AI & Automation
Retell AI vs Vapi for Local Business
Part of the guide: AI & Marketing Automation
Choose Retell AI if you want a phone agent built from the dashboard with a flat, published per-minute price. Choose Vapi if you or a developer want to pick the speech, language and voice providers yourself. For 600 call minutes a month, usage runs about $50 to $77 on either. Neither publishes voice quality or latency figures, so test both by phone.
This comparison uses the two vendors' own pricing and documentation pages, read on 2026-10-25. It is for salons, cafés, groomers and studios in the US, UK, Australia and Canada. Examples are labelled as assumptions.
$0.055→
Retell voice infrastructure, per minute
Retell pricing page
$0.05→
Vapi hosting fee, per minute
Vapi pricing page
$10→
Retell free credits on signup
Retell pricing page
$5→
Vapi free credits on the free plan
Vapi pricing page
Estimates for illustration; actual numbers vary.
How Does Retell AI Pricing Work?
Retell prices a voice agent per minute from parts. The pricing page lists $0.055 per minute for voice infrastructure, $0.015 for telephony, text-to-speech from $0.015 and a language model charge that depends on the model. Its own example totals $0.11 per minute. The page's headline range is $0.07 to $0.31 per minute.
Examples from the model table: Claude 4.5 Haiku is $0.025 per minute and Gemini 3.0 Flash is $0.016. Premium ElevenLabs voices cost $0.04 to $0.10.
Twenty concurrent calls are free, then $8 per extra concurrent call per month. Failed calls are not billed, but silence and hold time are.
How Does Vapi Pricing Work?
Vapi charges a $0.05 per minute hosting fee, then passes through provider costs with no markup. Its calculator lists speech-to-text (Deepgram) at about $0.0095 to $0.0099 per minute, the language model (OpenAI) at $0.0077 to $0.0452 and the voice (ElevenLabs) at $0.0146 to $0.0238. Vapi's own 1,000-minute example totals $82 to $129.
The free plan includes $5 in credits, one phone number and 4 concurrent calls. Core is listed at $29 a month with 5 phone numbers and 10 concurrent calls. Pro starts at $999 a month, and HIPAA compliance is a $2,000 monthly add-on. A local shop will not need either.
Retell vs Vapi: Side-by-Side
| Retell AI | Vapi | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Per-minute bundle plus model and voice | $0.05 hosting plus provider costs |
| Published typical total | $0.11 per minute (vendor example) | $0.082 to $0.129 per minute (calculated from its ranges) |
| Free start | $10 credits | $5 credits |
| Free concurrency | 20 calls | 4 calls |
| Building | Dashboard, API, SDKs, MCP server | Dashboard for phone, plus code, CLI and config files |
| Agent types | Single prompt, conversation flow | Assistants, squads (several assistants) |
| Calendar | Check, book, reschedule, cancel (calendar provider not named) | Google Calendar tools: create event, check availability |
| Compliance stated | HIPAA with BAA, SOC 2 Type 1 and 2, GDPR | HIPAA add-on, ZDR on Core and Pro |
| Voice quality, latency | Not published | Not published |
The Vapi range comes from adding the lowest and highest values its calculator shows. It is not a vendor price.
Which Is Easier to Set Up for a Non-Developer?
Both claim a dashboard route. Retell says you can "build entirely from the dashboard with no code" and offers an AI copilot called Conductor. Its docs recommend starting with a single prompt agent, or a conversation flow if call steps must follow a fixed order.
Vapi's documentation says the phone path can be set up in the dashboard without coding, while web calls need code. Its Google Calendar integration is connected in Integrations, then added as tools on the assistant. Vapi leaves you to choose speech, model and voice providers, which gives control but adds decisions.
Our Vapi setup guide walks through the second route.
Which One Costs Less for a Small Shop?
Both land close together. The inputs are assumptions: 200 calls a month averaging 3 minutes is 600 minutes. The comparison is not like for like, because the language models differ.
| Retell | Vapi (low end) | Vapi (high end) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per-minute platform | $0.055 | $0.05 | $0.05 |
| Telephony | $0.015 | $0.00 (Vapi SIP) | $0.00 |
| Speech-to-text | not listed separately | $0.0099 | $0.0099 |
| Language model | $0.025 | $0.0077 | $0.0452 |
| Voice | $0.015 | $0.0146 | $0.0238 |
| Per minute | $0.110 | $0.082 | $0.129 |
| 600 minutes | $66 | $49 | $77 |
Add a phone number (Retell lists $2 a month for its numbers; Vapi's SIP numbers are free, while Twilio inbound is $0.008 per minute). Compare against a receptionist: Smith.ai lists live receptionist plans from $300 a month for 30 calls. Our AI receptionist setup guide covers when that is worth it.
What Do Salons and Cafés Actually Need?
A salon needs the agent to find a free slot, book it and text a confirmation. Retell's docs say its agents can check availability and book, reschedule or cancel, but do not name a calendar provider, so confirm yours is supported. Vapi names Google Calendar. If your bookings live in Fresha, Square or Mindbody, expect to connect through a custom tool or a service such as Zapier.
A café mostly needs hours, directions and catering enquiries answered, plus a message sent to the owner. Both handle this with a prompt and a transfer. Retell supports warm transfer to a person. See AI receptionist for coffee shops and our overview of voice AI for local business calls.
Which One Should You Pick?
Pick Retell if you want one bill, a no-code build and published compliance statements. Pick Vapi if a developer or agency will tune providers and you want to keep costs near the floor.
Do not decide on price alone. Call each test agent ten times: interrupt it, ask for a time it does not have and give a mumbled name. The better one is the one that books correctly. Both vendors give free credits ($10 and $5) that cover this test.
Do This Today
List your three most common call types, then build the same agent on both platforms with the free credits and compare ten test calls each.
FAQ
Is Retell AI cheaper than Vapi?
Not clearly. Retell's own example is $0.11 per minute. Vapi's calculator ranges from about $0.082 to $0.129 depending on model and voice. The result depends on the language model and voice you choose.
Does Vapi charge a monthly fee?
The free plan costs $0 and includes $5 in credits. Core is listed at $29 a month. Usage is charged per minute either way.
Can Retell or Vapi book into my calendar?
Vapi has Google Calendar tools to create events and check availability. Retell says its agents can check availability and book, reschedule or cancel, without naming the calendar provider.
Which has better voice quality?
Neither vendor publishes a measured score. Voice depends on the provider you select, so test it by phone.
Do I need a developer?
Both offer dashboard builds. Complex booking systems usually need a developer or a service such as Zapier.
Sources
Checked on 2026-10-25.
- Retell AI: Pricing
- Retell AI docs: Introduction
- Retell AI docs: Integrate LLM overview
- Vapi: Pricing
- Vapi docs: Introduction
- Vapi docs: Google Calendar tool
- Smith.ai: Pricing (live receptionist plans)
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Nataliia
Local marketing strategist with 10+ years at global agencies — OMD, Dentsu, GroupM, and BBDO. Now helping small businesses get the same data-driven edge. Based in Europe, working with clients in the US, UK, Australia, and beyond.
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