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Side-by-side comparison · Sales & Customer Support

Gong vs Retell AI vs Sierra

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

Gong

4.0

Free to start

Best overall

Retell AI

4.1

From About $0.07–$0.31/min

Sierra

3.9

Free to start

Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.

At a glance

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.

Pick it if: Large consumer brands that want an AI agent to handle a big share of their customer conversations end to end.

Overview

AttributeGongRetell AISierra
In one lineRecords and analyses sales calls and emails to coach reps and forecast deals.AI phone agents that answer calls, book appointments and make outbound calls.Builds and runs AI customer service agents for big brands, across chat, email and phone.
Pricing modelPaidPaidPaid
Starting priceSee websiteAbout $0.07–$0.31/minSee website
Free plan No No No
Works with Claude Code Yes Yes No

Rating breakdown

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

AttributeGongRetell AISierra
Overall rating4.04.1Winner3.9
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
4.0
3.5
3.0
FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.
5.0
4.5
4.5
Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them.
4.5
4.5
4.5
Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan.
2.5
4.0
3.0
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.
4.0
4.0
4.5

Feature comparison

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

AttributeGongRetell AISierra
Access & platform
Free plan No No No
Mobile app Yes––
Desktop app–––
Browser extension Yes––
API access 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 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 score8/ 177/ 177/ 17

Pricing

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

AttributeGongRetell AISierra
Plans

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.

EnterpriseOur pick

Custom

Large companies with high conversation volumes.

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 pickStart 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.There is one route: talk to Sierra's sales team. Agree clearly what counts as an outcome you pay for, and what setup and services cost, before you sign.

Key features

AttributeGongRetell AISierra
Standout features
  • 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
  • Agent Studio
  • Ghostwriter
  • One agent, every channel
  • Connected to your systems
  • Insights and testing

Pros and cons

AttributeGongRetell AISierra
Pros
  • 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
  • Agents take real actions, not just answer questions
  • Covers voice as well as chat, SMS, WhatsApp and email
  • Outcome-based pricing means you pay for results, not seats
  • Proven at very large brands
Cons
  • 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
  • No public pricing; estimates put it out of reach for most small and mid-sized businesses
  • No trial or self-serve option, so you are committing to a sales process and a project
  • Few independent reviews to check claims against
  • You depend on Sierra's team for much of the build

Who each one is for

AttributeGongRetell AISierra
Best for
  • 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
  • High-volume customer service at large brands
  • AI phone agents that take real actions
  • Returns, bookings and account changes
  • Saving cancellations and handling retention calls
You'll find it used by
  • Sales leaders
  • Account executives
  • Revenue operations
  • Customer success teams
  • Small business owners
  • Clinics
  • Voice AI agencies
  • Customer service teams
  • Developers
  • Enterprise support teams
  • Contact centres
  • Retail brands
  • Banks and insurers
  • Telcos

Questions people ask

Which is better, Gong, Retell AI or Sierra?

Retell AI scores highest overall in our ratings (Gong 4.0/5, Retell AI 4.1/5 and Sierra 3.9/5). 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. Sierra is best for high-volume customer service at large brands and AI phone agents that take real actions.

Which is cheaper, Gong, Retell AI or Sierra?

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. Sierra: Pricing isn't published; check the vendor's site for a quote.

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

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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