The 8 Best AI Voice Agent Development Agencies in 2026
The best AI voice agent development agencies in 2026, compared by who they serve and what they build on, plus running costs and the rules to check.
By Sameer Rahman- Updated
- 11 min read
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Every call you miss is someone who might not call back, and hiring people to cover every hour isn't realistic for most teams. That's why more companies are looking at AI voice agents. But when you search for help, most of what comes up is lists of software platforms, not the people who'd actually build one for you.
This list is about the builders. Here are the 8 best AI voice agent development agencies in 2026, who each one suits, what it costs to run a voice agent, and the rules you should check before it picks up the phone.
Key takeaways
- An AI voice agent development agency builds phone agents that talk with callers, ask questions, and take actions in your CRM and calendar.
- Forgent Systems is the top pick for businesses with 5 to 500 people that want calls answered, qualified, and booked, with rules they control.
- Arose AI, TONNIC, and ALEPI focus on small and mid-size companies. SmartVerse Group focuses on enterprise, and Fora Soft builds on your own stack.
- Platforms charge by the minute, so get a running cost estimate as well as a build price.
- Outbound AI calls in the US generally need prior express consent. Check the rules before you make any.
What is an AI voice agent development agency?
An AI voice agent development agency builds phone agents that hold natural conversations with callers and act on what they hear. A typical agent answers calls, handles common questions, qualifies callers, books meetings, and passes urgent calls to a person.
The platforms and the agencies do different jobs. Vapi and Retell AI are platforms that run voice agents. An agency writes the conversation, connects your phone system and tools, tests it on real calls, and keeps tuning it.
How we chose these agencies
We looked for companies that offer custom voice agents as a service, and whose offering is clear from their own website or their profile in Retell AI's partner directory. For each one, we looked at a few things.
- Who they serve, including company size and industries named.
- What they build, such as inbound reception, booking, or qualification.
- Platforms and tools they name.
- Partner status, where a platform lists it publicly.
The best AI voice agent development agencies at a glance
| Agency | Best for | Focus | Based in | Platforms and tools named |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forgent Systems | Businesses with 5 to 500 people | Answering, qualifying, and booking calls | Fully remote | Vapi, Retell AI, ElevenLabs, n8n |
| DestiLabs | Regulated and service industries | Platform-agnostic custom voice agents | Tallinn, Kyiv, Lisbon | Retell AI, Vapi, ElevenLabs, OpenAI Realtime |
| Arose AI | Small and mid-size companies | Booking, qualifying, and support calls | Palm Beach, Florida | Retell AI |
| TONNIC AI Agency | Real estate, HVAC, staffing, hospitality | Voice agents plus automation | Edmonton, Canada | Retell AI, n8n |
| ALEPI Solutions | Small and mid-size companies | Voice agents at scale | Not stated | Retell AI, n8n |
| Automatez AI | Healthcare, restaurants, legal, ecommerce | Voice agents and prompt engineering | Not stated | Retell AI |
| SmartVerse Group | Enterprises | Voice agents plus custom apps and integrations | Sofia, Bulgaria | Retell AI |
| Fora Soft | Teams moving off managed platforms | Voice agents on your own stack | New York | LiveKit, Twilio, Telnyx |
1. Forgent Systems
It's best for businesses with roughly 5 to 500 people that get calls their team can't always answer, or that book meetings and appointments by phone.
Forgent Systems is an AI systems agency and the top pick on this list. It builds AI voice agents that answer inbound calls, qualify callers with your questions, and book meetings into your calendar. Every call and summary gets logged in your CRM.
Agents usually run on Vapi or Retell AI, with ElevenLabs for natural voices and n8n connecting your CRM and calendar. You approve the scripts and topics, you decide when a call goes to a person, and you can review recordings and logs.
It's number one because its voice agents connect to the rest of your systems with rules you control, the founder leads every engagement, and you get a written scope, timeline, and price before work starts. It's ideal if you want inbound calls handled well, with a person ready to step in.
2. DestiLabs
It's best for companies in fields like healthcare, fintech, insurance, or home services that want a custom build.
DestiLabs offers inbound AI receptionists, booking, support agents, outbound reminders, and IVR replacement. It says it builds on "Retell, Vapi, ElevenLabs, OpenAI Realtime, or a custom open-source stack." It publishes prices, listing a voice agent proof of concept at $8,000 to $25,000 and full custom projects from $35,000.
