Vapi vs Retell: Who's the ultimate winner for Shopify?

See how Vapi and Retell compare to each other (and to Ringly.io) to help you decide what is the best platform for your Shopify brand.

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Ruben Boonzaaijer, medeoprichter

Last updated on

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Stuck choosing between Vapi and Retell? You’re not alone.

Picking the right voice AI tool can feel like a total headache: too many features, confusing pricing plans, and reviews all over the place.

We’re breaking down:

Key features, pros, and cons of Vapi and Retell
Pricing and which gives you better value
User reviews and real experiences
Who each platform is really best for
Which tool is best for Shopify

Let’s dive in and help you make the right pick.

Waarom Ringly de betere keuze is ; )

Gebouwd voor Shopify-webshops

Met ervaring in zowel AI als e-commerce willen we het beste platform voor AI-telefoonagents voor webshops worden.

Belachelijk simpele interface

Supermakkelijk in gebruik, en je zet het op zonder technische kennis. Maak een gratis account aan en zie het zelf.

Snel en makkelijk ingesteld

Seth is voorgetraind op je webshop en staat binnen 1 uur live.

Vapi vs Retell: TL;DR

Product Area	Vapi	Retell	Ringly.io
Call Quality & Speed	Ultra-fast, low-latency streaming	Natural voice, decent speed	Fast, sounds very human
Ease of Setup	Complex, dev skills needed	Simple for non-tech users	No-code, live in under 1 hour
Customization	Highly customizable for devs	Basic flow builder options	Prebuilt flows, auto-updates
Scalability	Handles 1M+ concurrent calls	Limited high-scale support	Scales with usage easily
Automation Features	Advanced function calling	Basic automation tools	Order tracking, returns, product questions
Pricing	Usage-based, flexible tiers	Pay-per-minute, modular	Transparent, affordable, all features
Best For	Large, dev-heavy teams	SMBs and call centers	Ecommerce & fast-growing teams

Vapi - a quick overview

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Vapi is a Voice AI platform founded in 2023 by Jordan Dearsley and Nikhil Gupta, based in San Francisco, CA.

Vapi's platform is designed to integrate seamlessly with existing telephony systems, enabling businesses to handle millions of calls with human-like voice agents.

Vapi's Features

Turbo Latency Optimizations
Interruptions and Proprietary Endpointing Model
Scalability to 1M+ Concurrent Calls
Function Calling for Automation Tasks
WebRTC Streaming for Real-Time Communication
On-Premises Deployment Options
Multilingual Support Across 100+ Languages
Private Internet Backbone‍

Pros

High Voice Recognition Accuracy.
Ease of Integration
Customizable Settings
Cost-Effective Solution
Comprehensive Documentation

Cons

Complex Initial Setup Process
Limited Customization Options in Certain Areas
Occasional Performance Issues
Voice Quality Could Be Improved
Steep Learning Curve for Non-Tech Users

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AI phone support for Shopify

Ringly.io resolves more than half of your support calls with AI

The AI phone agent picks up every call, looks up orders, handles returns, answers product questions, and escalates only the tricky ones.

Try for free → Generate demo calls →

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Retell AI: Overview

Founded in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2023 by Todd Li, Evie Wang, Bing Wu, Weijia Yu, and Zexia Zhang, Retell AI is crushing it as the go-to platform for lightning-fast AI voice agent creation.

Features:

‍Voice AI API and Agent Builder
Built-in LLM Testing
Call Transfer Features
SIP Trunking Connectivity
Batch Calling Campaigns
Multilingual Support

Pros:

Natural-sounding voice agents
Quick response time
Easy setup and deployment
Cost-effective pricing
Excellent integrations
Responsive development team
Highly customizable

Cons:

UI improvements needed
Voice variety limitations
API changes without notice
Slow customer support
Account blocking issues
Platform still evolving

Pricing - Vapi vs Retell

Note: The pricing information below is accurate at the time of writing and may be subject to change. For the most up-to-date pricing, please visit each company's pricing page.

Vapi pricing

Plan	Pricing	Key Features	Contract Length	Cancellation Fees	Refund Policies
Free Tier/Developer	$0 (includes $10 in free credits, then $0.05/min for calls)	- Limited API calls - Basic features - Standard support - Usage restrictions or rate limits	No long-term contract required	No	Yes
Growth/Business	Usage-based: $0.05/min + additional costs for telephony, transcription, voice models	- Higher API call volumes - Improved support options - Additional features like analytics and insights	Flexible	No	Yes
Enterprise	Custom pricing based on volume	- Volume discounts - Dedicated support and account management - Tailored SLAs with uptime guarantees	Custom agreements	Possible early termination fees	Negotiable

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Retell pricing

Plan	Pricing	Key Features
Pay-As-You-Go	$0.07–$0.31 per minute (based on features used)	- 60 free minutes included - 20 concurrent calls - Modular pricing for voice engines, LLM agents, telephony, and knowledge bases - Customizable setup with volume-based discounts for enterprises
Enterprise Plan	Custom pricing based on usage volumes	- Volume-based discounts - Scalable to meet large business needs

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Ringly.io pricing

Ringly.io has simple pay per call pricing with no hidden fees or long-term commitments. You can try it for free, and it comes with a 30-day money back guarantee. Scale up or down on month-to-month terms, or book a demo for fully tailored enterprise support.

