# Phonely vs Retell AI

> Phonely vs Retell AI: Phonely for ai receptionists, Retell AI for agencies. Base rates $0.05 vs $0.07/min. They split on free tier credit and telephony cost /.

![Phonely logo](https://www.versusref.com/logos/phonely.png) ![Retell AI logo](https://www.versusref.com/logos/retell.png)

Phonely (SMB AI receptionist) and Retell AI (API plus no-code, production telephony fast) are Voice AI platforms, priced from $0.05/min and $0.07/min respectively. Below: the bottom line, verified head-to-head facts, and real production costs.

Voice AI platforms · 32 facts compared · all sourced · pricing verified Jul 15, 2026

## Bottom line

The two tools split by buyer profile. Phonely wins for cost-sensitive, non-technical teams: its base price is $0.05/min versus Retell's $0.07/min, it offers 100 free minutes plus a free number versus Retell's $10 credit, and its real cost floor is $0.20/min versus Retell's $0.085/min floor only with BYO LLM. Retell wins for developer and agency teams: it supports bring-your-own LLM, partial white-label, 20 concurrent calls included, and named integrations like Twilio, Vonage, and n8n. Neither dominates overall.

## Verdict summary

| Use case | Winner | Why |
| --- | --- | --- |
| No-code agency deploys | Retell AI | For agency white-label resale, Retell AI offers partial white-label and sub-account support while Phonely explicitly has none. |
| Custom pipeline control | Retell AI | For engineering teams needing custom pipeline control, Retell AI offers a bring-your-own LLM option, letting teams plug in their own model and fully control the inference pipeline. |
| Ecommerce support and orders | Tie | Both tools share nearly identical features relevant to ecommerce support: no-code agent builder, built-in knowledge base, native outbound campaigns, warm transfer, API-first, DTMF/IVR, self-serve signup, and no platform fee. |
| Healthcare compliance | Tie | Both Phonely and Retell AI restrict HIPAA BAA to enterprise plans, so neither has an advantage on standard tiers. |
| Outbound sales campaigns | Retell AI | Both tools support native outbound campaigns, warm transfer, and no-code builders. |
| SMB receptionist and booking | Phonely | For an SMB receptionist and booking use case, cost and ease of entry matter most. |

## Phonely vs Retell AI: head-to-head facts

| Fact | Phonely | Retell AI | Verified |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Base price / min | ~$0.05 ([source](https://www.phonely.ai/pricing)) | ~$0.07 ([source](https://www.retellai.com/pricing)) | Jul 15 |
| Real production cost / min | $0.20-0.35 ([source](https://www.phonely.ai/pricing)) | ~$0.09-0.41 ([source](https://www.retellai.com/pricing)) | Jul 15 |
| HIPAA BAA on base plan | ◑  Enterprise only ([source](https://www.phonely.ai/pricing)) | ◑  Enterprise only ([source](https://www.retellai.com/pricing)) | Jul 15 |
| Native SIP trunking | ✓  Yes ([source](https://www.phonely.ai/pricing)) | ✓  Yes ([source](https://www.retellai.com/pricing)) | Jul 15 |
| Concurrency limit (base) | n/a | ~20 calls ([source](https://www.retellai.com/pricing)) | Jul 15 |
| Median e2e latency | n/a | Not verified |  |
| Bring-your-own LLM | n/a | ✓  Yes ([source](https://www.retellai.com/pricing)) | Jul 15 |
| Free tier credit | 100 free minutes + 1 free phone number ([source](https://www.phonely.ai/pricing)) | $10 free credits on signup ([source](https://www.retellai.com/pricing)) | Jul 15 |

## Phonely vs Retell AI pricing: true cost at 3 usage tiers

All-in monthly: platform fee + per-minute + telephony. Assumes GPT-4o class model, ElevenLabs voice.

| Volume | Buyer | Phonely | Retell AI | Note |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1K min/mo | Solo builder | $275 | $250 | Includes estimated telephony. Free credits can offset the first month. |
| 10K min/mo | Agency | $2,750 | $2,500 | Volume pricing typically starts to apply at this tier. |
| 100K min/mo | Call center | $27,500 | $25,000 | Both platforms offer custom contracts at this tier. Negotiate. |

## Phonely vs Retell AI: verdicts by use case

### No-code agency deploys → Retell AI

For agency white-label resale, Retell AI offers partial white-label and sub-account support while Phonely explicitly has none. Both have no-code agent builders and self-serve signup, so those features tie. Retell AI also has an affiliate program that supports agency business models. The white-label gap is the decisive differentiator here, even though Retell's support is only partial rather than full.

