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Side-by-side comparison · Sales & Customer Support

Ada vs Gong vs Retell AI

Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.

Ada

3.7

Free to start

Gong

4.0

Free to start

Best overall

Retell AI

4.1

From About $0.07–$0.31/min

Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.

At a glance

Ada3.7

Pick it if: Mid-sized and large businesses with high support volumes that want an AI agent on top of their existing helpdesk.

Gong4.0
Easiest to use

Pick it if: Sales leaders running a team of reps who want to coach from real calls and forecast deals more accurately.

Best overallBest value

Pick it if: Service businesses and agencies that want an AI receptionist or phone agent without hiring developers.

Overview

AttributeAdaGongRetell AI
In one lineAI agents that resolve customer service requests across chat, email and phone.Records and analyses sales calls and emails to coach reps and forecast deals.AI phone agents that answer calls, book appointments and make outbound calls.
Pricing modelPaidPaidPaid
Starting priceSee websiteSee websiteAbout $0.07–$0.31/min
Free plan No No No
Works with Claude Code Yes Yes Yes

Rating breakdown

Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.

AttributeAdaGongRetell AI
Overall rating3.74.04.1Winner
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
3.5
4.0
3.5
FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.
4.0
5.0
4.5
Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them.
4.0
4.5
4.5
Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan.
3.0
2.5
4.0
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.
4.0
4.0
4.0

Feature comparison

A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.

AttributeAdaGongRetell AI
Access & platform
Free plan No No No
Mobile app– Yes–
Desktop app–––
Browser extension– Yes–
API access Yes Yes Yes
Teams & business
Team workspace Yes Yes Yes
Enterprise plan or SSO Yes Yes Yes
Connects to other apps Yes Yes Yes
Open source or self-hosted No No No
AI abilities
Works with your files–– Yes
Understands images–––
Makes images No No No
Makes video No No No
Writes code–––
Runs agents or automations Yes Yes Yes
Learns your brand or style Yes––
Works in many languages Yes Yes Yes
Capabilities score7/ 178/ 177/ 17

Pricing

Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.

AttributeAdaGongRetell AI
Plans

CustomOur pick

Custom

Businesses with enough volume to justify an enterprise contract.

Platform fee

Custom (billed yearly)

Every Gong customer pays this, scaled to team size.

Pay as you goOur pick

About $0.07–$0.31/min

Most small businesses and agencies.

Per-user licenceOur pick

Custom per user (billed yearly)

Each rep or manager who records and reviews calls.

Enterprise

Custom

High call volumes and compliance needs.

Add-ons (Engage, Forecast, Enable)

Custom

Teams that want outreach, forecasting or coaching in Gong too.

Which plan to pickThere's only a custom quote. Ask whether you'll be charged per conversation or per resolution, since per-conversation pricing charges you even when the agent doesn't solve the problem.Start with the core licence for reps who run customer calls and add Forecast or Engage only once the team uses Gong daily. Push back on bundles and multi-year terms during negotiation.Start on pay as you go with the free credits, build one agent for your most common call and test it on your own phone. Talk to sales only once you run thousands of minutes a month.

Key features

AttributeAdaGongRetell AI
Standout features
  • AI agent
  • Playbooks
  • Voice, messaging and email
  • Coaching and testing
  • Reporting
  • Call recording and transcripts
  • Deal insights
  • AI summaries and follow-ups
  • Coaching
  • Forecasting
  • Ask anything
  • Phone agents
  • Flow builder
  • Appointment booking
  • Knowledge base
  • Batch calling
  • Call analysis

Pros and cons

AttributeAdaGongRetell AI
Pros
  • Long track record and big-brand customers
  • Works across voice, messaging and email
  • Plain-English playbooks are easier to maintain than decision trees
  • Strong multilingual support
  • Very accurate call analysis and deal warnings
  • Easy for reps: it records and summarises with no extra work
  • Strong coaching tools for managers
  • Wide range of integrations with CRMs and dialers
  • Natural voices and quick responses
  • Visual builder makes it usable for non-developers
  • Pay per minute with no platform fee
  • Strong reviews from small businesses and agencies
Cons
  • No public pricing or trial; reported contracts start in the tens of thousands a year
  • Connecting back-end systems takes real setup work
  • End customers on review sites complain about lost context and trouble reaching a human
  • Billing model varies by contract, so costs can be hard to compare
  • Expensive, with a platform fee on top of per-user licences
  • No public pricing and pressure toward multi-year deals and bundles
  • Renewal price increases are a common complaint
  • Small teams often use only a fraction of the features they pay for
  • Per-minute cost varies a lot with your model and voice choices
  • Takes testing to handle real callers reliably
  • Some users want more voice and customisation options

Who each one is for

AttributeAdaGongRetell AI
Best for
  • Automating common support conversations
  • AI support across chat, email and voice
  • Multilingual customer service
  • Adding AI on top of an existing helpdesk
  • Coaching reps from real call recordings
  • Spotting at-risk deals early
  • Sales forecasting and pipeline reviews
  • Learning why deals are won or lost
  • AI receptionist for a small business
  • Booking appointments by phone
  • Answering after-hours and overflow calls
  • Outbound reminder and follow-up calls
You'll find it used by
  • Support teams
  • Ecommerce brands
  • Software companies
  • Fintech
  • Travel companies
  • Sales leaders
  • Account executives
  • Revenue operations
  • Customer success teams
  • Small business owners
  • Clinics
  • Voice AI agencies
  • Customer service teams
  • Developers

Questions people ask

Which is better, Ada, Gong or Retell AI?

Retell AI scores highest overall in our ratings (Ada 3.7/5, Gong 4.0/5 and Retell AI 4.1/5). Ada is best for automating common support conversations and AI support across chat, email and voice. Gong is best for coaching reps from real call recordings and spotting at-risk deals early. Retell AI is best for AI receptionist for a small business and booking appointments by phone.

Which is cheaper, Ada, Gong or Retell AI?

Ada: Pricing isn't published; check the vendor's site for a quote. Gong: Pricing isn't published; check the vendor's site for a quote. Retell AI: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at About $0.07–$0.31/min.

Which is easier to use, Ada, Gong or Retell AI?

Gong rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Sales leaders running a team of reps who want to coach from real calls and forecast deals more accurately.

How we compare

Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.

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