Best Retell AI Alternatives and Competitors to Watch in 2025

TL;DR – What’s the best Retell AI alternative?

To save you time, I'll give it to you straight: It's Ringly.io. Throughout our analysis, we found that Ringly offers superior voice quality, more language options, and better pricing for small businesses without sacrificing enterprise capabilities.

Ready for the full breakdown? Let's read on.

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What is Retell AI?

Retell AI burst onto the scene in 2023 from the San Francisco Bay Area with a simple mission: make voice AI accessible to developers. Founded by the tech-savvy team of Todd Li, Evie Wang, Bing Wu, Weijia Yu, and Zexia Zhang, this startup has quickly captured attention.

In just a short time, they've grown to serve over 3,000 businesses who need to build AI voice agents without the headache. Retell's sweet spot? Developers who want to create natural-sounding voice experiences without starting from scratch.

Top user complaints of Retell AI

• UI Improvements Needed: Some users feel Retell AI’s interface could be more intuitive, especially for non-technical users.

• Voice Variety Limitations: Users have requested more voice customization in Retell AI, especially for different male voices and accents.

• Slow customer service: Some users have complained about slow response times from Retell AI's support.

• Platform Still Evolving: Retell AI, being a newer platform, is still developing its features, and is not an established AI tool yet.

• Gets expensive with add-ons: The price seems low at first, but gets expensive quickly if you want to build advanced AI agents capable of customer interactions that help businesses empower their customer support.

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What to look for in competitors and alternatives to Retell AI

• Easy-to-Use Interface: Many users struggle with Retell's interface, especially if they're not coding wizards. Look for platforms with clean, simple dashboards that simplify creating AI-powered voice interactions. The best tools let you build AI voice bots without diving into complex code.
• Voice Variety and Customization: Retell's limited voice options (especially for male voices and different accents) frustrate many users. The best alternatives offer a rich library of voices across genders, ages, and accents—giving your AI agents personality that matches your brand perfectly.
• Responsive Customer Support: Nothing kills momentum like waiting days for help. Some Retell users report frustratingly slow support response times. The top competitors offer quick, helpful support through multiple channels—because when your voice AI breaks, you need help now, not next week.
• Mature, Stable Platform: Since Retell is relatively new, it's still working out the kinks. If you need reliability, look for more established alternatives with proven track records, extensive documentation, and active user communities. These platforms have already solved the problems Retell is still figuring out.
• All in one pricing model: Retell's platform also supports buying add-ons, something you need to do for businesses to create seamless integrations with their existing workflows. So an all-in one pricing package would be nice.

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Want to compare other players in the market? Read our other comparisons as well!

Bland vs Retell

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#1 – Ringly.io – Best Retell AI alternative

Best for: Online businesses & e-commerce stores that don't want to deal with customer service but just scale.

Product Hunt rating: 4.8/5 stars

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Founded in 2024 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, by Maurizio Isendoorn and Ruben Boonzaaijer, Ringly.io is revolutionizing e-commerce customer service with AI phone agents.

Designed for online businesses, Ringly handles customer calls on autopilot—solving support issues, recovering abandoned carts, and even boosting sales—at just 20% of the cost of human agents.

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With 1,300+ customers, Ringly.io is the go-to solution for e-commerce stores looking to scale without scaling their support team. With award-winning technology (BubbleCon 2024's "Most Innovative App"), Ringly.io transforms your phone system into a revenue-driving powerhouse—without the headaches of traditional call centers.

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AI features that make Ringly.io the #1 Retell AI alternative

• No-code setup, instant results – Ringly.io is ready to go in minutes. Just add your website, docs, or text—no engineering required—and your AI phone agent instantly understands your business. It even updates automatically as your website changes.

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• ‍AI-powered sales & support – Ringly.io does both inbound and outbound calls. Recover 35%+ of abandoned carts with automated follow-up calls, provide real-time order tracking from Shopify, and convert more customers with personalized AI-driven conversations—not just reactive support.

