Retell AI vs Vapi (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Retell AI grades higher than Vapi: 2.4 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Retell AI grades higher on ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Retell AI
Pay-per-minute platform for AI phone and chat agents
Vapi
Developer platform for building and running voice AI agents
Which one is for you
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
Pick Vapi if
- Fits if you are a developer who wants to choose each voice and model provider
- Makes sense if you want to pay for minutes as you use them
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you want one price, as model, voice and call charges sit on top of the $0.05 hosting
- Watch out: HIPAA-eligible handling is a $2,000 a month add-on
- Pricey if you grow, since Pro has a $999 a month minimum
- Watch out: extra lines cost $10 each and extra organisations $20 each a month
How we grade them
| 2.4GPARetell AIFair | 2.2GPAVapiFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | CCore is $29 a month and hosting is $0.05 a minute, but the page's own 1,000-minute estimate is $82 to $129 a month, and Pro starts at $999. |
| Free plan and trial | 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. | C$5 in free credits to start. The page does not say whether a card is needed. |
| Features | 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. | BOrchestration, a choice of providers, testing and simulation, and telephony options. The core job of a voice agent is covered. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record, and you set up prompts, a number, models and voices, often with the API. | DNo store rating, and the platform is built around API calls and provider settings. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, with Make, Twilio, Vonage, HubSpot, n8n and Go High Level listed, plus API access. | BWeb, with Twilio, Vonage, Telnyx, Deepgram, OpenAI, ElevenLabs and Daily listed. |
| Best for | developers building phone agents that bill by the minute | developers building voice agents on their own stack |
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: Retell AI and Vapi. How we grade
Where they differ
- Retell AI also covers chatbots.
At a glance
| Retell AI | Vapi | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $0 to start, then $0.07 to $0.31 per minute for voice agents | $29 per month (Core); usage-only starts at $0.05 per minute hosting |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | $10 in free credits with full platform access. | $5 in free credits to start; usage-only accounts then pre-pay for minutes. |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Retell AI | Vapi, Inc. |
| Price read from | retellai.com | vapi.ai |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Vapi
- Without a success package, hosting is $0.05 per minute, pre-paid, and Deepgram, model and voice costs are added on top; the page's 1,000-minute estimate is $82 to $129 a month.
- HIPAA-eligible data handling is a $2,000 per month add-on.
- Extra concurrent lines cost $10 per line per month and extra organizations $20 per organization per month.
- Twilio, Vonage and Telnyx call charges are billed by those providers, such as $0.008 per minute for Twilio inbound.
Key features
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.
Vapi
- Voice agent orchestration
- Configure voice, conversation flow, telephony and integrations for an agent, then deploy it behind a phone number or an API.
- Choice of providers
- The pricing calculator lets you pick the transcriber, language model and voice, for example Deepgram, OpenAI and ElevenLabs. Models are passed through at cost.
- Testing and simulation
- Calls can be simulated before they reach customers, and monitoring flags issues in live calls.
- Telephony options
- Vapi telephony and SIP, WebSockets and Daily WebRTC are listed as free transport; Twilio, Vonage and Telnyx are charged by those providers.
- Enterprise controls
- The site lists SSO, OAuth, RBAC and AI guardrails, and says SOC 2, HIPAA and PCI compliance are supported.
Plans
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.
Vapi
Core$29
per month, pre-paid, auto-renew
2 organizations, 5 included phone numbers, 10 concurrent calls, 30 days of raw data retention and email support.
Pro$999
per month minimum, 10% of the hosting fee
10 organizations, 30 concurrent calls, 180 days retention, RBAC, a dedicated Slack channel and a 99% uptime SLA.
PremierCustom
Direct sales only: higher limits, named support team, 99.9% uptime SLA, SSO and dedicated SIP.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Retell AI or Vapi?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Retell AI starts at $0 to start, then $0.07 to $0.31 per minute for voice agents, and Vapi starts at $29 per month (Core); usage-only starts at $0.05 per minute hosting.
Which has a free plan, Retell AI or Vapi?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Retell AI nor Vapi has a free plan. Both have 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.