# Retell AI vs Vapi: which do AI models recommend for AI voice agents, October 2026

GTM AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition, AI voice agents. Five of fourteen models named Retell AI first on the direct prompt; zero named Vapi. Page: https://gtm-ai-index.com/customer/ai-voice-agents/retell-ai-vs-vapi/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retell AI | 27% | #1 of 8 | 16% | 58 | 14 of 14 |
| Vapi | 13% | #3 of 8 | 33% | 39 | 14 of 14 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

- Claude Haiku 4.5: retell ai first (first choices: Aloware, Retell AI) (alternatives: Synthflow, Vapi)
- Grok 4.1 Fast: retell ai first (first choices: Retell AI) (alternatives: Bland AI, CloudTalk, Regal, Synthflow)
- Mistral Small: retell ai first (first choices: CloudTalk, Retell AI) (alternatives: ElevenLabs Conversational AI, Leaping AI)
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: retell ai first (first choices: Regal, Retell AI) (alternatives: CloudTalk, Synthflow AI)
- GPT-6 Luna: retell ai first (first choices: Retell AI) (alternatives: PolyAI, Synthflow, Vapi)
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: Aloware, Synthflow AI) (alternatives: Bland AI, Retell AI, Vapi)
- Perplexity Sonar: neither first, one named (first choices: CloudTalk) (alternatives: Retell AI, Salesforce Agentforce Voice, Synthflow AI)
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: CloudTalk) (alternatives: Bland AI, Retell AI, Rezora IO)
- Kimi K2: neither first, one named (first choices: CloudTalk) (alternatives: Aloware, Retell AI, Synthflow)
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: neither first, one named (first choices: CloudTalk) (alternatives: Bland AI, Retell AI, Synthflow, Vapi.ai)
- MiniMax M2.5: neither first, one named (first choices: CloudTalk, Synthflow) (alternatives: Retell AI)
- Muse Glimmer 30B: neither first, one named (first choices: Aloware, CloudTalk) (alternatives: HubSpot Breeze AI, Retell AI, Synthflow)
- GPT-5.4 mini: neither named (first choices: Twilio) (alternatives: Deepgram Voice Agent API, OpenAI Realtime / Voice agents)
- Llama 4 Maverick: neither named (first choices: Aloware, CloudTalk) (alternatives: GetVoIP, Plivo)

## What the models said about Retell AI

- "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)

## What the models said about Vapi

- "Vapi — Pricing Concerns - 55% price increase in December 2025" (Kimi K2, negative prompt, hard negative)
- ""API-First Only" Tools (e.g., Vapi, ElevenLabs): If you are not a developer, you should strictly avoid platforms that offer no visual builder" (Qwen 3.7 Flash, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "it should be avoided or heavily vetted for regulated data like PHI, PCI, or GDPR-protected data without a signed Business Associate Agreement" (Muse Glimmer 30B, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "*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)
- "Choose Vapi if you want the fastest path to a production phone agent or a configurable voice-agent stack across many providers." (GPT-5.4 mini, comparative prompt, first choice)
- "For pure usage cost, Vapi is the lowest hosting entry point and Retell is the most quoted all-in low price with no platform fee." (Muse Glimmer 30B, budget prompt, first choice)

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. Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category. Published under CC BY 4.0; the output is the models' output, and nothing here is a recommendation by the index.