Retell AI review (2026): is it worth paying for?
Pay-per-minute platform for AI phone and chat agents
Black Friday: is there a Retell AI sale?
Retell AI report card
Fair · out of 4.0 · graded Nov 12, 2026
Best for developers building phone agents that bill by the minute
Retell is a pay-as-you-go platform for AI phone and chat agents, at $0.07 to $0.31 a minute depending on the model, voice and telephony you pick. There is no subscription, but the rate is a sum of parts with add-ons on top, and HIPAA, SSO and roles are Enterprise only.
Who Retell AI is for
- Fits if you want to pay per minute with no monthly commitment
- Works for developers wiring phone agents into Twilio or HubSpot
Who Retell AI is not for
- 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
Why Retell AI gets a 2.4
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- CValue for moneyStarts 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.
- CFree plan and trial$10 in free credits with full platform access. There is no free plan, and the page does not say whether a card is needed.
- BFeaturesInbound and outbound calls, batch calls, testing and monitoring, model and voice choice, and chat agents. The core job of a phone agent is covered.
- CEase of useNo store rating on record, and you set up prompts, a number, models and voices, often with the API.
- BPlatforms and integrationsWeb, with Make, Twilio, Vonage, HubSpot, n8n and Go High Level listed, plus API access.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Retell AI's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
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<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/retell-ai#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/retell-ai.svg" alt="Retell AI: 2.4 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where Retell AI stands among AI agents
Retell AI's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 61 of the 101 other AI agents we grade, and level with 8.
It stands best on features (B, above 69 of 101) and worst on ease of use (C, above 14).
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 102 AI agents we grade, cut by the letter each got. Retell AI’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 17 of 101, level with 56
- CFree plan and trialAbove 28 of 101, level with 53
- BFeaturesAbove 69 of 101, level with 27
- CEase of useAbove 14 of 101, level with 78
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 20 of 101, level with 71
Keep Retell AI, or make your own?
Keep it
To replace Retell AI you would be making an AI agent, with the models and the safeguards behind it. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
What you could not
- An AI agent, with the models and the safeguards behind it.
- A chatbot builder hooked into the messaging apps.
- It plugs into other products, Make, Twilio and Vonage among them, and has an API.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. Retell AI’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is Retell AI?
Retell AI is a platform for building, testing, deploying and monitoring AI voice agents that take and place phone calls, plus chat agents. Pricing is per minute of use with no platform fee, and the page lets you choose the language model, voice and telephony.
Worth knowing
- 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
- 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.
Retell AI pricing
As of Nov 12, 2026, Retell AI is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $0 to start, then $0.07 to $0.31 per minute for voice agents.
- Starts at
- $0 to start, then $0.07 to $0.31 per minute for voice agents
- Free plan
- None
- Free trial
- $10 in free credits with full platform access.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Pay as you go | $0to 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. |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom voice and chat pricing, role-based access, custom SSO, MSA, DPA and BAA terms, and 24/7 support with a dedicated portal. |
Read from retellai.com on Nov 12, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Retell AI before you buy.
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Common questions
Does Retell AI have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. Retell AI is listed for Web.
Does Retell AI have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. Retell AI is listed for Web.
Is Retell AI open source?
Retell AI is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 12, 2026.
Does Retell AI have an API?
Yes. Retell AI offers a public API, according to its own site.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 12, 2026.