When to consider Tavus
Consider Tavus when you want a hosted conversation system with perception, expressive rendering, and turn-taking. Evaluate its conversation behavior with the inputs your users will actually provide.
Pricing by mode
Phoenix 4.5 combines expressive rendering with the CVI conversation stack, perception, and turn-taking.
Starter: $22/mo, 60 minutes, no overage. Builder: $59/mo, 175 minutes, then $0.35/min.
| Detail | Tavus |
|---|---|
| Model | Phoenix 4.5 / CVI |
| Full avatar usage rate | $21.00/hr |
| Full billing basis | Builder overage |
| Video-only usage rate | Not published |
| Video billing basis | Separate video rate not verified |
| Full response timing | Not verified · Full conversation timing not established |
| Video timing | <130 ms · Audio-to-video rendering |
| Output resolution | Not published · No verified specification in the cited sources |
| FPS | 35–40 FPS · End-to-end engine throughput on slower machines |
| Custom motions | Expression controls · Emotion and upper-body motion; signature actions not verified |
| Moderation control | Not verified · An unmoderated or configurable mode has not been verified |
| Deployment | Hosted API |
Usage rates are one component of cost. Use the monthly calculator for supported plan allowances and session assumptions.
Monthly cost examples
Illustrative totals for the selected monthly plans, using five-minute connected sessions. Each row uses one mode for the entire allowance. Video Only excludes an external voice stack. Taxes, avatar preparation, and unlisted add-ons are excluded.
| Provider and mode | 100 min/month | 1,000 min/month | 10,000 min/month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tavus Full AvatarBuilder monthly | $59.00 | $347.75 | $3,497.75 |
| Tavus Video OnlyBuilder monthly | Not estimatedA matching video-only tariff is not verified. | Not estimatedA matching video-only tariff is not verified. | Not estimatedA matching video-only tariff is not verified. |
Tavus: 30-second minimum per session; duration rounded to the nearest six seconds. Recording add-ons excluded. Billing source ↗
Plan the integration
Review the CVI API and model configuration, then test interruption handling and the complete response path. Builder overage is the pricing basis here; Starter is a different plan with different limits.
Read the latency correctly
The <130 ms Phoenix-4.5 figure measures audio-to-video rendering. It cannot be compared directly with another provider's complete response clock.
<130 ms is rendering latency, not a full conversational turn. Starter has no overage; the hourly comparison uses Builder at $0.35 per extra minute.
Questions to verify before launch
- Which model and conversation configuration will the session use?
- How do the minimum duration and rounding rules affect short sessions?
- What is the measured speech-to-reply delay in your target region?
Official sources
Griffin preview
Tavus also describes Griffin, a separate full interaction system. Its research page says Griffin is not on the public platform yet, while the Phoenix, Raven, and Sparrow stack remains available. Charlie's homepage demo does not expose an exact deployed model here.
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