Retell VS Bland AI: Pricing, Features & Value Compared

The Smarter Alternative to Bland AI

What is Bland AI?

Bland AI has positioned itself as a quick way to build AI call agents, mainly relying on an open-source LLM to handle conversations.

It works well for basic automation, but many businesses quickly run into limits when scaling, especially in industries like customer support and appointment scheduling, where conversation quality and reliability directly impact revenue.

Retell AI: An Alternative to Scale Where It Matters

Retell AI was built with these high-stakes use cases in mind.

From financial services and healthcare providers, to logistics and call-center teams, companies use Retell to automate thousands of calls every day without sacrificing clarity, performance, or customer trust.

Where Bland depends on a single open-source model, Retell continuously integrates the latest LLMs, like ChatGPT and Anthropic, so businesses always get the best possible conversational intelligence.

Advanced Capabilities to Customize your Calls

On top of that, Retell offers unique features that Bland simply doesn't: custom LLM support for tailored workflows, SIP trunking for custom telephony setups, and branded calls to boost answer rates and brand recognition.

Turning Calls into Insights

Retell also turns every conversation into actionable insights with Post-Call Analysis.

Calls are automatically processed to capture key details, whether simple yes/no outcomes, summaries and action items, or satisfaction scores, so teams can make data-driven decisions in real time.

Bland AI Pricing Comparison

Efficiency from the First Call

When it comes to cost efficiency, Retell AI offers a clear advantage over Bland AI.

Voice calls with Retell start at $0.07 per minute, while Bland charges a flat $0.09 per minute, with an added $0.015 fee for each outbound attempt that does not connect.

For businesses handling large call volumes, this difference translates into meaningful savings without compromising performance.
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Lower Phone Number Costs

Phone number costs tell a similar story. Bland’s pricing sits at around $15 per month per number, a significant overhead for companies managing multiple lines.

Retell, by contrast, keeps number rental at only $2 per month, making it far more cost-effective to scale operations. And for teams that require toll-free numbers, Retell offers them at only $5 per month, so you can choose the setup that best fits your needs without hidden markups.

Beyond that, Retell also supports international calling in 14 countries, giving global teams the ability to connect seamlessly without complex add-ons.
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Higher Answer Rates with Verified Numbers

We also strengthen call deliverability with Verified Phone Numbers.

This reduces calls being flagged as spam and ensures consistently higher answer rates. Bland does not provide an equivalent feature, leaving its users more exposed to deliverability issues.
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Smarter Agents with Knowledge Base

On top of that, Retell’s Knowledge Base gives your agents a serious intelligence upgrade.

It retrieves smarter, faster, and more accurate answers, even in multi-turn conversations. With higher precision for details, your agents sound sharper and more reliable from the very first call. Bland AI has no comparable feature, which means its agents often fall short when conversations get complex.
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Real-Time Variable Extraction

With Retell’s real-time variable extraction, agents can now capture and store key details like names, budgets, or account IDs mid-call, then recall them reliably later in the same conversation.

This feature keeps your calls structured, without depending entirely on the LLM’s memory. Bland offers no equivalent, leaving users to deal with more fragile call flows.

Security, Scalability & Reliability

Scale Without Limits

Retell AI is designed to scale without compromise.

Our infrastructure allows unlimited concurrent call capacity, so a single agent can manage anything from ten to ten thousand calls at once. This elasticity is native to the platform and does not depend on additional coding, headcount, or complex integrations.
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Enterprise-Grade Security

Security and compliance are built into every plan, with HIPAA, SOC 2 Type 1 and 2, and GDPR coverage offered by default rather than reserved for enterprise tiers. Combined with 99.99% uptime and no rate limits, Retell ensures that businesses of any size can rely on consistent availability and enterprise-grade standards from day one.
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Advanced Protection with PII Redaction

Going a step further, Retell also protects conversations with Personal Info (PII) Redaction.

Sensitive data like names, addresses, dates of birth, passwords, and PINs are automatically detected and removed from both transcripts and recordings, keeping customers safe and reducing compliance risks. This feature brings advanced security within easy reach for all businesses.
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Bland AI: More Complexity, Less Flexibility

By contrast, Bland AI structures scalability differently across its plans.

Its free plan is only moderately scalable and requires coding knowledge to perform well. Its custom plan provides higher scalability but relies on close collaboration with Bland’s development team to implement. And their enterprise plan is designed for high-volume automation, but the most robust capabilities are gated behind the top tier.

While this approach can work for some, it introduces additional friction and complexity for organizations that need immediate scale.