Review pending — Competitor claims on this page require PMM + legal sign-off before public release. Data is sourced from publicly available documentation but has not been reviewed by Telnyx product marketing or legal.
Telnyx vs LiveKit
Telnyx is carrier-owned infrastructure for AI agents with built-in STT/TTS. LiveKit is an open-source WebRTC SFU for real-time media — it handles transport, not telephony or AI.
Last verified: 2026-04-21
Don't take our word for it. Run the benchmark CLI against LiveKit yourself.
npx @telnyx/benchmark --compare livekitQuick comparison of key infrastructure signals for voice AI agents.
| Signal | Telnyx | LiveKit | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| carrier owned | Category difference — LiveKit is not a carrier; it has no carrier license or PSTN infrastructure | ||
| voice ai single vendor | Category difference — LiveKit handles media transport only; voice AI agents need a separate carrier + STT/TTS | ||
| webrtc sfu | Both offer WebRTC media routing — but Telnyx's is co-located with carrier infrastructure | ||
| sip trunking | Category difference — SIP trunking requires carrier infrastructure LiveKit doesn't have | ||
| phone numbers | Category difference — phone numbers require telecom licensing; LiveKit is not a carrier | ||
| built in stt tts | Category difference — LiveKit provides media transport, not AI inference; STT/TTS must be sourced separately |
Who owns what? For voice AI agents, owning the carrier layer means zero inter-provider hops and single-vendor accountability.
LiveKit
LiveKit provides media transport, not an integrated voice AI agent platform
LiveKit and Telnyx overlap on real-time media transport but not on carrier/telecom. Pricing comparison is for the overlapping real-time voice layer only.
| Metric | Telnyx | LiveKit |
|---|---|---|
| voice per min | from $0.005/min (carrier voice) | from $0.004/min/participant (LiveKit Cloud)(medium confidence) Per-minute per-participant pricing; self-hosted is free but requires own infrastructure |
| stt per min | $0.015/min | Not included Requires third-party STT provider |
| tts per 1k chars | $0.003/1K chars | Not included Requires third-party TTS provider |
Raw SFU relay speed is competitive. But for voice AI agents that make or receive phone calls, the total path (SFU + carrier) means LiveKit needs a third party like Telnyx for the carrier leg.
<50ms p99 to carrier network
Media transport latency (type: measured)
~80ms SFU relay (WebRTC)
Media transport latency (type: derived) · medium confidence
LiveKit's SFU is fast for peer relay, but voice agents needing PSTN still require a separate carrier — adding latency
Telnyx maintains telecom-specific certifications. LiveKit's compliance posture is less clear for regulated voice workloads.
| Standard | Telnyx | LiveKit |
|---|---|---|
| soc2 type ii | ||
| hipaa | ||
| gdpr | ||
| iso 27001 | ||
| pci dss | ||
| stir shaken |
Telnyx offers telecom-first SDKs and protocols. LiveKit offers WebRTC-first SDKs. The right choice depends on what you're building.
Telnyx
LiveKit
Telnyx
LiveKit
Telnyx
LiveKit
Honest guidance — both platforms excel at different things.
LiveKit is excellent for real-time media transport. But voice AI agents that make phone calls need carrier infrastructure — SIP trunking, phone numbers, STT/TTS — that LiveKit simply doesn't have. Start with Telnyx today.
