Five of fourteen models named Retell AI first on the direct prompt; eight named CloudTalk. Retell AI was named by fourteen of the fourteen models and CloudTalk by eleven and Retell AI carries 58 labels and CloudTalk 24, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in two categories this edition.
Named in thirteen categories this edition.
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the AI voice agents page.
Across every category in the October 2026 Edition, Retell AI and CloudTalk were named in the same answer forty-three times, of the 158 answers naming Retell AI and the 358 naming CloudTalk. In those answers CloudTalk took the first choice fourteen times and Retell AI ten.
| Model | Direct | Paraphrase | Comparative | Budget-constrained | Scale-constrained | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | ||||||
| GPT-5.4 mini | ||||||
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | ||||||
| Perplexity Sonar | ||||||
| Grok 4.1 Fast | ||||||
| Mistral Small | ||||||
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | ||||||
| Llama 4 Maverick | ||||||
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | ||||||
| Kimi K2 | ||||||
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | ||||||
| MiniMax M2.5 | ||||||
| GPT-6 Luna | ||||||
| Muse Glimmer 30B |
Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of eight in this category shown.
“some specific products (for example Synthflow, ElevenLabs, Retell AI, Deepgram) have recurring complaints about cost or credit limits” GPT-5.4 mini · negative prompt · soft negative
“Both Vapi.ai and Retell AI can suffer from latency and reliability issues due to reliance on external API providers” Claude Haiku 4.5 · negative prompt · soft negative
“While popular among developers, there is significant frustration in the community regarding its operational setup.” Qwen 3.7 Flash · negative prompt · soft negative
“Best all-around voice AI platform for production call automation... "best overall — lowest effective cost, highest voice quality, full API and no-code in one platform"” Muse Glimmer 30B · comparative prompt · first choice
“Strong all-around balance of latency, price, and accessibility; often described as a fast, transparent usage-based option with native telephony and quick setup.” Perplexity Sonar · comparative prompt · first choice
“*Developer-first / Infrastructure:* Vapi, Retell AI, Vocode, or Bland.ai. (Excellent for high customization, low latency, and BYO keys).” Gemini 3.5 Flash · scale prompt · first choice
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Two of two in this category shown.
“Billing disputes and auto-renewal complaints on Trustpilot ... not for standalone AI voice agent use.” DeepSeek V4 Flash · negative prompt · soft negative
“CloudTalk is called an "ideal voice agent solution for SMBs and mid-market sales teams that need an all-in-one platform for sales calls, follow-ups, and analytics"” Muse Glimmer 30B · direct prompt · first choice
Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.