Updated 11 Nov 2026 · prices read on vendor pages

10 best Retell AI alternatives in 2027

Reviewed by Mehmet Elmicenni, founder of Zekai•Prices checked 11 Nov 2026•How we check

The short answer

The best Retell AI alternatives in 2027 are Vapi (best overall, $0.05/min hosting fee), ElevenLabs Agents (best free plan) and Pipecat (best open source, BSD-2-Clause). Retell AI itself starts at $0.07-$0.31/min. Zekai checked these prices on vendor pages on 11 Nov 2026; 7 more are compared below, including 2 with a free plan and 2 open source.

Open the Zekai Cost Finder Get price alerts

Best overallSee in table →

Vapi

$0.05/min hosting fee · free plan

9.2

Best free planSee in table →

ElevenLabs Agents

$6/mo · free plan

9.2

Best open sourceSee in table →

Pipecat

Free to self-host · BSD-2-Clause

7.5

10alternatives compared

4with a free plan

3open source

$6/mocheapest paid · ElevenLabs Agents

$0.07-$0.31/minRetell AI starts at

01 · Zekai Price Ledger

Which Retell AI alternatives are worth it in 2027?

The Retell AI alternatives worth considering in 2027 are Vapi for developer control, ElevenLabs Agents for bundled monthly minutes, Bolna AI for lower per-minute rates and PolyAI for business plans. Open-source options include Pipecat, LiveKit Agents and Vocode. Prices on this page were read on each vendor's own pricing page on 11 November 2026.

Zekai Cost Finder · team1 person

Tool	Type	Starting price	Free plan limit	Best for	Cost for your team	Checked
Retell AIThe tool you are replacing	You are here	$0.07-$0.31/minPay-as-you-go voice agents; 20 concurrent calls included, extra $8 per call per month	$10 in free credits	Pay-as-you-go AI phone agents	—	11 Nov 2026	Pricing ↗
Vapi Zekai score 9.2Best overall	Free	$0.05/min hosting feeNo Success Package, pre-paid; model costs passed through at cost. Core $29/mo	$5 free credits, 4 concurrent calls	Developer-first voice API with bring-your-own models	$0	11 Nov 2026	Pricing ↗
ElevenLabs Agents Zekai score 9.2Best free plan	Free plan + paid	$6/moStarter, monthly ($1 for the first month); includes 75 call minutes	15 call minutes, 4 concurrent calls	Voice agents built on ElevenLabs voices	—	11 Nov 2026	Pricing ↗
Bolna AI Zekai score 5.9Cheapest paid	Free	from $0.06/minPay-as-you-go; telephony and platform fee added per minute	$5 in free credits on sign-up	Low per-minute rate, India-focused calls	$0	11 Nov 2026	Pricing ↗
Bland AI Zekai score 7.7	Free	$0.14/minStart, $0 platform fee; Build is $0.12/min plus $299/mo	Start plan, no card, 100 calls a day	High-volume outbound calling with daily call caps	$0	11 Nov 2026	Pricing ↗
Stammer AI Zekai score 7.3	Paid	$49/moStandard, monthly; 7-day trial	No free plan	Agencies reselling white-label voice agents	—	11 Nov 2026	Pricing ↗
PolyAI Zekai score 8.1	Paid	$49/moEssentials, monthly; Plus $199/mo; Scale $299 per location per month	No free plan	Contact-centre voice agents with business plans	—	11 Nov 2026	Pricing ↗
Synthflow Zekai score 7.4	Paid	Not checked	No free plan	Enterprise-contract voice agent deployments	—	11 Nov 2026	Pricing ↗
Pipecat Zekai score 7.5Best open source	Open source	Free (self-hosted)	No limit, self-hosted (BSD-2-Clause)	Python framework for real-time voice agents	$0	11 Nov 2026	Code ↗
LiveKit Agents Zekai score 7.5	Open source	Free (self-hosted)	No limit, self-hosted (Apache-2.0)	Realtime agents on WebRTC infrastructure	$0	11 Nov 2026	Code ↗
Vocode Zekai score 5.0	Open source	Free (self-hosted)	No limit, self-hosted (MIT)	MIT-licensed library for phone-call voice apps	$0	11 Nov 2026	Code ↗

Every price was read on the vendor's own pricing page on the date shown. The Cost Finder assumes one entry plan per person, so it multiplies by your team size; yearly prices are shown per month, and team or business plans can cost more per seat. "Not checked" means we could not confirm a public price.

