--- title: The Better Retell Alternative | Telnyx canonical: https://telnyx.com/the-best-retell-alternative-archive --- # The Better Retell Alternative | Telnyx # The Top Retell Alternative Retell depends on external telephony and cloud providers. Telnyx owns the full stack. The result: 60% lower latency, native PSTN access in 60+ countries, and transparent base pricing at $0.05/min. [Start building now](https://telnyx.com/sign-up)[Contact us](https://telnyx.com/contact-us) ## Owned infrastructure makes the difference By owning and operating our own infrastructure, Telnyx minimizes latency and enhances call quality of [AI Agents](https://telnyx.com/products/voice-ai-agents "Voice AI Agents") in ways that Retell AI cannot match. By running AI processing and media handling on a privately owned global IP network, Telnyx avoids the delays and congestion of the public internet, keeping traffic anchored near end users, and delivering [sub-200ms round-trip times](https://telnyx.com/resources/round-trip-time-EU "Round-trip times") for real-time voice AI. This level of control ensures consistent, high-quality interactions at scale while eliminating the dependency on third-party networks that introduce variability and slow down conversations. ## Compare our features ### Telephony Licensed carrier in 30+ countries. Native PSTN access in 130+ countries. One-click integration. No telephony. Relies on third-party carriers like Telnyx or Twilio for call connectivity. ### Latency ### Reliability ### Compliance ### Scalability ## Compare our pricing ### Pricing model Pay-as-you-go self-service or volume-based contracts. No minimums. Pay-as-you-go pricing plan or enterprise contracts for volumes over $3k/month. ### Base cost ### Additional fees ### Tradeoffs **WHY TELNYX?** ## Everything Voice AI needs on one platform Skip the multi-vendor complexity. Telnyx handles infrastructure end-to-end—you, so you can focus on the customer experience. Cost-effective AI agentsSpeech-to-textText-to-speechTelephony integrationLow-latency voiceNoise suppressionContext-rich conversations ### Cost-effective AI agents Telnyx pricing for base rate is [budget friendly](https://telnyx.com/pricing/conversational-ai). Need more volume? Committed-use discounts on STT and TTS lower your costs further as you scale. No surprise add-ons for telephony, no per-seat fees, no middlemen taking a cut. ### Speech-to-text Telnyx gives you access to multiple STT engines, such as Deepgram, Whisper, AssemblyAI, xAI, Speechmatics, Soniox, Google, Azure, and our own engine, so you can pick the best fit for your language, accuracy, or cost needs. Switch providers anytime without rebuilding your stack. When a better model comes out, swap it in. ### Text-to-speech Start with Telnyx Ultra for expressive Telnyx-native Voice AI, or choose Qwen3TTS, xAI, MiniMax Speech 2.8 Turbo, Rime, ElevenLabs, Azure Neural, AWS, ResembleAI, NaturalHD, Inworld, and other engines when the use case calls for provider choice, WebSocket compatibility, or a specific voice. ### One-click telephony integration Telnyx is a licensed carrier with local numbers in 130+ countries. Purchase a number and assign it to your AI agent instantly. No third-party telephony provider to configure, no extra contracts, no integration headaches. Your agent is live on the PSTN in minutes. ### Low-latency voice Most voice AI stacks route calls through 4 to 5 separate providers, including telephony, STT, LLM, TTS, orchestration, adding latency at every hop. Telnyx runs everything on one network. Audio enters, gets processed, and returns without leaving our infrastructure. The result: sub-200ms round-trip times that keep conversations natural. ### Noise suppression Crystal-clear audio is the foundation of great customer experience. Telnyx noise suppression and HD Voice codecs filter out background noise before it reaches your agent, so conversations feel natural, and customer names, account numbers, and key details are captured accurately the first time. ### Context-rich conversations Give your Voice AI Agent access to custom tools and over 30 pre-built integrations across 13 categories, including Salesforce, HubSpot, ServiceNow, Calendly, Jira, and more. Pull customer data into calls, trigger