Key takeaways
- Recording is one switch, “Automatically record calls”, under Settings → Telephony, and it is on by default once Twilio is connected.
- Twilio charges $0.0025 per recorded minute in the US, about $2.50 a month for a rep with 1,000 billed minutes.
- Recordings are dual-channel and start when the call is answered, so a call that rings out has no recording.
- The switch covers the whole organization: there is no per-rep or per-list setting and no pause button during a call.
Call recording: what it does for your team
- Coach from real calls
- Listen back to the opener that worked, or the objection that keeps ending calls, and fix the talk track with evidence instead of guesses.
- Settle what was said
- A recording on the call record answers “what did we promise?” without relying on a rep’s memory or notes.
- Your data, your account
- Recordings are Twilio resources in your account. If you stop using Rapidialer, they stay exactly where they are.
Call recording, step by step
Switch recording on
In Telephony settings an owner or admin turns call recording on for the organization. It is on by default once Twilio is connected.
Calls are recorded by Twilio
Each answered call is recorded in two channels, one per side of the conversation, and stored in your own Twilio account.
Play it from call history
Open a call in history to play the recording with seek, or download it. Rapidialer streams the audio from Twilio on demand.
What it does not do
Plain limits, so you can decide before you sign up.
- The recording disclosure is off by default and does not collect consent; you remain responsible for any notice your calls require.
- Recording is one switch for the whole organization; there is no per-rep or per-list setting and no pause button during a call.
- AI call summaries need your organization’s own Deepgram key plus a Claude, OpenAI or Gemini key, and skip recordings shorter than 15 seconds.
Do you need consent to record sales calls?
Often, yes. US federal law allows a call to be recorded when one party to it consents (18 U.S.C. 2511(2)(d)), but some states require everyone on the call to consent. California, for example, makes it an offense to record a confidential communication without the consent of all parties (California Penal Code 632).
When a rep in a one-party state calls someone in an all-party state, plan for the stricter rule. Decide how you give notice (Rapidialer can play a short disclosure to all-party consent states, or a line at the top of the talk track works too) and confirm the rules in each state you call with counsel. This is general information, not legal advice.
How should managers use recordings to coach reps?
Pick two calls per rep each week: one that booked a next step and one that ended early. Listen for the moment the conversation turned, then update the talk track so the whole team benefits, not just the rep on the call.
Use call analytics to choose which calls to hear. Filter Analytics to one rep and an outcome such as Not interested, then open a few of those calls in History. Dual channel helps here: the rep and the other person sit on separate channels, so you can tell who interrupted whom.
How do you record sales calls in the browser?
Turn on one setting and every call placed or answered in the browser Dialer is recorded. Recording lives under Settings, then Telephony, in the card below your Twilio credentials. The switch is labeled “Automatically record calls”, and its note reads “Dual-channel recording from answer. Twilio bills recording and storage separately from voice minutes.” Only owners and admins see that page; see team roles for who can change what.
A change applies to new calls. Turn it off and Rapidialer stops asking Twilio to record from the next call on; calls already recorded stay in your Twilio account until you delete them there.
Recording starts when the call is answered, so a call that rings out or is rejected has no recording. A voicemail you leave live is recorded, because the voicemail system answered the call. Inbound calls follow the same switch.
How much does Twilio call recording cost?
Twilio charges $0.0025 per recorded minute at its published US rate, billed to your Twilio account with the call itself (Twilio US voice pricing). Rapidialer adds nothing on top. Turn recording off if you do not need it and that line disappears.
Take a rep with 1,000 billed minutes a month. Recording adds $2.50 to that rep’s Twilio bill, next to $14.00 for the outbound phone leg and $4.00 for the browser leg. Add the $5 seat and a $1.15 local number and one rep costs about $26.65 a month; a 3-rep team about $79.95. For a 10-rep team at the same volume, recording is about $25 of a roughly $266.50 month. Seat prices are on the pricing page.
Storage is a separate Twilio line, covered in the next section. The Twilio cost per minute guide breaks down the rest of the bill.
How long does Twilio keep sales call recordings?
Until you delete them. Twilio stores each recording in your account with no default expiry, and Twilio lists storage at $0.0005 per minute per month, with the first 10,000 stored minutes each month free (Twilio recording storage charges). A 3-rep team keeping a year of calls at 1,000 minutes per rep a month holds about 36,000 minutes, roughly $13 a month in storage after the free allowance.
