Voice Agents · Head-to-head
LiveKit Agents vs Retell AI
LiveKit Agents and Retell AI are both voice agents. LiveKit Agents is Build voice and multimodal agents that participate in LiveKit rooms, while Retell AI is build AI phone agents with configurable conversation flows and call transfers. Here's an independent, side-by-side look at how they compare — and which fits.
Build voice and multimodal agents that participate in LiveKit rooms.
Visit LiveKit Agents →Build AI phone agents with configurable conversation flows and call transfers.
Visit Retell AI →LiveKit Agents and Retell AI take different routes to the same job: one is a commercial product, the other open-source and self-hostable. Choose based on whether you want a managed experience or full control.
Side by side
| Spec | LiveKit Agents | Retell AI |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Framework | Platform |
| Model | Open source | Commercial |
| Pricing | Open source | Paid product |
| GitHub stars | 14,178 | — |
| Language | Python | — |
| License | Apache-2.0 | — |
| Last activity | Sep 2026 | — |
Key differences
- Retell AI is a commercial product; LiveKit Agents is open-source and self-hostable.
- Pricing model differs — LiveKit Agents is open source, Retell AI is paid product.
Developers building custom voice or multimodal agents around LiveKit rooms and their own application logic.
Teams configuring AI phone conversations and transfer behavior through a managed platform.
About LiveKit Agents
LiveKit Agents is an open-source framework for connecting agent code to real-time voice, video and text sessions. The Python repository provides model integrations, turn handling and agent dispatch. A separate Node.js SDK is also available. Agents can run in LiveKit Cloud or a custom environment; model, transport and hosting costs depend on the deployment.
Full LiveKit Agents profile →About Retell AI
Retell AI is a managed platform for building AI phone agents. Its conversation-flow tools support cold, warm and agentic warm transfers, with configurable ring duration. Transfer behavior can depend on the telephony provider. Measure latency and successful handoffs on representative calls rather than assuming a universal response time.
Full Retell AI profile →Frequently asked
- What's the main difference between LiveKit Agents and Retell AI?
- Retell AI is a commercial product; LiveKit Agents is open-source and self-hostable.
- Is LiveKit Agents or Retell AI better?
- Neither is universally better. LiveKit Agents is the stronger fit for Developers building custom voice or multimodal agents around LiveKit rooms and their own application logic; Retell AI for Teams configuring AI phone conversations and transfer behavior through a managed platform. Use the side-by-side specs to decide by your own constraints.
- Is LiveKit Agents or Retell AI free?
- LiveKit Agents is free to run and self-host; Retell AI is a paid product.
- Which is more popular, LiveKit Agents or Retell AI?
- We rank open-source projects by GitHub adoption, but at least one of these is a commercial product and stars don't measure commercial adoption — so compare them on capabilities and pricing instead.
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