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• Advanced analytics for smarter decisions – Unlike Retell AI, which the necessary insights, Ringly.io gives you real-time call data, customer intent tracking, and performance reports—helping you optimize support and sales strategies.

• Scalable pricing without enterprise contracts – Retell AI's enterprise pricing is at least $3.000 per month for at least 6 months, making it expensive for smaller businesses. Ringly.io offers transparent, scalable pricing—pay for what you use, no locked-in contracts.‍

Ringly.io cons:

• Not built for large enterprise call centers – Best for e-commerce and SMBs rather than massive enterprise call centers with complex IVR needs.
• Outbound calls require consent – Unlike human agents, AI outbound calling requires opt-in compliance, which varies by region.
• No custom code options – The Ringly.io platform is designed to easily create no-code ai phone agents, but less friendly for developers with more technical expertise that need tools like custom code options.

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Ringly.io pricing plans:

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‍Ringly.io vs. Retell AI: Cost vs. Value

• Ringly.io has clear pricing starting at $21/month with pay-as-you-go scaling. No contracts, no cancellation fees, and even a 110% money-back guarantee. Retell AI starts at $0.07 a minute but then you still need to plug in an AI model, and phone numbers, and pay for a knowledge base, and extra concurrency, etc.

• Ringly.io has a Free plan available with 10 minutes of AI phone calls—no credit card needed. Retell AI also has a free plan with some minutes to test

• Ringly.io is ideal for e-commerce and SMBs, offering full features on all plans with scaling based on usage. Retell AI becomes more expensive once you want the complete package. All those add-ons add up.

• Ringly.io offers three levels of onboarding—DIY, Done-With-You, and Done-For-You—at different price points. Retell AI just has community support or Enterprise (which is an $18.000 deal)

If you're an SMB or e-commerce brand looking for a powerful AI phone agent without enterprise-level costs, Ringly.io delivers better value, flexible pricing, and risk-free test calls—something Retell AI doesn't offer.

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Reviews

"it stands out significantly ahead"- Bertrand, Director. We are at the initial stage of testing and have made only a few calls so far. Consequently, I have rated the product with four stars for now. However, I must express that the product has shown significant promise. When compared to competitors, it stands out significantly ahead.‍

"This is such a great product"- Jim Miranda, Founder. This is such a great product. I have been with you for less than a week and already closed 3 deals with it."

"It really sounds like a human"- Laix, Founder. Tried Ringly.io today and the quality of the phone calls surprises me! It really sounds like a human, and it reacts really fast. Will need to deploy it in action to see the full capabilities.

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Get started with Ringly.io for free

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2. Vapi

Best for: developers building AI voice products

Product Hunt + Trustpilot rating: 4.4/5 (19 reviews)

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Founded in San Francisco in 2020 by Jordan Dearsley and Nikhil Gupta, Vapi is an AI platform designed to combine conversational, customizable AI with a configurable API for seamless integration and to build sophisticated voice AI technology products.

With over 100,000 developers building on Vapi's infrastructure, the company has quickly established itself as a go-to solution for creating great voice experiences.

Vapi stands out with its powerful features including multilingual capabilities, automated testing, tool calling functionality, API-native architecture, and the flexibility to bring your own smart AI models and run A/B experiments.

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Vapi key features

• Multilingual Support: Vapi supports over 100 languages, enabling seamless customer experience with global audiences.
• API-Native: Vapi exposes everything as an API, offering deep customization and integrations, including features like bringing your own AI models.
• Automated Testing: Vapi allows for automated testing of simulated voice virtual assistants, reducing risks before going live. Retell AI does not highlight automated testing as a feature.
• Tool Calling: Vapi enables integration with custom APIs to fetch data and perform actions on your server, offering advanced automation across multiple channels.

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Cons:

• Limited International Number Support: Non-US users have expressed frustration over the lack of local number support, incurring additional costs.
• Account Management Frustrations: Users struggle with account cancellations and payment information removal, leading to billing and privacy concerns.
• Bot-Heavy Support Experience: While some users appreciate the human support, the automated chatbots handling account or billing queries can be frustrating. Retell AI provides AI chatbots as well to contact them
• Technical Complexity: Vapi’s focus on API access and flexibility makes it more suited to technical users, posing a steeper learning curve for non-technical teams. Retell makes it easy to design an agentic AI agent, but it might be harder to meet the specific needs that enables businesses to create highly accurate agents.
• Still Maturing: Vapi is still evolving as a younger product, and its technology continues to improve.