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02 · Free plan

Is there a free version of Retell AI?

Retell AI has no permanent free plan, but it gives new accounts $10 in free credits to go live in minutes with full platform access and no commitment. After the credits are used you pay per minute, from $0.07 to $0.31 for voice agents, and every account includes 20 concurrent calls.

Source: Retell AI pricing page, read 11 Nov 2026.

Free$0

$10 in free credits

Paid from$0.07-$0.31/min

Pay-as-you-go voice agents; 20 concurrent calls included, extra $8 per call per month

03 · Free alternatives

What are the best free Retell AI alternatives?

The best free Retell AI alternative is ElevenLabs Agents, whose Free plan includes 15 call minutes and 4 concurrent calls. Vapi gives $5 in free credits, Bolna AI gives $5 in free credits on sign-up, and Bland AI has a Start plan with no card required. Retell itself offers $10 in free credits.

Vapi

Best overallFree

$5 free credits, 4 concurrent calls

vs Retell AI →Zekai review

ElevenLabs Agents

Best free planFree plan + paid

15 call minutes, 4 concurrent calls

Paid from $6/mo

vs Retell AI →Zekai review

Bolna AI

Cheapest paidFree

$5 in free credits on sign-up

vs Retell AI →Zekai review

Bland AI

Free

Start plan, no card, 100 calls a day

vs Retell AI →Zekai review

04 · Open source

What are the best open-source Retell AI alternatives?

The best open-source Retell AI alternatives are Pipecat (BSD-2-Clause, Python), LiveKit Agents (Apache-2.0, built on the open-source LiveKit server) and Vocode (MIT). You host them yourself and bring your own speech, LLM and telephony keys. Their repositories state these licences; none of them includes managed call hosting.

Pipecat

BSD-2-Clause★ 17.2k GitHub stars · Nov 2026

To self-host: Python 3.11 or newer installed with uv or pip; add speech, LLM and transport services as extras and supply your own provider API keys in a .env file.

Zekai open-source page Source code ↗Managed hosting slot

LiveKit Agents

Apache-2.0★ 15.2k GitHub stars · Nov 2026

To self-host: Needs a LiveKit Cloud project or self-hosted LiveKit server plus LIVEKIT_URL, API key and secret, and separate keys for speech and LLM providers.

Zekai open-source page Source code ↗Managed hosting slot

Vocode

MIT★ 3.8k GitHub stars · Nov 2024

To self-host: Install with pip and supply keys for an LLM, a speech-to-text and a text-to-speech provider; the quickstart uses OpenAI, Azure Speech and Deepgram.

Zekai open-source page Source code ↗Managed hosting slot

05 · Side by side

How does Retell AI compare with each alternative?

Retell AI bills voice agents per minute, from $0.07 to $0.31 depending on the chosen model, and includes 20 concurrent calls. Vapi splits hosting at $0.05 a minute from model cost, Bolna AI starts at $0.06, and Bland AI starts at $0.14 on its Start plan. Synthflow sells only by annual contract.

Retell AI vs Vapi

Best overallFree$0.05/min hosting fee · checked 11 Nov 20269.2

The differenceCharges a flat $0.05/min hosting fee and passes model costs through at cost, with a $29/mo Core plan raising concurrency from 4 to 10 calls.

Switch to Vapi ifyou want to pick every model and provider yourself and pay hosting as a separate line

Stay with Retell AI ifyou prefer one blended per-minute rate with 20 concurrent calls included on every account

Pros

Handles 100% of inbound volume for clients like Ring.
Proven to improve CSAT scores post-implementation.

