# Retell AI vs Bland AI: Costs, Limits, Booking

Source: https://insertchat.com/compare/retell-ai-vs-bland-ai

> Retell’s per-second voice agents with chat and SMS, against Bland’s all-in talk time with Enterprise scheduling.

Retell AI suits teams that want per-second billing, booking, and chat agents without a platform fee. Bland AI suits high-volume calling with all-in rates and Enterprise deployment options. InsertChat is the stronger third option for small businesses that want an inbound AI receptionist ready to run, from $98 per month.

Retell AI details checked on October 13, 2026 from [Retell AI’s public pricing page](https://www.retellai.com/pricing); Bland AI details checked on October 13, 2026 from [Bland AI’s public pricing page](https://www.bland.ai/pricing). Prices are in USD as listed; vendors change plans, so confirm current terms with each linked source.

## Retell AI vs Bland AI vs InsertChat at a glance

| Compared | Retell AI | Bland AI | InsertChat |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Pricing model | Pay as you go from $0 with $10 in free credits; Enterprise pricing is custom ([source](https://www.retellai.com/pricing)) | Start: $0 platform fee; Build: $299 per month platform fee; Enterprise: custom contract ([source](https://www.bland.ai/pricing)) | Pro, Growth, Scale, and Enterprise plans with monthly AI credits included. Annual billing costs ten monthly payments, paid upfront. ([details](https://insertchat.com/pricing)) |
| What is metered | Call minutes, tracked to the second: $0.055 voice infrastructure plus model, voice, and $0.015 telephony per minute; chat agents per AI message ([source](https://www.retellai.com/pricing)) | Talk time at $0.14 (Start) or $0.12 (Build) per minute and transfer time at $0.05 or $0.04; LLM, speech-to-text, and voices included; telephony separate ([source](https://www.bland.ai/pricing)) | AI credits from one monthly allowance. Use depends on the model, conversation length, knowledge processing, and tools; calls round up to whole minutes. ([details](https://insertchat.com/pricing#channel-costs)) |
| Channels | Voice agents and chat agents, with SMS at $0.01 per message ([source](https://www.retellai.com/pricing)) | Voice calls on Start and Build; SMS, web chat, and iMessage listed on Enterprise ([source](https://www.bland.ai/pricing)) | Website chat, phone, email, SMS, and WhatsApp in one shared inbox ([details](https://insertchat.com/product/inbox)) |
| Human handoff | Call transfer to a person; after a transfer, only the telephony fee continues ([source](https://www.retellai.com/pricing)) | Transfer time billed per minute; warm and live transfers listed on Enterprise ([source](https://www.bland.ai/pricing)) | Your own team takes over in the shared inbox with the full conversation, on every plan ([details](https://insertchat.com/product/inbox)) |
| Knowledge sources | Knowledge bases at $0.005 per call minute; the first 10 are free, then $8 each per month ([source](https://www.retellai.com/pricing)) | 10 knowledge bases on Start, 50 on Build, unlimited on Enterprise ([source](https://www.bland.ai/pricing)) | Website URLs, documents, questions and answers, audio and video files, and product information (1,000 sources on Pro) ([details](https://insertchat.com/product/knowledge)) |
| Booking | Lists a Book Appointments feature that checks availability and books ([source](https://www.retellai.com/pricing)) | Appointment scheduling node listed on Enterprise ([source](https://www.bland.ai/pricing)) | Books into the built-in calendar, Google Calendar, Outlook, Calendly, or Cal.com, automatically or after your team’s approval ([details](https://insertchat.com/product/scheduling)) |
| Entry price | $0 to start with $10 in free credits; voice agents from $0.07 per minute ([source](https://www.retellai.com/pricing)) | $0.14 per minute with no platform fee; 2 credits and an inbound number to start, no card required ([source](https://www.bland.ai/pricing)) | Pro at $98/month, or $81.67/month billed annually, with 5,000 credits, 3 assistants, and 3 seats ([details](https://insertchat.com/pricing)) |
| Notable limits | 20 concurrent calls included, then $8 per call per month; billing covers silence and hold time; Retell numbers cost $2 per month ([source](https://www.retellai.com/pricing)) | Start caps 100 calls a day and 10 concurrent calls; Build caps 2,000 calls a day and 50 concurrent ([source](https://www.bland.ai/pricing)) | Additional phone numbers, SMS, WhatsApp, and other connected services can carry their own charges; analytics and reports start on Scale ([details](https://insertchat.com/pricing#channel-costs)) |

“Not verified” means our check did not confirm this detail. Ask the vendor before deciding.

