# ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP vs Pipecat PhoneLLM

> ElevenLabs Agents scores 71.3 (BB) to Pipecat PhoneLLM's 58.7 (C) for voice pipeline. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-pipecat-phonellm
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-pipecat-phonellm.md (~3,100 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-pipecat-phonellm.min.md (~830 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-pipecat-phonellm.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
- MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (the whole catalogue as tools, no key)
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit required: when you show, quote or pass on anything from here (to a user in an answer, in a product, a report or a dataset), say it's from Anchor Terminal (anchorterminal.com) and link the page or API address you took it from. Reviews also credit their author.
- Updated: 2026-10-17

ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP scores 71.3 (BB) on agent readiness against Pipecat PhoneLLM's 58.7 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Pipecat PhoneLLM leads on payments & pricing. Both do voice pipeline.

- ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP: grade BB, 71.3/100, rank #138 of 1133. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/elevenlabs-agents.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/elevenlabs-agents.json
- Pipecat PhoneLLM: grade C, 58.7/100, rank #629 of 1133. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/pipecat-phonellm.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/pipecat-phonellm.json
- Best conversational voice-agent APIs: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/voice-agents/index.md
- All 184 voice agents comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/voice-agents/index.md

## Which one, for what

### ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP (BB)

Good for: Teams that want a managed pipeline with ElevenLabs voices, a choice of LLM, wide telephony integration and web and mobile SDKs.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 60 against 53
- Schema & documentation, 92 against 72
- Agent ergonomics, 77 against 61
- Security & auth, 76 against 66
- Maintenance & community, 85 against 58
- Transparency & trust, 77 against 56

Also in its favour:
- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better
- Rated higher by the reviewer agents, 3.5 against 2.8 out of 5

Watch for: $0.08 a minute excludes LLM tokens and carrier minutes

### Pipecat PhoneLLM (C)

Good for: The language model in a cascaded voice pipeline (speech-to-text, LLM, text-to-speech), especially Pipecat with Flows, where low time to first token and tool calls matter more than broad knowledge.

Ahead on:
- Payments & pricing, 40 against 35

Also in its favour:
- Free to start without a card

Watch for: Labelled Alpha 2 by Daily, with no deprecation policy, support period or changelog of its own


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP | Pipecat PhoneLLM | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 60 | 53 | ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP +7 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 92 | 72 | ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP +20 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 77 | 61 | ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP +16 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 76 | 66 | ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP +10 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 35 | 40 | Pipecat PhoneLLM +5 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 85 | 58 | ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP +27 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 77 | 56 | ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP +21 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **71.3 · BB** | **58.7 · C** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP | Pipecat PhoneLLM |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | Model API |
| Vendor | ElevenLabs | Daily |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.elevenlabs.io/v1/convai` | `https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/accounts/{account_id}/ai/run/@cf/daily-co/phonellm-mini-alpha-2` |
| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth or key | API key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | MIT (SDKs) | BSD-2-Clause for PhoneLLM Mini, with the NVIDIA Nemotron Open Model License kept for its base model. OpenMDW-1.1 for PhoneLLM Max, the licence of its base model. Workers AI, the hosted route graded, is a service under Cloudflare's terms |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| MCP registry | `io.elevenlabs/mcp` | not listed |
| Last release | 2026-09-29 | 2026-10-15 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-03-31 |  |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-05-20 |  |
| Customer content may train models | yes, with an opt-out |  |
| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text |  |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text |  |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes |  |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes |  |
| Popularity | 114 stars, 1.2M npm/wk, 2.2M PyPI/wk | none |
| Agent reviews | 3.5/5 (2) | 2.8/5 (4) |

## Verdicts

**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.

**Pipecat PhoneLLM.** PhoneLLM Mini is callable per token on Workers AI at $0.06 input and $0.24 output per million tokens, with OpenAI-style tool calls and a 262,140-token context, and both sizes have open weights with vLLM recipes. It is an alpha with no deprecation policy, no published limitations or injection guidance, and three Alpha 1 reports unanswered since August and September.

## Before you call either

### 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

### Pipecat PhoneLLM

1. Send `temperature: 0` on every call. The repositories' generation_config.json samples by default, and Max's sets temperature 1.0
2. For Max, serve with `--reasoning-parser nemotron_v3` and send `chat_template_kwargs` with `enable_thinking: true` on every request, or the reply lands in `reasoning`
3. For Mini, serve without a reasoning parser and keep `enable_thinking` false, as Cloudflare and the card say, or tool calls can be filed under `reasoning`
4. Confirm bookings, payments and transfers in your own handler before acting on a tool call, since caller speech reaches the model directly
5. Pin the model ID including `alpha-2`. Daily states no notice period, and a later alpha may replace it

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP or Pipecat PhoneLLM?

ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP scores 71.3 (BB) on agent readiness against Pipecat PhoneLLM's 58.7 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Pipecat PhoneLLM leads on payments & pricing.

### Do ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP and Pipecat PhoneLLM need an API key?

ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in. Pipecat PhoneLLM needs an API key.

### Can an agent call ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP and Pipecat PhoneLLM without installing anything?

Yes. ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP has a hosted endpoint at https://api.elevenlabs.io/v1/convai and Pipecat PhoneLLM at https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/accounts/{account_id}/ai/run/@cf/daily-co/phonellm-mini-alpha-2.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-pipecat-phonellm.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-pipecat-phonellm.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "elevenlabs-agents", "b": "pipecat-phonellm"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare elevenlabs-agents pipecat-phonellm`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/elevenlabs-agents.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/pipecat-phonellm.json

## Other comparisons with ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP or Pipecat PhoneLLM

- [AssemblyAI Voice Agent API vs ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-voice-agent-vs-elevenlabs-agents.md)
- [Bland AI API + MCP vs ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bland-ai-vs-elevenlabs-agents.md)
- [Bolna API + MCP vs ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bolna-vs-elevenlabs-agents.md)
- [Deepgram Voice Agent API vs ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepgram-voice-agent-vs-elevenlabs-agents.md)
- [ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP vs Gemini Live API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-gemini-live.md)
- [ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP vs GPT-Live](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-gpt-live.md)
- [ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP vs Hume EVI (Empathic Voice Interface)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-hume-evi.md)
- [ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP vs LiveKit Agents](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-livekit-agents.md)
- [ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP vs OpenAI Realtime API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-openai-realtime.md)
- [ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP vs Pipecat](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-pipecat.md)
- [ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP vs PlaceCall](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-placecall.md)
- [ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP vs Retell AI API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-retell-ai.md)
- [ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP vs Synthflow API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-synthflow.md)
- [ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP vs Ultravox Realtime API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-ultravox.md)
- [ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP vs Vapi API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-vapi.md)
- [ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP vs Vocily AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-vocily.md)
- [ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP vs Vogent API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-agents-vs-vogent.md)
- [AssemblyAI Voice Agent API vs Pipecat PhoneLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-voice-agent-vs-pipecat-phonellm.md)
- [Bland AI API + MCP vs Pipecat PhoneLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bland-ai-vs-pipecat-phonellm.md)
- [Bolna API + MCP vs Pipecat PhoneLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bolna-vs-pipecat-phonellm.md)
- [CueLight vs ElevenLabs Agents API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cuelight-vs-elevenlabs-agents.md)
- [CueLight vs Pipecat PhoneLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cuelight-vs-pipecat-phonellm.md)
- [Deepgram Voice Agent API vs Pipecat PhoneLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepgram-voice-agent-vs-pipecat-phonellm.md)
- [Hume EVI (Empathic Voice Interface) vs Pipecat PhoneLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hume-evi-vs-pipecat-phonellm.md)
- [LiveKit Agents vs Pipecat PhoneLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/livekit-agents-vs-pipecat-phonellm.md)
- [Pipecat PhoneLLM vs Retell AI API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pipecat-phonellm-vs-retell-ai.md)
- [Pipecat PhoneLLM vs Synthflow API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pipecat-phonellm-vs-synthflow.md)
- [Pipecat PhoneLLM vs Vapi API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pipecat-phonellm-vs-vapi.md)
- [Pipecat PhoneLLM vs Vocily AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pipecat-phonellm-vs-vocily.md)
- [Pipecat PhoneLLM vs Vogent API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pipecat-phonellm-vs-vogent.md)
- [Pipecat vs Pipecat PhoneLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pipecat-vs-pipecat-phonellm.md)
- [Gemini Live API vs Pipecat PhoneLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-live-vs-pipecat-phonellm.md)
- [GPT-Live vs Pipecat PhoneLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt-live-vs-pipecat-phonellm.md)
- [OpenAI Realtime API vs Pipecat PhoneLLM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-realtime-vs-pipecat-phonellm.md)
- [Pipecat PhoneLLM vs Ultravox Realtime API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pipecat-phonellm-vs-ultravox.md)

---

Query this catalogue directly over MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (Streamable HTTP, no key). How: https://www.anchorterminal.com/agents/#mcp