Side-by-side comparison · Sales & Customer Support
Bland AI vs Close 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.
Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.
At a glance
Pick it if: Businesses and developers who want AI agents answering or making phone calls at volume, with one simple per-minute price.
Pick it if: Small sales teams and solo sellers who call and email a lot of leads and want it all in one tool.
Pick it if: Service businesses and agencies that want an AI receptionist or phone agent without hiring developers.
Overview
| Attribute | Bland AI | Close | Retell AI |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | AI phone agents that answer and make calls for your business, priced per minute. | Sales CRM with calling, texting and email built in, plus an AI agent that calls leads. | AI phone agents that answer calls, book appointments and make outbound calls. |
| Pricing model | Paid | Paid | Paid |
| Starting price | $0.14/min | $9/user/mo | About $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.
| Attribute | Bland AI | Close | Retell AI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 3.8 | 4.1 | 4.1 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 3.0 | 4.0 | 3.5 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.5 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 3.5 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | Bland AI | Close | Retell AI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | No | No | No |
| Mobile app | No | Yes | – |
| Desktop app | No | Yes | – |
| Browser extension | No | No | – |
| API access | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | Yes | No | Yes |
| Connects to other apps | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Open source or self-hosted | Yes | No | No |
| AI abilities | |||
| Works with your files | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Understands images | – | – | – |
| Makes images | No | No | No |
| Makes video | No | No | No |
| Writes code | No | No | – |
| Runs agents or automations | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Learns your brand or style | No | No | – |
| Works in many languages | Yes | No | Yes |
| Capabilities score | 8/ 17 | 7/ 17 | 7/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Bland AI | Close | Retell AI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | StartOur pick $0.14/min, no monthly fee Developers and small teams testing a phone agent. | Solo $9/user/mo billed yearly, or $19 monthly One person selling on their own. | Pay as you goOur pick About $0.07–$0.31/min Most small businesses and agencies. |
Build $299/mo plus $0.12/min Teams running agents on real call volume. | Essentials $35/user/mo billed yearly, or $49 monthly Small teams sharing leads. | Enterprise Custom High call volumes and compliance needs. | |
Enterprise Custom Large or regulated businesses. | GrowthOur pick $99/user/mo billed yearly, or $109 monthly Teams that want follow-ups and AI on autopilot. | ||
Scale $139/user/mo billed yearly, or $149 monthly High-volume calling teams. | |||
| Which plan to pick | Start pay as you go: there's no monthly fee and you get free credits to test. Move to Build only when you're making enough calls that the lower per-minute rate covers the $299 fee, which is roughly 15,000 minutes a month. | Take the 14-day trial, which needs no card. Solo is a bargain if you sell alone and follow up by hand. Growth is where Close earns its price, because that's where automated follow-ups, the power dialer and Chloe in workflows start. Budget a little extra each month for call minutes. | 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
| Attribute | Bland AI | Close | Retell AI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standout features |
|
|
|
Pros and cons
| Attribute | Bland AI | Close | Retell AI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pros |
|
|
|
| Cons |
|
|
|
Who each one is for
| Attribute | Bland AI | Close | Retell AI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for |
|
|
|
| You'll find it used by |
|
|
|
Questions people ask
Which is better, Bland AI, Close or Retell AI?
They tie on our overall rating (Bland AI 3.8/5, Close 4.1/5 and Retell AI 4.1/5). Bland AI is best for answering inbound calls with an AI receptionist and outbound calls to qualify leads or confirm appointments. Close is best for calling and texting leads straight from the CRM and following up leads automatically by email and text. Retell AI is best for AI receptionist for a small business and booking appointments by phone.
Which is cheaper, Bland AI, Close or Retell AI?
Bland AI: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $0.14/min. Close: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $9/user/mo. Retell AI: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at About $0.07–$0.31/min.
Which is easier to use, Bland AI, Close or Retell AI?
Close rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Small sales teams and solo sellers who call and email a lot of leads and want it all in one tool.
How we compare
Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.
Swap in another tool
More tools from Sales & Customer Support in the library.