actions in real time, and personalize every conversation with live context. ## Why choose one voice engine when you can have them all? Preview Telnyx Ultra, Qwen3TTS, xAI, NaturalHD, AWS Neural, Azure Neural HD, MiniMax Speech 2.8 Turbo, Rime, Inworld, and ResembleAI voices in one place. Switch between engines anytime without rebuilding or lock-in. Use Ultra when the Telnyx-native Voice AI voice should carry the experience. Loading... ## VOICE AI CAPABILITIES Unlike Retell's multi-vendor orchestration, Telnyx controls the entire voice AI stack. From carrier network to speech engines, one platform delivers predictable performance, production-ready from day one. * Flexible APIs and MCP support Full API access for developers. Leverage the Telnyx MCP server for streamlined deployment and management. * Bring your own models Pick from Telnyx's open source LLM library or bring your own API keys. Swap models anytime, zero lock-in. * Multi-agent handoffs Seamlessly transfer calls or orchestrate conversations across multiple agents on a single call. * Voice Design Lab Create custom voices that match your brand. Clone existing voices or design new ones from scratch. Your voice, your identity. * AI Missions Send agents on complex, multi-step workflows. Book appointments, verify documents, update records, and close the loop without human intervention. * AI Insights Extract custom fields from every call automatically. Define what matters to your business and surface insights across conversations at scale. * HD voice codecs Crystal-clear audio in any environment. High-quality codecs and AI-powered noise suppression ensure conversations stay focused. * Simulation testing Run automated multi-path simulations before going live. Test accuracy, reliability, and response quality with confidence. * Carrier-grade trust A-level STIR/SHAKEN attestation means your calls display as trusted, not spam. 30 to 40% of competitor calls never ring. Ours get answered. * Full-stack observability One dashboard from call start to completion. End-to-end tracing, latency breakdown, and transcript playback. No finger-pointing between vendors. * Agent Skills 175+ pre-built skills to deploy production Voice AI in hours, fully customizable for your stack. ## Better voice infrastructure starts with Telnyx. No rebuilds. Sub-200ms latency, simpler operations, and predictable costs. Production-ready Voice AI in weeks. [Sign up](https://telnyx.com/sign-up)[Contact us](https://telnyx.com/contact-us) [Start building](https://telnyx.com/sign-up) ### Ask AI * [![GPT](https://d2efw2akbx8gaf.cloudfront.net/https://dotcom-payload-assets-prod.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/cms-media/chatgpt_icon-ea55e09d.jpeg?width=92&format=webp)](https://chat.openai.com/?q=What makes Telnyx's global network different, breakdown call quality for normal phone calls and voice AI calls.) * [![Claude](https://d2efw2akbx8gaf.cloudfront.net/https://dotcom-payload-assets-prod.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/cms-media/claude_icon-c7c8eef3.webp?width=92&format=webp)](https://claude.ai/new?q=What makes Telnyx's global network different, breakdown call quality for normal phone calls and voice AI calls.) * [![Perplexity](https://d2efw2akbx8gaf.cloudfront.net/https://dotcom-payload-assets-prod.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/cms-media/perplexity_icon-cd5b74f1.webp?width=92&format=webp)](https://www.perplexity.ai/search?q=What makes Telnyx's global network different, breakdown call quality for normal phone calls and voice AI calls.) * [![Gemini](https://d2efw2akbx8gaf.cloudfront.net/https://dotcom-payload-assets-prod.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/cms-media/gemini_icon-4ff1cbf4.webp?width=92&format=webp)](https://www.google.com/search?udm=50&aep=11&q=What makes Telnyx's global network different, breakdown call quality for normal phone calls and voice AI calls.) * [![Grok](https://d2efw2akbx8gaf.cloudfront.net/https://dotcom-payload-assets-prod.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/cms-media/grok_icon-e588e5bd.webp?width=92&format=webp)](https://x.com/i/grok?text=What makes Telnyx's global network different, breakdown call quality for normal phone calls and voice AI calls.)