## How Retell AI and Bland AI compare

### Platform fees and per-minute rates

Retell is pay-as-you-go from $0, with $10 in free credits. Bland’s Start plan has no platform fee, and Build costs $299 a month. Run 1,000 minutes through each: Retell lands between $70 and $310 depending on the model and voice, and Bland Start at $140 plus telephony. InsertChat Pro is $98 per month with 5,000 monthly AI credits.

[Estimate your InsertChat usage](https://insertchat.com/pricing#usage-estimate)

### Booking without an Enterprise contract

Retell lists a Book Appointments feature that checks availability and books. Bland lists its appointment scheduling node on Enterprise. InsertChat books into the built-in calendar, Google Calendar, Outlook, Calendly, or Cal.com on every plan, with optional approval and reminders.

[Appointment booking in InsertChat](https://insertchat.com/product/scheduling)

### Concurrency

Retell includes 20 concurrent calls, then charges $8 per extra call a month. Bland’s Start plan allows 10 concurrent calls and 100 a day; Build allows 50 and 2,000.

### Transfers

Retell transfers to a person and keeps only telephony running after the handoff. Bland bills transfer time per minute and lists warm and live transfers on Enterprise. InsertChat rings your team before the AI answers and flags handoffs in a shared inbox.

[After-hours and overflow answering](https://insertchat.com/product/after-hours)

### Text channels

Retell offers chat agents billed per AI message, and SMS at $0.01 a message. Bland lists SMS, web chat, and iMessage on Enterprise. InsertChat answers website chat, email, SMS, and WhatsApp on every plan.

[How the shared inbox works](https://insertchat.com/product/inbox)

## Retell AI, Bland AI, or InsertChat?

### Choose Retell AI if

- You want billing to the second with no platform fee.
- You want appointment booking without an Enterprise contract.
- You want chat agents and SMS next to voice.

### Choose Bland AI if

- You want talk time that includes the model, transcription, and voices.
- You design calls in Conversational Pathways.
- You need on-prem or VPC deployment and a forward deployed engineer on Enterprise.

### Choose InsertChat if

- You want to set up an AI receptionist from your website and documents, without prompts.
- You want one plan for calls, website chat, email, SMS, and WhatsApp, from $98 per month.
- You want your team to take over any conversation from one shared inbox.

## Compare each one with InsertChat

- [InsertChat vs Retell AI](https://insertchat.com/alternatives/retell-ai): Pay-as-you-go voice and chat agent platform, from $0.07 to $0.31 per minute depending on the model and voice.
- [InsertChat vs Bland AI](https://insertchat.com/alternatives/bland-ai): Voice agent platform with all-in per-minute rates: $0.14 on Start, or $0.12 on Build with a $299 monthly fee.
- [InsertChat pricing](https://insertchat.com/pricing): Pro, Growth, Scale, and Enterprise plans with monthly AI credits, from $98 per month, plus a usage estimator for your own call and chat volume.

## Is Retell AI cheaper than Bland AI?

At 1,000 minutes, Retell’s listed $0.07 to $0.31 a minute comes to $70 to $310, and Bland Start’s $0.14 comes to $140 plus telephony. Bland Build lowers talk time to $0.12 with a $299 monthly fee. InsertChat Pro is $98 per month with 5,000 monthly AI credits for calls and messages.

## Which one includes appointment booking?

Retell lists a Book Appointments feature. Bland lists its scheduling node on Enterprise. InsertChat books appointments on every plan into the built-in calendar, Google Calendar, Outlook, Calendly, or Cal.com.

## Do I need to write prompts in InsertChat?

No. InsertChat answers from the knowledge you add, such as website pages, documents, and FAQs. You set the voice, greeting, handoff rules, and booking permissions in settings, then test real questions.