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Pricing:

Vapi offers 2 main pricing tiers, ideal for different use cases, with additional add-ons for extra features.

• Startup Plan: $0.05/minute + provider costs. Includes free credits and flexibility to bring your own API keys, but additional services are extra. Best for smaller teams or early-stage startups. No cancellation fees, pro-rated refunds.
• Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing, offering higher limits, priority support, and volume pricing. Ideal for larger organizations or enterprises with significant usage needs. Preferred annual contract.
• Add-ons: $2-$5,000/month for features like phone numbers, concurrency, and HIPAA compliance.

Vapi’s pricing is pay-as-you-go, offering flexibility but may result in higher costs with additional services.

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Reviews

"Amazing tool as well as after hours support on a Saturday night" - Robert Peter. Amazing system that they are building. I had issues on a Saturday night, and received a phone call from one of the technicians Sahil and he helped me through my issue. What dedication. I saw some of the other reviews, and they seem to be related to billings, and stuff that could easily be spoken about. I just wanted to give a shout out to this guy for his passion and dedication to the project.

"Unreliable" - Brent P, managing member. Support is non-existent and documentation is extremely poor. I spent a lot of time setting up an assistant which was working ok. Then they had a developer conference and rolled out a lot of new features and EVERYTHING broke. I spent hours and hours trying to get it working again to no avail. Emailed them and was told the "bugs" would be fixed tomorrow... then tomorrow.. then tomorrow. REALLY FRUSTRATING.

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2. Poly AI

Best for: Large enterprises that need a tailored AI solution.

Gartner rating: 4.6/5 (13 reviews)

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Founded in 2017 in London, UK, Poly AI is an enterprise-grade conversational AI-Powered platform designed to handle customer service calls with advanced natural language understanding. It was created by Nikola Mrkšić, Tsung-Hsien Wen, and Pei-Hao Su, who met while researching spoken dialog systems at Cambridge’s Machine Intelligence Lab.

Today, Poly AI serves 100+ enterprise customers, creating a solution for businesses that want to automate phone support with human-like voice agents at scale. Known for its advanced AI models and industry-specific solutions, it’s a go-to for companies looking to streamline inbound calls without sacrificing customer experience.

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Key features

• Better Call Understanding: While Retell AI navigates IVR systems and handles transfers, PolyAI's enterprise-grade conversational ai platform uses fancy NLP tech to really get what customers are saying and respond naturally.
• Speaks 40+ Languages: Unlike Retell's focus on smooth transfers and appointment booking, PolyAI lets you talk to customers worldwide in their own language.
• Always On: Just like Retell's batch calling feature, PolyAI never sleeps - but it's built more for incoming support than outgoing calls.
• Plugs Into Your Stuff: Similar to how Retell syncs with your knowledge base, PolyAI connects to your existing systems without a ton of work.
• Handles The Crowds: Where Retell shines with batch outbound calls, PolyAI can take thousands of incoming calls at once without breaking a sweat.
• Voice Commands That Work: While Retell focuses on displaying your brand name on calls, PolyAI puts more emphasis on understanding and responding to spoken words.

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Cons

• Voice Sometimes Sounds Weird: Unlike Retell's consistent branded experience, PolyAI's voice quality can change mid-call, which throws people off.
• Weak Call Insights: Retell offers post-call analysis and an entire analytics platform, but PolyAI falls short on giving you the deep data about your calls that you need.
• Can't Make It Truly Yours: Retell lets you sync your knowledge base, while PolyAI limits how much you can customize for your specific business.
• Costs A Fortune: Unlike Retell's more accessible pricing, PolyAI hits your wallet hard, especially for bigger companies.
• No Try Before You Buy: While you can test features with Retell, PolyAI makes you book a demo before you can even play with it.

