Retell vs Curious Thing (Tried and compared) Which is best?

Retell - a quick overview

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Founded in 2023 in Saratoga, California by Todd Li, Evie Wang, Bing Wu, Weijia Yu, and Zexia Zhang, Retell AI is transforming business communication with advanced AI-powered phone agents. The platform enables businesses and developers to deploy human-like conversational voice agents for real-time customer service and lead qualification—no engineering background required. Thousands of users have already adopted Retell’s scalable solution to automate calls, streamline workflows, and integrate seamlessly with CRM systems.

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Retell stands out with features like low-latency speech APIs, interruption handling, SMS support during calls, multilingual capabilities, customizable agent voices and behaviors, website chat embedding without backend setup, telephony integrations (Twilio/Vonage), pay-as-you-go pricing models without hidden fees or annual contracts. Recognized as an “Outperformer” among leading Voice AI platforms by CB Insights and included in multiple expert collections for artificial intelligence innovation.

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The next section will compare Retell’s features, pros/cons, pricing structure, and user reviews against Curious Thing and Ringly.io to help you determine the best fit for your business needs.

Retell's Features

• AI Voice Agent Customization
  Retell enables businesses to create highly customizable AI voice agents, allowing you to adjust language, voice, gender, speed, and engagement style. This flexibility is ideal for brands needing a tailored customer experience across diverse markets—something Curious Thing also offers but with less granular control. Ringly.io matches this with easy setup and pre-built templates for e-commerce use cases.
• Knowledge Base Integration
  Retell integrates with your knowledge base so the AI agent can answer customer questions using up-to-date business information. This is similar to both Curious Thing and Ringly.io; however, Ringly.io updates knowledge daily from your website automatically for real-time accuracy without manual intervention.
• Call Transfer & Routing
  The platform supports seamless call transfers to human agents when needed. You can set custom triggers or let the AI decide based on conversation context—a feature also found in Curious Thing and Ringly.io. However, Retell may require more manual configuration compared to the smart routing options available in Ringly.io.
• Appointment Management & Scheduling
  Retell’s AI can manage appointments directly during calls—booking slots or rescheduling as needed—which benefits service-based businesses looking to automate routine scheduling tasks. While Curious Thing focuses more on conversational analysis than transactional actions like booking, Ringly.io emphasizes e-commerce automations over appointment management.
• Multilingual Support & Global Reach
  With support for multiple languages out of the box, Retell is well-suited for international operations seeking consistent service quality worldwide—a capability matched by both competitors but especially robust in platforms like Ringly.io that target global e-commerce stores.
• Scalable Call Handling Architecture
  Retell’s infrastructure handles high call volumes reliably without performance drops—ideal for enterprises expecting spikes in demand or rapid growth. While all three platforms are built for scale, Retell’s focus on technical scalability appeals most to tech-driven teams; meanwhile, Ringly.io prioritizes simplicity and fast onboarding even at scale.
• Real-Time Analytics & Monitoring
  The system provides detailed analytics dashboards showing call outcomes (resolved/transferred), sentiment analysis (positive/negative/neutral), transcripts, and recordings so you can monitor agent effectiveness closely—a feature present across all three solutions but surfaced most intuitively within user-friendly dashboards like those of Ringly.io.
• Custom Integrations & Developer Tools
  Developers get access to APIs and integration options enabling deep customization beyond standard features—useful if you need specialized workflows not covered by default templates. In contrast, Curious Thing leans toward no-code setups while Ringly.io balances ease-of-use with powerful automation via Zapier/Make.com integrations that don’t require coding skills.

Pros

• Extremely easy to use – Users consistently highlight the intuitive dashboard and quick setup process for building voice agents.
• Exceptional customer support – Many reviewers praise the responsiveness of the support team, noting regular assistance during integration or troubleshooting.
• Seamless API management & integration – Developers appreciate how easily Retell connects with other tools (like Eleven Labs, Deepgram, Twilio), making it simple to manage custom voice solutions.
• Fast response times – Voice agents built with Retell deliver low-latency interactions that feel natural in conversation.
• Flexible pricing model – No platform fees; users only pay for what they use via API costs, which is seen as cost-effective compared to competitors.
• Robust AI builder & frequent updates – The platform offers a powerful agent builder with new features released every couple of weeks.
• Supports high-volume automation – Businesses have automated thousands of calls using AI agents built on Retell without sacrificing quality or reliability.

