Agora's 2026 pricing keeps the same core pay-as-you-go rates it's had for years ($0.99/1k audio minutes, $3.99/1k HD video minutes) but now layers four subscription tiers from $45.99 to $1,217.99 per month, plus 1-year prepaid credit packs. Everything except Conversational AI is covered by a shared 10,000-minute monthly free bucket. The main gap: Conv AI is gated to a separate 300-minute trial and then billed at $0.10/min. If you're building voice agents, TRTC's unified 10,000-minute pool converts to ~1,000 Conv AI minutes every month, on every plan — making it materially cheaper for AI-first workloads.
Quick compare — Agora vs TRTC
| Agora | TRTC | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Global-scale live streaming, mature Agora stack | Bursty or AI-heavy workloads; cost-sensitive teams |
| Post-paid | ✅ | ✅ one-click toggle |
| Subscription plans | Starter / Pro / Business / Plus | Lite / Standard / Pro |
| Credit packs | ✅ 25k / 250k / 1M, 1-year | ✅ 25k / 250k / 1M, 1-year |
| Free RTC minutes | 10,000/month shared across RTC products | 10,000/month convertible to AI |
| Free Conversational AI | 300-minute trial only | ~990 min every month, every plan (Free Trial + post-paid included, 10.10× unified pool) |
| Voice post-paid rate | $0.99/1k min | $0.99/1k min |
| HD Video post-paid rate | $3.99/1k min | $3.99/1k min |
| Our recommendation | Pick Agora if mature live streaming + existing Agora integration | Pick TRTC if AI is first-class or you want ongoing Conv AI free minutes |
Agora pricing at a glance (2026-04-22)
Agora's pricing page lists three layers: pay-as-you-go rates, a shared monthly free bucket, and prepaid credit packs. On top of that, subscription plans are available via Agora sales.
Layer 1 — Pay-as-you-go rates (public page)
| Product | Rate | Included in shared 10k/mo? |
|---|---|---|
| Voice Calling | $0.99/1k min | ✅ |
| Video Calling — HD | $3.99/1k min | ✅ |
| Video Calling — Full HD | $8.99/1k min | ✅ |
| Video Calling — 2K | $15.99/1k min | ✅ |
| Video Calling — 4K | $35.99/1k min | ✅ |
| Interactive Live Streaming | $0.99/1k min | ✅ |
| Broadcast Streaming | $0.59/1k min | ✅ |
| Cloud Recording | $0.99/1k min | ✅ |
| Conversational AI Engine | $0.10/min | ❌ — separate 300-min trial |
| Real-time STT | $16.99/1k min | ❌ — separate 300-min trial |
| Real-time Translation | $8.99/1k min/language | ❌ — shares 300-min trial with STT |
| Signaling | $59/month starter | — |
| Chat | $349/month starter | — |
| AI Noise Suppression | $0.59/1k min | — |
| 3D Spatial Audio | $0.99/1k min | — |
| Flexible Classroom | $2.19/1k min | — |
The critical line: Conversational AI, STT, and real-time translation are not covered by the 10,000-minute RTC free bucket. They each get their own trial allotment and then meter separately.
Layer 2 — Subscription plans (via Agora sales)
| Plan | Monthly price | Included minutes (video-HD equivalent) | Effective /1k pm |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $45.99 | 50,000 | $0.92 |
| Pro | $133.99 | 150,000 | $0.89 |
| Business | $339.99 | 400,000 | $0.85 |
| Business Plus | $1,217.99 | 1,500,000 | $0.81 |
These plans discount the per-1k rate by 7–19% compared to post-paid, but require monthly commitment and don't help if your traffic is irregular.
Layer 3 — Prepaid credit packs (1-year validity)
| Pack | Price |
|---|---|
| 25,000 min | $23.50 |
| 250,000 min | $230 |
| 1,000,000 min | $891 |
These packs look almost identical to TRTC's structure (25k/250k/1M, 1-year validity). Pricing per 1k minute is also very similar ($0.94 / $0.92 / $0.89 on Agora versus $0.92 / $0.90 / $0.87 on TRTC).
