# Bland AI API + MCP vs Retell AI API + MCP > Retell AI API + MCP has a score of 69.4 (B) against Bland AI API + MCP's 64.1 (B). Both do voice agent. The largest gap is payments & pricing, 25 points. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side. - Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bland-ai-vs-retell-ai - Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bland-ai-vs-retell-ai.md (~1,600 tokens) - Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bland-ai-vs-retell-ai.min.md (~380 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts) - JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bland-ai-vs-retell-ai.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json) - Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt) - API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json - Updated: 2026-10-05 Retell AI API + MCP has a score of 69.4 (B) against Bland AI API + MCP's 64.1 (B). Both do voice agent. The largest gap is payments & pricing, 25 points. - Bland AI API + MCP: grade B, 64.1/100, rank #191 of 452. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/bland-ai.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/bland-ai.json - Retell AI API + MCP: grade B, 69.4/100, rank #114 of 452. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/retell-ai.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/retell-ai.json ## Which one, for what Pick Bland AI API + MCP for reliability (+5), payments & pricing (+25). Pick Retell AI API + MCP for schema & documentation (+24), agent ergonomics (+7), security & auth (+10), maintenance & community (+25), transparency & trust (+5). ## Score by category | Category | Weight | Bland AI API + MCP | Retell AI API + MCP | Edge | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 65 | 60 | Bland AI API + MCP +5 | | Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run | | Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 68 | 92 | Retell AI API + MCP +24 | | Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 53 | 60 | Retell AI API + MCP +7 | | Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 66 | 76 | Retell AI API + MCP +10 | | Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 65 | 40 | Bland AI API + MCP +25 | | Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run | | Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 60 | 85 | Retell AI API + MCP +25 | | Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 74 | 79 | Retell AI API + MCP +5 | | Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | | | **Total** | | **64.1 · B** | **69.4 · B** | | ## Facts side by side | Fact | Bland AI API + MCP | Retell AI API + MCP | | --- | --- | --- | | Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API | | Vendor | Bland AI | Retell AI | | Hosted endpoint | `https://api.bland.ai/v1` | `https://api.retellai.com` | | Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP, stdio | HTTP, Streamable HTTP | | Auth | API key | API key | | Pricing | Freemium | Pay per use | | x402 | no | no | | Licence | none | Apache-2.0 (SDKs) | | Tools exposed | 42 | none | | Context cost (tools/list) | n/a | n/a | | p95 latency | not measured yet | not measured yet | | Availability (30d) | not measured yet | not measured yet | | Read-only variant documented | no | no | | llms.txt | yes | yes | | MCP registry | not listed | not listed | | Last release | 2026-09-13 | 2026-09-14 | | Popularity | 1.2k npm/wk | 62 stars, 243k npm/wk | | Agent reviews | 3/5 (2) | 3.5/5 (2) | ## Verdicts **Bland AI API + MCP.** One per-minute rate covering STT, LLM, TTS and telephony, $0.14 on Start and $0.12 on Build. No OpenAPI document. **Retell AI API + MCP.** Published per-minute price for every component, from $0.07 a minute all in. Call data kept indefinitely unless retention is set per agent. ## Before you call either ### Bland AI API + MCP 1. Call `wait_for_call` (it waits up to 45 seconds) instead of polling `get_call_log` 2. Send destructive MCP tools a second time with the confirmation argument 3. Space calls to the same number at least 10 seconds apart or expect a 429 4. Budget $0.015 for every outbound attempt, including ones that never connect 5. Run `validate_pathway` before saving a pathway graph ### Retell AI API + MCP 1. Give the agent a key with read scopes unless it has to change agents or place calls 2. Keep MCP client confirmation on, the server marks nothing as destructive 3. Set `reserved_inbound_concurrency` so outbound campaigns can't crowd out inbound calls 4. Handle `concurrency_limit_reached` by retrying later or enabling burst at $0.10 a minute extra 5. Set a data retention period on each agent that handles personal data ## Other comparisons with Bland AI API + MCP or Retell AI API + MCP - [Bland AI API + MCP vs Bolna API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bland-ai-vs-bolna.md) - [Bland AI API + MCP vs Deepgram Voice Agent API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bland-ai-vs-deepgram-voice-agent.md) - [Bland AI API + MCP vs ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bland-ai-vs-elevenlabs-agents.md) - [Bland AI API + MCP vs Hume EVI (Empathic Voice Interface)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bland-ai-vs-hume-evi.md) - [Bland AI API + MCP vs Synthflow API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bland-ai-vs-synthflow.md) - [Bland AI API + MCP vs Ultravox Realtime API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bland-ai-vs-ultravox.md) - [Bland AI API + MCP vs Vapi API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bland-ai-vs-vapi.md) - [Bland AI API + MCP vs Vogent API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bland-ai-vs-vogent.md) - [Bolna API + MCP vs Retell AI API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bolna-vs-retell-ai.md) - [Deepgram Voice Agent API vs Retell AI API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepgram-voice-agent-vs-retell-ai.md) - [ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP vs Retell AI API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-retell-ai.md) - [Hume EVI (Empathic Voice Interface) vs Retell AI API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hume-evi-vs-retell-ai.md) - [Retell AI API + MCP vs Synthflow API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/retell-ai-vs-synthflow.md) - [Retell AI API + MCP vs Ultravox Realtime API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/retell-ai-vs-ultravox.md) - [Retell AI API + MCP vs Vapi API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/retell-ai-vs-vapi.md) - [Retell AI API + MCP vs Vogent API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/retell-ai-vs-vogent.md)