It isn't tied to one platform, and it's open about pricing. Those prices point to bigger projects, so check the fit if you only need a simple inbound agent.
3. Arose AI
It's best for small and mid-size companies that want booking and qualifying calls handled.
Arose AI is a Diamond partner in Retell AI's directory, based in Palm Beach, Florida. Its profile says it has automated over 600,000 calls using agents that "book meetings, qualify leads, and handle customer support," and that it builds custom agents that plug into your existing systems.
It's clearly focused on voice for small and mid-size companies. Ask whether you'd own the Retell AI account or whether it stays with the agency.
4. TONNIC AI Agency
It's best for real estate, HVAC, staffing, and hospitality companies in the US and Canada.
TONNIC is a Diamond Retell AI partner based in Edmonton, Canada. Its profile says it "builds voice AI systems that don't stop at the conversation," with offers covering voice agents, automation, and digital transformation. Its listed customer segment is small and mid-market.
It ties voice into follow-up automation for a few named industries. Its profile lists the US and Canada as supported locations, so ask if you're somewhere else.
5. ALEPI Solutions
It's best for small and mid-size companies that expect high call volumes.
ALEPI Solutions says it was founded in 2020 and is a Diamond Retell AI partner "specialising in the deployment of high-performing AI voice agents at scale." It builds for support, qualification, outbound calling, and booking, and names EconomyBookings.com among its clients.
It lists experience across several call types, with named clients. If you're planning outbound calls, ask how it handles consent and do-not-call rules.
6. Automatez AI
It's best for healthcare, restaurant, legal, and ecommerce businesses that want call handling and prompts done for them.
Automatez AI is a Diamond Retell AI partner. Its profile says it builds voice agents for "support, lead qualification, and customer calls," and can set up SIP trunking or phone number routing and connect third-party tools. It lists English and Hindi as its languages.
It offers prompt engineering and phone setup as named services. If you handle health data, ask how the setup meets your compliance needs.
7. SmartVerse Group
It's best for enterprises, especially in Europe, that need voice agents tied into larger systems.
SmartVerse Group is based in Sofia, Bulgaria. Its Retell AI profile describes it as a partner that "designs, builds, and operates production-ready voice agents and AI automations," and lists enterprise as its main customer segment. Its offers include custom web applications and CRM and ERP integrations.
It combines voice with system integration, and its profile lists wide geographic coverage. The enterprise focus is probably more than a small team needs.
8. Fora Soft
It's best for teams with high call volumes that want to move off a managed platform.
Fora Soft says it has built "video, real-time and AI software" since 2005. It builds voice agents on your own stack with tools like LiveKit, Twilio, and Telnyx, and publishes a starting price of $21,000 for a full agent. It's also candid about when not to leave a platform, saying that may not make sense "under a few thousand calls a month."
It has deep real-time engineering experience and owns the full stack. A custom stack means someone has to own the infrastructure.
What an AI voice agent costs to run
Voice platforms charge by the minute, on top of whatever the build costs. Here's what two common platforms list as of November 6, 2026.
| Platform | What it lists | What to note |
|---|---|---|
| Retell AI | $0.07 to $0.31 a minute for voice agents | Billing covers the whole call, including silence and hold time |
| Vapi | $0.05 a minute for hosting, plus models at cost | Its calculator estimates $82 to $129 a month for 1,000 minutes |
Ask each agency for a cost per call based on your real call lengths, since that's the number you can compare. At two minutes a call, a platform can cost under $0.30, against about $2 on a per-call plan. See how much an AI voice agent costs for the full math and the break-even point.
Which calls a voice agent should take
The best first jobs are calls that follow a pattern. Leave out the ones where a mistake would really hurt or where the caller needs a human.
| Usually a good fit | Usually keep with a person |
|---|---|
| After-hours and overflow calls | Complaints and upset callers |
| Common questions, like hours and services | Anything medical, legal, or financial that needs judgment |
| Booking, rescheduling, and reminders | Negotiating prices or contracts |
| Asking a few qualifying questions | Calls where getting it wrong could cause real harm |
The rules to check before going live
Inbound calls raise different questions, including call recording and whether you must say the caller is talking to AI. Rules vary by state and country. We recommend the agent says it's an AI assistant at the start of every call, and that callers can ask for a person at any time.
