{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "elevenlabs-agents", "name": "ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP", "vendor": "ElevenLabs", "vendorUrl": "https://elevenlabs.io", "kind": "http-api", "category": "voice-agents", "summary": "ElevenAgents (formerly Conversational AI) runs hosted voice agents as a pipeline of a fine-tuned ElevenLabs ASR model, an LLM of your choice or your own, ElevenLabs TTS and a proprietary turn-taking model.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/elevenlabs-agents", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/elevenlabs-agents.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/elevenlabs-agents.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/elevenlabs-agents.json", "repo": "https://github.com/elevenlabs/packages", "license": "MIT (SDKs)", "transports": [ "http", "streamable-http" ], "remoteUrl": "https://api.elevenlabs.io/v1/convai", "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "@elevenlabs/client" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@elevenlabs/react" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "elevenlabs" } ], "auth": "mixed", "authNotes": "`xi-api-key` header for the management API. Public agents can be joined from a browser with just the agent ID. Private agents need a signed URL or conversation token minted server-side. The hosted MCP at `https://api.elevenlabs.io/v1/mcp` signs in with OAuth.", "pricing": "freemium", "pricingNotes": "Billed per call minute, separate from the credit pool. Free includes 15 minutes, Starter $6 75, Creator $22 275, Pro $99 1,238, Scale $299 3,738 and Business $990 12,375. Extra minutes cost $0.08, burst minutes above the concurrency cap $0.16, and text messages $0.003 each. LLM usage is billed on top at the model's rate, and your telephony provider bills you directly (https://elevenlabs.io/pricing/agents).", "priceSummary": "$22 / mo", "where": "hosted", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402 or machine payment in the docs or pricing (checked 2026-09-30).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": 114, "npmWeekly": 1231322, "pypiWeekly": 2223099, "asOf": "2026-09-30" }, "docsUrl": "https://elevenlabs.io/docs/eleven-agents/overview", "llmsTxt": "https://elevenlabs.io/docs/llms.txt", "openapi": "https://api.elevenlabs.io/openapi.json", "registryName": "io.elevenlabs/mcp", "capabilities": [ "voice.agent", "voice.pipeline", "voice.tools", "voice.telephony" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "freemium", "free-tier", "closed-source", "python", "typescript", "openapi", "llms-txt", "mcp", "pipeline", "webhooks", "enterprise" ], "lastRelease": "2026-09-29", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 71.3, "grade": "BB", "agentReady": true, "rank": 130, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 950, "categoryRank": 1, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 77, "maintenance": 85, "payments": 35, "reliability": 60, "schema": 92, "security": 76, "transparency": 77 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-01" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "API keys scoped to endpoint groups, with per-key credit limits and service accounts. $0.08 a minute excludes LLM tokens and carrier minutes.", "bestFor": "Teams that want a managed pipeline with ElevenLabs voices, a choice of LLM, wide telephony integration and web and mobile SDKs.", "strengths": [ "API keys scoped to endpoint groups, with per-key credit limits and service accounts", "Hosted MCP server that signs in with OAuth, with EU, India and Singapore endpoints", "Public OpenAPI, llms.txt and an errors page with codes, fixes and request IDs", "Per-agent retention in days and per-agent zero retention mode", "Weekly changelog entries and SDKs for Python, JavaScript and mobile" ], "weaknesses": [ "$0.08 a minute excludes LLM tokens and carrier minutes", "At least six incidents since July where agent calls failed or didn't start", "Conversation data kept 2 years by default", "Audit logs and HIPAA BAAs only on Enterprise", "No SLA on self-serve plans" ], "agentNotes": [ "Create a key scoped to the agents endpoints with a credit limit before handing it to an agent", "Back off exponentially on `rate_limit_exceeded`, and wait for calls to finish on `concurrent_limit_exceeded`", "Use signed URLs or conversation tokens for private agents instead of exposing the API key", "Set `platform_settings.privacy.retention_days` where you don't need 2 years of history", "Pick a low-latency LLM, the pipeline waits on it every turn" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 2, "avgRating": 3.5, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "BB", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 71.3 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 77, "maintenance": 85, "payments": 35, "reliability": 60, "schema": 92, "security": 76, "transparency": 65 }, "provenanceScore": 89 }, "connect": { "http": "curl -X POST https://api.elevenlabs.io/v1/convai/agents/create -H \"xi-api-key: $ELEVENLABS_API_KEY\" \\\n -H \"content-type: application/json\" \\\n -d '{\"conversation_config\":{\"agent\":{\"first_message\":\"Hi, how can I help?\",\"prompt\":{\"prompt\":\"You take restaurant bookings.