Head-to-head
Retell AI vs Vapi: which one in 2026?
Retell AI is a voice agent platform from Retell AI, Inc with a per-minute price and a visual call-flow builder, and Vapi is a developer-first voice AI platform from Vapi Inc. where you assemble the speech, model and voice providers yourself. Retell packages more of the stack, while Vapi lists each component separately.
Verdict
Retell AI fits teams that want a more finished product, with a canvas, simulation tests and call QA, and who care about concurrency at the low end. Vapi fits engineering teams that want to compose the stack and see each provider's cost, and that value zero data retention starting at $29 per month. Both vendors claim certifications that we could not confirm on an opened page, and both policies mention model training, so request security documents before routing customer calls.
Retell AI and Vapi side by side
| Retell AI | Vapi | |
|---|---|---|
| Price entry | Pay as you go, $0.07 to $0.31 per minute for voice agents | $0.05 per minute hosting, plus model, voice and transcriber costs |
| How the minute price is built | One range of $0.07 to $0.31 per minute for voice agents, with $0.055 per minute of that listed as Retell voice infrastructure. | Hosting at $0.05 per minute plus separate provider rates, such as Deepgram at about $0.01 and ElevenLabs voices at $0.0146 to $0.0238. |
| Plan structure | Two tiers: Pay as you go with $10 in free credits, and Enterprise with custom pricing and custom MSA and DPA terms. | Four tiers: a start tier with $5 free credits, Core at $29 per month, Pro from a $999 monthly minimum, and Premier sold direct. |
| Concurrent calls | 20 concurrent calls are free; more capacity costs $8 per concurrent call per month. Enterprise concurrency is stated inconsistently on the pricing page. | 4 on the start tier, 10 on Core and 30 on Pro, with extra concurrency at $10 per line per month. |
| Building an agent | A drag-and-drop canvas for call flows with functions, DTMF and SMS, live call monitoring with takeover, and IVR navigation. | An API-native platform with prebuilt use cases for support, lead qualification and scheduling, and a free choice among named model, voice and transcriber vendors. |
| Testing and review | Scenario simulation, production calls turned into regression tests, QA on up to 100% of AI calls and A/B comparison of agent versions. | Monitoring that tracks call performance and flags weak areas; simulation testing was not found on the pages checked. |
| Telephony and integrations | Twilio, Vonage and SIP trunking, plus Make, Go High Level, n8n and HubSpot; Retell phone numbers cost $2 per month. | Twilio, Telnyx, Five9, Genesys and Avaya, plus Salesforce, Zendesk and Slack; Vapi telephony, SIP and WebRTC are listed as free. |
| Data retention | Where Retell acts as a service provider, the customer determines retention. Zero data retention was not found on the pages checked. | Raw data is kept 14 days on the start tier, 30 on Core and 180 on Pro; zero data retention is on Core, Pro and Premier. |
| Training and certifications | The privacy policy allows using personal information to train its models and is unclear for call data. The Trust Center page showed only its title. | The privacy policy says call data may be retained to help train models. The homepage claims SOC 2, HIPAA and PCI, but the security page returned 404. |
Where each one wins
Retell AI wins on
- Simulation testing, regression tests from live calls and QA on every call are described on its own pages
- One headline per-minute price range is easier to forecast than a stack of separate provider rates
- 20 free concurrent calls on pay as you go, against 4 on the lowest Vapi tier
Vapi wins on
- Wider choice of named speech, model and voice providers, so each layer can be swapped for cost or quality
- Zero data retention is listed on the $29 Core plan and above, with retention periods shown by tier
- Direct connections to contact center systems such as Five9, Genesys and Avaya, plus Langfuse for tracing
Which to pick
Pick Retell AI if
You want a visual flow builder, built-in testing and quality review, and a simpler per-minute price with higher free concurrency.
Pick Vapi if
You are a developer who wants to pick each speech, model and voice provider yourself and needs retention periods and zero data retention set by plan.
Each tool in context: Retell AI, Vapi, and the full Best Voice AI Agents in 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What does a minute of Retell cost compared with Vapi?
Retell lists $0.07 to $0.31 per minute for voice agents as of November 2026. Vapi lists $0.05 per minute for hosting, with transcriber, model, voice and telephony charged on top. Its page estimates $82 to $129 per month for 1,000 minutes.
How many calls can Retell and Vapi run at the same time?
Retell includes 20 free concurrent calls, with extras at $8 per call per month. Vapi allows 4 on its start tier, 10 on Core and 30 on Pro, with extra lines at $10 per month. Retell's enterprise concurrency is described inconsistently on its page, so confirm the figure.
Will Retell or Vapi use my call recordings to train AI models?
Retell's policy says personal information may be used to train its models and does not say clearly whether call data is included. Vapi's policy says call data may be retained to help train and improve its models. For sensitive calls, ask each vendor for written terms and consider Vapi's zero data retention.
Is Vapi or Retell better for a small team without developers?
Retell's drag-and-drop canvas, templates and built-in simulation testing suit a team with little engineering time. Vapi is described as API-native and leaves provider choices to you, which gives control but takes more setup. A non-technical team will reach a working agent sooner on Retell.