AI Voice Agents Ranked: Cheapest to Most Expensive
AI voice agents ranked from cheapest to most expensive, based on a 1,000-minute monthly baseline, run from Retell AI at around $200 a month for a developer-built setup, up to PolyAI at $12,500 to $17,000 a month for fully custom enterprise voice design, with CloudTalk sitting as the best out-of-the-box value for teams without developers.
Ranked: Cheapest to Most Expensive
Retell AI — ~$200/month: Built for developers who want to construct a voice agent from scratch via API, controlling logic, voice, and integrations directly. It advertises a $0 platform fee and a 7-cent-per-minute base rate, but that only covers voice orchestration. Once language model, text-to-speech, and telephony costs (like Twilio) are factored in, real-world cost lands between 13 and 31 cents a minute, averaging around 20 cents a minute, or roughly $200 for 1,000 minutes. Best for engineering teams building custom, but expect real assembly required.
CloudTalk — ~$349/month: CloudTalk's AI voice agent is native, built directly into the phone system rather than layered on top of third-party software. It speaks over 60 languages, answers on the first ring, and pushes automated call summaries straight into CRMs like HubSpot and Salesforce. Pricing starts at $350 a month, which includes the first 1,000 calling minutes, a flat, predictable cost with no developer hours required. Best for sales and support teams wanting native, zero-code deployment.
Genesys Cloud — ~$1,500/month: A large experience orchestration platform for traditional contact centers, offering Agent Copilot for real-time human guidance alongside conversational virtual agents. The top CX4 tier with advanced conversational AI runs $240 per user monthly, and running a baseline of 5 human agents behind it puts the software fee around $1,200 a month. Adding metered AI usage and telephony for 1,000 minutes brings the realistic floor to about $1,500 a month. Best for scaling enterprise teams needing deep omnichannel orchestration.
Five9 — ~$8,000/month: Built for high-volume outbound contact centers, with intelligent virtual agents for routine queries. The advertised basic plan is $159 per user monthly, but Five9 enforces a 50-seat minimum contract, putting the platform floor at $7,950 a month before touching AI usage. Adding fees for 1,000 minutes lands the total around $8,000 a month. Best for heavy outbound teams running at least 50 agents.
Sierra AI — ~$12,500/month: Builds autonomous agents that execute tasks directly, like processing returns or preventing cancellations, charging based on successful resolutions. With no public pricing, industry estimates put the baseline annual platform license around $150,000 a year, or roughly $12,500 a month, before a one-time implementation fee of $50,000 or more. Best for large consumer brands wanting autonomous task execution at scale.
PolyAI — ~$12,500 to $17,000/month: Builds fully custom voice agents for major banks, airlines, and utilities, matching a brand's exact voice rather than working from a template. With no public pricing, enterprise reviews suggest a minimum platform contract around $160,000 a year, or $12,500 a month, plus custom engineering and optimization fees pushing realistic low-volume spend to $12,500-$17,000 a month. Best for global enterprises needing highly custom brand voice design.
Final Leaderboard (1,000 Minutes/Month Baseline)
- Retell AI — ~$200/month — best for developer-built custom agents
- CloudTalk — ~$349/month — best for sales/support teams wanting native, zero-code deployment
- Genesys Cloud — ~$1,500/month — best for scaling enterprise omnichannel orchestration
- Five9 — ~$8,000/month — best for heavy outbound teams with 50+ agents
- Sierra AI — ~$12,500/month — best for large consumer brands wanting autonomous task execution
- PolyAI — ~$12,500 to $17,000/month — best for global enterprises needing custom brand voice design
Try It Yourself
Run real test calls with a 14-day free CloudTalk trial, no commitment required, and see what native AI voice handling looks like for your own queue.
FAQ
What's the cheapest AI voice agent option?
Retell AI is the cheapest at around $200 a month for 1,000 minutes, but it requires a developer to build the agent from scratch and assemble the language model, text-to-speech, and telephony layers yourself.
How much does CloudTalk's AI voice agent cost?
CloudTalk starts at $349 a month, which includes the first 1,000 calling minutes, with the AI voice agent built natively into the phone system and no developer required.
Why is Five9 so much more expensive than its advertised price suggests?
Five9 advertises $159 per user monthly, but it enforces a 50-seat minimum contract, putting the real platform floor at nearly $8,000 a month before adding AI usage fees.
Which AI voice agent is best for a growing team without developers?
CloudTalk is built for teams that want a native, fast AI voice agent without writing code, starting at $349 a month for 1,000 minutes with CRM integrations included.