\"}}}}'", "claudeCode": "claude mcp add --transport http elevenlabs https://api.elevenlabs.io/v1/mcp" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/voice.agent", "tool": "https://letme.dev/elevenlabs-agents" }, "sameCompany": [ "elevenlabs-music", "elevenlabs-scribe", "elevenlabs-tts", "elevenlabs-voice-cloning" ], "area": "voice", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Agent call", "unit": "call-minute", "usd": 0.08, "note": "platform fee only, LLM and carrier extra" }, { "item": "Burst call above concurrency", "unit": "call-minute", "usd": 0.16 }, { "item": "Text message", "unit": "message", "usd": 0.003 }, { "item": "Creator plan", "unit": "month", "usd": 22, "note": "275 call minutes, 10 concurrent calls" }, { "item": "Pro plan", "unit": "month", "usd": 99, "note": "1,238 call minutes, 20 concurrent calls" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Eleven Labs Inc.", "domain": "elevenlabs.io", "domainRegistered": "2021-12-15", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://elevenlabs.io/terms-of-use", "privacy": "https://elevenlabs.io/privacy-policy", "statusPage": "https://status.elevenlabs.io", "changelog": "https://elevenlabs.io/docs/changelog", "securityTxt": "valid", "checked": "2026-09-30", "score": 89 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/elevenlabs-agents.json", "live": { "slug": "elevenlabs-agents", "probe": { "target": "https://api.elevenlabs.io/v1/convai", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-10T03:53:26.297596189Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 404, "lastMs": 162, "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 151, "p95ms24h": 202, "samples24h": 249, "samples30d": 2476, "days": [ { "date": "2026-09-30", "probes": 35, "ok": 35 }, { "date": "2026-10-01", "probes": 276, "ok": 276 }, { "date": "2026-10-02", "probes": 248, "ok": 248 }, { "date": "2026-10-03", "probes": 271, "ok": 271 }, { "date": "2026-10-04", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-05", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-06", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-07", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-08", "probes": 268, "ok": 268 }, { "date": "2026-10-09", "probes": 250, "ok": 250 }, { "date": "2026-10-10", "probes": 40, "ok": 40 } ] }, "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.elevenlabs.io", "indicator": "none", "summary": "All Systems Operational", "checkedAt": "2026-10-10T03:58:16.855211749Z" }, "versions": [ { "registry": "github", "name": "elevenlabs/packages", "version": "@elevenlabs/client@1.27.0", "released": "2026-10-06", "seenAt": "2026-10-09T16:51:32.801693136Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@elevenlabs/client", "version": "1.27.0", "seenAt": "2026-10-09T16:51:30.362146334Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@elevenlabs/react", "version": "1.17.0", "seenAt": "2026-10-09T16:51:31.349420853Z" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "elevenlabs", "version": "2.71.0", "released": "2026-10-05", "seenAt": "2026-10-09T16:51:32.582483164Z" } ], "githubStars": 114, "npmWeekly": 1093550, "pypiWeekly": 2278971, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://elevenlabs.io/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "valid", "expires": "2027-10-06T00:00:00.000Z", "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T15:40:32.911327392Z" }, "llmsTxt": { "url": "https://elevenlabs.io/docs/llms.txt", "ok": true, "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T14:01:50.737294505Z" }, "domain": { "domain": "elevenlabs.io", "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T13:07:28.958673807Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://elevenlabs.io/docs/changelog", "kind": "changelog", "status": 304, "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T18:38:59.879961615Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-07T18:05:54.875142986Z", "fingerprint": "89eebf84baf9" }, { "url": "https://elevenlabs.io/pricing/agents", "kind": "pricing", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T18:39:05.9087218Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-02T15:20:53.807548529Z", "fingerprint": "95716cace61a" }, { "url": "https://elevenlabs.io/privacy-policy", "kind": "privacy", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T18:39:09.913317095Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "469dd3f024fd" }, { "url": "https://elevenlabs.io/terms-of-use", "kind": "terms", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T18:39:11.920532695Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-09T18:39:11.920532695Z", "fingerprint": "276ba5fd1f16" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-10T03:58:16.855211749Z" } }, "answer": "ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP scores 71.3 (BB) on agent readiness against OpenAI Realtime API's 63.3 (B), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. OpenAI Realtime API leads on reliability.", "b": { "slug": "openai-realtime", "name": "OpenAI Realtime API", "vendor": "OpenAI", "vendorUrl": "https://openai.com", "kind": "http-api", "category": "voice-agents", "summary": "OpenAI's Realtime API runs spoken conversations with speech-to-speech models such as `gpt-realtime-2.1`. Clients connect over WebRTC, WebSocket or SIP, and sessions support interruptions, function calling and remote MCP tools.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openai-realtime", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openai-realtime.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openai-realtime.