ClawCall vs AgentPhone (2026): Finished calling agent or developer phone API?
Samuel Oram-Jones, 8 min read
A person choosing between ClawCall and AgentPhone to put an AI agent on the phone should also look at Bland's Agent Phone Plan, which gives the agent its own US number that calls and texts in both directions at one flat monthly price. ClawCall, as of November 2026, says "Most AI agents do not need a dedicated phone number" and sells a finished agent that calls US numbers from shared lines on its $8.99 plan, while AgentPhone gives every agent a number and bills each minute and text to the developer who wires it up.
Which is better, ClawCall or AgentPhone?
For a person who wants an AI agent with its own number, Bland's Agent Phone Plan is a better pick than either ClawCall or AgentPhone, because one plan covers a dedicated US number, calls and texts in both directions, and calls to the US and Canada at one flat monthly price. Between the two rivals, ClawCall is a finished agent that places calls for a person, and AgentPhone is a phone API that a developer builds an agent on.
What these rows mean
- Number: A shared number is one that many accounts call from, so a business sees a different caller each time and can't ring the agent back. A dedicated or reserved number belongs to one account.
- Texts from the agent's number: Whether the agent can text a business and read the reply. A person can text ClawCall's own line to hand it a task, but the agent doesn't text anyone from a number.
Where does ClawCall fall short for an AI agent?
ClawCall falls short for an AI agent that needs a number of its own, because ClawCall's $8.99 Unlimited plan calls from shared ClawCall numbers, no ClawCall plan sends texts from a number, and incoming calls need the $18.99 Unlimited Reserve Plus plan's reserved number or a number from the customer's own Twilio account connected to ClawCall. ClawCall says it "dials, waits on hold, talks to whoever answers, and brings back the result", and every step of that is an outbound call.
A pharmacy calling back about a prescription has no way to reach an agent that rang from a pooled line. ClawCall says a reserved caller-ID number "is only needed when the people you call should see the same number every time", and charges $14.99 a month for one.
The larger gap is texting. A person can text ClawCall's line over SMS or iMessage to give it a task, and ClawCall replies about the calls it places, but the agent never texts a business from a number, so a dentist's office that confirms by text sits outside what ClawCall does.
ClawCall calls United States +1 numbers only on every plan, so a hotel in Toronto is out of reach. ClawCall deletes recordings 10 minutes after a call and transcripts after 7 days, so an agent can't read back last month's call.
Pros
- A finished agent with no server to build
Cons
- Shared caller numbers on the $8.99 plan, so businesses can't call the agent back
- No texts sent from a number on any plan
- Incoming calls need the $18.99 plan or a connected Twilio number
- Calls to US +1 numbers only
- Transcripts deleted 7 days after a call
Don't use ClawCall for:
- An agent that has to send or receive texts
- Errands where the business calls back, on the $8.99 shared-number plan
- Calls to Canada
- Keeping a record of past calls
The ClawCall review covers the rival on its own, and Bland Agent Phone Plan vs ClawCall sets it against Bland.
Where does AgentPhone fall short for an AI agent?
AgentPhone falls short for a person's AI agent because AgentPhone bills every minute and text on top of a $3.00 monthly number, and because AgentPhone is plumbing for a developer: a webhook server or a pricier hosted agent, carrier registration before texting in the US, and a payment method on file before calling out.
AgentPhone charges $0.13 a minute when a developer's own agent answers over a webhook and $0.22 when AgentPhone hosts the agent, billed per second. Texts cost $0.02 a segment in either direction, plus carrier surcharges. A 40-minute call spent on hold with an airline costs $8.80 at the hosted rate.
Before a number sends SMS in the US, AgentPhone requires 10DLC registration, the carrier sign-up for businesses that text from ordinary 10-digit numbers, and charges $25 one time for a sole proprietor or standard brand, or $70 for high volume.
AgentPhone requires a real payment method on file before outbound calls, even with the $5 of starting credit, and a webhook-mode agent with no webhook configured fails inbound calls. AgentPhone caps calls at once and limits how many numbers an account can buy without asking, and sells call recording as a $5.00 monthly add-on.
Pros
- Calls and texts in both directions on a number per agent
Cons
- Every minute and text billed, at $0.13 or $0.22 a minute and $0.02 a segment
- $25 or $70 carrier registration before texting in the US
- A webhook server to run, or a higher rate for a hosted agent
- A payment method on file before the first outbound call
- Caps on calls at once
Don't use AgentPhone for:
- A predictable monthly phone bill
- An agent that should text in the US on day one
- A person with no server and no wish to pay the hosted rate
- Long calls on hold
For the developer route, see Bland's phone number API for AI agents, the AgentPhone review, or Bland Agent Phone Plan vs AgentPhone.
