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Comparison LabCompare 27 voice AI platforms and components across seven buying contexts, with sourced capabilities, current price captures and visible unknowns.Voice AI Price Index: prices, evidence and historyUnderstand the complete voice-agent cost stack: models, voice, transcription, telephony, subscriptions, capacity and add-ons.Know the cost before the first callEstimate monthly voice-agent costs, AI minutes, setup expenses and volume scenarios using your own transparent assumptions.AI voice agents for dentalAppointments, rescheduling and after-hours calls—with a person ready for clinical questions. Explore call flows, safe automation, integrations, tests and cost considerations.

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ElevenLabs vs Pipecat

ElevenLabs is positioned as a voice-model ecosystem with ElevenAgents for managed conversations; this record prices the Agents product. Pipecat is positioned as open-source Python orchestration for a voice stack assembled by devel

The decision in context

ElevenLabs is positioned as a voice-model ecosystem with ElevenAgents for managed conversations; this record prices the Agents product. Pipecat is positioned as open-source Python orchestration for a voice stack assembled by developers. Start by deciding who owns the missing layers, then inspect the documented differences below.

Voice Engines and Developer Frameworks are different product categories. An underlying engine or framework is not a complete substitute for a deployed agent workflow.

17 jointly documented catalog fields. This measures evidence coverage, not equivalent quality or an overall winner.

Compare for the job

Test opening hours, booking conflicts and an unanswered transfer.

2 of 4 slots
ElevenLabsPipecat
Decision signals / differences first

Start where the records differ.

5 of 8 priority fields differ

Values and evidence states are compared together. Shared facts follow the differences; Unknown never means No.

Selected platforms: buyer-critical differences before detailed dimensions
Decision pointElevenLabsPipecat
Billing modelDifferent records
monthly-bundleVerified Yes · 2026-09-28Documented product/configuration only; see research notes · Starter; Free tier separate
component-stackVerified Yes · 2026-09-28
Billing unitDifferent records
monthVerified Yes · 2026-09-28Documented product/configuration only; see research notes · Starter; Free tier separate
Active/reserved agent minute; participant minute; telephony minute; SIP REFER eventVerified Yes · 2026-09-28
Bring your telephonyDifferent records
YesVerified Yes · 2026-09-28Documented product/configuration only; see research notes
YesConditional · 2026-09-28
HIPAA pathDifferent records
UnknownConflicting evidence · 2026-09-28PHI retention configuration · Enterprise
YesVendor claim · 2026-09-28Enabled Pipecat Cloud account
WebhooksDifferent records
YesVerified Yes · 2026-09-28API / webhookDocumented product/configuration only; see research notes
YesConditional · 2026-09-28Unknown
Bring your modelShared state
YesVerified Yes · 2026-09-28Documented product/configuration only; see research notes
YesVerified Yes · 2026-09-28
Your requirements & next steps
Carried from your shortlist

Your requirements

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Ready-made / AI receptionist · Strict evidence mode

No personal requirements yet. Add criteria in Advanced Filter to prioritize this comparison.

Unknown ≠ No
Evidence, side by sideNo benchmark scores
ElevenLabsVoice Engines
PipecatDeveloper Frameworks
Pricing model
ElevenLabs
monthly-bundleVerified Yes · 2026-09-28

Reviewed current public offer; retain original billing scope and units.

Documented product/configuration only; see research notes · Starter; Free tier separate
Pipecat
component-stackVerified Yes · 2026-09-28

Framework open source; Cloud compute, reservation, transport, recording and providers separately priced.

Headline / base price
ElevenLabs
Free $0; Starter $6/monthVerified Yes · 2026-09-28

Reviewed current public offer; retain original billing scope and units.

Documented product/configuration only; see research notes · Starter; Free tier separate
Pipecat
agent-1x active $0.01/min, reserved $0.0005/min; agent-2x $0.02/$0.001; agent-3x $0.03/$0.0015Verified Yes · 2026-09-28

Compute only. Transport/models/recording and reserved idle time excluded.

Billing unit
ElevenLabs
monthVerified Yes · 2026-09-28

Reviewed current public offer; retain original billing scope and units.

Documented product/configuration only; see research notes · Starter; Free tier separate
Pipecat
Active/reserved agent minute; participant minute; telephony minute; SIP REFER eventVerified Yes · 2026-09-28

Different units cannot be normalized without usage and provider assumptions.

Platform fee
ElevenLabs
Starter $6/month; Creator $22; Pro $99; Scale $299; Business $990Verified Yes · 2026-09-28

Reviewed current public offer; retain original billing scope and units.