Cons

• Missing features limit scalability – Some users report that certain advanced features are lacking or slow to arrive, which can hinder scaling up deployments for larger teams or more complex needs. Ringly.io’s roadmap addresses many such gaps by prioritizing enterprise-grade controls.
• Occasional latency issues – While generally fast, there are reports of sporadic delays in call handling that can impact user experience during peak loads. Ringly.io’s infrastructure is designed specifically to minimize these spikes.
• Limited customization options (especially voices) – Users mention wanting more flexibility in customizing agent voices (notably male voices) beyond current offerings; this was partially addressed but remains a concern for some teams seeking unique brand experiences. Ringly.io provides broader voice selection out-of-the-box.
• Not ideal for non-engineering teams – The platform is described as engineering-first: lacking no-code workflows or visual builders makes it less accessible for business users without technical backgrounds. This increases deployment complexity if your team lacks dedicated developers. In contrast, Ringly.io emphasizes ease-of-use across all roles.
• Unresponsive to feature requests at times – A few reviewers note slow responses when requesting new capabilities or reporting bugs—potentially frustrating if you rely on rapid iteration cycles with your vendor partner.
• Limited number of deployable agents – Some customers wish they could deploy more concurrent agents per account without hitting limits imposed by their plan tier or technical constraints.
• Manual configuration required for multilingual support – While 30+ languages are supported depending on provider integrations, setting up prompts, fallbacks, and agent behaviors must be done manually rather than through streamlined templates.

These insights reflect actual user experiences—helping you weigh whether Retell fits your needs today versus alternatives like Ringly.io that may address some common pain points directly.

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Curious Thing - a quick overview

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Founded in 2018 in Sydney, Australia, Curious Thing is a cutting-edge voice AI company specializing in conversational artificial intelligence for digital interviews and high-volume hiring solutions. Its innovative platform enables businesses to engage candidates and customers through intelligent phone conversations, delivering rich analytics and personalized interactions at scale.

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Curious Thing’s technology powers proactive outreach and inbound call handling for clients across industries such as healthcare, finance, and government. The company’s AI-driven digital agents help reduce customer churn, accelerate talent acquisition processes, and improve communication efficiency. Recently acquired by MaxContact in 2025, Curious Thing continues to expand its impact globally.

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In the following section, we will explore Curious Thing’s features, pros and cons, pricing models, and user reviews compared with Retell and Ringly.io to provide a clear understanding of how these platforms stack up against each other.

Curious Thing's features

• Conversational AI Voice Agents – Curious Thing’s core offering is AI-powered voice agents that can call, answer, and converse with customers using natural language. These agents are designed to handle high call volumes for tasks like lead qualification, customer surveys, appointment reminders, and feedback collection. Unlike Retell’s focus on complex customer service workflows or Ringly.io’s deep e-commerce integrations, Curious Thing excels at scalable outbound calling for data gathering and engagement campaigns—ideal for businesses needing proactive outreach rather than reactive support.
• Intent Recognition & Adaptive Dialogue – The platform uses advanced intent recognition to understand caller responses and adapt conversations in real time. This enables more dynamic interactions than basic scripted bots but may not match the depth of custom workflow automation seen in Retell or the business-specific expertise Ringly.io achieves through live knowledge base syncing. For businesses prioritizing flexible survey flows over transactional support or sales recovery calls, this feature stands out.
• Automated Feedback Collection – Curious Thing specializes in automating post-interaction feedback by calling customers after key events (like purchases or appointments) to gather NPS scores or qualitative insights. This is a strong differentiator from Retell (which focuses more on operational automation) and Ringly.io (which emphasizes order status checks and cart recovery). However, if you want your phone agent to both collect feedback and resolve issues instantly using your own documentation—as with Ringly.io—you’ll find broader value beyond just survey calls.
• Customizable Call Flows & Scripting – Users can design tailored conversation scripts for different use cases without coding expertise. While this brings flexibility similar to Retell’s modular approach, it doesn’t offer the same level of integration with external business systems as either competitor—especially compared to Ringly.io’s ability to trigger actions like sending SMS links or updating CRMs during live calls.
• API Integrations & Data Export – Curious Thing provides APIs so you can connect call results back into your CRM or analytics tools. This supports campaign tracking and follow-up actions but lacks the seamless “in-call” automations found in platforms like Ringly.io (where tickets/emails/CRM updates happen mid-conversation). If real-time actionability during calls is critical—for example recovering abandoned carts instantly—other solutions may be better suited.
• Analytics Dashboard & Reporting – The platform offers dashboards showing metrics such as call completion rates, response sentiment analysis, and campaign effectiveness over time. While useful for optimizing outreach strategies much like Retell’s analytics suite does for contact centers, it doesn’t provide granular conversation-level insights tied directly into e-commerce outcomes as deeply as Ringly.io does through its AI call analysis features.

