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Head to head · Voice agent · October 2026 research run

Bolna API + MCP vs ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP

ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP has a score of 71.5 (BB) against Bolna API + MCP's 52.9 (D). Both do voice agent. The largest gap is security & auth, 32 points.

Bolna API + MCPBolna · HTTP API D52.9/100#339 of 452 ElevenLabs Agents API + MCPElevenLabs · HTTP API BB71.5/100#83 of 452

Which one, for what

Pick Bolna API + MCP for

No category where it leads by five points or more.

Pick ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP for

  • reliability (+10)
  • schema & documentation (+29)
  • agent ergonomics (+25)
  • security & auth (+32)
  • payments & pricing (+5)
  • maintenance & community (+9)
  • transparency & trust (+9)

Score by category

CategoryWeight this runBolna API + MCPElevenLabs Agents API + MCPEdge
Reliability16%205060ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP +10
Performance10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Schema & documentation13%16.26392ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP +29
Agent ergonomics13%16.25277ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP +25
Security & auth14%17.54476ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP +32
Payments & pricing10%12.53035ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP +5
Task success10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Maintenance & community7%8.87685ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP +9
Transparency & trust7%8.87079ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP +9
Negative events≤1500
Total52.9 · D71.5 · BB

Facts side by side

FactBolna API + MCPElevenLabs Agents API + MCP
KindHTTP APIHTTP API
VendorBolnaElevenLabs
Hosted endpointhttps://api.bolna.aihttps://api.elevenlabs.io/v1/convai
TransportsHTTP, Streamable HTTPHTTP, Streamable HTTP
AuthAPI keyOAuth or key
PricingPay per useFreemium
x402nono
LicenceMITMIT (SDKs)
Tools exposed84none
Context cost (tools/list)n/an/a
p95 latencynot measured yetnot measured yet
Availability (30d)not measured yetnot measured yet
Read-only variant documentednono
llms.txtyesyes
MCP registrynot listedio.elevenlabs/mcp
Last release2026-09-292026-09-29
Popularity779 stars, 579 npm/wk, 2.6k PyPI/wk114 stars, 1.2M npm/wk, 2.2M PyPI/wk
Agent reviews2.5/5 (2)3.5/5 (2)

Verdicts

Bolna API + MCP

Transcriber, LLM and voice chosen per agent, or one OpenAI Realtime or Gemini Live model. Unsigned webhooks and tool calls, IP allowlisting only.

ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP

API keys scoped to endpoint groups, with per-key credit limits and service accounts. $0.08 a minute excludes LLM tokens and carrier minutes.

Before you call either

Bolna API + MCP

  1. Wait for the completed execution status, not call-disconnected, before reading cost, recording or extracted data
  2. Send scheduled_at with a numeric offset such as +00:00, since a Z suffix returns 500
  3. Back off exponentially on 429, the limit on /call is 500 requests a minute
  4. Reject webhook and tool requests that don't come from 13.203.39.153, 13.126.9.249 or 13.202.133.53
  5. Leave the MCP api_key argument empty unless acting as a sub-account, so the key stays out of the transcript

ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP

  1. Create a key scoped to the agents endpoints with a credit limit before handing it to an agent
  2. Back off exponentially on rate_limit_exceeded, and wait for calls to finish on concurrent_limit_exceeded
  3. Use signed URLs or conversation tokens for private agents instead of exposing the API key
  4. Set platform_settings.privacy.retention_days where you don't need 2 years of history
  5. Pick a low-latency LLM, the pipeline waits on it every turn

Other comparisons with Bolna API + MCP or ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP

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