Best Vapi Alternatives in 2026
The top Vapi alternatives are Retell AI, Tone and LiveKit Agents: 15 AI voice agents our editors would look at instead of Vapi, in our ranking order.
Vapi: An API-driven platform for building and operating phone and web voice agents. Where it falls short: usage-based billing can include provider and telephony costs..
Switching from Vapi? For most ai voice agents buyers the best Vapi alternative is Retell AI, built for teams needing practical phone automation quickly. Tone has a free plan, which Vapi does not.
Why People Look for a Vapi Alternative
- Usage-based billing can include provider and telephony costs
- Core limits included phone numbers and concurrent calls compared with Pro
- Pro starts at $999 per month; Premier pricing is custom
- No free plan — 4 of the alternatives below have it
- Concurrent calls: 10 calls — up to 200 calls with Rapida AI
Quick Picks by What You Need
- Best overallRetell AI9.4
Teams needing practical phone automation quickly
Visit Retell AI - Lowest priceLiveKit Agents9.2
Paid plans from $50/mo
Visit LiveKit Agents - Best free optionTone9.3
Has a free plan (Vapi has none)
Visit Tone - Most supported languagesRetell AI9.4
55 languages
Visit Retell AI
All 15 Vapi Alternatives, Ranked
Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.
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Best forTeams needing practical phone automation quickly
- Better than Vapi:
- Concurrent calls: 20 calls vs 10 calls
- Editor score 9.4 vs 8.9
Practical inbound and outbound phone automation with transfers, testing, and analytics.
- Outbound calls
- Custom phone numbers
- Inbound calls
9.4/10★★★★★Visit Retell AI -
Best forTeams wanting a complete open-source voice platform
- Better than Vapi:
- Free plan
- Editor score 9.3 vs 8.9
A full voice-agent toolkit with free self-hosting and cloud usage priced per minute.
- Outbound calls
- Custom phone numbers
- Inbound calls
9.3/10★★★★★Visit Tone -
Best forDevelopers building realtime voice agents
- Better than Vapi:
- Free plan
- Concurrent calls: 20 calls vs 10 calls
- Editor score 9.2 vs 8.9
An open framework for building realtime voice agents, with optional managed cloud plans.
- Outbound calls
- Custom phone numbers
- Inbound calls
9.2/10★★★★★Visit LiveKit -
Best forTeams building composable voice pipelines
- Better than Vapi:
- Editor score 9.1 vs 8.9
A composable Python framework for building and deploying voice and multimodal agents.
- Outbound calls
- Custom phone numbers
- Inbound calls
9.1/10★★★★★Visit Pipecat -
Best forDevelopers building customizable voice infrastructure
- Better than Vapi:
- Concurrent calls: 45 calls vs 10 calls
- Editor score 9.0 vs 8.9
A configurable voice-agent stack with provider choice, telephony and self-hosting.
- Outbound calls
- Custom phone numbers
- Inbound calls
9.0/10★★★★☆Visit Deepgram -
Best forEnterprises coordinating voice and digital service
A flexible orchestration platform for enterprises, with sales-led pricing.
8.8/10★★★★☆Visit NiCE Cognigy -
Best forEnterprises automating support across connected systems
Replicant automates contact-center workflows across channels, with human handoff and failover.
8.7/10★★★★☆Visit Replicant -
Best forEnterprise customer-service voice deployments
A voice-first customer-service platform with multilingual agents, workflows and human handoff.
8.6/10★★★★☆Visit PolyAI -
Best forEnterprises automating regulated customer-service workflows
Workflow-focused voice and digital agents with enterprise controls and sales-led pricing.
8.5/10★★★★☆Visit boost.ai -
Best forExisting Genesys contact-center customers
Contact-center virtual agents with workflow execution and human escalation, sold through Genesys Cloud CX.
- Outbound calls
- Inbound calls
8.4/10★★★★☆Visit Genesys -
Best forMid-market and enterprise teams building omnichannel agents
- Better than Vapi:
- Free plan
Build AI agents visually and deploy them across voice, chat, email, and messaging.