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/openai-realtime.json", "repo": "https://github.com/openai/openai-agents-js", "license": "Proprietary service. The service terms on openai.com were not read. The Agents SDK for TypeScript and the OpenAPI description are MIT", "transports": [ "http" ], "remoteUrl": "https://api.openai.com/v1/realtime", "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "@openai/agents" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@openai/agents-realtime" } ], "auth": "api-key", "authNotes": "Self-serve API key from platform.openai.com, sent as a Bearer header on server WebSocket connections and call-control requests. For browsers and phones, a server calls `POST /v1/realtime/client_secrets` for a client secret (`ek_`) that lasts 10 seconds to 2 hours, 10 minutes by default, and can start several sessions until it expires. The browser WebSocket example passes the secret as a subprotocol. SIP calls are tied to a project by the project ID in the SIP address.", "pricing": "usage", "pricingNotes": "Per 1M tokens on `gpt-realtime-2.1`. Audio $32.00 in, $0.40 cached and $64.00 out, text $4.00 in and $24.00 out, image $5.00 in. `gpt-realtime-2.1-mini` is $10.00 and $20.00 for audio. Each response re-sends the whole conversation, and input transcription is billed separately. Usage tiers start at $5 of credit purchases. Whether the Free tier covers Realtime models was not established (https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/pricing.md, checked 2026-10-09).", "priceSummary": "Pay per use", "where": "hosted", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the Realtime guides, the pricing page or the OpenAPI file (checked 2026-10-09).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-09" }, "docsUrl": "https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/guides/realtime", "llmsTxt": "https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/llms.txt", "openapi": "https://github.com/openai/openai-openapi/blob/main/openapi.yaml", "capabilities": [ "voice.agent", "voice.speech-to-speech", "voice.tools", "voice.telephony" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "usage-priced", "closed-source", "speech-to-speech", "webrtc", "websocket", "sip", "streaming", "typescript", "python", "openapi", "llms-txt", "api-key", "function-calling", "mcp-client", "status-page" ], "lastRelease": "2026-07-28", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 63.3, "grade": "B", "agentReady": false, "rank": 400, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 950, "categoryRank": 7, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 76, "maintenance": 52, "payments": 20, "reliability": 67, "schema": 84, "security": 61, "transparency": 71 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "low", "date": "2026-10-09" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "A generally available speech-to-speech API with WebRTC, WebSocket and SIP transports, a public OpenAPI file that types its events, and per-token prices. Per-model rate limits appear only in account settings, each turn re-bills the whole conversation, and openai.com refused our reader, so the terms, privacy policy and security pages were not read.", "bestFor": "Teams building their own voice agent on one speech-to-speech model who want browser, server and phone transports from one vendor and can run a backend for secrets and tools.", "strengths": [ "The OpenAPI 3.1 file in `openai/openai-openapi` covers nine Realtime paths and types 13 client events and 48 server events as schemas.", "Browser clients use client secrets that expire after 10 seconds to 2 hours, 10 minutes by default, so the API key stays on a server.", "Remote MCP tools accept an `allowed_tools` list, and `require_approval` defaults to `always` in the OpenAPI file.", "SIP calls connect at `sip.api.openai.com` with accept, reject, refer and hangup endpoints and a signed incoming-call webhook.", "The data controls page lists `/v1/realtime` with no training use, 30-day abuse logs, no stored application state and Zero Data Retention eligibility." ], "weaknesses": [ "openai.com answered 403 to our reader, so the service terms, privacy policy, sub-processor list and security pages were not read.", "Realtime rate limits are shown only in account settings. The public table gives numbers for GPT-6 model families only.", "Every response re-sends the whole conversation, so later turns cost more. Audio is $32 in and $64 out per 1M tokens on `gpt-realtime-2.1`.", "The status feed names Realtime among affected components in five incidents between 24 July and 6 October 2026, with durations not shown in the feed.", "Session settings attached to a client secret can be overridden by the client connection, per the client secret reference." ], "agentNotes": [ "Create a client secret on a server with `POST /v1/realtime/client_secrets` and give browsers only the `ek_` value. Never ship the API key.", "After a response with MCP calls finishes, send another `response.create`. The API does not create the follow-up response itself.", "Set `truncation` with a `retention_ratio` below 1 and `token_limits.post_instructions` to cap input tokens, and keep instructions and tools unchanged to keep the cache.", "On a WebSocket, stop playback on `input_audio_buffer.speech_started` and send `conversation.item.truncate` with `audio_end_ms`. WebRTC and SIP truncate on the server.", "Use `gpt-realtime-2.1` or `gpt-realtime-2.1-mini`. `gpt-realtime` and `gpt-realtime-mini` shut down on 20 January 2027." ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "low", "grade": "B", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 63.3 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 76, "maintenance": 52, "payments": 20, "reliability": 67, "schema": 84, "security": 61, "transparency": 58 }, "provenanceScore": 84 }, "connect": { "install": "npm install @openai/agents", "http": "curl -X POST https://api.openai.com/v1/realtime/client_secrets \\\n -H \"Authorization: Bearer $OPENAI_API_KEY\" -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" \\\n -d '{\"session\": {\"type\": \"realtime\", \"model\": \"gpt-realtime-2.1\"}}'" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/voice.agent", "tool": "https://letme.dev/openai-realtime" }, "sameCompany": [ "openai-api", "openai-embeddings", "openai-guardrails", "openai-moderation", "openai-image-api", "openai-sora", "openai-speech-to-text", "openai-agents-sdk", "openai-decisions-api", "openai-codex" ], "area": "voice", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "gpt-realtime-2.1 audio input", "unit": "1m-tokens", "usd": 32, "note": "$0.40 cached. 1 token per 100 ms of user audio, about $0.019 a minute before caching" }, { "item": "gpt-realtime-2.1 audio output", "unit": "1m-tokens", "usd": 64, "note": "1 token per 50 ms of assistant audio, about $0.077 a minute" }, { "item": "gpt-realtime-2.1 text input", "unit": "1m-tokens", "usd": 4, "note": "$0.40 cached" }, { "item": "gpt-realtime-2.1 text output", "unit": "1m-tokens", "usd": 24 }, { "item": "gpt-realtime-2.1-mini audio input", "unit": "1m-tokens", "usd": 10, "note": "$0.30 cached" }, { "item": "gpt-realtime-2.1-mini audio output", "unit": "1m-tokens", "usd": 20 } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "OpenAI", "domain": "openai.com", "domainRegistered": "2007-01-19", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://openai.com/policies/services-agreement/", "privacy": "https://openai.com/policies/privacy-policy/", "statusPage": "https://status.openai.com", "changelog": "https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/changelog", "securityTxt": "unknown", "checked": "2026-10-09", "notes": [ "The API, WebRTC and SIP endpoints are on api.openai.com and sip.api.openai.com. The docs are on developers.openai.com.", "RDAP for openai.com gives a registration date of 2007-01-19.", "The legal entity was not read. The SDK licence file says Copyright (c) 2025 OpenAI.", "robots.txt answered 200 on developers.openai.com and openai.com, allowing the pages read, and 404 on status.openai.com, which means no rules.", "openai.com answered our researcher with a bot check on 9 October 2026, so the terms and privacy policy were not read on that day. The links are the two documents OpenAI's other listings here carry. openai.com answers our policy reader with HTTP 403 as well, so neither document has been read and both are recorded as unreadable." ], "score": 84 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openai-realtime.json", "live": { "slug": "openai-realtime", "probe": { "target": "https://api.openai.com/v1/realtime", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-10T03:53:36.846326361Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 405, "lastMs": 159, "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 153, "p95ms24h": 201, "samples24h": 125, "samples30d": 125, "days": [ { "date": "2026-10-09", "probes": 85, "ok": 85 }, { "date": "2026-10-10", "probes": 40, "ok": 40 } ] }, "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.openai.com", "indicator": "minor", "summary": "Partial System Degradation", "checkedAt": "2026-10-10T03:58:36.458994883Z" }, "versions": [ { "registry": "github", "name": "openai/openai-agents-js", "version": "@openai/agents-extensions@0.20.0", "released": "2026-10-08", "seenAt": "2026-10-09T17:10:29.452928495Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@openai/agents", "version": "0.20.0", "seenAt": "2026-10-09T17:10:27.202909251Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@openai/agents-realtime", "version": "0.20.0", "seenAt": "2026-10-09T17:10:27.531105633Z" } ], "githubStars": 3903, "npmWeekly": 2125326, "pages": [ { "url": "https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/pricing.md", "kind": "pricing", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T18:36:10.419663305Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "742c4d3c6b71" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-10T03:58:36.458994883Z" } }, "facts": [ { "a": "HTTP API", "b": "HTTP API", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "ElevenLabs", "b": "OpenAI", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "https://api.elevenlabs.io/v1/convai", "b": "https://api.openai.com/v1/realtime", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "HTTP, Streamable HTTP", "b": "HTTP", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "OAuth or key", "b": "API key", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Freemium", "b": "Pay per use", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "$0.08 per minute of call", "b": "not published", "name": "Price for voice agents" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "MIT (SDKs)", "b": "Proprietary service. The service terms on openai.com