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Retell AI vs PolyAI
Retell AI and PolyAI are AI voice agent platforms, which answer and make phone calls with an AI agent that talks to the caller. Our editors read both companies' own sites, then read what contact center and developer teams say about the two tools in public reviews, community boards and chat forums. The table below compares price, limits and features.
| What buyers compare | Retell AI | PolyAI |
|---|---|---|
| Price per monthSources 3, 4 | Pay as you go: $0.07 to $0.31 per minute for voice agents, from $0.002 per chat message. Enterprise: quote | Not published |
| Free plan or trialSources 3, 4 | $10 in free credits | Free trial |
| How usage is countedSources 3, 4 | Billed per minute or message, depending on model and voice | Not published |
| Integrations and featuresSources 3, 4 | Agent templates, call analytics, transcripts, simulation testing, webhooks and API. 20 concurrent calls free | Agent Studio with no-code to full-code building, prebuilt integrations, a self-serve Connect Portal and open APIs |
| Security and deploymentSources 3, 4 | Enterprise: custom SSO, role-based access, custom MSA and DPA terms | SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001, PCI DSS and GDPR. Data residency in the US, UK, EU and APAC |
| Best forSources 1, 2 | Product teams that want to build, test and run their own inbound or outbound phone agents and pay by the minute | Contact centers and CX teams that want production phone agents with vendor-led conversation design and ongoing maintenance |
List prices in US dollars per month before tax, as published on each vendor's site on October 16, 2026, billed monthly unless the cell says otherwise. "Quote" means the vendor sets the price through its sales team. A green check marks a row where the published data shows a clear edge.
Which one fits
PolyAI builds and runs agents for large contact centers, while Retell lets your own developers build agents and pay by the minute.
Choose Retell AI if
- You want to build voice agents yourself and pay only for the minutes they run, without an annual contract.
- You want to test before you launch. Retell includes simulation testing and call analytics.
- You need room to grow. Pay as you go includes 20 concurrent calls.
Choose PolyAI if
- You run a contact center and want phone agents that resolve calls without a human handoff.
- You want the vendor to design and maintain the conversations. PolyAI runs agents on its own dialog models.
- You need regional data residency or PCI DSS for card payments over the phone.
What buyers say
“Retell is better when a small team needs production voice latency without an enterprise services package. PolyAI is better when the buyer is a contact-center RFP with heavy onboarding.”
Modiji_fav_guy · r/AI_Agent_Reviews · · source
“PolyAI for large enterprise voice deployments. Retell when you need to ship a receptionist agent this month, not after a six-month integration.”
pritesh1908 · HN · · source
“Our developers built voice agents on Retell and test them with simulation before launch, paying by the minute with no annual contract. PolyAI suits contact centers that want the vendor to design and maintain the conversations, and that was not our plan.”
Engineering lead, health scheduling startup
Representative buyer view
Verdict
Retell AI (8.3 out of 10, Recommend) is for teams whose own developers will build voice agents, test them before launch and pay by the minute with no annual contract. PolyAI (7.8 out of 10, Recommend) is for contact centers that want the vendor to design and maintain the agents, with regional data residency and PCI DSS for card payments over the phone.
Methodology
We read the Retell AI and PolyAI pricing pages and product sites on October 16, 2026 and recorded every published price, limit and plan feature. A cell reads "Not published" when the vendor does not state that detail on its site, and rows where neither vendor publishes anything were left out.
Scores, best-fit notes and buyer quotes come from the AIR reviews of each product, which weight practitioner reviews at 40%, hands-on product checks at 35%, pricing at 15% and docs at 10%. Paid reviews and pay-for-play sites are excluded. Quotes marked Representative buyer view are written by AIR to reflect buyer feedback and carry no source link.