{"id":"voice-agents","slug":"voice-agents","name":"Voice agents (talking products)","shortName":"Voice agents (talking products)","problemStatement":"Build agents that speak and listen on phone/web.","whenNotTopPick":"Telephony-only plumbing without premium TTS — Twilio + cheaper TTS.","categoryIds":["cat-media-gen","cat-comms"],"depotPickProviderId":"elevenlabs","depotPickRationale":"capability voice agents + integrations.","runnersUpIds":["twilio","openai","retell","bland"],"weights":{"capabilityFit":0.25,"pricePerformance":0.18,"latencyReliability":0.15,"developerDx":0.15,"privacyPosture":0.1,"lockInRisk":0.07,"maturity":0.1},"methodologyNotes":"capability voice agents + integrations.","tags":["voice"],"depth":{"whenNotToUse":{"text":"Telephony-only plumbing without premium TTS — Twilio + cheaper TTS.","source":"editorial `whenNotTopPick` (data/jtbds.json)"},"whenNotToUseReason":null,"runnerUp":{"providerId":"twilio","name":"Twilio","overallForJob":8.26,"pickOverallForJob":8.27,"beatsPickOn":["latencyReliability","privacyPosture","maturity"],"source":"first resolvable entry of the job's editorially ranked `runnersUpIds`; scores are stored job-weighted scores"},"runnerUpReason":null,"lockIn":{"pickLockInRisk":5.5,"runnerUpLockInRisk":5.5,"scale":"0–10 stored curated estimate; higher = more lock-in (worse)","pickExitSignals":[],"runnerUpExitSignals":[],"pickNotes":[],"selfHostFallback":[],"migration":null,"migrationReason":"no_stored_migration_data","derivedFrom":"stored lockInRisk scores, provider tags (oss, self-host, openai-compat, open-models), free rows that list this job, and verbatim provider notes. No migration guide was invented."}},"freshness":{"pick":{"score":{"asOf":"2026-09-14","ageDays":44,"stale":true,"staleAfterDays":30,"reason":null},"lastReviewed":{"asOf":"2026-09-14","ageDays":44,"stale":true,"staleAfterDays":30,"reason":null},"sourceCheck":{"checkedAt":"2026-10-27","sourceUrls":1,"sourcesReachable":1,"pricingRows":12,"pricingRowsReconfirmed":9,"note":"A source re-check confirms the page is reachable and, for pricing rows, that the stored amount and SKU name appear on it. It does not re-derive or change the score.","reason":null}}},"depotPick":{"id":"elevenlabs","slug":"elevenlabs","name":"ElevenLabs","tagline":"Default voice layer for talking agents. Combine with Twilio for phone; watch cloning policy.","overall":8.27},"runnersUp":[{"id":"twilio","slug":"twilio","name":"Twilio","tagline":"Default when agents need SMS/voice globally. For email-only, don't drag Twilio in.","overall":8.26},{"id":"openai","slug":"openai","name":"OpenAI","tagline":"Default when you want maximum capability and ecosystem glue. Multi-home critical paths behind OpenAI-compat…","overall":8.22},{"id":"retell","slug":"retell","name":"Retell AI","tagline":"Best Vapi peer for balanced inbound voice agents with clear $/min math. Vapi remains Depot default; Bland for…","overall":8.2},{"id":"bland","slug":"bland","name":"Bland AI","tagline":"Pick for high-volume outbound when bundled $/min and dialer features beat BYOK flexibility. Vapi/Retell when…","overall":7.78}]}