were not read. The Agents SDK for TypeScript and the OpenAPI description are MIT", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "yes", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "io.elevenlabs/mcp", "b": "not listed", "name": "MCP registry" }, { "a": "2026-09-29", "b": "2026-07-28", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "2026-03-31", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "2026-05-20", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "yes, with an opt-out", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "114 stars, 1.2M npm/wk, 2.2M PyPI/wk", "b": "none", "name": "Popularity" }, { "a": "3.5/5 (2)", "b": "none", "name": "Agent reviews" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP scores 71.3 (BB) on agent readiness against OpenAI Realtime API's 63.3 (B), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. OpenAI Realtime API leads on reliability.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP or OpenAI Realtime API?" }, { "answer": "ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in. OpenAI Realtime API needs an API key.", "question": "Do ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP and OpenAI Realtime API need an API key?" }, { "answer": "Yes. ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP has a hosted endpoint at https://api.elevenlabs.io/v1/convai and OpenAI Realtime API at https://api.openai.com/v1/realtime.", "question": "Can an agent call ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP and OpenAI Realtime API without installing anything?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Schema \u0026 documentation, 92 against 84", "Security \u0026 auth, 76 against 61", "Payments \u0026 pricing, 35 against 20", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 85 against 52", "Transparency \u0026 trust, 77 against 71" ], "also": [ "Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better" ], "goodFor": "Teams that want a managed pipeline with ElevenLabs voices, a choice of LLM, wide telephony integration and web and mobile SDKs.", "slug": "elevenlabs-agents", "watchFor": "$0.08 a minute excludes LLM tokens and carrier minutes" }, { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 67 against 60" ], "also": null, "goodFor": "Teams building their own voice agent on one speech-to-speech model who want browser, server and phone transports from one vendor and can run a backend for secrets and tools.", "slug": "openai-realtime", "watchFor": "openai.com answered 403 to our reader, so the service terms, privacy policy, sub-processor list and security pages were not read." } ], "job": { "capability": "voice.agent", "name": "Voice agents" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-voice-agent-vs-elevenlabs-agents.json", "title": "AssemblyAI Voice Agent API vs ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-voice-agent-vs-elevenlabs-agents" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-voice-agent-vs-openai-realtime.json", "title": "AssemblyAI Voice Agent API vs OpenAI Realtime API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-voice-agent-vs-openai-realtime" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bland-ai-vs-elevenlabs-agents.json", "title": "Bland AI API + MCP vs ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bland-ai-vs-elevenlabs-agents" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bland-ai-vs-openai-realtime.json", "title": "Bland AI API + MCP vs OpenAI Realtime API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bland-ai-vs-openai-realtime" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bolna-vs-elevenlabs-agents.json", "title": "Bolna API + MCP vs ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bolna-vs-elevenlabs-agents" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bolna-vs-openai-realtime.json", "title": "Bolna API + MCP vs OpenAI Realtime API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bolna-vs-openai-realtime" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepgram-voice-agent-vs-elevenlabs-agents.json", "title": "Deepgram Voice Agent API vs ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepgram-voice-agent-vs-elevenlabs-agents" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepgram-voice-agent-vs-openai-realtime.json", "title": "Deepgram Voice Agent API vs OpenAI Realtime API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepgram-voice-agent-vs-openai-realtime" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-gemini-live.json", "title": "ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP vs Gemini Live API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-gemini-live" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-hume-evi.json", "title": "ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP vs Hume EVI (Empathic Voice Interface)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-hume-evi" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-retell-ai.json", "title": "ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP vs Retell AI API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-retell-ai" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-synthflow.json", "title": "ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP vs Synthflow API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-synthflow" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-ultravox.json", "title": "ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP vs Ultravox Realtime API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-ultravox" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-vapi.json", "title": "ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP vs Vapi API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-vapi" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-vocily.json", "title": "ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP vs Vocily AI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-vocily" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-vogent.json", "title": "ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP vs Vogent API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-vogent" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-live-vs-openai-realtime.json", "title": "Gemini Live API vs OpenAI Realtime API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-live-vs-openai-realtime" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hume-evi-vs-openai-realtime.json", "title": "Hume EVI (Empathic Voice Interface) vs OpenAI Realtime API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hume-evi-vs-openai-realtime" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-realtime-vs-retell-ai.json", "title": "OpenAI Realtime API vs Retell AI API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-realtime-vs-retell-ai" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-realtime-vs-synthflow.json", "title": "OpenAI Realtime API vs Synthflow API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-realtime-vs-synthflow" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-realtime-vs-ultravox.json", "title": "OpenAI Realtime API vs Ultravox Realtime API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-realtime-vs-ultravox" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-realtime-vs-vapi.json", "title": "OpenAI Realtime API vs Vapi API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-realtime-vs-vapi" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-realtime-vs-vocily.json", "title": "OpenAI Realtime API vs Vocily AI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-realtime-vs-vocily" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-realtime-vs-vogent.json", "title": "OpenAI Realtime API vs Vogent API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-realtime-vs-vogent" } ], "scores": [ { "by": 7, "edge": "openai-realtime", "elevenlabs-agents": 60, "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "openai-realtime": 67, "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 8, "edge": "elevenlabs-agents", "elevenlabs-agents": 92, "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "openai-realtime": 84, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 1, "edge": "elevenlabs-agents", "elevenlabs-agents": 77, "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "openai-realtime": 76, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 15, "edge": "elevenlabs-agents", "elevenlabs-agents": 76, "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "openai-realtime": 61, "weight": 14 }, { "by": 15, "edge": "elevenlabs-agents", "elevenlabs-agents": 35, "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "openai-realtime": 20, "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 33, "edge": "elevenlabs-agents", "elevenlabs-agents": 85, "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "openai-realtime": 52, "weight": 7 }, { "by": 6, "edge": "elevenlabs-agents", "elevenlabs-agents": 77, "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "openai-realtime": 71, "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP scores 71.3 (BB) on agent readiness against OpenAI Realtime API's 63.3 (B), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. OpenAI Realtime API leads on reliability. Both do voice agents.", "verdicts": { "elevenlabs-agents": "API keys scoped to endpoint groups, with per-key credit limits and service accounts. $0.08 a minute excludes LLM tokens and carrier minutes.", "openai-realtime": "A generally available speech-to-speech API with WebRTC, WebSocket and SIP transports, a public OpenAPI file that types its events, and per-token prices. Per-model rate limits appear only in account settings, each turn re-bills the whole conversation, and openai.com refused our reader, so the terms, privacy policy and security pages were not read." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-openai-realtime", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-openai-realtime.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-openai-realtime.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-openai-realtime.min.md" }, "markdown": "ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP scores 71.3 (BB) on agent readiness against OpenAI Realtime API's 63.3 (B), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. OpenAI Realtime API leads on reliability. Both do voice agents.\n\n- ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP: grade BB, 71.3/100, rank #130 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/elevenlabs-agents.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/elevenlabs-agents.json\n- OpenAI Realtime API: grade B, 63.3/100, rank #400 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openai-realtime.