Voice Call Starter Plan (30% discount, annual commitment)
Agora also offers a Voice-only Starter Plan at $0.695/1k min — roughly a 30% discount against the $0.99 standard. Requires an annual commitment and is a legacy-style plan (not prominently featured on the pricing page in 2026).
The one chart that matters: Conversational AI
This is where Agora and TRTC visibly diverge.
| Scenario | Agora | TRTC |
|---|---|---|
| First 300 Conversational AI minutes | Free (one-time trial) | Free (part of monthly 10k pool) |
| Conv AI minutes 301–1,000 | $0.10/min → $70 total | Free (still in monthly 10k pool, which re-fills every month) |
| Conv AI minutes 1,001+ | $0.10/min | $0.10/min (post-pay) |
| Monthly free Conv AI renewal | ❌ One-time trial only | ✅ Every month |
| Conv AI gated by plan tier | ❌ Separate product line | ❌ Removed in 2026; all plans can use it |
Concrete example — A team running 1,000 Conv AI minutes per month:
- On Agora: trial depletes in month 1. From month 2 onward, 1,000 min × $0.10 = $100/month recurring.
- On TRTC: the 10,000 monthly free pool converts at 1 min Conv AI = 10.10 free minutes → 1,000 min Conv AI = 10,100 free minutes consumed. 10,100 is just above the 10,000 cap. Realistically you'd spend ~990 Conv AI minutes free every month, and the remaining ~10 minutes × $0.10 = $1/month.
Over 12 months: Agora ~$1,100, TRTC ~$12. That's the practical difference of "one-time trial" versus "recurring free pool across every plan."
Agora pricing in detail — use-case breakdown
Agora voice minutes pricing
- Post-paid: $0.99/1k min (inside the shared 10k free bucket).
- Starter plan: $45.99/month includes 50,000 minutes → $0.92/1k min effective.
- Voice Starter Plan: $0.695/1k min on annual commitment.
- 1M credit pack: $891 → $0.89/1k min.
Agora video minutes pricing
- HD post-paid: $3.99/1k min.
- Full HD / 2K / 4K: $8.99 / $15.99 / $35.99/1k min respectively.
- On Business Plus plan (1.5M included minutes at $1,217.99): effective rate drops to ~$0.81/1k min if you're running HD workloads that land within the bundle.
Agora Cloud Recording
- Standard: $0.99/1k recording minutes, draws from the shared 10k free bucket.
- Broadcast Streaming (separate product line): $0.59/1k min.
Agora Interactive Live Streaming
- Hosts and broadcasters: $0.99/1k min post-paid, counted against the shared 10k free bucket.
- Useful for live shopping, events, and virtual classrooms. Interactive Live Streaming is generally priced identically to Voice Calling, which is a deliberate Agora design.
Agora Conversational AI Engine
- $0.10/min post-paid after a one-time 300-minute trial.
- Not covered by the RTC 10k free bucket.
- Model passthrough for LLM/TTS is your responsibility (same as LiveKit Agents and Vapi).
Agora real-time STT and translation
- STT: $16.99/1k min; Translation: $8.99/1k min per language. Both share a 300-minute trial.
What Agora does well
1. Mature global footprint. Agora has run real-time streams at massive scale for nearly a decade. If you need 100+ country edge nodes with proven QoS, Agora's infrastructure is hard to beat.
2. Interactive Live Streaming product design. ILS is purpose-built for live shopping, virtual events, and social audio — and it's priced identically to Voice, which means no penalty for using the "better" product for your use case.
3. Credit pack structure. 1-year validity packs are a developer-friendly option that most competitors (Zoom, LiveKit) don't offer.
4. Broad ecosystem. SDKs, samples, plugins, and third-party integrations are abundant. Community and documentation are well-established.