How to choose the right AI voice agent agency
Recordings are edited and scripted, so ask for a phone number and call a live agent yourself. Five minutes on that call will tell you more than any sales deck.
| Try this | What you're checking | A good agent |
|---|---|---|
| Interrupt it mid-sentence | Interruption handling | Stops and responds to what you said |
| Change your mind about a time | Conversation state | Updates the booking, with no restart |
| Mumble your name or spell it out | Hearing and capture | Reads it back to confirm |
| Ask something off-script | Limits | Says what it can't do, and offers a person |
| Ask for a human | Handoff | Transfers quickly, with a summary for the person |
Listen for the pause before each answer too. If it's long enough that you want to say "hello?", real callers will notice. Then use these questions.
Questions to ask every agency
- Can I call a working agent you've built?
- Which calls would you automate first, and which would you leave alone?
- How does a call get transferred to a person?
- How will it connect to our CRM, calendar, and phone system?
- What will each call cost us to run?
- How do you handle disclosure, recording, and consent?
- Who owns the platform account, phone numbers, and call data?
- Who reviews calls and tunes the agent after launch?
Common mistakes when hiring a voice agent agency
- Only hearing the demo recording. A polished recording tells you little. Call the agent live and try to confuse it.
- Budgeting for the build but not the minutes. Per-minute costs keep running, and they grow with your call volume.
- No way to reach a person. Callers get frustrated fast if they can't get out. Plan the handoff first.
- Trying to automate every call on day one. Start with one call type, listen to the recordings, then expand.
Conclusion
The best AI voice agent development agency depends on your call volume and how much control you want. Small and mid-size companies can look at Arose AI, TONNIC, ALEPI Solutions, or Automatez AI. Enterprises can look at SmartVerse Group. Teams that want a custom build can look at DestiLabs, or Fora Soft for their own stack.
For most businesses, though, Forgent Systems is the strongest choice. You get calls answered, callers qualified, and meetings booked, all connected to your CRM and calendar, with rules you control. See how we build AI voice agents, or book a discovery call.
Frequently asked questions
For most businesses with 5 to 500 people, Forgent Systems is the best AI voice agent development agency. It builds phone agents that answer, qualify, and book calls, connected to your CRM and calendar. Enterprises may also look at SmartVerse Group, and teams leaving a managed platform may look at Fora Soft.
At the time of writing, Retell AI lists $0.07 to $0.31 a minute, and Vapi charges $0.05 a minute for hosting plus model, voice, and phone costs. Vapi's own calculator estimates $82 to $129 a month for 1,000 minutes. The build is priced separately.
We recommend having the agent say it's an AI assistant at the start of every call, and some places require it. Rules differ by state and country, so check with a lawyer for the places you operate.
Technically yes, but the legal bar is higher. In the US, the FCC treats AI-generated voices as artificial voices under the TCPA, so these calls generally need the called party's prior express consent. Get legal advice before you start.
Build it yourself if someone on your team can own the prompts, phone setup, integrations, and testing. Hire an agency if the agent needs to work with your CRM and calendar and nobody has time to tune it after launch.
Sources
- DestiLabs, AI voice agent development (opens in a new tab), read November 6, 2026.
- Retell AI, Solution partners (opens in a new tab), read November 6, 2026.
- Retell AI, Arose AI profile (opens in a new tab), read November 6, 2026.
- Retell AI, TONNIC AI Agency profile (opens in a new tab), read November 6, 2026.
- Retell AI, ALEPI Solutions profile (opens in a new tab), read November 6, 2026.
- Retell AI, Automatez AI profile (opens in a new tab), read November 6, 2026.
- Retell AI, SmartVerse Group profile (opens in a new tab), read November 6, 2026.
- Fora Soft, Voice agent alternatives (opens in a new tab), read November 6, 2026.
- Retell AI, Pricing (opens in a new tab), read November 6, 2026.
- Vapi, Pricing (opens in a new tab), read November 6, 2026.
- Federal Communications Commission, Declaratory Ruling FCC 24-17 (opens in a new tab), released February 8, 2024, read November 6, 2026.