Neither Twilio nor Rapidialer deletes recordings automatically. Delete old ones in the Twilio Console or with a script against Twilio’s API (Twilio: delete call recordings), and set your own retention period with counsel. Once a file is deleted in Twilio, Rapidialer can no longer play it.
For bulk downloads, use Twilio’s Recordings API, which lists every recording in the account with its call SID. Match those SIDs to the provider_call_sid column in Rapidialer’s call history export to know which rep and lead each file belongs to.
Why is a call recording missing or not playing?
Usually because Twilio has not finished the file yet, the call was never answered, or the recording is gone from your Twilio account. Twilio finishes processing a recording a short time after the call ends, then tells Rapidialer where it is, so if you open the call in History straight away, give it a moment and reopen it.
If a call has no recording at all, check that recording was switched on before the call started, that the call was actually answered, and that the recording still exists in your Twilio account. The History export’s has_recording column shows which calls have one, which helps when you audit a week of calls.
- “Recording not available”: Rapidialer holds no recording for the call, usually an unanswered call or one placed while recording was off.
- “Recording fetch failed” with a status code: Twilio refused or could not find the file. Check that it was not deleted in the Console and that the credentials saved in Telephony settings are current.
- “Twilio not configured”: the organization’s Twilio connection was removed, so Rapidialer cannot reach the recordings. Reconnect it in Telephony settings.
Who should not rely on Rapidialer’s recording?
Teams that need finer control than one switch. If some reps must never be recorded, or you need to pause recording while a caller reads out card details, Rapidialer cannot do it; turn recording off for everyone or handle those calls outside the dialer.
Teams that need full-text search across every past conversation, or AI without supplying their own provider keys, should look elsewhere. Rapidialer transcribes and summarizes recorded calls only when an owner adds the organization’s Deepgram key and a Claude, OpenAI or Gemini key, and the summary sits on each call rather than in a searchable archive.
Features that work alongside it
- Call analyticsCalls, talk time, connects, outcomes, a team leaderboard and list funnels.
- Call outcomesCall dispositions in one click, with custom outcome buttons that can move a lead to a pipeline stage.
- Inbound callsCallbacks to your Twilio numbers ring the assigned rep in the browser, then the team.
Call recording: questions and answers
Are Rapidialer call recordings transcribed?
Yes, when your organization adds its own AI keys. Rapidialer sends each recorded call of 15 seconds or more to Deepgram for a two-channel transcript, then to Claude, OpenAI or Gemini for a summary, next steps, objections raised and a suggested outcome, all shown on the call in History. Without those keys, recordings play and download but are not transcribed.
Should I record every call or only a sample?
In Rapidialer the choice is all or nothing: recording is one organization-wide switch, so with it on every answered call is recorded. Most of the value comes from reviewing a sample, such as two calls per rep each week, so keep recording on, review a few calls on purpose, and delete old files in Twilio on a schedule to control storage.
Where are call recordings stored?
Rapidialer call recordings are stored in your own Twilio account. Rapidialer keeps a reference to each recording and streams the audio from Twilio when someone plays it; it does not keep its own copy. If you leave Rapidialer, the recordings stay in Twilio, where you can download or delete them yourself.
Can agents hear each other’s recordings?
No. In Rapidialer, agents see only their own calls in History, so they can play only their own recordings. Owners and admins see the whole team’s calls and recordings, which lets a manager review any rep’s calls for coaching without giving every rep access to everyone else’s conversations.
Can I export recordings?
Yes. Download any Rapidialer recording from the call’s player with the download button, or fetch them in bulk from Twilio, since they live in your account. The call history CSV export has a has_recording column that marks which calls have one, so you can match files to calls.
Are both sides of the call on the recording?
Yes, on separate channels. Rapidialer recordings are dual-channel, with the rep on one channel and the other person on the other, which makes it easier to hear who said what when you review a call. Recording starts when the call is answered, so ringing time is not recorded.
Can I record some reps and not others?
No. Recording is one switch for the whole organization. If part of your team calls states where you would rather not record, either turn it off for everyone or keep it on and give every caller the same notice at the start of the talk track.
Does Rapidialer announce that a call is being recorded?
It can. The recording disclosure is off by default; an owner or admin can set it to play on every call, or only to people in all-party consent states, outside the US and Canada, or where the location is unknown. The default wording is “This call may be recorded.” It gives notice but does not collect consent, so check each state’s rules with counsel.