Plans	Price	Included	Contract	Cancellation
Pay per call	$99/mo	✓ First 50 included, then $1.99 per call ✓ Spam, hang-ups and wrong numbers are free	Monthly	Anytime	Try for free →
Custom	Talk to us	✓ 1,000+ calls a month	Custom	Custom	Book a demo →

See pricing →

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Online customer reviews: Vapi vs Retell

Vapi Overview

Vapi is a conversational AI tool designed for developers, offering great API's for building voice AI applications. It has received 19 reviews across Product Hunt and Trustpilot with an average rating of 4.4 stars, indicating generally positive feedback.

What users are saying about Vapi:

"Amazing tool as well as support" - John Doe, E-commerce Manager. This tool has been a game-changer for our business. The setup was quick and easy even for non-technical users...

"Needs better integrations" - Jane Smith, Operations Lead. While the core functionality is great, it lacks seamless integration with some of our existing tools...

Retell Overview

Retell specializes in voice-based conversational AI agents tailored to automate customer interactions. It has garnered 8 reviews on Product Hunt, achieving an average rating of 4.5 stars, reflecting strong user satisfaction.

What users are saying about Retell:

"Super intuitive platform!" - Alex Johnson, Customer Success Manager. The interface is incredibly user-friendly and the voice quality feels natural...

"Limited scalability options" - Emily Carter, Tech Consultant. It works well for small-scale operations but struggles when handling high call volumes or complex workflows...

What users are saying about Ringly.io:

Ringly.io is known for its simplicity, and a focus on e-commerce, with features like order status lookups, returns and product questions. It has a 4.8 star rating from 12 reviews on Product Hunt and other platforms.

"it stands out significantly ahead" - Bertrand, Director. We are at the initial stage of testing and have made only a few calls so far. Consequently, I have rated the product with four stars for now. However, I must express that the product has shown significant promise. When compared to competitors, it stands out significantly ahead.

"This is such a great product" - Jim Miranda, Founder. This is such a great product. I have been with you for less than a week and already closed 3 deals with it."

"It really sounds like a human" - Laix, Founder. Tried Ringly.io today and the quality of the phone calls surprises me! It really sounds like a human, and it reacts really fast. Will need to deploy it in action to see the full capabilities.

"How to automate customer service? -> Ringly.io" - Sidra Husnain, Founder.

Vapi vs Retell: Which is best for you?

Who Vapi is best for…

Tech-savvy businesses or developer teams that want to create highly customized voice agents with deep integrations and advanced automation.
Large enterprises needing to handle millions of concurrent calls with speed and reliability.

Who Retell is best for…

Small to midsize businesses needing a reliable voice agent that can handle basic tasks and customer questions.
Teams looking for easy call transcripts and performance tracking to improve customer service without diving too deep into AI customization.

Who Ringly.io is best for…

Shopify brands that need phone support

Why Ringly.io is a Better Choice

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‍Best for Shopify stores looking for the best way to offer 24/7 AI phone support at a fraction of the cost.

How it went when I tried setting up Ringly:

After I installed the Shopify app, the only thing I had to do was to upload my data to the knowledge base. (website was uploaded automatically)

After I did that, I could already speak to my agent via a web call.

Setting it live was as simple as picking a phone number with my area code from the dashboard. I was able to connect the number with 1 click. (The number is also free and included)

There was not really anything else to the setup.

They claim that Seth, their AI phone agent, resolves up to 90% of support calls. They back that up with 200,000+ calls handled.

Signup -> onboarded took under 1 hour. Most of that time was spent waiting for the knowledge to be uploaded.

Over the first 2 weeks I used it, it resolved 76% of my calls on its own.

The rest of the calls were escalated to a support ticket by my agent.

(update: the more calls you get, the smarter it gets. As of today, my resolution rate is 79%.)

Standout Features (pros):

Very easy setup (almost none)
65% resolution guarantee

Pricing is $99/mo for the first 50 calls, then $1.99 per call. If Seth resolves under 65% of calls in a month, that month comes back as credit (after 90 days on Pay per call).

Shopify integration is native. It will allow your agent to solve order status and refund requests on the phone.

Reviews are overall very positive, mainly because of the 65% resolution guarantee.

Cons:

Phone support only

What’s unique about Ringly is that it is the first AI phone support tool built for Shopify.

Final Thoughts

Here’s a quick recap to help you make the right call:

Vapi is best for technical teams and large enterprises looking to go deep on customization, scale to millions of concurrent calls, and control every aspect of voice AI infrastructure.
Retell shines for smaller businesses and contact centers that need a dependable voice agent with core features like transcription, basic automation, and easy CRM integrations, without overwhelming complexity.
Ringly.io is the ideal choice for Shopify brands

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While all platforms have their strengths, Ringly.io quietly delivers the best of both worlds: the power and scalability of platforms like Vapi, paired with the ease of use and business focus that Retell aims for. It’s the only solution that truly understands the needs of modern, growing brands, and meets them without added friction.

So whether you're a scrappy startup answering its first support calls or a scaling DTC brand optimizing support, Ringly.io gives you everything you need out of the box: no dev team, no delays, no overhead tech talk. Just results.

Ready to see what AI voice agents can really do?

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Want to compare other players in the market? Check out our other comparisons: