Side-by-side comparison · Sales & Customer Support

lemlist 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.

lemlist

3.7

From From $69/mo

Details Visit

Best overall

Retell AI

4.1

From About $0.07–$0.31/min

Details Visit

Comparing 2 tools. Add one more if you like.

At a glance

lemlist3.7

Pick it if: Founders, agencies and sales reps who reach prospects on email and LinkedIn and want each message to feel personal.

Retell AI4.1

Best overallBest value

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

Overview

Attribute	lemlist	Retell AI
In one line	Personalised cold outreach by email, LinkedIn, calls and WhatsApp in one sequence.	AI phone agents that answer calls, book appointments and make outbound calls.
Pricing model	Paid	Paid
Starting price	From $69/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	lemlist	Retell AI
Overall rating	3.7	4.1Winner
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.	3.5	3.5
FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.	4.5	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.	3.5	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	lemlist	Retell AI
Access & platform
Free plan	No	No
Mobile app	No	–
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
Makes video	No	No
Writes code	No	–
Runs agents or automations	Yes	Yes
Learns your brand or style	–	–
Works in many languages	Yes	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	lemlist	Retell AI
Plans	Email From $69/mo, or $55/mo billed yearly Teams doing email-only outreach.	Pay as you goOur pick About $0.07–$0.31/min Most small businesses and agencies.
	MultichannelOur pick $109/user/mo, or $87/user/mo billed yearly Reps who reach prospects on LinkedIn and by phone too.	Enterprise Custom High call volumes and compliance needs.
	Enterprise Custom Larger teams with security and compliance needs.
Which plan to pick	If you only send email, the Email plan is fine, but compare it with Instantly first. Pick Multichannel if LinkedIn or calls are part of how you sell, since that's what lemlist does best. Add the data add-on ($16 a month billed yearly for 2,000 credits) if you need to find emails and phone numbers. The 14-day trial includes Multichannel features and 200 credits.	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	lemlist	Retell AI
Standout features	Multichannel sequences Personalisation lemAgent Lead database Deliverability MCP server and CLI	Phone agents Flow builder Appointment booking Knowledge base Batch calling Call analysis

Pros and cons

Attribute	lemlist	Retell AI
Pros	Email, LinkedIn, calls, SMS and WhatsApp in one sequence Strong personalisation, including custom images Warm-up and deliverability tools included lemAgent can build a campaign for you Own MCP server and CLI for connecting AI tools	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	Overlaps Instantly, which is usually cheaper for email only Multichannel is priced per user, so costs climb as the team grows Contact data and buying signals cost extra LinkedIn automation can get your LinkedIn account restricted No mobile app, and reviews mention a learning curve and integration bugs	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	lemlist	Retell AI
Best for	Sequences that mix email, LinkedIn and calls Personalised cold email with custom images and first lines Finding leads and their emails in the same tool Having AI build an outreach campaign from a chat	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	Founders Sales reps Agencies Recruiters Freelancers	Small business owners Clinics Voice AI agencies Customer service teams Developers

Questions people ask

Which is better, lemlist or Retell AI?

Retell AI scores highest overall in our ratings (lemlist 3.7/5 and Retell AI 4.1/5). lemlist is best for sequences that mix email, LinkedIn and calls and personalised cold email with custom images and first lines. Retell AI is best for AI receptionist for a small business and booking appointments by phone.

Which is cheaper, lemlist or Retell AI?

lemlist: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at From $69/mo. Retell AI: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at About $0.07–$0.31/min.

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

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