How are AI call minutes billed?
AI call minutes are usually billed on connected talk time, from the moment a call is answered until it ends, rather than on dial attempts or ring time. Outpero deducts prepaid credits, where 1 credit = ₹1, at ₹5 or ₹6.8 per connected minute depending on the voice tier. When comparing vendors, also ask how each one counts partial minutes. Prices exclude 18% GST.
What counts as billable time
| Call outcome | Billed on connected-minute pricing? |
|---|---|
| Answered and the conversation happens | Yes, for the talk time |
| Rings with no answer | No |
| Busy tone or switched-off phone | No |
| Retry that later gets answered | Yes, for that answered call only |
This is how Outpero works: you pay only for connected talk time. Some vendors bill per dial attempt or per minute of line time instead, which includes ringing. On Indian cold lists, where many calls go unanswered, that difference can change the bill a lot.
How credits are deducted
Credits are bought in advance and spent as calls connect. Because 1 credit equals ₹1, the deduction is the per-minute rate times the talk time. A 3-minute call on Standard uses 15 credits and on Premium 20.4. Credits never expire, so a balance left after a campaign stays available.
Why the rounding rule matters
Vendors differ in how they count part-minutes: some bill by the second, others round each call up to the next full minute or to a fixed block. Take a 90-second call at ₹5 per minute. Billed by the second, it is 1.5 minutes, or ₹7.50. Rounded up to whole minutes, it is 2 minutes, or ₹10.
Across 2,000 such calls, that is ₹15,000 versus ₹20,000. Short calls such as COD confirmations and reminders are where rounding has the biggest effect, so ask every vendor for its billing increment before comparing rates.
Checking your bill
- —Outpero's call logs show each call with its recording and transcript, so durations can be checked against deductions.
- —Export call logs to CSV to total minutes by campaign.
- —Compare total connected minutes with credits used at the tier rate.
Inbound calls answered by the AI employee follow the same principle: billing starts when the conversation starts. Plan budgets on connected minutes, not on list size or calls placed, and the monthly bill becomes easy to forecast from a week of call logs.
Want to hear an AI voice agent handle this on a real call?