Cons

Pricing is complex, with costs for Vapi usage, concurrency, and external model providers.
Requires developer resources to build and deploy agents.

Pros and cons from the Zekai review of Vapi · Verdict: Enterprise Voice AI Platform

Visit Vapi Read the Zekai review Price alert

Retell AI vs ElevenLabs Agents

Best free planFree plan + paid$6/mo · checked 11 Nov 20269.2

The differenceSells agents as monthly plans with bundled call minutes (15 on Free, 75 on Starter) and charges $0.08 per minute for calls included in a plan.

Switch to ElevenLabs Agents ifyou want a no-cost plan with a fixed number of monthly call minutes to prototype on

Stay with Retell AI ifyou want pure pay-as-you-go billing with no monthly plan and 20 concurrent calls included

Pros

Industry-leading voice realism and expressiveness for ads
Dedicated 'ElevenAgents' platform for e-commerce customer support

Cons

Credit-based pricing can be complex to budget for campaigns
Free tier is limited and lacks a commercial license

Pros and cons from the Zekai review of ElevenLabs Agents · Verdict: Scalable E-commerce Audio

Visit ElevenLabs Agents Read the Zekai review Price alert

Retell AI vs Bolna AI

Cheapest paidFreefrom $0.06/min · checked 11 Nov 20265.9

The differencePay-as-you-go starts at $0.06 per minute and drops to about 4.5 cents with larger top-ups; a one-time Pilots plan sells 12,000 minutes for $500.

Switch to Bolna AI ifyou run high call volume and want prepaid minute packs with a lower headline rate

Stay with Retell AI ifyou need telephony, LLM and voice costs shown as separate itemised components

Pros

Exceptional support for Indian languages and accents.
Flexible pay-as-you-go pricing with 'Bring Your Own Keys' for cost control.

Cons

Primary focus on Indian languages may be less suitable for teams serving other markets.
Advanced customization and API triggers rely on developer expertise.

Pros and cons from the Zekai review of Bolna AI · Verdict: Voice AI for India

Visit Bolna AI Read the Zekai review Price alert

Retell AI vs Bland AI

Free$0.14/min · checked 11 Nov 20267.7

The differencePublishes tiered plans: Start at $0.14/min with 100 calls a day, Build at $0.12/min plus a $299 monthly platform fee with 2,000 calls a day.

Switch to Bland AI ifyou want plan tiers with stated daily call limits and a flat platform fee at higher volume

Stay with Retell AI ifyou prefer no platform fee and no daily call cap, with usage billed to the second

Pros

Enterprise-grade security; SOC 2, HIPAA, and PCI compliant.
All-inclusive per-minute pricing covers LLM, STT, TTS, and telephony.

Cons

Advanced features like warm transfers are limited to paid plans.
Monthly platform fees (starting at $299/mo) may be high for low-volume users.

Pros and cons from the Zekai review of Bland AI · Verdict: Enterprise Voice Automation

Visit Bland AI Read the Zekai review Price alert

Retell AI vs Stammer AI

Paid$49/mo · checked 11 Nov 20267.3

The differenceBundles chat and voice agents under one plan and offers a $99/mo Pro White Label tier so agencies can resell agents under their own brand.

Switch to Stammer AI ifyou are an agency that wants to resell voice and chat agents under your own brand

Stay with Retell AI ifyou only need voice agents billed by the minute with no monthly seat or plan fee

Pros

Complete white-labeling allows you to sell AI as your own proprietary product.
Control your own pricing and keep 100% of the profit margin.

Cons

Pricing is complex, with a base subscription plus variable per-message/per-minute usage fees.
Requires bringing your own OpenAI API key for chat to avoid platform usage costs.