Where Agora pricing gets expensive
1. Conversational AI is a second-class citizen. If you're building voice agents, the 300-minute trial is a rounding error — you'll hit $0.10/min billing quickly. TRTC's decision in 2026 to fold Conv AI into the monthly 10k free pool is a direct response to this market gap.
2. Video HD is $3.99/1k min. For teams moving large volumes of 1:1 calls, $3.99/1k can add up fast. TRTC's HD rate is identical, but TRTC's 10,000 monthly free minutes can absorb bursts that Agora's 10k bucket also covers — so at RTC only, they're a wash.
3. Four subscription tiers + credits + post-pay creates quote fatigue. Agora's sales team can help — which is exactly why plan-tier pricing isn't always visible on the public page. If you want same-day pricing clarity, TRTC's published tier structure is simpler.
4. Some secondary products have monthly minimums. Signaling starts at $59/month, Chat at $349/month, Analytics at $449/month. These are fine for enterprise but painful for MVPs.
Feature comparison — Agora vs TRTC
| Capability | Agora | TRTC |
|---|---|---|
| Voice / HD video | ✅ / ✅ | ✅ / ✅ |
| Interactive Live Streaming | ✅ | ✅ |
| Cloud Recording | ✅ | ✅ |
| Conversational AI free monthly pool | ❌ (one-time trial) | ✅ ~990 min/mo (10.10× ratio) |
| AI plan gating | ❌ | ❌ removed in 2026 |
| Credit pack 1-year validity | ✅ | ✅ |
| Stack subscription + pack + post-pay | Partial | ✅ Full stack |
| China Mainland compliance | Via product lines | ✅ Native |
| 3D Spatial Audio | ✅ ($0.99/1k) | ✅ (check product page for pricing) |
Scenario-based cost modeling
All scenarios assume HD video + occasional voice + modest Conv AI usage.
Scenario A — MVP: 5,000 RTC min + 200 Conv AI min
| Agora | TRTC | |
|---|---|---|
| RTC | $0 (within 10k free) | $0 (within 10k free) |
| Conv AI | $0 (within 300-min trial) | $0 (within free pool) |
| Monthly total | $0 | $0 |
Tie. For MVPs entirely inside free tiers, both platforms are free.
Scenario B — Growth: 80,000 RTC min + 2,000 Conv AI min
| Agora (post-paid) | TRTC (10k free + 25k pack + post-pay) | |
|---|---|---|
| RTC | 70,000 × $0.99/1k (HD-voice mix) ≈ $180 | 10k free + 25k pack $23 + 45k × $0.99/1k = $68 |
| Conv AI | (trial depleted) 2,000 × $0.10 = $200 | 1,000 free + 1,000 × $0.10 = $100 |
| Monthly total | ~$380 | ~$168 |
Scenario C — Production: 300,000 RTC min + 5,000 Conv AI min
| Agora Business plan | TRTC (10k free + 250k pack + post-pay) | |
|---|---|---|
| RTC | $339.99 plan (400k included) — absorbed | $225 pack + 40k × $0.99/1k = $265 |
| Conv AI | 5,000 × $0.10 = $500 | 1,000 free + 4,000 × $0.10 = $400 |
| Monthly total | ~$840 | ~$665 |
Scenario D — Scale: 1,500,000 RTC min + 20,000 Conv AI min
| Agora Business Plus | TRTC (10k free + 1M pack + post-pay) | |
|---|---|---|
| RTC | $1,217.99 plan (1.5M included) | $870 pack + 490k × $0.99/1k = $1,355 |
| Conv AI | 20,000 × $0.10 = $2,000 | 1,000 free + 19,000 × $0.10 = $1,900 |
| Monthly total | ~$3,218 | ~$3,255 |
Read: Agora becomes competitive at the Business Plus scale because the plan fully absorbs 1.5M minutes. Below that, TRTC's credit-pack + free-pool structure consistently lands lower.