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Pricing

PolyAI is enterprise-only, unlike Retell which offers more flexible options. With PolyAI, you have to book a call just to hear what it costs. There's no free trial - a huge difference from Retell's more accessible approach.

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Key Pricing Insights:

• Pay-per-minute at $0.25 (guesstimated): That's what I found in a blog - way different from Retell's more value-focused model.
• Big Business Focus: No public pricing means custom deals that probably cost more than Retell.
• High Commitment Required: Unlike Retell where you can start using features right away, PolyAI makes you commit before you even see what you're buying.

Reviews

"Conversational assistant of the highest quality" - Verified enterprise customer. The assistant itself is lifelike and constantly learning. The time saving it allows our staff onsite is the real value add. In comparison, competitor offerings seem robotic make customers feel like they are not being cared for.

"App is working slow" - Sagar R, Senior Recruitment Consultant. Sometimes the app is working slow and it will take time to initiate any command.

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3. Air AI

Best for: Businesses that need conversational AI solutions, and have enough money, and like to take risks.

Trustpilot rating: 1.3/5 (81 reviews)

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Founded in 2022 in Scottsdale, United States, Air AI is an human-like AI powered sales team designed to handle real-time phone conversations just like a human.

Built by Caleb Maddix, Ethan Wainer, Ryan O’Donnell, and Thomas Lancer, Air AI is aimed at sales professionals looking to automate outbound and inbound calls, follow up with leads, and close deals—all without human intervention. It promises to replace sales reps by using natural language processing to create the best customer interaction.

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Key features

• Talks Like a Real Person: While Retell AI focuses on handling calls efficiently, Air.ai creates super long conversations (10-40 minutes) that sound just like talking to a human - their big difference is how natural they sound.
• Never Forgets Anything: Retell syncs with your knowledge base, but Air.ai remembers every single detail from past calls without missing a beat.
• Works With Thousands of Apps: Retell connects with Cal.com for booking, but Air.ai works with over 5,000 different apps to get stuff done without you lifting a finger.
• Takes Tons of Calls at Once: Similar to Retell's batch calling, Air.ai can juggle multiple calls simultaneously, but they focus more on handling incoming calls

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Cons

• Terrible Support: Unlike Retell, Air.ai customers report being completely ignored when they need help - emails vanish into thin air and nobody answers the phone. No ai chatbot or human interactions whatsoever.
• Surprise Charges: While Retell is straightforward about costs, Air.ai customers get hit with hidden fees and don't get promised refunds.
• Keeps Breaking Down: Retell offers reliable service, but Air.ai's platform crashes constantly with bugs that make it useless for real business.
• Lies About What It Can Do: Where Retell delivers on promises, Air.ai oversells its capabilities and makes wild claims about how much money you'll make.
• Tiny Free Trial: Retell lets you properly test the system, but Air.ai gives you just five measly calls before you have to pay up.
• Pushy Sales Tactics: After buying Air.ai, many users get pressured into spending $10,000-$100,000 on "partnerships" that Retell doesn't require.
• No Help Getting Started: Retell makes integration simpler, while Air.ai leaves you hanging with almost no documentation or tutorials.

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Pricing

While Retell AI offers straightforward pricing, Air.ai hits you with a massive upfront license fee between $10,000-$100,000 just to get started. They charge about $0.11 per minute on top of that huge fee.

Key Pricing Insights:

• Huge Barrier to Entry: Unlike Retell's accessible model, Air.ai requires a fortune just to get in the door.
• No-Code but Limited: Their platform is easy to use but doesn't let you customize much, unlike Retell's more flexible approach.
• Quick to Set Up, Hard to Afford: You can deploy fast, but the cost makes it impossible for most businesses to even try.

Reviews

"Best AI caller out there" - Wyatt Roderick. If you see bad reviews its for 1 reason, they don't know how to use the platform. Its that simple. When executed properly this tech can change a business forever...

