Agora is a real-time voice, video and interactive live-streaming platform — low-latency calls and streams via SDK without running your own media servers. Billing is per 1,000 minutes, tiered by stream resolution, with a standing free block. Here's the cost, the free minutes, and how to get a key.
| Resolution | Rate /1,000 std-min | Std-minute ratio | Real cost /1,000 real min |
|---|---|---|---|
| First 10,000 std-min/mo gratuito | $0 | — | pooled voice + video |
| Audio | $0.99 | 1:1 | $0.99 |
| Video HD (≤720p) | $3.99 | 1:4 | $15.96 |
| Video Full HD (≤1080p) | $8.99 | 1:9 | $80.91 |
| Video 2K | $15.99 | 1:16 | $255.84 |
| Video 2K+ | $35.99 | 1:36 | $1,295.64 |
| Broadcast audience, HD | $1.99 | 1:4 | $7.96 |
Agora includes the first 10,000 Standard minutes every month free — pooled across voice and video, and recurring for the life of the project, not a one-time trial. For a small app or a feature still finding users, that can mean a genuinely $0 bill month after month. The catch is the Standard-minute conversion: one real minute of HD video already counts as 4 Standard minutes before the per-stream count is even applied, so a 1:1 HD call (2 subscribed streams) burns 8 Standard minutes per real minute, and a 4-person Full HD call (12 stream-subscriptions at a 1:9 ratio) burns 108. Group video and higher resolutions eat the free block far faster than audio or 1:1 calls. Estimate Standard-minutes as subscribed streams × resolution ratio × real minutes, not just wall-clock call length. One lever that helps for one-to-many streams: the broadcast audience role bills at roughly half the rate of a full interactive participant role at the same resolution.
1. Iscriviti al Agora Console (console.agora.io) and create a progetto.
2. Copy the project's App ID — clients use it to join a channel.
3. Enable the App Certificate e generare a gettone (server-side, per channel/user) for secure joins.
4. Pass App ID + token into the Video/Voice SDK when a user joins a channel.
Generate a temporary token for testing (or mint server-side):
For real-time media, the main managed options are Agora, Twilio Video E LiveKit. Agora's edge is a large free block and a mature global low-latency network, strong for live streaming and interactive audio (drop-in rooms, voice chat). LiveKit is open-source-friendly and can be self-hosted to cut per-minute cost at scale, while its cloud is usage-based. Twilio Video suits teams already on Twilio. Because all three bill per participant-minute of video, the deciding factor is usually group size and resolution, not the headline per-minute rate. Model your real participant×stream minutes with the Trova alternative API, and if you're comparing full chat platforms see Sendbird.
Yes — the first 10,000 minutes each month are free, pooled across voice and video, recurring for the life of the project (not a one-time trial). Beyond that you pay per 1,000 minutes by stream type.
By aggregate subscribed resolution per participant-minute: roughly $0.99/1,000 min audio, ~$3.99 HD (≤720p), ~$8.99 Full HD (≤1080p), more above 2K. Each subscribed video stream in a group call counts separately.
Two multipliers stack: each subscribed stream is billed separately (a 1:1 HD call has 2), and each stream's real minutes convert to Standard minutes by resolution (1:4 for HD). A 1:1 HD call is 2 streams × 4 ratio × $3.99/1,000 ≈ $0.032/real minute, not sticker price × stream count alone. Estimate cost as streams × resolution ratio × rate.
For small apps, Agora's 10,000 free minutes/month often make it the cheapest. At large scale, self-hosting LiveKit can undercut any per-minute cloud rate if you can run the infrastructure. Compare on your real group size and resolution, which drive cost more than the headline rate.
Not affiliated with Agora. Prices are reference estimates — always verify on the official pricing page.
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