Pros and cons
Agora — Pros
- Mature global infrastructure
- Interactive Live Streaming priced identically to voice
- 1-year credit packs
- Deep ecosystem + documentation
Agora — Cons
- Conversational AI requires separate billing; no recurring free minutes
- Four subscription tiers + credits + post-pay is complex to navigate
- Secondary products (Signaling, Chat) have high monthly minimums
TRTC — Pros
- Unified 10,000 min/month pool across RTC and AI
- AI available on every tier in 2026 (no plan gating)
- Stackable three-mode billing
- China Mainland native compliance
TRTC — Cons
- Smaller English-speaking developer community
- Live-streaming ecosystem is younger than Agora's
When to pick Agora
- You already have an Agora integration running at scale.
- You need Interactive Live Streaming as a first-class product with proven scale.
- Your workload is predominantly RTC (voice/video) with minimal ongoing Conversational AI.
- You have global deployment requirements and prioritize Agora's edge network.
When to pick TRTC
- Conversational AI is part of your core product and you want ongoing free minutes, not a one-time trial.
- Your monthly usage is bursty and you don't want to lock into a subscription tier.
- You need China Mainland compliance without a separate product line.
- You want transparent, published tier pricing without a sales quote.
Migration sketch — Agora → TRTC
| Agora concept | TRTC equivalent |
|---|---|
AgoraRTCClient | TRTC.createClient() |
client.join(token, channel, uid) | client.join({sdkAppId, userId, userSig, roomId}) |
| Dynamic key / token | UserSig (HMAC-SHA256) |
publish / unpublish | publish / unpublish |
onUserPublished callback | REMOTE_USER_ENTER event |
| Channel Profile (Communication / Broadcasting) | Scene (Call / Live) |
| Cloud Recording REST API | TRTC Cloud Recording REST API (parity) |
Agent/AI migration is where the real work happens because Agora's Conv AI Engine and TRTC's Conv AI are configured differently — plan a dedicated sprint for system-prompt and voice-config porting.
Try TRTC free → 10,000 monthly minutes + ~1,000 free Conversational AI minutes on every plan → trtc.io/pricing
FAQ
How much does Agora cost per 1,000 minutes in 2026? Post-paid: $0.99/1k for voice, $3.99/1k for HD video. Subscription plans reduce this to $0.81–$0.92/1k depending on which tier you commit to, and credit packs land at $0.89–$0.94/1k with 1-year validity.
Agora pricing voice minutes 2025 vs 2026? The $0.99/1k voice rate has been stable since 2025; the 10,000-minute monthly free bucket is also continuous. What changed in 2026 on the competitive side is the expanded Conv AI rate card ($0.10/min) and the prominence of credit packs.
Is there a free Agora alternative? TRTC offers a free tier that includes 10,000 RTC minutes per month and ~1,000 Conversational AI minutes free per month on every plan. LiveKit Build tier is also free for small usage (5k WebRTC + 1k Agent minutes). Daily.co and 100ms offer 10,000 free RTC minutes per month.
How does Agora pricing compare to Zoom Video SDK? Agora's post-paid ($0.99/1k voice, $3.99/1k HD video) and Zoom Build Platform (~$3.56/1k at public Zoom rates converted from SGD) are comparable at the headline level. The bigger difference is the billing shape — Agora offers true pay-as-you-go; Zoom ties you to monthly credit-pack subscriptions.
What's included in Agora Voice Starter Plan? $0.695/1k voice minutes on annual commitment — about 30% below the $0.99 standard rate, for voice-only workloads. Legacy-style plan; confirm availability with Agora sales.
Does Agora have pay-as-you-go? Yes. If you don't subscribe to any plan, usage is billed post-paid at standard rates, with the 10,000 monthly free minutes applied first.
How is Agora's Conversational AI billed? $0.10/min after a one-time 300-minute trial. Not covered by the 10k RTC monthly free bucket. Model/LLM passthrough is customer-provided.
Can I use both Agora and TRTC? Yes — nothing prevents dual-platform deployment. Some teams use Agora for specific regions (where they have existing infra) and TRTC for others, or use TRTC's Conv AI alongside Agora's RTC transport.