"No honor and/or integrity" - Reuben Russell. This is very disturbing the amount of money these people have basically extorted from everyone. They have taken us for $10,000.00 also and I would also be interested if a class action lawsuit is started against these two individuals.

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4. Bland

Best for: Enterprise companies that want a voice ai platform to streamline customer support and lead generation.

Product Hunt rating: 3.0/5 (10 reviews)

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Founded in San Francisco in 2023 by Isaiah Granet and Sobhan Nejad, Bland AI is an innovative no-code platform designed to build artificial intelligence-powered phone calling agents that efficiently handle the bulk of enterprise call volume.

Bland AI is built for large enterprises that want to automate their customer support and sales operations, offering enterprise scalability and integrate seamlessly with CRMs. The platform stands out with its advanced capabilities like memory functionality across calls, conversational pathways, high-accuracy transcription, context-aware summarization, and confidence scoring.

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Key features

• Voice Options: Bland AI lets you pick from tons of realistic-sounding voices with different accents and styles that enables businesses to create the best customer engagement.
• Different AI Brains: Bland AI gives you three speeds - simple, medium, or super smart. Retell AI doesn't talk about different AI levels but focuses on making hundreds of calls at once.
• How They Talk: Both let you control how the AI talks, but Bland AI makes a big deal about custom prompts. Retell AI is more about the knowledge base you can feed it.
• Background Sounds: Bland AI adds coffee shop or office noise to make calls sound more real. Retell AI doesn't mention this - they're all about getting through those annoying phone menus for you.
• Connecting to Other Stuff: Bland AI needs some tech skills to connect to other apps. Retell AI makes it simple to do appointment scheduling through Cal.com and sync with your website.
• Languages: Bland AI speaks 28 languages. Retell AI doesn't make a big deal about languages in their marketing.
• Answering Calls: Bland AI handles incoming calls with custom greetings. Retell AI seems more focused on making calls out rather than taking them in.

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Cons

• Sometimes Glitchy: Bland AI sometimes stumbles or cuts off mid-sentence. Retell AI's warm transfers and verified numbers try to avoid these awkward moments.
• Takes Time to Set Up: Bland AI might take a few hours to get right. Retell AI promises seamless integration but doesn't talk about setup time.
• Slow Support: Bland AI's support can be slow to respond. Retell AI doesn't mention their support quality, focusing instead on their post-call analysis.
• Still Sounds Robotic: Bland AI admits it still feels like a robot for sensitive conversations. Retell AI focuses more on practical stuff like navigating phone menus rather than being super human-like.

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Pricing

• Pay As You Go: Bland AI charges $0.09 per minute with a daily call limit. Retell AI has 7 cents per-minute pricing.
• Big Business Plans: Both have enterprise options, but Bland AI has a no-refund policy.
• Custom Setup: Bland AI offers custom plans with special features. Retell AI seems more standardized but with verified numbers to prevent spam marking.

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Reviews

"Extremely impressed" ‍- Casper Boutens. Extremely impressed by Bland, the team is improving their product every week, they offer great support and all by all great phone calls made by their AI.

‍"Doesn't work at all" - Albert Salgueda. Doesn't work at all. I call and it doesn't speak, it gets interrupted... still not there.

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What's the best alternative to Retell's AI call center builder?

We've been looking for alternatives for retell AI, and the verdict is clear. While Retell AI has its place, it's not the perfect fit for everyone—especially when those add-ons start piling up and your wallet feels it.

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After analyzing features, pricing, and real user feedback, here are our top 3 picks:

1. Ringly.io - The clear winner for most businesses. No-code setup in minutes, transparent pricing without nasty surprises, and it actually makes you money by recovering abandoned carts. Perfect for e-commerce stores that want to scale without hiring an army of agents.
2. Vapi - Best for the tech-savvy crowd. If you're a developer who wants API control and deep customization, this is your jam.
3. Poly AI - Solid enterprise choice with impressive language capabilities, but comes with that enterprise price tag.

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At the end of the day, Ringly.io gives you everything Retell AI offers but without the complicated pricing and with better results for your bottom line. Why pay for add-ons when you can get the complete package that starts working for you instantly?