## Other head-to-head comparisons

- [Smith.ai vs Ruby](https://insertchat.com/compare/smith-ai-vs-ruby): Smith.ai’s per-call AI receptionist with human backup, against Ruby’s human receptionists billed by the minute.
- [Posh vs Ruby](https://insertchat.com/compare/posh-vs-ruby): Two human receptionist services billed by the minute: Posh from $65 a month, Ruby from $250 for 50 minutes.
- [Abby Connect vs Ruby](https://insertchat.com/compare/abby-connect-vs-ruby): Receptionists plus an AI option priced in Abby Minutes, against Ruby’s human receptionists and chat agents.
- [Ruby vs PATLive](https://insertchat.com/compare/ruby-vs-patlive): Two human answering services billed by the minute: Ruby from $250 for 50, PATLive from $49 pay-as-you-go.
- [Goodcall vs Rosie](https://insertchat.com/compare/goodcall-vs-rosie): Goodcall prices per unique caller with unmetered minutes; Rosie sells minute bundles from $49 for 250.
- [Rosie vs Smith.ai](https://insertchat.com/compare/rosie-vs-smith-ai): Rosie’s minute bundles from $49 against Smith.ai’s per-call AI receptionist with a free plan and human backup.
- [Dialpad vs RingCentral](https://insertchat.com/compare/dialpad-vs-ringcentral): AI receptionists inside two phone platforms: Dialpad’s credit-based AI Agents and RingCentral’s per-minute add-on.
- [Nextiva vs RingCentral](https://insertchat.com/compare/nextiva-vs-ringcentral): Nextiva’s XBert at $99 for 100 resolutions against RingCentral’s AI Receptionist at $39–$49 with 100 minutes.
- [Quo Sona vs Dialpad](https://insertchat.com/compare/quo-sona-vs-dialpad): Quo’s Sona, billed per call with 10 a month included, against Dialpad’s credit-based AI receptionist.
- [Vapi vs Retell AI](https://insertchat.com/compare/vapi-vs-retell-ai): Two developer voice platforms billed per minute: Vapi’s $0.05 hosting plus providers, Retell’s $0.07–$0.31 range.
- [Bland AI vs Vapi](https://insertchat.com/compare/bland-ai-vs-vapi): Bland’s all-in per-minute talk time against Vapi’s $0.05 hosting fee plus providers at cost.
- [Voiceflow vs Botpress](https://insertchat.com/compare/voiceflow-vs-botpress): Two agent-building platforms: Voiceflow’s usage credits with business pricing on request, and Botpress’s conversation plans.
- [Chatbase vs CustomGPT.ai](https://insertchat.com/compare/chatbase-vs-customgpt): Chatbase’s message-credit plans from free, against CustomGPT.ai’s query-capped agents from $99.
- [Tidio vs Intercom](https://insertchat.com/compare/tidio-vs-intercom-fin): Tidio’s conversation-based plans with Lyro AI, against Intercom’s per-seat plans plus $0.99 per Fin outcome.
- [Intercom vs Zendesk](https://insertchat.com/compare/intercom-fin-vs-zendesk): Intercom’s seats plus $0.99 per Fin outcome, against Zendesk’s per-agent suites with included automated resolutions.
- [Crisp vs Tidio](https://insertchat.com/compare/crisp-vs-tidio): Crisp’s per-workspace plans with AI credits, against Tidio’s plans metered by human and Lyro AI conversations.
- [LiveChat vs Tidio](https://insertchat.com/compare/livechat-vs-tidio): LiveChat’s per-user Text plans with counted AI resolutions, against Tidio’s plans with a free tier and Lyro AI.
- [Zendesk vs Freshchat](https://insertchat.com/compare/zendesk-vs-freshchat): Zendesk’s per-agent suites with paid automated resolutions, against Freshchat’s per-agent plans with Freddy AI session packs.
- [Gorgias vs Zendesk](https://insertchat.com/compare/gorgias-vs-zendesk): Gorgias prices tickets and AI interactions for online stores; Zendesk prices agents and automated resolutions.