Pros and cons from the Zekai review of Stammer AI · Verdict: Agency AI Revenue Engine

Visit Stammer AI Read the Zekai review Price alert

Retell AI vs PolyAI

Paid$49/mo · checked 11 Nov 20268.1

The differenceLists Essentials at $49/mo, Plus at $199/mo and Scale at $299 per location, plus a developer Model API at 2 cents per minute.

Switch to PolyAI ifyou run a business or contact centre and want fixed monthly plans per location

Stay with Retell AI ifyou build agents in code and want to pay only for the minutes you use

Pros

Extremely natural and human-like voice interactions.
Proven ROI with case studies showing revenue generation and cost savings.

Cons

Pricing is not transparent and requires a demo (per-minute model).
Primarily focused on large enterprises, likely overkill for SMBs.

Pros and cons from the Zekai review of PolyAI · Verdict: Enterprise-Grade Voice Automation

Visit PolyAI Read the Zekai review Price alert

Retell AI vs Synthflow

PaidNot checked7.4

The differenceSells only through an annual enterprise agreement with custom concurrency planning; its pricing page says there is no free plan or trial and no rate by the minute.

Switch to Synthflow ifyou want a sales-led annual contract with scoped concurrency instead of self-serve billing

Stay with Retell AI ifyou want to start on a credit card with published per-minute rates and free credits

Pros

End-to-end platform reduces vendor complexity.
Build agents with either visual flows or natural language prompts.

Cons

Enterprise focus may be overly complex and expensive for SMBs.
Pricing is not transparent and requires a sales demo.

Pros and cons from the Zekai review of Synthflow · Verdict: Enterprise Voice AI Automation

Visit Synthflow Read the Zekai review Price alert

Retell AI vs Pipecat

Best open sourceOpen sourceFree (self-hosted)7.5

The differencePython framework where you assemble speech-to-text, LLM and text-to-speech services into a pipeline and run the agent process on your own infrastructure.

Switch to Pipecat ifyou want to code the voice pipeline yourself in Python and host it without per-minute platform fees

Stay with Retell AI ifyou want hosted telephony, call logs and a dashboard without running servers

Visit Pipecat Read the Zekai review Price alert

Retell AI vs LiveKit Agents

Open sourceFree (self-hosted)7.5

The differenceAgent framework that joins calls as a participant on LiveKit's WebRTC server, which is itself open source, and supplies its own turn-detection models under a separate licence.

Switch to LiveKit Agents ifyou want agents running on open-source WebRTC infrastructure you can host on your own servers

Stay with Retell AI ifyou do not want to operate a media server or manage turn-detection model licences

Visit LiveKit Agents Read the Zekai review Price alert

Retell AI vs Vocode

Open sourceFree (self-hosted)5.0

The differenceMIT-licensed Python library for voice LLM apps over phone calls, Zoom or system audio; the repo says it is looking for community maintainers.

Switch to Vocode ifyou want a permissively licensed library and accept community-level maintenance

Stay with Retell AI ifyou need a vendor-maintained platform with support and uptime commitments

Visit Vocode Read the Zekai review Price alert

06 · What changed

Why do people leave Retell AI?

11 Nov 2026
Beyond the 20 concurrent calls included on every account, extra capacity costs $8 per concurrent call per month. (source)
11 Nov 2026
Third-party ElevenLabs voices add $0.04 to $0.10 per minute, against $0.015 per minute for the platform's default text-to-speech voices. (source)
11 Nov 2026
Billing continues during silence or hold, and a transferred call keeps incurring telephony fees after the AI agent fee stops. (source)

08 · FAQ

Questions people ask about Retell AI alternatives

What is the best alternative to Retell AI in 2027?

Vapi is the best overall Retell AI alternative on this page ($0.05/min hosting fee). For no cost, ElevenLabs Agents has a free plan (15 call minutes, 4 concurrent calls). To self-host, Pipecat is open source (BSD-2-Clause).

Is there a free version of Retell AI?

Yes. Retell AI has a free plan: $10 in free credits. Paid plans start at $0.07-$0.31/min, checked on 11 Nov 2026.

