Head to head
Bland AI vs Retell AI
Both platforms target teams running inbound or outbound calling. Bland AI runs on its own models and quotes one talk-time rate; Retell AI lets you choose models and voices and shows the cost of each part.
The rates are not directly comparable: Bland's excludes telephony, and Retell's range depends on the model and voice you pick.
Facts read from each vendor’s own site: Bland AI on 16 October 2026, Retell AI on 16 October 2026.
Should I choose Bland AI or Retell AI?
Bland AI and Retell AI both build AI phone agents and bill by the minute. Bland AI charges $0.14 a minute talk time on its Start tier, including the model and voices, with telephony billed separately. Retell AI publishes $0.07 to $0.31 a minute with every component listed, including telephony. Bland's Build plan is $299 a month with talk time at $0.12.
At a glance
Bland AI
Platform for building AI phone agents that handle inbound and outbound calls, plus SMS and web. Runs on its own models and bills per minute of talk time with a platform fee on higher tiers.
- Free plan
- Not verified
- Starts at
- From $0.14 per minute talk time, telephony extra
- Billing
- subscription + per minute
Retell AI
Platform for building AI voice agents that answer and place phone calls, with chat and SMS agents too. Usage is billed per minute, split into voice infrastructure, LLM, voice and telephony components.
- Free plan
- Not verified
- Starts at
- From $0.07 per minute, all components
- Billing
- per minute + usage-based + per call + usage credits
Features
Confirmed on the vendor’s site Vendor says it is not offered Not verified (not the same as no)
| Feature | Bland AI | Retell AI |
|---|---|---|
| Phone calls | Yes | Yes |
| Voice conversation | Yes | Yes |
| Developer API | Yes | Yes |
| Integrations | Yes | Yes |
| Books appointments | Yes | Yes |
| Multiple languages | Yes | Yes |
Plans and prices
Bland AI
Start
$0.14/min talk time · $0.05/min transfer time · 100 calls/day, 100 calls/hour · 10 concurrent calls · 1 voice · 10 knowledge bases
Free
Build
$0.12/min talk time · $0.04/min transfer time · 2,000 calls/day, 1,000 calls/hour · 50 concurrent calls · 5 voices · 50 knowledge bases
$299/month per account
Enterprise
Custom talk and transfer rates · Unlimited daily and hourly caps · Unlimited voices and knowledge bases
Contact sales
Usage charges
- Talk time (Start): $0.14 per minute
- Transfer time (Start): $0.05 per minute
- Talk time (Build): $0.12 per minute
- Transfer time (Build): $0.04 per minute
Retell AI
Pay as you go
$0.07-$0.31 / min for AI Voice Agents · $0.002+/ msg for AI Chat Agents · First 20 concurrent calls free
No public price
Enterprise
Custom concurrency starting at 50+ calls
Contact sales
Usage charges
- Retell Voice Infra: $0.055 per minute
- Voice: Retell Platform Voices: $0.015 per minute
- Voice: ElevenLabs Flash: $0.04 per minute
- LLM: Claude 5.5 Sonnet: $0.064 per minute
- LLM: GPT 5.4 mini (standard): $0.024 per minute
- Speech-to-speech: GPT Realtime: $0.345 per minute
- Telephony (Twilio/Telnyx, listed countries): $0.015 per minute
- Retell phone number: $2 per number per month
- Extra concurrency (beyond 20): $8 per concurrent call per month
- Knowledge base usage: $0.005 per minute
- Extra knowledge base (beyond 10): $8 per knowledge base per month
- Batch call: $0.005 per dial
- Branded call: $0.10 per outbound call
- SMS: $0.01 per message
Which to choose
Editorial opinion, based on the facts above.
- Choose Bland AI if
- You want one talk-time rate that covers the model and voices, and you bring your own phone carrier or accept it billed separately.
- Choose Retell AI if
- You want to choose your model and voice and see every component of the per-minute cost, telephony included.
Questions
Which is cheaper per minute?
Retell AI's lowest published all-in rate is $0.07 a minute, while Bland AI's Start talk time is $0.14 before telephony. Retell's rate rises with more capable models and voices, so compare using the setup you plan to run.
Related comparisons
Sources and method
Both products were read on their vendors’ own websites. Features are marked confirmed only with a quote from an official page; anything we could not find is shown as not verified.
- Bland AI, checked 16 October 2026: pricing page, product page, docs, docs (llms.txt)
- Retell AI, checked 16 October 2026: pricing page, product page, docs
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