unlimited can pass phone and email usage through at cost but cannot mark up or rebill AI. Many agencies sell the AI receptionist as a flat monthly service instead. Our SaaS Mode guide covers both.