Is there a 100% free alternative to Retell AI?

Yes. Pipecat, LiveKit Agents, Vocode are open source and free to self-host. Vapi, ElevenLabs Agents, Bolna AI, Bland AI have a free plan with limits, shown in the table.

What is cheaper than Retell AI?

Bolna AI starts at from $0.06/min, against $0.07-$0.31/min for Retell AI, as listed on each vendor's pricing page on 11 Nov 2026.

How much do Retell AI alternatives cost for a team of 5?

If each of 5 people buys the entry paid plan, at the prices Zekai checked on 11 Nov 2026, the monthly cost is ElevenLabs Agents $30/mo, Stammer AI $245/mo, PolyAI $245/mo. Team and business plans can cost more per seat. The Zekai Cost Finder on this page recalculates for any team size.

Which is better, Vapi or Retell AI?

Charges a flat $0.05/min hosting fee and passes model costs through at cost, with a $29/mo Core plan raising concurrency from 4 to 10 calls. Choose Vapi if you want to pick every model and provider yourself and pay hosting as a separate line. Stay with Retell AI if you prefer one blended per-minute rate with 20 concurrent calls included on every account.

Why are people leaving Retell AI?

The documented reasons are: Beyond the 20 concurrent calls included on every account, extra capacity costs $8 per concurrent call per month (11 Nov 2026); Third-party ElevenLabs voices add $0.04 to $0.10 per minute, against $0.015 per minute for the platform's default text-to-speech voices (11 Nov 2026). Each is sourced in the section above.

What is better than Retell AI?

It depends on the job: Vapi suits developers who want to choose each model, ElevenLabs Agents suits teams wanting bundled monthly minutes, and Pipecat suits teams that want to self-host.

09 · Method

How did Zekai check this page?

Zekai independently reviews AI tools. For this page we read each vendor's own pricing and product pages and recorded the starting price, the free-plan limit and the date of the check. Only tools that do the same job as Retell AI are listed, and sponsors never change the order or the scores.

Mehmet Elmicenni

Founder of Zekai. Reviews the alternatives pages and the price checks behind them.

About the founder · How Zekai scores tools

JSON copy Markdown copy

1 · Same job onlyEvery alternative does the same task as Retell AI; tools for other jobs are left out.

2 · Vendor pages onlyPrices and free limits come from each vendor's own pricing page, never from blogs.

Zekai score0–10, from four published weights: ease 25%, output quality 30%, value 20%, time saved 25%. How we score

3 · Re-checkedA price older than 35 days is re-read or the page falls back to an older version.

Change log

11 Nov 2026
Page rebuilt on v6; all prices re-read on vendor pages.

10 best Retell AI alternatives in 2027

Vapi

ElevenLabs Agents

Pipecat

Which Retell AI alternatives are worth it in 2027?

Know first when Retell AI or an alternative changes price

Your tool here

Is one of these tools yours?

Is there a free version of Retell AI?

What are the best free Retell AI alternatives?

Vapi

ElevenLabs Agents

Bolna AI

Bland AI

What are the best open-source Retell AI alternatives?

Pipecat

LiveKit Agents

Vocode

How does Retell AI compare with each alternative?

Retell AI vs Vapi

Retell AI vs ElevenLabs Agents

Retell AI vs Bolna AI

Retell AI vs Bland AI

Retell AI vs Stammer AI

Retell AI vs PolyAI

Retell AI vs Synthflow

Retell AI vs Pipecat

Retell AI vs LiveKit Agents

Retell AI vs Vocode

Why do people leave Retell AI?

More comparisons for AI voice agent

Questions people ask about Retell AI alternatives

What is the best alternative to Retell AI in 2027?

Is there a free version of Retell AI?

Is there a 100% free alternative to Retell AI?

What is cheaper than Retell AI?

How much do Retell AI alternatives cost for a team of 5?

Which is better, Vapi or Retell AI?

Why are people leaving Retell AI?

What is better than Retell AI?

How did Zekai check this page?