Customer-operated runtime
- Runs on infrastructure you control.
- Use your own provider accounts and API keys.
- Providers bill you directly; Aywa adds no markup to provider minutes.
- Standard is one license for one runtime.
The self-hosted alternative to Vapi
Keep your Vapi agents. Own the runtime behind them.
Import your existing assistants, tools, squads, phone numbers, webhooks, files, and structured outputs into Aywa Runtime. Reconnect provider credentials, validate representative calls, then run orchestration on infrastructure you control—without routing production call traffic through Aywa Cloud.
$0 / 14 days
Qualified technical evaluation. No credit card.
$49 / month
Or $490/year for one Standard runtime.
Provider usage at source
Your accounts, your keys, no Aywa minute markup.
Built at AYWA. This page links to Vapi's own documentation for Vapi claims.
What you gain
Own the runtime behind the agent.
Vapi makes the runtime someone else’s platform. Aywa Runtime installs the execution plane inside your environment, keeps provider relationships direct, and adds the release tooling and support needed to operate it.
Managed hosted platform
- Vapi operates the orchestration layer.
- Supports Vapi-managed or bring-your-own provider keys.
- Public Build pricing currently lists a per-minute platform fee, excluding provider costs.
- Managed infrastructure reduces what your team needs to operate.
Aywa SaaS
Control plane
Licensing, signed releases, instance health, and migration metadata.
Your infrastructure
Private runtime plane
Call path, audio, transcripts, tool execution, recordings, and runtime logs.
Your providers
Direct provider accounts
LLM, STT, TTS, telephony, storage, and analytics billed to you.
Standard is one commercial license for one customer-operated runtime. It does not include Aywa hosting or high availability.
Side-by-side
What changes for the engineering team.
| Area | Aywa Runtime | Vapi | Decision signal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Runtime hosting | Self-hosted on customer infrastructure. | Hosted orchestration on Vapi infrastructure. | Do you want to operate the runtime? |
| Provider keys | Customer-owned providers and keys. | Supports platform-managed and BYOK providers. | Both offer provider choice; ownership and billing paths differ. |
| Platform pricing model | Runtime license; no Aywa markup on provider minutes. | Vapi Build publicly lists $0.05/min for platform usage, excluding provider costs. | Compare total cost using your traffic and operating cost, not one headline number. |
| Data boundary | Runtime data plane is deployed inside customer-controlled infrastructure. | Vapi documents hosted orchestration plus configurable provider, server, and storage paths. | Map each call artifact and log to your actual compliance requirements. |
| Operations | Your team owns infrastructure, capacity, and backups; Aywa provides the installer, stable releases, preflight checks, rollback guidance, diagnostics, and runtime support. | Vapi operates the hosted platform. | Control adds responsibility; managed service reduces it. |
| Migration from Vapi | Preview and import compatible assistants, tools, linked resources, and source-ID mappings; reconnect secrets and providers before validation. | No migration is needed when remaining on Vapi. | Existing configuration can move without a rebuild from zero, but provider-specific behavior still needs testing. |
| Standard availability | One runtime, no hosted production service, no included HA. | Managed product; higher-scale terms are available separately. | Ask whether one runtime is sufficient or HA must be scoped. |
Pricing and product terms can change. Verify current Vapi terms on its official pricing page before buying.
Keep the work you already did
Leave Vapi without rebuilding your agents.
The migration center uses a source Vapi API key to preview or import compatible runtime resources. It remaps linked source IDs into Aywa Runtime IDs, then leaves the production-sensitive steps explicit.
Inspect assistants, tools, structured outputs, file metadata, squads, phone numbers, webhooks, credentials, warnings, and ID mappings.
Preserve prompts, model and voice settings, tool definitions, webhook targets, bindings, and linked resource references where compatible.
Reattach redacted secrets, provider accounts, SIP and storage settings, then test tools, webhooks, telephony, latency, and representative calls.
Your configuration moves. Secrets stay secret.
Reconnect provider credentials, review infrastructure-specific settings, and validate representative calls before cutover.
Inspect the migration workflow
Inspect the slow stage
A latency number is not enough. Keep the breakdown.
Aywa Runtime keeps operational evidence inside the runtime you operate. Inspect the turn and call path before changing prompts, swapping providers, or blaming the model.
See endpointing contribution, turn lifecycle, and perceived first-audio latency.
Compare STT, model, TTS, and voice-pipeline timing using your actual provider route.
Inspect tool-call spans, webhook latency, failures, and retry history from the runtime.
Bring one real agent. Run one representative call.
The trial is designed to validate your deployment and call path, not a synthetic benchmark.
Inspect the live call test
Fit, not hype
Who should choose what?
Your team wants a managed path.
- You want to minimize infrastructure ownership.
- Fast hosted setup matters more than controlling the runtime boundary.
- A usage-based platform fee fits your commercial model.
You want control without building the runtime product alone.
- You need customer-controlled infrastructure and runtime data plane.
- You want direct provider relationships and billing.
- You want migration tooling, controlled releases, diagnostics, and direct technical support.
Validate with your own stack
Start the 14-day trial
Install one runtime. Bring one real agent. Measure the result.
The trial is for technical validation, not a hosted production promise.
$0 for 14 days for qualified technical evaluations. No credit card. Standard is $49/month or $490/year after evaluation.
Straight answers
Know what you are operating before you start.
Is Aywa Runtime open source?
The SDK is Apache-2.0. The runtime, containers, dashboard, and control plane are proprietary software delivered under a commercial Runtime Slot license.
Does Standard include hosting or high availability?
No. Standard is one license for one runtime on infrastructure you operate. Hosted production, multiple Runtime Slots, load balancing, and HA require an Enterprise scope.
Who pays the model, voice, and telephony usage?
You do, directly through your provider accounts. Aywa does not add a markup to provider minutes.
Can I move an existing Vapi agent without rebuilding it?
Aywa Runtime can preview and import compatible assistants, tools, linked resources, phone-number bindings, webhooks and credential metadata. Redacted secrets, provider accounts, SIP/storage settings and provider-specific behavior must be reconnected or reviewed, then validated with staging calls before cutover.
Does self-hosting automatically make a deployment GDPR compliant?
No. It gives you control over infrastructure and data boundaries. Your deployment, providers, retention rules, legal basis, and operational policies still determine compliance.
Primary sources
Check the claims yourself.
- Vapi pricing — public platform pricing and provider-cost treatment.
- Vapi provider keys — supported BYOK configuration.
- Vapi data flow — orchestration, provider, server, storage, and logging paths.
- Aywa Runtime documentation — installation and runtime operation.
- Aywa Runtime security boundary and migration path.