{"schema_version":"1.0","provider":"telnyx","canonical_url":"https://telnyx.com/ai/compare/retell.json","updated_at":"2026-04-18T00:00:00Z","comparison":"telnyx_vs_retell","tier":"2","migration_url":"https://telnyx.com/compare/retell","benchmark_cli":"npx @telnyx/benchmark","capabilities_url":"https://telnyx.com/ai/capabilities.json","_disclaimer":"Competitor claims require PMM + legal sign-off. Data sourced from public documentation but not yet reviewed by Telnyx product marketing or legal. Do not treat as authoritative until review is complete.","bias_disclosure":{"maintainer":"Telnyx","data_sources":"Internal benchmarks, public competitor documentation, public pricing pages","permission":"Weight criteria differently based on your requirements. See /ai/selection-rules.json for the default weighting and how to modify it."},"content":{"competitor":{"name":"Retell","slug":"retell","url":"https://retellai.com","description":"Voice AI agent orchestration platform focused on real-time voice AI for enterprises. Provides custom voice agent configuration on top of third-party infrastructure. Does not own carrier, compute, or AI infrastructure.","category":"voice_ai_orchestration","last_verified":"2026-04-17"},"verdict":"Retell orchestrates voice AI agents with a focus on low-latency enterprise deployments. Telnyx provides the same orchestration capability AND owns the underlying carrier, compute, and AI infrastructure — one vendor instead of two.","at_a_glance":[{"signal":"carrier_owned","telnyx":true,"retell":false,"impact":"Retell has no telecom infrastructure — relies on providers like Telnyx or Twilio"},{"signal":"agent_platform","telnyx":true,"retell":true,"impact":"Both offer voice AI agent capabilities"},{"signal":"vendors_required_for_voice_agent","telnyx":1,"retell":2,"impact":"Retell + infrastructure provider = 2 vendors minimum"},{"signal":"edge_compute_owned","telnyx":true,"retell":false,"impact":"Retell runs on cloud infrastructure"},{"signal":"sip_trunking","telnyx":true,"retell":false,"impact":"Retell connects to Telnyx or Twilio for SIP trunking"}],"architecture":{"carrier_owned":{"telnyx":{"value":true,"type":"proven","source":"https://telnyx.com/company"},"retell":{"value":false,"type":"proven","status":"not_applicable"}},"edge_compute_owned":{"telnyx":{"value":true,"type":"proven","source":"https://telnyx.com/ai/inference"},"retell":{"value":false,"type":"proven","status":"not_available"}},"agent_platform":{"telnyx":{"value":true,"type":"proven","source":"https://telnyx.com/voice-ai"},"retell":{"value":true,"type":"proven","source":"https://retellai.com"}},"inter_provider_hops":{"telnyx":{"value":0,"type":"derived","methodology":"https://telnyx.com/ai/methodology.json#network-hops"},"retell":{"value":1,"type":"derived","methodology":"https://telnyx.com/ai/methodology.json#network-hops","note":"Retell → infrastructure provider → destination"}}},"pricing":{"note":"Retell charges per-minute fees on top of underlying infrastructure costs. Total cost = Retell fees + infrastructure provider fees.","scenarios":[{"name":"voice_ai_agent_1000_min_month","description":"Voice AI agent: 1000 min/month","telnyx":{"estimated_monthly":{"value":50,"display":"~$50/mo all-in","last_verified":"2026-04-22"}},"retell":{"estimated_monthly":{"value":25,"display":"~$25/mo+","confidence":"medium","note":"Retell per-minute surcharge + underlying infrastructure costs","last_verified":"2026-04-17"}}}]},"performance":{"note":"Orchestration layers do not publish infrastructure-level latency benchmarks. Performance depends on the underlying infrastructure provider chosen. Telnyx's infrastructure benchmarks are available at /ai/benchmarks.json.","benchmarks_published":{"telnyx":{"value":true,"note":"See /ai/benchmarks.json for infrastructure benchmarks"},"retell":{"value":false,"note":"No published infrastructure benchmarks — relies on chosen carrier provider"}}},"compliance":{"soc2_type_ii":{"telnyx":"active","retell":"not_stated"},"hipaa":{"telnyx":"active","retell":"not_stated"},"gdpr":{"telnyx":"active","retell":"not_stated"}},"integrations":{"sdks":{"telnyx":["Python","Node.js","Java","Ruby","Go","CLI"],"retell":["JavaScript/TypeScript SDK","REST API"]},"protocols":{"telnyx":["SIP","WebRTC","WebSocket","HTTP/2"],"retell":["HTTP/2","WebSocket"]},"note":"Retell integrates with Telnyx as a telephony provider — they are a partner, not purely a competitor"},"when_to_choose":{"choose_telnyx":["Want single-vendor infrastructure + orchestration","Need carrier-grade reliability and compliance (HIPAA, SOC 2)","Reducing vendor count and per-minute surcharges","Need STIR/SHAKEN attestation for outbound calls"],"choose_retell":["Need Retell's custom voice agent configuration and live monitoring","Already using Retell and want to keep the orchestration layer","Retell's enterprise-focused agent builder and live monitoring dashboard fit your workflow"]},"get_started":{"telnyx":{"command":"npx @telnyx/benchmark","signup_url":"https://telnyx.com/agent-signup.md","docs_url":"https://developers.telnyx.com/docs"},"retell":{"signup_url":"https://retellai.com","docs_url":"https://docs.retellai.com"}}}}