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/openai-realtime.json\n- Best conversational voice-agent APIs: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/voice-agents/index.md\n- All 91 voice agents comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/voice-agents/index.md\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP (BB)\n\nGood for: Teams that want a managed pipeline with ElevenLabs voices, a choice of LLM, wide telephony integration and web and mobile SDKs.\n\nAhead on:\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 92 against 84\n- Security \u0026 auth, 76 against 61\n- Payments \u0026 pricing, 35 against 20\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 85 against 52\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 77 against 71\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better\n\nWatch for: $0.08 a minute excludes LLM tokens and carrier minutes\n\n### OpenAI Realtime API (B)\n\nGood for: Teams building their own voice agent on one speech-to-speech model who want browser, server and phone transports from one vendor and can run a backend for secrets and tools.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 67 against 60\n\nWatch for: openai.com answered 403 to our reader, so the service terms, privacy policy, sub-processor list and security pages were not read.\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP | OpenAI Realtime API | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 60 | 67 | OpenAI Realtime API +7 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 92 | 84 | ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP +8 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 77 | 76 | ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP +1 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 76 | 61 | ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP +15 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 35 | 20 | ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP +15 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 85 | 52 | ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP +33 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 77 | 71 | ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP +6 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |\n| **Total** | | **71.3 · BB** | **63.3 · B** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP | OpenAI Realtime API |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |\n| Vendor | ElevenLabs | OpenAI |\n| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.elevenlabs.io/v1/convai` | `https://api.openai.com/v1/realtime` |\n| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP | HTTP |\n| Auth | OAuth or key | API key |\n| Pricing | Freemium | Pay per use |\n| Price for voice agents | $0.08 per minute of call | not published |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | MIT (SDKs) | Proprietary service. The service terms on openai.com were not read. The Agents SDK for TypeScript and the OpenAPI description are MIT |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | yes | yes |\n| MCP registry | `io.elevenlabs/mcp` | not listed |\n| Last release | 2026-09-29 | 2026-07-28 |\n| Terms last updated | 2026-03-31 | couldn't be read |\n| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-05-20 | couldn't be read |\n| Customer content may train models | yes, with an opt-out | couldn't be read |\n| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | couldn't be read |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | couldn't be read |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | couldn't be read |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | couldn't be read |\n| Popularity | 114 stars, 1.2M npm/wk, 2.2M PyPI/wk | none |\n| Agent reviews | 3.5/5 (2) | none |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**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.\n\n**OpenAI Realtime API.** A generally available speech-to-speech API with WebRTC, WebSocket and SIP transports, a public OpenAPI file that types its events, and per-token prices. Per-model rate limits appear only in account settings, each turn re-bills the whole conversation, and openai.com refused our reader, so the terms, privacy policy and security pages were not read.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP\n\n1. Create a key scoped to the agents endpoints with a credit limit before handing it to an agent\n2. Back off exponentially on `rate_limit_exceeded`, and wait for calls to finish on `concurrent_limit_exceeded`\n3. Use signed URLs or conversation tokens for private agents instead of exposing the API key\n4. Set `platform_settings.privacy.retention_days` where you don't need 2 years of history\n5. Pick a low-latency LLM, the pipeline waits on it every turn\n\n### OpenAI Realtime API\n\n1. Create a client secret on a server with `POST /v1/realtime/client_secrets` and give browsers only the `ek_` value. Never ship the API key.\n2. After a response with MCP calls finishes, send another `response.create`. The API does not create the follow-up response itself.\n3. Set `truncation` with a `retention_ratio` below 1 and `token_limits.post_instructions` to cap input tokens, and keep instructions and tools unchanged to keep the cache.\n4. On a WebSocket, stop playback on `input_audio_buffer.speech_started` and send `conversation.item.truncate` with `audio_end_ms`. WebRTC and SIP truncate on the server.