Pipecat vs Retell AI (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Retell AI grades higher than Pipecat: 2.4 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Pipecat grades higher on the free plan. Retell AI grades higher on features and ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Pipecat
Open source framework for building voice and multimodal AI agents
Free plan
Retell AI
Pay-per-minute platform for AI phone and chat agents
Free trial · from $0
Which one is for you
Pick Pipecat if
- Fits if you write Python and want to own the voice agent pipeline
- Works for teams that want any model and any transport without lock-in
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want no-code: it is a developer framework
- Watch out: providers for speech, language and voice are billed separately
- Watch out: the site says the Pipecat team is joining Deepgram, though it stays open source
- Pricey if you use phone calls on Cloud: dial-in or out is $0.018 a minute on top
Pick Retell AI if
- Fits if you want to pay per minute with no monthly commitment
- Works for developers wiring phone agents into Twilio or HubSpot
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you add it up, as model, voice and telephony sit on top of the $0.055 base
- Watch out: HIPAA and BAA, SSO, role-based access and custom retention are Enterprise only
- Watch out: AI quality assurance and PII removal are charged per minute on top
- Not for you if you want a fixed bill, because cost moves with minutes
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAPipecatFair | 2.4GPARetell AIFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CFree to download, but it only runs if you host it yourself on a server, which is a C. Pipecat Cloud costs $0.01 to $0.03 an active minute. | CStarts at $0 and bills $0.07 to $0.31 a minute, so the price can't be set against the category's monthly plans. Voice infrastructure alone is $0.055 a minute. |
| Free plan and trial | BOpen source with no limits of its own. You still pay the model and phone providers you plug in, and hosting. | C$10 in free credits with full platform access. There is no free plan, and the page does not say whether a card is needed. |
| Features | CPipelines of frames, any model and transport, flows, a cloud host and a CLI. It does the orchestration job but needs speech, language and voice services from elsewhere to be useful. | BInbound and outbound calls, batch calls, testing and monitoring, model and voice choice, and chat agents. The core job of a phone agent is covered. |
| Ease of use | DYou write Python and run it yourself. No store rating exists. | CNo store rating on record, and you set up prompts, a number, models and voices, often with the API. |
| Platforms and integrations | BRuns wherever Python runs, with seven integrations listed. No ready-made apps. | BWeb, with Make, Twilio, Vonage, HubSpot, n8n and Go High Level listed, plus API access. |
| Best for | developers building voice agents in Python | developers building phone agents that bill by the minute |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Pipecat and Retell AI. How we grade
Where they differ
- Pipecat is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Retell AI also covers chatbots.
In commonWebPublic APIAI agents
At a glance
| Pipecat | Retell AI | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | Not published | $0 to start, then $0.07 to $0.31 per minute for voice agents |
| Free plan | Pipecat is open source and runs wherever Python runs; hosting on your own servers costs nothing beyond what you pay providers. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | $10 in free credits with full platform access. |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Daily | Retell AI |
| Price read from | daily.co | retellai.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Pipecat
- Pipecat Cloud is billed per active minute: agent-1x costs $0.01 a minute, agent-2x $0.02 and agent-3x $0.03.
- Daily WebRTC voice transport is free for 1:1 sessions on Pipecat Cloud; PSTN dial-in or out is $0.018 a minute.
- The site says the Pipecat team is joining Deepgram, and that Pipecat stays open source and vendor neutral.
- It is a developer framework, not a no-code builder.
Retell AI
- The rate is a sum of parts: voice infrastructure is $0.055 per minute, with model, voice and telephony on top, hence $0.07 to $0.31.
- The comparison table lists HIPAA and BAA, SSO, role-based access and custom data retention for Enterprise only.
- Dedicated implementation support and a dedicated stable server are Enterprise add-ons.
- Add-ons such as AI quality assurance and PII removal are charged per minute on top of the base rate.
Key features
Pipecat
- Pipeline of frames
- Frames stream through the pipeline as they are produced, so the agent can start responding while the user is still talking.
- Any model, any transport
- Swap services from 200+ providers and connect over WebRTC, SIP or PSTN.
- Pipecat Flows
- Structured conversation paths for cases where a dialog must follow a defined route.
- Pipecat Cloud
- Managed hosting for agents, with unlimited concurrency and per-minute billing.
- CLI and observability
- A pipecat init command scaffolds a project; metrics, traces and OpenTelemetry are supported.
Retell AI
- Inbound and outbound phone agents
- Agents answer or place calls, transfer to a human, book appointments, use a knowledge base and navigate keypad menus.
- Batch calls and caller ID
- The deploy menu lists batch calling for high-volume campaigns, branded caller ID and verified phone numbers.
- Testing and monitoring
- Simulation testing, call transcripts and analytics, post-call analysis and AI quality assurance are listed for monitoring agents.
- Model and voice choice
- The cost estimator offers language models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google and voices from Retell, ElevenLabs, Cartesia, Minimax, Fish and OpenAI.
- Chat agents
- The same platform runs chat agents, priced from $0.002 per message.
Plans
Pipecat
Open source$0
Self-host the framework on your own infrastructure; you pay your model and transport providers.
Retell AI
Pay as you go$0
to start, then $0.07-$0.31 per minute
Voice agents at $0.07-$0.31 per minute, chat agents from $0.002 per message, 20 free concurrent calls, API access and email support.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom voice and chat pricing, role-based access, custom SSO, MSA, DPA and BAA terms, and 24/7 support with a dedicated portal.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Pipecat or Retell AI?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Pipecat publishes no starting price, and Retell AI starts at $0 to start, then $0.07 to $0.31 per minute for voice agents.
Which has a free plan, Pipecat or Retell AI?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Pipecat has a free plan. Retell AI does not, though it has a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.