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Newo vs Retell AI

Two fact sheets from our own research, side by side — pricing, platforms, API access and status re-checked by us rather than quoted from the vendors. Newo starts at $299, Retell AI at $0.07. Both have a free tier. Only Retell AI ships a public API.

NewoAI phone and chat receptionist that books appointments and answers calls across 60+ languages, 24/7.Retell AIBuild and run AI phone agents that book, qualify and transfer calls, billed by the minute.

Side by side

FactNewoRetell AI
CategoryVoice Agents & Phone AIVoice Agents & Phone AI
Pricing modelFreemiumFreemium
Starts at$299 month$0.07 minute
Public APINoYes
PlatformsWebWeb, API
CompanyNewoRetell AI Inc.
Launched20232023
Last verifiedSep 1, 2026Sep 6, 2026

What our research says

Newo

Newo packages phone and chat reception into one AI agent for businesses that live and die by missed calls -- dental offices, HVAC, salons -- with real appointment-booking integrations rather than just a chat widget. The metered pay-as-you-go pricing means cost scales with call volume, which is fair but makes the bill harder to predict than a flat seat-based tool.

Pros

  • Handles phone calls in addition to chat, not just a website widget
  • Claims sub-3-second pickup and unlimited simultaneous conversations
  • 60+ languages with mid-conversation switching
  • 25+ pre-built integrations with scheduling, CRM, and payment tools

Cons

  • Pay-as-you-go pricing makes monthly cost variable and harder to predict
  • No public developer API confirmed beyond the listed pre-built connectors
  • Company founding and headquarters details come from third-party sources, not the site itself

Retell AI

One of the more honest voice-agent stacks: the pricing page breaks out infrastructure, TTS and LLM cost per minute so you can predict a call's cost instead of guessing. Telephony choice is wide and the concurrency allowance is generous. The catch is that per-minute billing plus add-ons makes a busy contact centre expensive fast, and the cheap end of the range only holds if you pick the cheap models.

Pros

  • Per-minute cost broken down by voice infrastructure, TTS provider and LLM on the public pricing page
  • Telephony via SIP trunking, Twilio and Vonage plus n8n, HubSpot, Make and Go High Level integrations
  • 20 concurrent calls included before any concurrency charge
  • Voice, chat and SMS agents share one platform and API
  • HIPAA path exists via a signed BAA covered in the terms of service

Cons

  • Cost per minute more than quadruples between the cheapest and most capable model combinations
  • Knowledge base, denoising, PII removal and branded caller ID are all metered extras
  • No flat-rate plan, so a spike in call volume lands straight on the invoice

Which one fits

Choose Newo if you need

  • Appointment-driven local businesses (dental, HVAC, fitness, salons) wanting after-hours call coverage
  • Businesses wanting one AI agent across phone, SMS, and social DMs
  • Teams that want to keep their existing business phone number

Choose Retell AI if you need

  • Teams replacing an outbound qualification or booking script
  • Contact centres that already have Twilio, Vonage or SIP trunking
  • Developers who want per-minute cost visibility before launch

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