\n5. Use `gpt-realtime-2.1` or `gpt-realtime-2.1-mini`. `gpt-realtime` and `gpt-realtime-mini` shut down on 20 January 2027.\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP or OpenAI Realtime API?\n\nElevenLabs Agents API + MCP scores 71.3 (BB) on agent readiness against OpenAI Realtime API's 63.3 (B), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. OpenAI Realtime API leads on reliability.\n\n### Do ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP and OpenAI Realtime API need an API key?\n\nElevenLabs Agents API + MCP takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in. OpenAI Realtime API needs an API key.\n\n### Can an agent call ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP and OpenAI Realtime API without installing anything?\n\nYes. ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP has a hosted endpoint at https://api.elevenlabs.io/v1/convai and OpenAI Realtime API at https://api.openai.com/v1/realtime.\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-openai-realtime.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-openai-realtime.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"elevenlabs-agents\", \"b\": \"openai-realtime\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare elevenlabs-agents openai-realtime`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/elevenlabs-agents.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/openai-realtime.json\n\n## Other comparisons with ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP or OpenAI Realtime API\n\n- [AssemblyAI Voice Agent API vs ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-voice-agent-vs-elevenlabs-agents.md)\n- [AssemblyAI Voice Agent API vs OpenAI Realtime API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-voice-agent-vs-openai-realtime.md)\n- [Bland AI API + MCP vs ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bland-ai-vs-elevenlabs-agents.md)\n- [Bland AI API + MCP vs OpenAI Realtime API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bland-ai-vs-openai-realtime.md)\n- [Bolna API + MCP vs ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bolna-vs-elevenlabs-agents.md)\n- [Bolna API + MCP vs OpenAI Realtime API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bolna-vs-openai-realtime.md)\n- [Deepgram Voice Agent API vs ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepgram-voice-agent-vs-elevenlabs-agents.md)\n- [Deepgram Voice Agent API vs OpenAI Realtime API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepgram-voice-agent-vs-openai-realtime.md)\n- [ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP vs Gemini Live API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-gemini-live.md)\n- [ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP vs Hume EVI (Empathic Voice Interface)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-hume-evi.md)\n- [ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP vs Retell AI API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-retell-ai.md)\n- [ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP vs Synthflow API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-synthflow.md)\n- [ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP vs Ultravox Realtime API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-ultravox.md)\n- [ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP vs Vapi API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-vapi.md)\n- [ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP vs Vocily AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-vocily.md)\n- [ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP vs Vogent API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-vogent.md)\n- [Gemini Live API vs OpenAI Realtime API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-live-vs-openai-realtime.md)\n- [Hume EVI (Empathic Voice Interface) vs OpenAI Realtime API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hume-evi-vs-openai-realtime.md)\n- [OpenAI Realtime API vs Retell AI API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-realtime-vs-retell-ai.md)\n- [OpenAI Realtime API vs Synthflow API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-realtime-vs-synthflow.md)\n- [OpenAI Realtime API vs Ultravox Realtime API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-realtime-vs-ultravox.md)\n- [OpenAI Realtime API vs Vapi API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-realtime-vs-vapi.md)\n- [OpenAI Realtime API vs Vocily AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-realtime-vs-vocily.md)\n- [OpenAI Realtime API vs Vogent API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-realtime-vs-vogent.md)\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-10-10", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "method": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/", "methodology": "0.4", "openapi": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/openapi.json", "preview": false, "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run" }, "page": { "breadcrumbs": [ { "name": "Home", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/" }, { "name": "Compare", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/" }, { "name": "ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP vs OpenAI Realtime API", "url": "" } ], "description": "ElevenLabs Agents scores 71.3 (BB) to OpenAI Realtime's 63.3 (B) for voice agents. 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