GPT Realtime
- Strength
- Second-fastest response at 1.58s with 95.53% infrastructure-clean calls.
- What can be improved
- In a noisy-audio run, a long pause was followed by lost digits and a skipped tool action.
Speech-to-speech setup
- gpt-realtime-2.1
GPT Realtime vs PolyAI
PolyAI is ahead on repeatable reliability, task completion, infrastructure reliability, tool call accuracy and interruption handling, and GPT Realtime on voice tone and clarity and response time.
GPT Realtime ranked 6 of 10 · PolyAI ranked 1 of 10
Last updated Methodology by Luis Ojeda
Which to pick
Pick GPT Realtime for how the agent sounds (0.28 higher) and fast replies (0.89s faster). Pick PolyAI for reliability across repeated runs (23.17 points higher), completing the caller's task (6.10 points higher), calls that connect and stay up (3.66 points higher), accurate tool calls (0.11 higher) and handling interruptions (0.01 higher).
Every metric, side by side
Bars share one scale across all 10 platforms. The place next to each figure is its rank in the field.
Repeatable reliability
Share of the 82 scenarios that passed on all three runs.
- GPT Realtime
- 64.63%6th
- PolyAI
- 87.80%1st
PolyAI, 23.17 points higher
Task completion
Calls where the expected outcome was fully reached.
- GPT Realtime
- 92.68%8th
- PolyAI
- 98.78%1st
PolyAI, 6.10 points higher
Infrastructure-clean calls
Calls with no connection, audio or platform failure.
- GPT Realtime
- 95.53%8th
- PolyAI
- 99.19%3rd
PolyAI, 3.66 points higher
Tool call accuracy
Mean score for calling the right tool with the right arguments.
- GPT Realtime
- 4.79/53rd
- PolyAI
- 4.90/51st
PolyAI, 0.11 higher
Voice tone and clarity
Mean score for how clear and natural the agent sounds.
- GPT Realtime
- 4.25/55th
- PolyAI
- 3.97/58th
GPT Realtime, 0.28 higher
Interruption handling
Mean score for yielding and recovering when the caller cuts in.
- GPT Realtime
- 4.98/53rd
- PolyAI
- 4.99/52nd
PolyAI, 0.01 higher
Mean response time
Mean time for the agent to start replying after the caller stops.
- GPT Realtime
- 1.58s2nd
- PolyAI
- 2.46s6th
GPT Realtime, 0.89s faster
246 calls per platform: 82 scenarios, 3 runs each.
What each platform ran, and what we saw
PolyAI
- Strength
- Leads repeatable reliability at 87.80% pass³ and task completion at 98.78% across all 246 calls.
- What can be improved
- Mean response time is 2.46s and voice tone and clarity is 3.97/5. Repetition and call termination were not scored; tool accuracy covers 237 calls and response time covers 245.
STT, LLM and TTS
- Component versions not supplied with these results
Related comparisons
- GPT Realtime vs Retell
- GPT Realtime vs LiveKit
- GPT Realtime vs ElevenLabs
- GPT Realtime vs Telnyx
- GPT Realtime vs Pipecat
- GPT Realtime vs Vapi
- GPT Realtime vs Smallest AI
- GPT Realtime vs Gemini Live
- PolyAI vs Retell
- PolyAI vs LiveKit
- PolyAI vs ElevenLabs
- PolyAI vs Telnyx
- PolyAI vs Pipecat
- PolyAI vs Vapi
- PolyAI vs Smallest AI
- PolyAI vs Gemini Live
GPT Realtime vs PolyAI FAQ
Is GPT Realtime or PolyAI more reliable?
PolyAI is more reliable, by 23.17 points. GPT Realtime passed 64.63% of the 82 scenarios on all 3 runs and PolyAI passed 87.80%. A scenario only counts when every run of it passed.
PolyAI is more reliable, by 23.17 points. GPT Realtime passed 64.63% of the 82 scenarios on all 3 runs and PolyAI passed 87.80%. A scenario only counts when every run of it passed.
GPT Realtime starts replying sooner, 0.89s faster. Mean response time is 1.58s for GPT Realtime and 2.46s for PolyAI.
GPT Realtime reached the expected outcome on 92.68% of calls and PolyAI on 98.78%. PolyAI is ahead on task completion.
Both ran the same Appointment and Medicare agents through the same 82 caller scenarios, 3 times each, with the same evaluators and mock tools. Only the platform and its speech and model components changed.
Test your voice agent the same way.
Cekura runs these simulated calls on your agent and scores every one.