Running a Shopify store means phone calls are a valuable customer connection point, but they can also be time-consuming for your team. Tools like Vapi.ai offer a solution with AI voice agents, but they are primarily designed for developers. This can require managing code and multiple billing sources from different vendors. That's why we've reviewed AI voice tools to find Vapi.ai alternatives for Shopify. Here are six choices, evaluated based on criteria important for store owners: ease of setup, Shopify integration, and straightforward pricing.
By 2026, the cost of a single human-led support call is nearly $16, and yet 75% of customers say they still spend more time on hold than they ever expected.
You know the weight of trying to scale a Shopify brand while every phone ring feels like a drain on your team's focus and your profit margins.
You are already managing a support team, but you shouldn't have to choose between a massive payroll and frustrated customers who just want to know where their order is.
But there is a fix.
This guide will go over the best Vapi alternatives to automate your phone support.
First, we compare the best no-code alternatives to Vapi.ai.
Then, we show you which ones integrate directly with your Shopify data to handle returns and tracking on autopilot.
Editor’s note: Want to hear some sample support calls made for your Shopify store?
- Just paste your store URL
- Get sample calls in under 20 seconds (no email required)
- Listen to demo calls for my store
What is Vapi.ai?
Vapi.ai is a toolbox for developers to build their own AI voice agents. It gives them the behind-the-scenes tech to create phone conversations from scratch.
You can plug in different services, like speech-to-text from Deepgram, AI brains like GPT-4o, and voice generators from ElevenLabs.
With its API-first design and over 40 app integrations, it’s highly flexible for technical teams building a custom voice setup.
However, for a Shopify store owner seeking a ready-to-use solution, this flexibility can introduce complexity. It often requires engineering resources to implement and maintain.
Why Shopify stores seek Vapi.ai alternatives
While Vapi.ai is a powerful tool, its developer-first approach may not align with the needs of the fast-moving e-commerce world. Many Shopify merchants end up searching for other options for a few common reasons.
The technical requirements can be a significant hurdle. Setting up Vapi means juggling multiple third-party services and API keys, which can be a challenge for non-coders.
Lastly, Vapi is a generic platform. It doesn't come with the built-in e-commerce smarts to handle questions like “Where’s my order?” or start a return. This functionality needs to be custom-built, which requires additional development.
How we evaluated Vapi.ai alternatives for Shopify
To find the right tools for Shopify merchants, we focused on what really makes a difference in an online store's day-to-day operations. We focused on platforms that deliver immediate value for e-commerce businesses.
Here’s what we based our evaluation on:
1.
Ease of Setup: How fast can someone who isn't a tech wizard get the agent up and running? We gave top marks to no-code platforms with simple onboarding.
2.
Deep Shopify Integration: Can the platform connect directly to Shopify to get real-time order info, handle returns, and understand your products?
3.
Pricing Transparency: Is the cost easy to understand? We favored simple subscription models over confusing, multi-vendor billing.
4.
E-commerce Functionality: Is the agent already trained to manage common e-commerce stuff like order tracking, returns, and FAQs?
5.
Reliability and Performance: Does the agent sound natural and handle conversations effectively?
A quick comparison of Vapi.ai alternatives for Shopify
6 Vapi.ai alternatives for Shopify
1. Ringly.io
Ringly.io is an AI phone support platform made specifically for Shopify stores. Its AI representative, Seth, acts as a dedicated agent who answers calls 24/7.
He comes pre-trained on e-commerce, so he can handle order lookups, returns, exchanges, and product questions from day one. The setup process is straightforward: just connect your Shopify store, and Seth is good to go in about three minutes.
A key feature of Ringly.io is its deep, native Shopify integration. This lets Seth give customers accurate, real-time info about their orders without any custom coding. It’s built to handle around 73% of calls on its own, which frees up your team for more complex problems.
Its focus on e-commerce means it may not be suitable for businesses outside that niche.
- Pricing: Ringly.io offers a guarantee: you pay $0 until Seth resolves 60% of your first 100+ support calls. After that, plans are:
- Grow: $349/month for 1,000 minutes, then $0.19/minute.
- Scale: $1,099+/month for 3,000+ minutes and custom integrations.
2. Retell AI
Retell AI is another developer-focused platform for building voice agents that sound natural and human. It's known for its quick response times and ability to handle interruptions, which makes calls feel less robotic.
While it’s mainly an API for developers, it has a dashboard that provides more user interface elements compared to Vapi's primarily API-driven approach.
Retell AI’s main strengths are its flexibility and performance, which is great for businesses that need to create very specific or complicated call flows. But it’s a general tool, so it doesn’t have any e-commerce features out of the box. A developer would need to build the Shopify integration to handle things like order lookups. Its pay-as-you-go pricing can also be unpredictable if your call volume changes a lot.
- Pricing: Retell AI's pricing is modular, so you pay for each part separately.
- Pay-as-you-go: Starts at $0.07/minute for the voice engine, plus costs for the LLM ($0.006 - $0.08/minute) and telephony ($0.015/minute). Total costs usually land between $0.13 and $0.31 per minute.
- Enterprise: Custom pricing with volume discounts.
3. Synthflow
Synthflow is a no-code voice AI platform that lets you build conversational agents with a visual, drag-and-drop builder.
