Retell AI review
Not a receptionist out of the box: a pay-as-you-go platform to build one, from $0.07 to $0.31 a minute.
Verdict
Retell AI has the lowest running cost in this comparison if you can build: Retell's own estimator shows about $0.15 a minute with its default options, so a 200-minute month lands around $30 plus your time. It is a platform for agencies and developers. Small-business owners who want something working by tonight should pick a ready-made receptionist instead.
The catch
You build everything yourself, from booking to transfers: it is a developer tool, not a ready-made receptionist.
What it does well
- No monthly fee: pay only the minutes you use
- $10 in free credits to start
- HIPAA, SOC 2 Type II, GDPR and ISO 27001 (brand statement)
- 20 concurrent calls included (brand statement)
- Choice of LLM and voice provider (brand statement)
- Simulation testing (brand statement)
Who it is for, and who should skip it
Good pick if:
- Agencies building receptionists for several clients
- Developers who want to choose the model and the voice
- High volumes where cents per minute matter
Skip it if:
- Owners who want a working receptionist without building one
- Anyone without time to design call flows and test them
Pricing
Retell's pay-as-you-go plan costs $0.07 to $0.31 a minute for voice agents, depending on the language model, the voice provider and the telephony. Its own cost estimator, with its default options, shows $0.150 a minute: $0.080 for the model, $0.055 for Retell's voice infrastructure and $0.015 for the voice. New accounts get $10 in free credits, 20 concurrent calls are included, and Enterprise has custom pricing.
What you get, and what you build
Retell gives you a drag-and-drop flow canvas, functions, integrations, call transfers, DTMF, SMS, simulation testing, webhooks and an API. That is power, but nothing is configured for you: appointment booking, transfers and CRM updates are building blocks. Our formula reflects this with low scores for setup effort, booking and transfer, even though every one of them is possible.
Retell AI plans and prices
Prices checked on November 11, 2026 on Retell AI's pricing page. US dollars, billed monthly.
| Plan | Price | Included | Extra | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay as you go | $0 | Usage | See notes | $0.07 to $0.31 a minute depending on the model, voice and telephony; $10 in free credits |
Enterprise: custom pricing, dedicated support portal.
Overage: $0.07 to $0.31 a minute; Retell's own estimator shows $0.15 a minute with its default options.
Specs
- Entry price
- $0 + usage
- 200-minute month
- $30
- Included on entry plan
- Usage-based
- Extra minute
- $0.15
- Calendar booking
- You build it
- Call transfer
- You build it
- Languages
- Not stated
- Free trial
- Free credits
- Setup
- Developer build
- Integrations
- API and webhooks
- Human backup
- No
- HIPAA (brand statement)
- Stated
- Contract
- No commitment on pay as you go
- Booking details
- You build booking yourself with functions and calendar integrations
- Transfer details
- Call transfers are a building block in the flow editor
- Languages stated
- Not stated on the pricing page
- Integration details
- API, webhooks and SDKs; telephony, CRM and calendar connections
- Setup details
- Developer platform: you design the agent on a canvas or by API
- Compliance
- HIPAA, SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, ISO 27001 (brand statement)
Sources: retellai.com/pricing, retellai.com.
How Retell AI scores: 8.4/10
Good in our formula, No. 9 of 12. Each criterion is scored out of 10 from the brand's own pages; a criterion the brand doesn't state scores 2/10.
| Criterion | Weight | Score /10 |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of a 200-minute month | 25% | 9.4 |
| Entry price | 10% | 10.0 |
| Price of an extra minute | 10% | 9.3 |
| Appointment booking | 12% | 3.0 |
| Call transfer | 10% | 3.0 |
| Languages | 8% | 2.0 (not stated) |
| Free trial or free plan | 8% | 6.0 |
| Setup effort | 10% | 3.0 |
| Integrations | 7% | 5.0 |
Also ranked in: Best AI answering service (No. 11 of 12), Best AI receptionist for a medical or dental office (No. 8 of 8).
Compare with rivals
The closest alternatives on price for a 200-minute month:
Rosie
Solo owners who want 250 minutes for $49 and a dead-simple setup
$49/mo for 250 minutes
Checked Nov 11, 2026
RingCentral AIR
Businesses already on RingCentral, or who want a big-vendor option
$49/mo for 100 minutes
Checked Nov 11, 2026
Head-to-heads: Rosie vs Retell AI. Or build your own in the comparison tool.
