Retell AI · Alternatives · Checked Oct 27, 2026
Retell AI alternatives: voice AI platforms compared by cost and fit
The main Retell AI alternatives by cost are Vapi ($0.05/min hosting plus providers), GoHighLevel Voice AI ($0.10/min speech-to-speech) and Deepgram ($0.075/min bundled). LLM, voice and telephony sit on top of Retell's infra fee. At 1,000 minutes Retell costs $99.80 on our stack.
Retell AI alternatives at a glance
| # | Platform | From | Monthly fee | At 1,000 min | vs Retell AI | Concurrency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Retell AI Current | $0.055 /min | $0 /mo | $99.80 | — | 20 |
| 2 |  Deepgram Voice Agent API | $0.075 /min | Pay as you go | $84.65 | −$15.15 | 45 |
| 3 |  GoHighLevel Voice AI | $0.045 /min | $97 /mo | $100.00 | +$0.20 | Not published |
| 4 |  ElevenLabs Agents | $0.08 /min | $0–$990 /mo | $102.45 | +$2.65 | 4–40 |
| 5 |  Vapi | $0.05 /min | $0–$29 /mo | $110.80–$157.90 | +$11.00 | 4 / 10 / 30 |
| 6 |  Bland AI | $0.14 /min | $0–$299 /mo | $149.65 | +$49.85 | 10–50 |
At 1,000 minutes on our stated stack. Vapi is a range. Sorted by the low end, with the current tool pinned first. Monthly or plan fee Sources: vapi.ai · Oct 27, 2026; bland.ai · Oct 27, 2026; elevenlabs.io · Oct 27, 2026; help.gohighlevel.com · Oct 27, 2026; deepgram.com · Oct 27, 2026; retellai.com · Oct 27, 2026
Retell AI pricing in one table
Voice infra is $0.055/min. The LLM range is $0.0016–$0.64/min. Platform voices are $0.015/min. Concurrency included is 20 concurrent calls. At 1,000 minutes our stack is $99.80. Retell AI pricing.
Retell AI alternatives compared by cost
Scenario (our assumptions, not vendor figures): inbound calls on one US local number; average call 3 minutes; the business needs 10 calls at once; a GPT-4.1-mini-class LLM; each platform's cheapest published voice. Where a platform bills the LLM by token and publishes no per-minute figure, we use Retell's published GPT 4.1 mini rate ($0.0128/min) as a stand-in and label it assumption.
| Platform | 500 min | 1k min | 5k min | 10k min | $/min @1k |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retell AI | $50.90 | $99.80 | $491.00 | $980.00 | $0.0998 |
| Vapi | $69.90 to $93.45 | $110.80 to $157.90 | $438.00 to $673.50 | $847.00 to $1,318.00 | $0.1108 to $0.1579 |
| Bland AI | $75.40 Start | $149.65 Start | $743.65 Start | $1,585.15 Build | $0.1497 |
| ElevenLabs Agents | $51.80 Creator | $102.45 Creator | $507.61 Pro | $1,014.11 Pro | $0.1024 |
| GHL Voice AI, speech-to-speech | $50.00 | $100.00 | $500.00 | $1,000.00 | $0.10 |
| GHL Voice AI, engine + TTS + LLM | $36.40 | $72.80 | $364.00 | $728.00 | $0.0728 |
| Deepgram Voice Agent API | $42.90 | $84.65 | $418.65 | $836.15 | $0.0847 |
Scenario: 10 concurrent calls, 3-minute inbound calls, one US number. 500 min/mo. 1,000 min/mo. 5,000 min/mo. 10,000 min/mo. Per min at 1,000 Sources: retellai.com · Oct 27, 2026; vapi.ai · Oct 27, 2026; bland.ai · Oct 27, 2026; elevenlabs.io · Oct 27, 2026; help.gohighlevel.com · Oct 27, 2026; deepgram.com · Oct 27, 2026
The alternatives, one by one
Vapi
Vapi charges $0.05/min hosting and passes providers through. Included concurrency is 4 / 10 / 30, then $10/line/month. The monthly fee is $0/month on usage-only billing; Core is $29/month. HIPAA is a $2,000/month add-on, and extra organizations are $20/org/month. Vapi pricing.
Switch cost at 1,000 minutes: $110.80–$157.90 versus $99.80, a change of +$11.00 to +$58.10 a month.
Bland AI
$0.14/min on Start or $0.12/min on Build ($299/month). Telephony is Not published by Bland. Page says Bland's built-in Twilio is 'pass-through cost'; no figure stated. Bland AI pricing.
Switch cost at 1,000 minutes: +$49.85 a month.
ElevenLabs Agents
Extra minutes are $0.08/min. The LLM is Not published by ElevenLabs. LLM billed separately by model, 'shown in the platform's user interface'; not on public page. ElevenLabs Agents pricing.
Switch cost at 1,000 minutes: +$2.65 a month.
Try ElevenLabs AgentsAffiliate link
GoHighLevel Voice AI
Engine $0.045/min, or speech-to-speech $0.10/min. Phone is GoHighLevel lists LC Phone rates in a separate pricing guide; our totals exclude phone. GoHighLevel Voice AI pricing.
Switch cost at 1,000 minutes, speech-to-speech, phone excluded: +$0.20 a month.
Start a GoHighLevel free trialAffiliate link
Deepgram Voice Agent API
$0.075/min on Standard, 45 concurrent connections. You bring telephony.
Switch cost at 1,000 minutes: −$15.15 a month.
When to stay on Retell
- You need 10–20 calls at once. Retell includes 20 concurrent calls. The same 20 lines on Vapi are priced in the concurrency table on Vapi vs Retell AI.
- You are under about 1,000 minutes a month. At 500 and 1,000 minutes, Retell was cheaper than Vapi on this stack.
- You want one published price per component on one page.
Open-source and self-hosted Retell AI alternatives
| Project | License |
|---|---|
 LiveKit Agents | Apache-2.0 |
 Pipecat | BSD-2-Clause |
 Dograh | BSD-2-Clause |
Sources: github.com · Oct 27, 2026; github.com · Oct 27, 2026; github.com · Oct 27, 2026
How we picked
Published prices only, same stack, same calculator. Cost and fit decide the order, not commissions. Vapi’s affiliate applications are on hold, so Vapi has no paid link here. Bland has no public program. ElevenLabs and GoHighLevel do. Deepgram was not checked for a program.
Vapi vs Retell AI · Calculator preset
FAQ
What is the cheapest Retell AI alternative?
On our same-stack model at 1,000 minutes, GHL's engine pipeline ($72.80 before phone) and Deepgram's Voice Agent API ($84.65) came out lowest. GHL's phone rate is not published, and Deepgram needs your own telephony.
Is there a free Retell AI alternative?
The open-source frameworks are free to run, and you still pay for models and telephony. Hosted credit includes Retell $10 credits (one-time), ElevenLabs 15 min/month and Deepgram $200.
Is there an open-source Retell AI alternative?
Yes. LiveKit Agents (Apache-2.0), Pipecat (BSD-2-Clause) and Dograh (BSD-2-Clause).