PyAI vs Retell AI · as of June 2026
PyAI vs Retell AI
PyAI Omni is $0.05/min*. *Managed telephony is $0.01/min separately. All-in lower than Retell, whose advertised ~$0.07/min platform fee typically lands around $0.13-$0.31/min once voice infra, TTS, LLM, telephony, and add-ons are counted.
PyAI
Flat Omni speech + brain pricing, separately listed telephony, per-second AI billing, Agents Live Beta, and Trace on the same stack.
Retell AI
All-in ~$0.13-$0.31/min with TTS, LLM, telephony, and add-ons (estimated as of writing - verify).
TL;DR
- $0.05/min* vs Retell all-in about $0.13-$0.31/min (estimated, verify). *Managed telephony is $0.01/min separately.
- One engine instead of tuning every component
- ~390 ms voice-to-voice, in-region, with barge-in
- Choose Retell when hand-tuning each underlying component is the requirement
How much does PyAI cost vs Retell AI?
PyAI: $0.05/min Omni speech + brain or $0.08/min Agents Live Beta; managed telephony is $0.01/min.
| PyAI | Retell AI | |
|---|---|---|
| Advertised | $0.05/min speech + brain, no platform fee | ~$0.07/min platform fee |
| + Speech / LLM | Included | Billed separately |
| + Telephony | $0.01/min managed, listed separately | Carrier or passthrough |
| On a phone call | $0.05/min* | ~$0.13-$0.31/min (estimated, verify) |
| Turn-taking | ~390 ms voice-to-voice, in-region (early measurement, not an SLA) | Depends on the stitched stack |
| The catch | *Managed telephony is $0.01/min separately. | Voice infra, TTS, LLM, and telephony bill on top |
PyAI latency is an in-region early measurement, not an SLA.
How fast is PyAI vs Retell AI?
~390 ms median voice-to-voice, in-region, human conversational pace, with barge-in. Early measurement, not an SLA. We do not claim fastest speech-to-speech.
Methodology and test conditions live on the benchmarks page. Every published latency number is in-region.
Why teams pick PyAI over Retell AI
One model runs the whole call - not a stitched pipeline.
One speech-to-speech model, not seven boxes
Omni is a single model: audio in, audio out. No stitching STT, VAD, turn detection, an LLM, RAG, and TTS together - so there's one thing to ship and nothing between the hops to break.
Built for telephony (8 kHz)
Tuned for narrowband phone audio, not studio takes, so accuracy and turn-taking hold up on real lines.
Human conversational pace, with barge-in
~390 ms median voice-to-voice (in-region) with barge-in and warm transfer - conversations feel like a person, not a walkie-talkie. Early in-region measurement, not an SLA.
Grounded, tool-using, and explicit
Answers from your knowledge base, calls your tools, and uses a documented native frame protocol. Realtime migrations require an audio and control-event adapter.
The chart
All-in price per minute (USD)
Lower is better. PyAI in teal. The bar spans each platform’s typical all-in range.
$0.05/min Omni or $0.08/min Agents Live Beta. *Managed telephony is $0.01/min separately.
Advertised from ~$0.09/min self-serve → all-in $0.11-$0.14/min once LLM, voice, and telephony are added.
Advertised agent minutes + LLM → all-in $0.10-$0.15/min once LLM, voice, and telephony are added.
Advertised no-code plans → all-in $0.11-$0.16/min once LLM, voice, and telephony are added.
Advertised ~$0.05/min platform fee → all-in $0.10-$0.31/min once LLM, voice, and telephony are added.
Advertised ~$0.07/min platform → all-in $0.13-$0.31/min once LLM, voice, and telephony are added.
PyAI bars are the published Omni and Agents rates. Managed telephony is $0.01/min separately. AI usage bills per second; telephony uses a 1-minute pulse. Packaged figures are the advertised platform fee plus STT/LLM/TTS/telephony passthrough estimates as of June 2026, composite and config-dependent, so verify before relying on them.
When Retell AI is the better pick
Retell can be attractive if you want to tune each underlying component separately.
Choose PyAI when teams that value one predictable all-in cost and fewer component decisions.
FAQ
How much does PyAI cost vs Retell AI?
PyAI: $0.05/min Omni speech + brain or $0.08/min Agents Live Beta; managed telephony is $0.01/min. Retell AI: ~$0.07/min platform advertised; all-in ~$0.13-$0.31/min with TTS, LLM, telephony, and add-ons (estimated as of writing - verify). Public comparison data should be verified before procurement decisions.
How fast is PyAI vs Retell AI?
~390 ms median voice-to-voice, in-region, human conversational pace, with barge-in. Early measurement, not an SLA. We do not claim fastest speech-to-speech.
When should I choose PyAI over Retell AI?
Teams that value one predictable all-in cost and fewer component decisions.
When is Retell AI the better pick?
Retell can be attractive if you want to tune each underlying component separately.
How do I test a replacement without a risky rewrite?
Start with one call path, use a PyAI test key and free credits, replay real calls, and compare quality, latency, completion rate, and all-in cost before routing production traffic.
One voice stack. One bill. Built for phone agents.
Start with $50 in free credit. No card.