### Custom pipeline control → Retell AI

For engineering teams needing custom pipeline control, Retell AI offers a bring-your-own LLM option, letting teams plug in their own model and fully control the inference pipeline. Both tools are API-first, but Retell also supports passthrough cost transparency and named integrations including Twilio, Vonage, Make, and n8n, giving engineers more low-level plumbing options. Phonely does not list a bring-your-own LLM capability, which is a meaningful gap for teams wanting full control over the AI backbone.

### Ecommerce support and orders → Tie

Both tools share nearly identical features relevant to ecommerce support: no-code agent builder, built-in knowledge base, native outbound campaigns, warm transfer, API-first, DTMF/IVR, self-serve signup, and no platform fee. Phonely's base price is $0.05/min versus Retell AI's $0.07/min, giving Phonely a slight cost edge, but Retell AI's telephony cost is $0.01/min versus Phonely's $0.02/min, partially offsetting that advantage. Neither tool offers ecommerce-specific integrations like Shopify. The available facts do not provide enough differentiation to confidently pick a winner for this specific use case.

### Healthcare compliance → Tie

Both Phonely and Retell AI restrict HIPAA BAA to enterprise plans, so neither has an advantage on standard tiers. Both also share SOC 2 Type II certification and GDPR tooling. Retell AI offers consent and recording compliance tooling, but Phonely's enterprise HIPAA status is identical, and no fact distinguishes one from the other on audit controls or other healthcare-specific compliance features. No confident winner can be declared.

### Outbound sales campaigns → Retell AI

Both tools support native outbound campaigns, warm transfer, and no-code builders. Retell AI has a higher base cost at $0.07/min versus Phonely's $0.05/min, but Retell's real production cost floor of $0.085/min is lower than Phonely's estimated $0.20/min floor, meaning Retell can be meaningfully cheaper at scale. Retell also offers bring-your-own LLM flexibility and partial white-label support, which is useful for outbound sales agencies running multiple client campaigns, while Phonely has no white-label capability.

### SMB receptionist and booking → Phonely

For an SMB receptionist and booking use case, cost and ease of entry matter most. Phonely's base price is $0.05/min versus Retell AI's $0.07/min, and its telephony add-on is $0.02/min versus $0.01/min, putting total base per-minute costs at roughly $0.07 for Phonely versus $0.08 for Retell AI. Phonely also offers 100 free minutes plus a free phone number on signup, which is more tangible for an SMB trialing the product than Retell AI's $10 credit. Both share a no-code builder, warm transfer, knowledge base, and self-serve signup, so feature parity is high, but Phonely's lower entry cost and more SMB-friendly free tier tip the balance.

## Phonely vs Retell AI: common questions

### Which is cheaper per minute, Phonely or Retell AI?

Phonely lists a base price of $0.05/min while Retell AI lists $0.07/min. However, estimated real production costs range from $0.20 to $0.35/min for Phonely and $0.085 to $0.415/min for Retell AI, so actual spend depends heavily on usage patterns and the chosen LLM or TTS providers.

### Do either Phonely or Retell AI charge a monthly platform fee?

Neither tool charges a monthly platform fee. Both Phonely and Retell AI list $0/mo as their platform fee, meaning you pay only for usage.

### Is HIPAA compliance available on standard plans for either tool?

Neither Phonely nor Retell AI includes a HIPAA BAA on base or self-serve plans. Both offer it exclusively on enterprise plans.

### Does Retell AI support bring-your-own LLM and can I use my own voice provider?

Yes. Retell AI supports bring-your-own LLM. Both Retell AI and Phonely also support bring-your-own TTS voice, so you are not locked into a single voice provider.

### What is Retell AI concurrency limit and how much does adding lines cost?

Retell AI includes 20 concurrent calls on the base plan. Additional concurrent lines cost $8 per month each.

### Which tool is better for agencies needing white-label or sub-accounts?

Retell AI offers partial white-label support, while Phonely lists white-label and sub-account features as unavailable. Agencies needing reseller capabilities should evaluate whether Retell AI's partial offering meets their specific requirements.

### Do Phonely and Retell AI both support native SIP trunking and outbound calling campaigns?

Yes. Both Phonely and Retell AI support native SIP trunking, native outbound campaigns, and warm transfer to a human agent.

Source: https://www.versusref.com/voice-ai/phonely-vs-retell/