In summary: Curious Thing shines when you need scalable outbound voice campaigns focused on data collection rather than transactional support or deep workflow automation. For businesses wanting their phone agent tightly integrated with their website content—and capable of handling everything from instant order lookups to automated cart recovery—Ringly.io delivers a broader range of actionable features within every customer interaction.

Next, let's look at Curious Thing's pros and cons. We studied dozens of reviews from real Curious Thing users from platforms like G2, Capterra, and TrustRadius. Then we identified commonalities and summarized the main pros and cons of Curious Thing based on real user feedback for you here:

Pros

• Advanced AI-driven responses – Users consistently praise how well Curious Thing handles customer conversations by learning through extensive databases and user interactions. This makes it effective at providing relevant answers to a wide range of queries.
• User-friendly interface – Many reviewers highlight that the platform is easy to use, making onboarding straightforward for teams with varying technical backgrounds.
• Time-saving automation – Automating routine customer service tasks helps organizations save significant time compared to manual processes.
• Reliable performance – Several users mention that the system is stable and dependable during high-volume periods.
• Smooth integration with existing workflows – The tool integrates well into existing support operations without requiring major changes or disruptions.

Cons

• Lack of affordable pricing options for startups/small businesses – Multiple reviewers note that there’s no accessible monthly plan; only annual contracts are available, which can be cost-prohibitive for smaller companies or those wanting a longer trial before committing. Ringly.io offers flexible monthly plans so you’re not locked in long-term if you’re just getting started.
• No extended free trial period – Users feel one week isn’t enough time to fully evaluate whether the product fits their needs before making a financial commitment. With Ringly.io, customers can access an extended trial period to better assess fit without pressure.
• Lack of regional language customization options – Reviewers point out limited support for regional languages or dialects beyond English, which restricts adoption in multilingual markets. Ringly.io supports multiple languages out-of-the-box so your team can serve diverse audiences more effectively.
• Narrow customization capabilities overall – Some users wish there were more ways to tailor conversation flows or adapt features specifically for their business requirements.
• Pricing transparency concerns/complexity in contract terms – A few reviews mention confusion around pricing structure or feeling pressured into annual commitments without clear breakdowns up front. In contrast, Ringly.io provides transparent pricing with no hidden fees so budgeting is simple from day one.

This summary reflects what actual users experience when working with Curious Thing—both its strengths as an AI-powered automation solution and some areas where it may fall short depending on your organization’s size or specific needs. If flexibility in contract length, language support, or transparent pricing are priorities for your team, these are important considerations as you compare solutions like Ringly.io alongside Curious Thing.

Pricing - Retell vs Curious Thing

Note: The pricing information below is accurate at the time of writing and may be subject to change. For the most up-to-date pricing, please visit each company's pricing page.

Retell pricing

Curious Thing pricing

Ringly.io pricing

Ringly.io has simple, usage-based pricing with no hidden fees or long-term commitments. Test drive it risk-free for 14 days, then scale up or down on month-to-month terms—or book a demo for fully tailored enterprise support.

