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Crulon vs Retell AI. The agent and the phone system.

Retell AI is a platform for building voice agents. Crulon is the AI agent and the phone system your team answers on: the agent hands calls to your people inside the same system, your team shares one inbox for calls and texts, and it comes in one plan instead of five line items.

Start at $24 a seat See the full table

Based on Retell AI's pricing page and documentation, 16 Oct 2026. Prices are pay as you go.

Four differences that matter.

Most of a phone system is the same everywhere. These are the parts that aren't.

A phone system for your team, not just an agent.

Retell has no seats, extensions, queues or phone menus for people. When a call needs a human, it's transferred out to a phone number or SIP address.

Crulon is both: the AI agent answers, and phone menus, queues and team calling ring your people in the same place.

Retell AI
The agent; your people are a phone number it transfers to
Crulon
The agent, phone menus, queues and team calling, in one plan

Hand off without leaving.

In Retell, a human handoff leaves the platform for a number or SIP address, and only the AI's calls can be monitored.

In Crulon the agent hands the call to a queue or teammate with a note, inside Crulon, and you can listen in and take over on the AI's calls and your team's.

Listening00:41

Dana Whitfield

(555) 014-2290

Main line · AI Front desk agent

No one on the call can hear you.

Transcript

CallerOur heat just went out, and it's 9 at night.

AII've opened ticket 4821 for 418 Alder Street. Connecting you to the on-call technician now.

One inbox for the team's calls and texts.

Retell answers texts with chat agents. There's no inbox for your people to read and reply from.

Crulon's Conversations is one shared inbox for every call and text, with assignment and notes, and the AI's summary on every call.

Retell AI
Texts answered by a chat agent; no inbox for your team
Crulon
A shared inbox, with assignment, notes and text registration

One plan, not five line items.

Retell bills the voice engine, the voice, the AI model, telephony and knowledge base by the minute, then numbers, texting and extra concurrent calls by the month, from prepaid credit. At a zero balance, calls stop.

Crulon is $24 a seat with pooled AI minutes and the phone system. Past the pool, 25¢ a minute; with nothing left, new calls take your fallback route, like ringing your team.

Retell AI
Five per-minute charges, three monthly ones, and calls stop at a zero balance
Crulon
$24 a seat with AI minutes and the phone system; calls never just stop

Keep what already works.

Crulon doesn't ask you to throw out your setup. It adds an AI agent and a modern phone system on top of it.

Keep your desk phones
Connect the SIP desk phones and softphones you already own, Yealink, Polycom, Cisco and more, on Scale.
Keep your carrier and numbers
Bring your own SIP trunk on Scale and keep your numbers for calls, with Crulon on top. Number porting is coming soon.
Keep your CRM
Custom Actions connect the agent to the systems you use today. Native Apps are coming.

Where Retell AI is ahead, for now.

Worth knowing before you choose.

A developer API
SDKs, webhooks and your own AI model, for teams that code.
Model and voice choice
Pick from dozens of AI models and voices.
Contact-center connectors
Guides for Genesys, Five9, Avaya and Amazon Connect.

The full table.

The AI agent

Works in other systems during the call: Crulon: Custom Actions call any API, and the agent uses them as Tools; Retell AI: Custom functions call any API, plus built-in integrations
What it knows: Crulon: Typed text, website pages and documents, plus live answers from your systems through Custom Tools; Retell AI: Documents and websites; 10 knowledge bases, then $8 a month each, plus 0.5¢ a minute
Outbound AI calls: Crulon: Outbound AI campaigns on Scale; Retell AI: Batch calls from a CSV, 0.5¢ a dial on top
How AI is priced: Crulon: 60, 150 or 300 minutes a month, pooled; then 25¢ a minute; Retell AI: Five parts a minute: voice engine, voice, AI model, telephony and knowledge base
When the balance runs out: Crulon: New calls take your Call Flow's fallback route, like ringing your team; Retell AI: No more calls. Calls, chat and usage stop at a zero balance

Staying in control

Listen in on a live call: Crulon: Every plan, the AI's calls and your team's; Retell AI: The AI's calls, in the browser
Take over a call from the AI: Crulon: Every plan, at any moment, after a confirm; Retell AI: One person, in the browser
Hands the call to: Crulon: Up to ten destinations, including a whole Call Flow, with a note; Retell AI: A phone number or SIP address outside Retell

The phone system

A phone system for your team: Crulon: Every plan: team calling, extensions and the AI in one place; Retell AI: No. People are reached by transferring the call out
Phone menus that ring your people: Crulon: Every plan; Retell AI: No
Call queues and ring groups: Crulon: Every plan; Retell AI: No. Calls over the limit go to a fallback number
Extensions: Crulon: Three-digit extensions for every teammate; Retell AI: No
Desk phones and softphones: Crulon: SIP desk phones and softphones on Scale; Retell AI: No
Where your team answers: Crulon: The browser, desk phones and softphones; mobile and desktop apps coming soon; Retell AI: No team phones; one person can take over in the browser
Bring your own carrier: Crulon: On Scale; your numbers stay with your carrier for calls; Retell AI: Yes, through SIP trunking

Texting

A shared inbox for calls and texts: Crulon: Every plan, in Conversations; Retell AI: No. Texts are answered by chat agents
Texts: Crulon: US and Canada texts included, with fair use; Retell AI: 1¢ a message, plus $20 a month a number

Starting price

Entry plan: Crulon: Starter, $24 a seat a month: the AI agent, 60 AI minutes and the phone system; Retell AI: Pay as you go: 7¢ to 31¢ a minute for the agent, $2 a month a number; no phone system for your team

Based on Retell AI's pricing page and documentation, 16 Oct 2026. Prices are pay as you go. Retell AI is a trademark of its owner. See every Crulon plan.

Questions about switching.

Is Crulon a Retell AI alternative?

Yes, for businesses that want the AI agent and the phone system in one place. Retell is a platform for building voice agents. Crulon's agent answers your line and hands calls to your team inside the same system, with phone menus, queues and a shared inbox.

Is Crulon cheaper than Retell AI?

It depends on what you count. Retell's agent alone runs about 7¢ to 31¢ a minute across five charges, plus numbers, texting and concurrency by the month, and your team still needs a phone system. Crulon's $24 seat includes the agent, 60 pooled AI minutes and the phone system, then 25¢ a minute.

Do I need a developer to use Crulon?

No. You build the agent in the agent builder and connect your systems in the Action builder. Crulon sets up your first Call Flow and agent when you sign up, and the phone system is already there.

Can I listen in and take over?

Yes, on every plan, on the AI's calls and your team's. Every listen-in is logged.

Can I keep my phone numbers?

On Scale, bring your own SIP trunk and keep your numbers for calls, with Crulon on top. Number porting is coming soon.

Does Crulon have an API?

A public API and SDK are coming soon. Today, Custom Actions call your APIs from inside the agent. If you want to code your own voice product from scratch, Retell's API is built for that.

How did you compare?

From Retell AI's pricing page and its documentation, on 16 October 2026. Prices and features change, so check Retell's pages before you decide.

See the difference on a call.

Start at $24 a seat Talk to the agent