8.3/10★★★★☆Visit Yellow.ai -
Best forEnterprises building secure multichannel assistants
A configurable enterprise platform for assistants spanning voice, messaging, and web.
8.2/10★★★★☆Visit Kore.ai -
Best forLarge enterprises automating complex service workflows
A broad platform for designing, simulating and managing customer-service agents across channels.
8.1/10★★★★☆Visit Parloa -
Best forTeams building multichannel workflow agents
A visual agent platform for teams connecting customer conversations to business systems.
8.0/10★★★★☆Visit Voiceflow -
Best forTeams needing deployment control at high call volumes
- Better than Vapi:
- Free plan
- Concurrent calls: 200 calls vs 10 calls
Deployment control and voice-agent operations, with paid plans starting at $500/month.
- Outbound calls
- Custom phone numbers
- Inbound calls
7.9/10★★★★☆Visit Rapida AI
Vapi Alternatives: Common Questions
What is the best alternative to Vapi?
Retell AI: #1 in our AI Voice Agents ranking, with an editor score of 9.4 out of 10. Practical inbound and outbound phone automation with transfers, testing, and analytics.
Is there a free alternative to Vapi?
Yes. Tone, LiveKit Agents, Pipecat, Yellow.ai and Rapida AI have a free plan or a free tier.
What is the cheapest paid alternative to Vapi?
Of the alternatives here that publish a price, LiveKit Agents starts lowest, at $50/mo.
Why do people look for Vapi alternatives?
Usage-based billing can include provider and telephony costs; Core limits included phone numbers and concurrent calls compared with Pro; Pro starts at $999 per month; Premier pricing is custom.
Which Vapi alternative has the most supported languages?
Retell AI, with 55 languages.
How do I switch from Vapi?
Export your data from Vapi (most tools have an export in their settings). Sign up for the alternative; start on its free plan or trial if it has one. Import your export and set up the integrations your team relies on. Run both side by side for a short while, then cancel Vapi.
How to Switch from Vapi
- Export your data from Vapi (most tools have an export in their settings).
- Sign up for the alternative; start on its free plan or trial if it has one.
- Import your export and set up the integrations your team relies on.
- Run both side by side for a short while, then cancel Vapi.
Vapi vs Each Alternative
| # | Tool | Free plan | Paid from | Inbound calls | Outbound calls | Human handoff | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Vapi | No | $29/mo | Yes | Yes | Yes | 8.9 |
| 1 | Retell AI | No | $0.07 usage-based | Yes | Yes | Yes | 9.4 |
| 2 | Tone | Yes | $0.09 usage-based | Yes | Yes | Yes | 9.3 |
| 3 | LiveKit Agents | Yes | $50/mo | Yes | Yes | Yes | 9.2 |
| 4 | Pipecat | Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | 9.1 | |
| 5 | Deepgram Voice Agent API | No | $0.06 usage-based | Yes | Yes | Yes | 9.0 |
| 6 | Cognigy | Yes | 8.8 | ||||
| 7 | Replicant | No | Yes | 8.7 | |||
| 8 | PolyAI | No | Yes | 8.6 | |||
| 9 | boost.ai | No | Yes | 8.5 | |||
| 10 | Genesys Cloud AI Virtual Agent | No | $75/user/mo | Yes | Yes | Yes | 8.4 |
| 11 | Yellow.ai | Yes | Yes | 8.3 | |||
| 12 | Kore.ai | Yes | 8.2 | ||||
| 13 | Parloa | Yes | 8.1 | ||||
| 14 | Voiceflow | Yes | 8.0 | ||||
| 15 | Rapida AI | Yes | $500/mo | Yes | Yes | Yes | 7.9 |
Head-to-Head
- Vapi vs Retell AI
- Vapi vs Tone
- Vapi vs LiveKit Agents
- Vapi vs Pipecat
- Vapi vs Deepgram Voice Agent API
- Vapi vs Cognigy
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Last updated · How we research and update