It connects to over 200 integrations through Zapier and Make, which makes it easy to link with other tools you’re already using. It is a viable choice for teams that want to automate calls without touching a line of code.
The platform's key feature is its user-friendly interface, which lets non-technical folks design and launch agents fast.
- Pricing: Synthflow uses a pay-as-you-go model similar to Retell.
- Pay-as-you-go: Starts at $0.09/minute for the voice engine, plus costs for the LLM and telephony, bringing the total to around $0.13+/minute.
- Enterprise: Custom plans for teams with over 10,000 minutes per month.
4. Goodcall
Goodcall is a simple AI receptionist built for small local businesses like salons or repair shops. Its main job is to answer calls, take messages, answer basic questions, and forward calls to the right person.
The platform is no-code and sets up in minutes, making it a suitable choice for businesses needing basic call answering.
Goodcall's main advantage is its simplicity and affordability for basic needs. It's a useful tool for a small business looking to reduce missed calls. However, this simplicity may be a limitation for a growing Shopify store.
It can't look up order details or handle returns, and its plans limit how many unique customers it can talk to each month.
- Pricing: Goodcall's pricing is per agent, with tiers based on unique callers.
- Starter: $79/agent/month for 100 unique customers.
- Growth: $129/agent/month for 250 unique customers.
- Scale: $249/agent/month for 500 unique customers.
5. Bland AI
Bland AI is a developer-first platform for building and scaling voice agents, aimed at enterprise companies with high call volumes.
It offers powerful APIs and focuses on data security, with options to run on your own infrastructure and use custom-trained models. This "own your AI" approach gives teams total control over their voice setup.
For a large, technically-resourced Shopify Plus merchant, Bland AI offers significant scalability and customization. You can train models on your own data to create a unique brand voice.
This approach involves greater complexity and cost. It's not a no-code tool and requires a lot of engineering work to get going and keep running.
- Pricing: Bland AI's pricing is usage-based and built for enterprise budgets.
- Starts at $0.09 per minute for connected calls, with custom enterprise pricing that isn't public.
6. PolyAI
PolyAI offers enterprise-level conversational AI assistants that are known for their human-like voices and ability to handle complex, multilingual chats.
They partner with large corporations to build custom voice agents that integrate with big systems like CRMs and contact center software.
A notable aspect of PolyAI is the quality of its conversations and its ability to support customers worldwide with advanced multilingual capabilities.
This could make it a potential fit for large global Shopify brands. It is a powerful tool, though its scope and pricing are generally geared toward large enterprises rather than the average Shopify merchant.
- Pricing: According to industry reports, PolyAI uses a custom enterprise model.
- Contracts typically start around $150,000 per year.
How to choose a Vapi.ai alternative for Shopify
Picking the right platform is all about understanding what your store actually needs. Focus on your store's core needs rather than an extensive list of features to find a solution that saves time and improves customer satisfaction.
First, consider your team's technical skills. If you don't have a developer on call, stick with no-code platforms you can manage on your own.
Second, make a deep and native Shopify integration a top priority. The ability to pull live order data and process returns is a must-have for real e-commerce support.
Finally, do the math on the total cost. A low per-minute rate can accumulate costs with high call volumes or the need to patch together multiple services.
An all-in-one subscription can offer more predictable and budget-friendly pricing in the long run. If you focus on these practical points, you'll find a solution that works for your business.
Finding the right AI phone support for your Shopify store
Finding the right AI voice agent is about selecting the most effective solution for your store.
While developer platforms like Vapi.ai are powerful, they often require more setup and maintenance from Shopify merchants. It is beneficial to select a tool built with e-commerce in mind from the start.
Platforms like Ringly.io are designed to solve the exact problems that online stores face every day.
With a setup that takes minutes, a deep connection to your Shopify data, and a focus on solving customer issues automatically, it allows you to offer 24/7 support, freeing up your team to focus on other aspects of growing your brand.
Ready to see how an AI phone rep built for e-commerce can enhance your customer support? Start your free trial today.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the most important features to look for in Vapi.ai alternatives for Shopify?
Focus on three things: ease of setup (look for no-code platforms), deep Shopify integration for real-time order data, and transparent pricing. A tool built specifically for e-commerce, like Ringly.io, will usually check all these boxes.
How much do Vapi.ai alternatives for Shopify typically cost?
Pricing varies a lot. Developer-focused tools often have complex pay-as-you-go models that can cost over $0.30 per minute once you add up all the services. Platforms designed for Shopify, like Ringly.io, usually offer a more predictable monthly subscription with a set number of minutes included.
Are there any no-code options among Vapi.ai alternatives for Shopify?
Yes, absolutely. Tools like Ringly.io and Synthflow are designed for non-technical users. Ringly.io is particularly straightforward for store owners, as it connects to your Shopify store and is ready to go in minutes without any coding.
Why is a native Shopify integration crucial when choosing from Vapi.ai alternatives for Shopify?
A native integration allows the AI agent to access live data directly from your store. This means it can accurately answer "Where's my order?" questions, look up product details, and even process returns, which is something a generic tool connected via Zapier might struggle with.
Which Vapi.ai alternatives for Shopify are easiest to set up?
For a Shopify store owner, platforms like Ringly.io are designed for simplicity. The setup process involves connecting your store and getting the AI agent, Seth, live in about three minutes. Other no-code tools like Goodcall are also easy to set up but have different feature sets.
