Tuvoz vs Vapi and Retell: build a voice agent or use one?

Vapi and Retell are developer platforms: you design a voice agent (its prompt, voice, model, tools and phone numbers) and they run it at scale. Tuvoz is the opposite trade: nothing to design. Your existing agent (Claude Code, Codex, claude.ai or Muse) writes a short brief, Tuvoz’s voice agent makes the call, and it checks back with your agent when it needs an answer.

At a glance

	Vapi	Retell	Tuvoz
What you get	A platform to build voice agents	A platform to build voice agents	A finished calling agent plus a skill for your agent
Price	$0.05/min platform fee plus model, voice and phone costs; its calculator shows about $0.08 to $0.13/min all-in (pricing)	$0.07 to $0.31/min all-in, depending on the model; numbers $2/mo (pricing)	$0.12 a minute, billed per second, with a 30-second minimum per answered call leg, including calls to your own phone
Starting credit	$5	$10	15 free minutes. Free plan includes training on your calls.
Outbound numbers	Included Vapi numbers are inbound only; import a Twilio, Telnyx or Vonage number to call out (docs)	Buy numbers from Retell ($2/mo)	One shared Tuvoz caller ID
Calls at once	4 on the base tier, more on paid plans	20 included, $8/mo per extra	1 before your first top-up, 3 after
Monthly plans	Core $29/mo, Pro from $999/mo (optional)	Pay as you go; Enterprise custom	None
Inbound calls	Yes	Yes	No
Setup effort	Design and test an agent, wire tools and webhooks	Design and test an agent, wire tools and webhooks	Paste one line into your agent and sign in

What Vapi and Retell do well

• Control. Pick the model, the voice, the prompt, the tools, and how the agent hands off. Tuvoz gives you one voice agent with fixed rules.
• Inbound and outbound. Build a receptionist, a support line, or reminder calls. Tuvoz only places outbound calls.
• Scale. Retell includes 20 calls at once; both sell more. Tuvoz caps you at 3.
• Your own numbers. Bring or buy numbers so people see a number they know. Tuvoz uses one shared caller ID for now.

Where Tuvoz is different

• Nothing to build. No prompt engineering, no webhooks, no number setup. Your agent already knows the context (your calendar, your email, the files you’re working on) and passes it in the brief.
• A person in the loop. The voice agent asks your agent mid-call, and calls your phone if your agent doesn’t answer. On Vapi or Retell you’d build that escalation yourself.
• Rules you don’t have to write. Every call says it’s an AI assistant calling for you through Tuvoz, asks before recording, honors “don’t call again” and keypad 9, and stays off emergency and crisis lines. Your agent can’t switch these off.
• Personal use. Tuvoz is for one person’s errands: bookings, quotes, questions. It refuses telemarketing, surveys and other campaigns.

Where Tuvoz is weaker

• Far fewer settings: one voice provider (Gemini), no custom voices, no inbound.
• US only, with destination rules: listed businesses, your own phone, and people you confirm agreed to AI calls. No unlisted home landlines yet.
• Not built for volume: 3 calls at once and 25 calls a day on a paid account.
• No MCP server or SDK at launch; agents use a skill and a REST API.

What a typical call costs

A 5-minute call:

	Cost
Tuvoz	300 s × $0.002 = $0.60
Vapi	about $0.40 to $0.65 at $0.08 to $0.13/min, plus your number
Retell	$0.35 to $1.55 at $0.07 to $0.31/min, plus $2/mo per number

Which should you pick?

Pick Vapi or Retell if you’re building a phone product: a receptionist, a support line, reminders, or anything with inbound calls, custom voices or volume.

Pick Tuvoz if you want the agent you already use to make the occasional call for you, with a fixed, honest opener and a fallback to your own phone.

Next: set up Tuvoz, or read self-host vs hosted if you’d rather run the voice bridge yourself.