# Open-source alternatives to Vapi

> We track 3 open-source alternatives to Vapi, but none currently has confirmed commercial use, local running and no paid services together. Bolna, LiveKit Agents and Pipecat cover all 2 Vapi jobs.

Vapi: Paid developer platform for building voice agents that answer and make phone calls. Pricing: Pay as you go: $5 free credit, $0.05/min hosting plus provider costs; Core plan $29/month (checked 2026-10-15). Facts checked 2026-10-16.

## Projects

| Project | Jobs | Runs locally | Commercial use | Paid services | Hardware |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [LiveKit Agents](https://repoquarry.dev/projects/livekit-agents) | voice-agents, phone-calls | Yes; console mode runs locally, and the full stack including LiveKit server can be self-hosted; LiveKit Cloud is the hosted option | Apache-2.0 framework; bundled turn-detector models carry LiveKit Model License restrictions; plugged-in providers have their own terms | README example uses LiveKit Inference (part of LiveKit Cloud, billed by usage) or provider keys for Deepgram, OpenAI and Cartesia. LiveKit server can be self-hosted and docs cover a local Ollama LLM, but no local STT or TTS plugin is documented in the sources checked | Framework requirements not stated; the turn-detector model runs on CPU and needs under 500 MB RAM |
| [Pipecat](https://repoquarry.dev/projects/pipecat) | voice-agents, phone-calls | Yes, runs on your machine; also deployable to Pipecat Cloud | Yes for the framework (BSD-2-Clause); check the licence or terms of each service you plug in | Quickstart needs Deepgram, OpenAI and Cartesia API keys; documented local alternatives include Whisper STT (Faster Whisper or MLX), Ollama LLM and Piper TTS, so a fully local pipeline is possible | Not documented for the framework; depends on the chosen services |
| [Bolna](https://repoquarry.dev/projects/bolna) | voice-agents, phone-calls | Yes, self-hosted with Docker; also usable as a Python package | Yes for the framework (MIT); check each provider's terms | Phone calls need a Twilio or Plivo account; ASR, LLM and TTS can be paid APIs or self-hosted endpoints | Not documented; depends on the providers you choose |

## Common questions

### Is there a free, open-source alternative to Vapi?

Yes. Pipecat is free to download and run on your own computer without paid API keys. It covers every job we list for Vapi.

### Can I do voice agents locally without a Vapi subscription?

Yes, with LiveKit Agents (Apache-2.0), Pipecat (BSD-2-Clause) and Bolna (MIT). Check the hardware notes and licence conditions on each page before you start.

### Can I do phone calls (telephony) locally without a Vapi subscription?

Yes, with LiveKit Agents (Apache-2.0), Pipecat (BSD-2-Clause) and Bolna (MIT). Check the hardware notes and licence conditions on each page before you start.

### Which Vapi alternatives can I use commercially?

Confirmed: Bolna and Pipecat. With conditions: LiveKit Agents. This is not legal advice; read each licence.

### Does any open-source project replace all of Vapi?

Bolna, LiveKit Agents and Pipecat cover every job we list for Vapi.

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Source: RepoQuarry (https://repoquarry.dev/alternatives/vapi). Data licence: CC BY 4.0. Quotes are from project documentation and belong to their authors.