Online customer reviews: Retell vs Curious Thing

Retell

There are no online reviews available for Retell on major platforms like G2, Capterra, Product Hunt, or Trustpilot. This means there is no public data on the total number of reviews or average rating for this product. If you’re considering Retell, proceed with caution and try to request references or demos directly from the vendor.

What users are saying about Retell:

There are no online reviews available for Retell on leading software review sites. Prospective buyers should be careful and seek direct information from the vendor before making a decision.

Curious Thing

Curious Thing is an AI-driven conversational platform that has received positive attention across several review platforms.

G2: 34 reviews with an average rating of 4.9 out of 5.
Capterra: Reviews highlight strong customer service and adaptability but do not specify total count or precise average; feedback is overwhelmingly positive.

What users are saying about Curious Thing:

"Game changing" – Anonymous (HR Tech User)
Outstanding—the product itself is game changing for many reasons and the service and willingness to adapt their product to meet our needs is quite rare in the HR tech space...

"Not bad just pricey" – Alhena AI
Not bad just pricey—they don't offer monthly at an affordable rate, and startups can't really afford a year with only a week to see if it'll work for us...

If you need more detailed comparisons between these products as more user feedback becomes available, consider checking back periodically or contacting vendors directly for case studies or references.

What users are saying about Ringly.io:

Ringly.io is known for its simplicity, and a focus on e-commerce, with features like abandoned cart recovery and order status lookups. It has a 4.8 star rating from 12 reviews on Product Hunt and other platforms.

"it stands out significantly ahead" - Bertrand, Director. We are at the initial stage of testing and have made only a few calls so far. Consequently, I have rated the product with four stars for now. However, I must express that the product has shown significant promise. When compared to competitors, it stands out significantly ahead.

"This is such a great product" - Jim Miranda, Founder. This is such a great product. I have been with you for less than a week and already closed 3 deals with it."

"It really sounds like a human" - Laix, Founder. Tried Ringly.io today and the quality of the phone calls surprises me! It really sounds like a human, and it reacts really fast. Will need to deploy it in action to see the full capabilities.

"How to automate customer service? -> Ringly.io" - Sidra Husnain, Founder.

Retell vs Curious Thing: Which is best for you?

Who Retell is best for…

• Tech-savvy and engineering-led teams – If your team has developers and you want to build highly custom phone agents, Retell gives you the APIs, integration options, and granular control you need.
• Enterprises and fast-growing businesses needing to scale – With a robust infrastructure that handles high call volume and low-latency voice interactions, Retell is great for companies expecting a lot of calls or rapid growth.
• Businesses needing real-time, multilingual voice support – Companies serving an international audience will benefit from Retell’s out-of-the-box multilingual options and customizable agent experiences.
• Teams comfortable with manual setup – Retell is best if you’re okay with a little setup work for features like multilingual support or complex routing. If you need a tool where everything works right away, there are simpler options below.

Who Curious Thing is best for…

• Companies running voice-based surveys and feedback calls – Curious Thing really shines for HR, customer success, or research teams that need to run large-scale phone surveys or gather post-appointment feedback automatically.
• Organizations doing a lot of proactive, outbound calling – If you need to reach out to customers or leads (not just answer inbound calls), Curious Thing’s AI agents and analytics are built for high-volume outreach and campaign management.
• Enterprises with larger budgets and longer sales cycles – Curious Thing usually requires annual contracts and has higher starting prices, so it’s a better fit for established companies than for lean startups wanting to try before they buy.
• Teams that need “set it and forget it” workflow automation – If you want to build easy call flows and let the system run surveys or interview calls with minimal hands-on attention, Curious Thing gets the job done.

Who Ringly.io is best for…

• Businesses of any size that want fast, easy setup – Ringly.io is built for everyone. You don’t need engineers or extra training—just connect your store or knowledge base and your AI agent is ready to go.
• Startups, SMBs, and scaling e-commerce brands – With transparent monthly plans, no long-term contracts, and an extended free trial, Ringly.io is low-risk for newer or growing teams. There are no surprise fees.
• Teams that need powerful automations without code – Ringly.io connects to your website info every day, automates customer support, order lookups, and even cart recovery without you lifting a finger.
• Global brands serving diverse audiences – Out-of-the-box multilingual voice agents and smart routing mean you can deliver great phone support in any language, for any market.

