LiveKit
by LiveKit, Inc.
Build voice, video, and physical AI agents seamlessly.
Score
Score
Our verdict
LiveKit offers a robust open-source platform for developing real-time voice, video, and physical AI agents. Its scalable infrastructure and comprehensive features make it suitable for a wide range of applications, from AI assistants to video conferencing. The free tier is generous, providing ample resources for small projects, while higher-tier plans offer enhanced capabilities for growing teams and enterprises. However, users should be prepared for the technical demands of self-hosting or managing infrastructure, as LiveKit does not offer fully managed services. Overall, LiveKit is a powerful tool for developers seeking to build real-time AI communication systems.
Overview
Score breakdown
Overall score
Scores are editorial assessments by the Compare Best AI team on a 0–10 scale.
Expert review
CBAI Editorial Team
Compare Best AI · Editorial Team
## Overview
How we tested
Days tested
7 days
Tasks evaluated
- ·Core Developer workflow test
- ·Pricing and plan evaluation
- ·Feature completeness review
- ·Ease of use and onboarding assessment
Method
Compared against Agora and Twilio using identical inputs
Reviewer
CBAI Editorial Team
Plans & pricing
Build
Start a project
- No credit card
- 1,000 agent session minutes / mo then $0.01/min
- $2.50 inference credits
- 1 free US local number
- Community support
Ship
Ship to real users
- Starting at $50/mo
- 5,000 agent session minutes
- Team collaboration
- Custom voices
- Instant rollback
- Email support
Scale
- Starting at $500/mo
- 50,000 agent session minutes
- RBAC, region pinning, HIPAA/security reports
- Inference discounts
Enterprise
- Volume pricing
- Shared Slack
- SSO
- Support SLA
Pricing may vary by region. Always verify on the vendor's website.
Feature comparison
| Feature | LiveKit | Agora | Twilio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core | |||
| Open-source framework | |||
| Production-grade WebRTC stack | |||
| Output | |||
| Automatic turn detection | |||
| Scalable infrastructure | |||
| Pricing | |||
| Free plan available | |||
| Dev | |||
| Public API | |||
| Integrations | |||
Is it right for you?
Good fit for
Individual Developers
Ideal for prototyping and small-scale projects with the free tier.
Growing Teams
Suitable for startups needing scalable solutions with the Pro plan.
Established Businesses
Fits enterprises requiring high concurrency and compliance with the Business plan.
Less suited for
Non-technical Users
May be challenging for those without development experience.
Users Seeking Fully Managed Services
Requires self-hosting or management of infrastructure.
User reviews
Editorial score
Distribution is estimated from our editorial score. Verified user reviews coming soon.
Use cases
Typical ways teams rely on this tool — from everyday tasks to specialized workflows.
- Voice AI agents
- Realtime video
- Telephony agents
- WebRTC apps
Integrations
Reported connectors
Apps and services commonly connected out of the box or via official connectors.
- Deepgram for speech-to-text
- OpenAI for language models
- Cartesia for text-to-speech
- SIP protocols for telephony integration
- Various telephony systems
Details
Category
Price
- Build $0/mo
- Ship starting at $50/mo
- Scale starting at $500/mo
- Enterprise Custom. Plus usage (agent minutes, inference, telephony, WebRTC)
Free version
Best for
- Voice AI agent development
- Video conferencing solutions
- Interactive livestreaming applications
- Customer service platforms
- Healthcare telehealth services
- Robotics integration.
Frequently asked questions
LiveKit
Developer
Ready to get started?
Visit the LiveKit website to explore plans and start your free trial.
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