Documented product/configuration only; see research notes · Starter; Free tier separate
Pipecat
UnknownUnknown after research · 2026-09-28

Public component table and Enterprise sales path were reviewed; an exact platform subscription floor, contractual minimum and billing-rounding policy were not established. Per-minute display alone does not prove per-second metering.

Included usage
ElevenLabs
Free 15 minutes; Starter 75; Creator 275; Pro 1,238; Scale 3,738; Business 12,375Verified Yes · 2026-09-28

Reviewed current public offer; retain original billing scope and units.

Documented product/configuration only; see research notes · Starter; Free tier separate
Pipecat
1:1 voice WebRTC transport free on Pipecat Cloud; first 10,000 monthly Krisp minutes freeVerified Yes · 2026-09-28

Does not make hosting or model inference free.

Overage
ElevenLabs
Additional minutes advertised at $0.08/min; burst $0.16/min; eligibility variesVerified Yes · 2026-09-28

Reviewed current public offer; retain original billing scope and units.

Documented product/configuration only; see research notes · Starter; Free tier separate
Pipecat
Krisp beyond 10,000 active minutes/month: $0.0015/min; other components metered separatelyVerified Yes · 2026-09-28

This is the audio-filter allowance overage, not an all-in call rate.

Pass-through costs
ElevenLabs
LLM charges, external telephony and taxes are additionalVerified Yes · 2026-09-28

Reviewed current public offer; retain original billing scope and units.

Documented product/configuration only; see research notes · Starter; Free tier separate
Pipecat
LLM/STT/TTS provider invoices, transport, telephony, reserved runtime, recording and storageVerified Yes · 2026-09-28

Enterprise integrated inference billing by agreement.

Free offer
ElevenLabs
Free Agents tier: 15 minutes; 4 concurrent callsVerified Yes · 2026-09-28

Reviewed current public offer; retain original billing scope and units.

Starter; Free tier separate
Pipecat
UnknownNot researched

Not yet researched against this buyer-critical field standard.

Complete cost ceiling
ElevenLabs
UnknownUnknown after research · 2026-09-28

LLM/token usage, carrier and burst behavior are not bounded by an included-minute package.

Documented product/configuration only; see research notes · Starter; Free tier separate
Pipecat
UnknownUnknown after research · 2026-09-28

No all-in ceiling from minutes alone: reservation, transport, providers, recording and carrier legs vary.

What remains unresolved
ElevenLabs
LLM/token usage, carrier and burst behavior are not bounded by an included-minute package.Verified Yes · 2026-09-28

Research conclusion about cost completeness, not a vendor capability.

Documented product/configuration only; see research notes · Starter; Free tier separate
Pipecat
UnknownUnknown after research · 2026-09-28

No all-in ceiling from minutes alone: reservation, transport, providers, recording and carrier legs vary.

Anyone with this link can view the encoded decision criteria.

Vendor documentation establishes a claim. Public model benchmarks are separate context, not measurements of these platforms.

Open saved comparison ↗

What to verify together.

ElevenLabs

Voice-engine and Agents prices cover different products.

Free $0; Starter $6/month · V3.3 evidence review · Starter Agents subscription reference; model/carrier costs extra

Excluded / confirm: Complete cost cannot be established from this reference. LLM/token usage, carrier and burst behavior are not bounded by an included-minute package. · LLM charges, external telephony and taxes are additional

monthly-bundleVerified Yes · 2026-09-28

Reviewed current public offer; retain original billing scope and units.

Documented product/configuration only; see research notes · Starter; Free tier separate
Read the complete profile →

Pipecat

Free framework licensing does not cover inference, hosting or carriers.

agent-1x active $0.01/min, reserved $0.0005/min; agent-2x $0.02/$0.001; agent-3x $0.03/$0.0015 · V3.3 evidence review · Pipecat Cloud agent-1x active compute only; reserved runtime/provider/carrier bills extra

Excluded / confirm: Complete cost cannot be established from this reference. No all-in ceiling from minutes alone: reservation, transport, providers, recording and carrier legs vary. · LLM/STT/TTS provider invoices, transport, telephony, reserved runtime, recording and storage

component-stackVerified Yes · 2026-09-28

Framework open source; Cloud compute, reservation, transport, recording and providers separately priced.

Read the complete profile →

The evidence overlap.

Both records have documented values for Product type, Technical setup, Pricing model, Published numeric pricing, Twilio, ElevenLabs TTS, Realtime / streaming audio, OpenAI models, Anthropic models, Google models, Bring your model, MCP tools and additional fields shown in Compare. Matching availability does not measure behavior under your call conditions.

Run the same booking, tool failure and unsuccessful human-transfer cases. Record both outcomes and billable units before signing a deployment agreement.

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Editorial index gate: noindex-cross-category. Different product layers. This pair is useful for architecture inspection, not a like-for-like purchase ranking.