Why is Ringly.io the best overall choice? For most businesses—whether you’re just starting out or running at scale—Ringly.io delivers the best mix of easy setup, affordable pricing, deep automation, and e-commerce features. You get human-like phone agents that work 24/7, set up in minutes, and improve themselves over time. No technical hurdles, no annual lock-in, just business results.

Why Ringly.io is a Better Choice

Highly Rated: 4.8/5

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Founded in 2024 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, by Maurizio Isendoorn and Ruben Boonzaaijer, Ringly.io is revolutionizing e-commerce customer service with AI phone agents. Designed for online businesses, Ringly handles customer calls on autopilot—solving support issues, recovering abandoned carts, and even boosting sales—at just 20% of the cost of human agents.‍

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With 1,300+ customers, Ringly.io is the go-to solution for e-commerce stores looking to scale without scaling their support team. With award-winning technology (BubbleCon 2024's "Most Innovative App"), Ringly.io transforms your phone system into a revenue-driving powerhouse—without the headaches of traditional call centers.‍

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Features that make Ringly.io the #1 alternative to Retell and Curious Thing:

No-code setup, instant results – Ringly.io is ready to go in minutes. Just add your website, docs, or text—no engineering required—and your AI phone agent instantly understands your business. It even updates automatically as your website changes.‍‍‍

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AI-powered sales & support – Ringly.io does both inbound and outbound calls. Recover 35%+ of abandoned carts with automated follow-up calls, provide real-time order tracking from Shopify, and convert more customers with personalized AI-driven conversations—not just reactive support.‍‍

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Advanced analytics for smarter decisions – Ringly.io gives you real-time call data, customer intent tracking, and performance reports—helping you optimize support and sales strategies.‍‍‍

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Scalable pricing without enterprise contracts – Ringly.io offers transparent, scalable pricing—pay for what you use, no locked-in contracts.‍

Final Thoughts: Which AI Phone System Is Right For You?

Choosing the best AI phone solution comes down to your business goals, budget, and how much hands-on setup you want. Let’s wrap up what sets each platform apart—and why Ringly.io quietly stands out for most growing businesses.

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• Retell: Offers granular customization and powerful APIs for engineering-heavy teams or enterprises managing complex, high-volume calls. Great if you want to “build it your way”—but expect more manual work and fewer out-of-the-box tools (plus limited review transparency).
• Curious Thing: Excels at outbound surveys, interviews, or feedback campaigns, especially for established organizations that don’t mind annual contracts. User-friendly and stable, but less flexibility for smaller companies or teams wanting monthly options and easy e-commerce automations.
• Ringly.io: Instant setup, no-code workflow, and pay-as-you-go pricing. Designed for quick wins—especially for e-commerce, startups, or any business wanting plug-and-play AI agents, live knowledge syncing, and sales growth features. No technical skills? No problem.

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When should you choose each one?

• Pick Retell if you have coding talent and want full control to tailor every interaction, or if you serve a large, global user base and don’t mind getting technical.
• Pick Curious Thing if you’re running large-scale calling campaigns, especially HR or customer research projects, and want proven analytics in a managed package.
• Pick Ringly.io if you want a worry-free solution that’s up and running in minutes, fits your budget as you grow, and focuses on actionable results like support automation and recovered sales—no engineering required.

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Bottom line: All three platforms help you automate calls with AI. But if you want the simplest path to 24/7, human-like support with minimal effort—and you value transparency, modern e-commerce features, and budget flexibility—Ringly.io is built to give your business the edge, now and in the future.

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Still unsure? Take Ringly.io for a spin with a free trial—and see how easy leveling up your phone support can be.

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Want to compare other players in the market? Check out our other comparisons:

• Retell vs Synthflow
• Retell vs Bland
• Retell vs Goodcall
• Retell vs Poly AI
• Retell vs Vapi
• Retell vs Air AI
• Retell vs Regal AI
• Retell AI alternatives