# LiveKit Agents vs Retell AI
_Voice Agents · independent comparison_

> 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

**LiveKit Agents**
- Open source · Framework · 14k★ · Python · Apache-2.0 · active today
- Best for: Developers building custom voice or multimodal agents around LiveKit rooms and their own application logic.
- Avoid if: You need a finished phone-support product without building and testing agent behavior. This entry covers the framework, not every LiveKit Cloud product.
- [listing](https://agentsearchengine.app/agents/livekit-agents) · [official](https://docs.livekit.io/agents)

**Retell AI**
- Paid product · Platform
- Best for: Teams configuring AI phone conversations and transfer behavior through a managed platform.
- Avoid if: You need a proven latency or transfer-success result before choosing; documentation describes capabilities, but your call paths still require evaluation.
- [listing](https://agentsearchengine.app/agents/retell-ai) · [official](https://retellai.com)

## 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.

## Which to choose

**Choose LiveKit Agents if:** Developers building custom voice or multimodal agents around LiveKit rooms and their own application logic.

**Choose Retell AI if:** Teams configuring AI phone conversations and transfer behavior through a managed platform.

## FAQ

**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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Source: [Agent Search Engine](https://agentsearchengine.app) — https://agentsearchengine.app/compare/livekit-agents-vs-retell-ai