How Billing Works
You add money, you spend it, you can see every cent. No subscriptions.
letustalk.ai uses prepaid credits. You buy $X of credits, you spend $Y per call, you see exactly what was spent on what. When you run low, you top up. There's no monthly subscription.
The simplest mental model
Think of it like a prepaid balance you draw down:
- You top up $10
- Each call costs some money (typically $0.04–0.05 per minute)
- The balance drops as you use it
- When low, top up again
- Unused balance never expires
What a call actually costs
Every voice call uses 3-4 AI services that letustalk.ai pays for. We add a small margin (30%) and pass the cost to you in USD. A typical breakdown:
A 60-second English call:
LLM (the AI brain): $0.005
STT (speech-to-text): $0.006
TTS (text-to-speech): $0.022
SIP (phone line, if any): $0.007
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Total cost (provider): $0.040
+ 30% margin: $0.012
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Total charged to you: $0.052Every call in your dashboard shows this exact breakdown — you can audit it.
Web vs phone — the price difference
| Type | Costs | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Phone calls | LLM + STT + TTS + SIP | You pay per minute for the phone line |
| Web widget voice | LLM + STT + TTS | No phone line — uses your visitor's browser |
| WhatsApp voice | LLM + STT + TTS | Meta provides the channel |
| Chat (text) | LLM only | No voice → no STT/TTS |
Phone calls are typically the most expensive. Web/widget voice is ~30% cheaper. Chat is ~95% cheaper.
What happens at zero balance
Three things in this order:
- Below $0.10: Calls are refused immediately with an error. You can't accidentally bury yourself in negative balance.
- Email alert: We email you when you cross the threshold, so you know to top up.
- Existing calls finish: Calls already in progress are NOT cut off mid-call. We finish them, even if it goes a bit below zero.
Free promo credits
When you sign up, you usually get a welcome bonus of free credits. We also occasionally run coupon promotions.
Promo credits are separate from your paid balance:
Promo balance: $0.50 ← spent FIRST
Paid balance: $5.00 ← used after promo runs outThis means free credits get used up before you spend a cent of your own money.
Redeem a coupon code
- Go to Billing in the sidebar
- Click Redeem Coupon
- Enter the code (case-sensitive)
- See the bonus amount
- Click Confirm
The bonus is added instantly.
How to see your spending
The Billing page shows:
| Available balance | What you can spend right now (paid + promo combined) |
| Promo balance | The free portion |
| Paid balance | What you've topped up |
| This month's usage | Total spend in the current calendar month |
| Transaction history | Every top-up and deduction |
The Calls page shows the cost of each individual call — click a call row to see the full breakdown (LLM + STT + TTS + SIP).
Common questions
"Why do my test calls cost real money?" Because they use real AI providers. A 1-minute test = ~$0.05. We don't charge for the call you reject mid-ring.
"Can I get a refund?" Yes, unused balance is refundable. Email support.
"How fresh is the balance shown?" It's updated after every call completes (~5 seconds after hangup). The Calls page updates live.
"Do I pay for failed calls?" No. Failed calls (bot crashes, SIP errors, never-connected) are not charged.
"Do I pay for voicemail?" Yes — but if you enable voicemail detection, the bot hangs up in ~2 seconds and the call costs almost nothing.
What's next
- Top up credits — how to add money
- Pricing — exact rates for each provider
- Credits page — understanding the dashboard