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Side-by-side comparison · Sales & Customer Support

Retell AI vs Salesforce Agentforce 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.

Best overall

Retell AI

4.1

From About $0.07–$0.31/min

Salesforce Agentforce

3.3

From $500 per 100

Sierra

3.9

Free to start

Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.

At a glance

Best overallBest valueEasiest to use

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

Pick it if: Mid-size and larger businesses already on Salesforce that want AI agents handling customer questions and routine sales work.

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

Overview

AttributeRetell AISalesforce AgentforceSierra
In one lineAI phone agents that answer calls, book appointments and make outbound calls.Salesforce's AI agents that answer customers and help sales reps inside Salesforce CRM.Builds and runs AI customer service agents for big brands, across chat, email and phone.
Pricing modelPaidPaidPaid
Starting priceAbout $0.07–$0.31/min$500 per 100See website
Free plan No Yes No
Works with Claude Code Yes Yes No

Rating breakdown

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

AttributeRetell AISalesforce AgentforceSierra
Overall rating4.1Winner3.33.9
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
3.5
2.5
3.0
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.
4.5
3.5
4.5
Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan.
4.0
2.5
3.0
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.
4.0
3.5
4.5

Feature comparison

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

AttributeRetell AISalesforce AgentforceSierra
Access & platform
Free plan No Yes No
Mobile app– Yes–
Desktop app–––
Browser extension–––
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 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 Yes
Works in many languages Yes Yes Yes
Capabilities score7/ 1710/ 177/ 17

Pricing

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

AttributeRetell AISalesforce AgentforceSierra
Plans

Pay as you goOur pick

About $0.07–$0.31/min

Most small businesses and agencies.

Salesforce Foundations

Free

Existing Salesforce customers who want to try agents.

EnterpriseOur pick

Custom

Large companies with high conversation volumes.

Enterprise

Custom

High call volumes and compliance needs.

Flex CreditsOur pick

$500 per 100,000 credits

Businesses paying per action an agent takes.

Conversations

$2 per conversation

Customer-facing agents where you want a simple per-chat price.

Agentforce add-ons

From $125/user/mo

Teams wanting AI help for every rep or agent seat.

Agentforce 1 editions

From $550/user/mo

Large Salesforce customers buying the full bundle.

Which plan to pickStart 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.Start with the free Foundations tier to prove one agent works, then move to Flex Credits so you pay only for what agents actually do. Per-user add-ons and Agentforce 1 editions are for large teams that have already proven the value.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

AttributeRetell AISalesforce AgentforceSierra
Standout features
  • Phone agents
  • Flow builder
  • Appointment booking
  • Knowledge base
  • Batch calling
  • Call analysis
  • Ready-made agents
  • Agent builder
  • Works on your CRM data
  • Many channels
  • Hand-off to people
  • Testing and monitoring
  • Agent Studio
  • Ghostwriter
  • One agent, every channel
  • Connected to your systems
  • Insights and testing

Pros and cons

AttributeRetell AISalesforce AgentforceSierra
Pros
  • 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
  • Works directly on your Salesforce records and permissions
  • Ready-made agents for common service and sales jobs
  • Runs across chat, email, Slack and Salesforce screens
  • Enterprise security and admin controls built in
  • 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
  • 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
  • Confusing pricing that is hard to forecast and can climb quickly with usage
  • Setup usually needs a Salesforce admin or paid partner
  • Agents are only as good as your data and knowledge articles
  • Little reason to use it if you are not already on Salesforce
  • 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

AttributeRetell AISalesforce AgentforceSierra
Best for
  • AI receptionist for a small business
  • Booking appointments by phone
  • Answering after-hours and overflow calls
  • Outbound reminder and follow-up calls
  • Salesforce customers adding AI to support
  • Answering common customer questions 24/7
  • Following up and qualifying inbound leads
  • Giving reps AI help inside Salesforce
  • 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
  • Small business owners
  • Clinics
  • Voice AI agencies
  • Customer service teams
  • Developers
  • Customer service teams
  • Sales teams
  • Salesforce admins
  • Enterprises
  • Enterprise support teams
  • Contact centres
  • Retail brands
  • Banks and insurers
  • Telcos

Questions people ask

Which is better, Retell AI, Salesforce Agentforce or Sierra?

Retell AI scores highest overall in our ratings (Retell AI 4.1/5, Salesforce Agentforce 3.3/5 and Sierra 3.9/5). Retell AI is best for AI receptionist for a small business and booking appointments by phone. Salesforce Agentforce is best for salesforce customers adding AI to support and answering common customer questions 24/7. Sierra is best for high-volume customer service at large brands and AI phone agents that take real actions.

Which is cheaper, Retell AI, Salesforce Agentforce or Sierra?

Retell AI: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at About $0.07–$0.31/min. Salesforce Agentforce: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $500 per 100. Sierra: Pricing isn't published; check the vendor's site for a quote.

Which is easier to use, Retell AI, Salesforce Agentforce or Sierra?

Retell AI rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Service businesses and agencies that want an AI receptionist or phone agent without hiring developers.

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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