Side-by-side comparison · Sales & Customer Support

Hiver 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.

Hiver

3.9

From $25/user/mo

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Best overall

Retell AI

4.1

From About $0.07–$0.31/min

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At a glance

Hiver3.9

Easiest to use

Pick it if: Small and mid-sized teams who answer customers or suppliers from a shared Gmail address and want structure without leaving Gmail.

Retell AI4.1

Best overall

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

Overview

Attribute	Hiver	Retell AI
In one line	Shared inbox and helpdesk that runs inside Gmail, with AI that drafts and answers replies.	AI phone agents that answer calls, book appointments and make outbound calls.
Pricing model	Paid	Paid
Starting price	$25/user/mo	About $0.07–$0.31/min
Free plan	No	No
Works with Claude Code	Yes	Yes

Rating breakdown

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

Attribute	Hiver	Retell AI
Overall rating	3.9	4.1Winner
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.	4.5	3.5
FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.	4.0	4.5
Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them.	3.5	4.5
Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan.	4.0	4.0
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.	3.5	4.0

Feature comparison

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

Attribute	Hiver	Retell AI
Access & platform
Free plan	No	No
Mobile app	Yes	–
Desktop app	–	–
Browser extension	Yes	–
API access	Yes	Yes
Teams & business
Team workspace	Yes	Yes
Enterprise plan or SSO	Yes	Yes
Connects to other apps	Yes	Yes
Open source or self-hosted	No	No
AI abilities
Works with your files	–	Yes
Understands images	–	–
Makes images	No	No
Makes video	No	No
Writes code	No	–
Runs agents or automations	Yes	Yes
Learns your brand or style	–	–
Works in many languages	–	Yes
Capabilities score	7/ 17	7/ 17

Pricing

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

Attribute	Hiver	Retell AI
Plans	Growth $25/user/mo billed yearly, or $35 monthly Small teams running one or two shared inboxes.	Pay as you goOur pick About $0.07–$0.31/min Most small businesses and agencies.
	ProOur pick $55/user/mo billed yearly, or $65 monthly Support teams that need targets and connected tools.	Enterprise Custom High call volumes and compliance needs.
	Elite $85/user/mo billed yearly, or $95 monthly Larger teams wanting AI quality checks and tighter security.
Which plan to pick	Growth is enough for a small team that just needs a tidy shared inbox with AI help. Choose Pro if you need response-time targets, CRM or Shopify data next to each email, or the API. Voice is an add-on at $30 per seat.	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	Hiver	Retell AI
Standout features	Shared inbox in Gmail AI agents AI copilot Collaboration Hiver Omni	Phone agents Flow builder Appointment booking Knowledge base Batch calling Call analysis

Pros and cons

Attribute	Hiver	Retell AI
Pros	Almost no training: the team keeps working in Gmail AI agents and copilot included from the cheapest plan Good for non-support teams like finance and HR Cheaper than Zendesk or Intercom for small teams 24/7 support on every plan	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	Gmail add-on can be slow, lose connection or log users out Search and formatting are weaker than in a full helpdesk Key integrations and the API only start on Pro Seats sold in blocks, with a two-seat minimum	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

Attribute	Hiver	Retell AI
Best for	Running support@ or info@ as a team Assigning and tracking customer emails Finance and HR shared mailboxes AI-drafted email replies Teams that want to stay in Gmail	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	Customer support teams Finance and accounts teams Operations teams Logistics companies Agencies	Small business owners Clinics Voice AI agencies Customer service teams Developers

Questions people ask

Which is better, Hiver or Retell AI?

Retell AI scores highest overall in our ratings (Hiver 3.9/5 and Retell AI 4.1/5). Hiver is best for running support@ or info@ as a team and assigning and tracking customer emails. Retell AI is best for AI receptionist for a small business and booking appointments by phone.

Which is cheaper, Hiver or Retell AI?

Hiver: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $25/user/mo. Retell AI: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at About $0.07–$0.31/min.

Which is easier to use, Hiver or Retell AI?

Hiver rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Small and mid-sized teams who answer customers or suppliers from a shared Gmail address and want structure without leaving Gmail.

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

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