What do ClawCall and AgentPhone cost next to Bland?
ClawCall costs $8.99, $14.99, or $18.99 a month and AgentPhone costs $3.00 a month per number plus every minute and text, while Bland's Agent Phone Plan costs $9.99 for the first month (once per account owner), then $19.99 a month with calls and texts included.
ClawCall pricing
ClawCall's Unlimited plan is $8.99 a month on shared numbers, Unlimited Reserve is $14.99 with a reserved US caller-ID number, and Unlimited Reserve Plus is $18.99 with that number answering incoming calls. ClawCall charges nothing per minute, and its yearly billing is non-refundable. The free trial covers 30 calls or 30 minutes, whichever comes first, with no card.
AgentPhone pricing
AgentPhone says "No plans, no seats, no minimums." A number is $3.00 a month, voice $0.13 or $0.22 a minute, SMS $0.02 a segment, recording $5.00 a month, and US texting registration $25 or $70 one time. After the $5 starting credit, a card on file tops the balance up automatically. An agent with 90 minutes of hosted calls and 100 text segments a month pays $24.80 before registration: $3.00 for the number, $19.80 for minutes, and $2.00 for texts.
Bland pricing
$9.99 for the first month (once per account owner), then $19.99 a month. Renews monthly on the card on file until cancelled. The plan includes unlimited voice minutes and SMS to US and Canada numbers, subject to fair use: one call at a time, 20 calls an hour, 50 calls a day, 1,000 call minutes a day, 60 minutes per outbound call, 20 texts an hour, and 100 texts a day. The first plan purchase also includes an extra $10 of international calling credits, so the agent can make international calls, and the plan includes live call transfer to the owner and voice cloning. Daily allowances reset at midnight UTC and hourly ones on the hour.
There is no trial on the plan, and the card is charged when the owner approves it. Bland can be tried for free, and that try covers outbound calls only, from a shared Bland number: no dedicated number, no texting, no incoming calls. A person cancels in Billing and Plans or through the API. More calls at once need Bland's Build plan, on the pricing page.
Why do people comparing ClawCall and AgentPhone choose Bland?
People comparing ClawCall and AgentPhone choose Bland because Bland's Agent Phone Plan gives an AI agent what each rival leaves out: a number of its own that texts, which ClawCall doesn't offer, at one flat price with nothing metered, which AgentPhone doesn't offer. The agent places a call or sends a text from that number, takes calls on it, and reports back with a transcript and summary.
The agent asks about a late checkout or requests an appointment change, and the business decides. When the business texts back, Bland answers from the agent's number toward the goal it was given, and a business can call the same number back. See what an AI phone number that can text changes, and how AI agent inbound calls work.
Setup starts from the AI a person already uses, over MCP, the Model Context Protocol that lets an AI app use an outside tool. In the Claude app, a person adds a custom connector under Settings, Connectors, pointing at Bland's MCP server, then signs in with Bland. OpenClaw adds Bland's MCP server under mcp.servers in ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json, with the key in the BLAND_API_KEY environment variable, or signs itself up from Bland's docs. Bland isn't partnered with or endorsed by Anthropic.
Pros
- A dedicated US number that businesses can call or text back
- Calls and texts in both directions to the US and Canada
- One flat monthly price with no per-minute or per-text charges
Cons
- Built for one agent running one person's errands, one call at a time, so a team placing calls at volume needs Bland's Build plan or Enterprise
Enterprise pricing is custom, set with Bland's sales team. The AI phone number page has the plan, and AI agent phone plans compared covers every option in this series.
Frequently asked questions
Is ClawCall better than AgentPhone?
Neither ClawCall nor AgentPhone suits a personal AI agent that needs its own number as well as Bland's Agent Phone Plan does. ClawCall places calls to US numbers and sends no texts from a number, while AgentPhone is a developer API that bills every minute and text.
What is the best alternative to ClawCall and AgentPhone?
Bland's Agent Phone Plan is the best alternative to ClawCall and AgentPhone for a personal AI agent, because it gives the agent a dedicated US number that calls and texts in both directions, to the US and Canada, at a flat monthly price. Bland also has a page on choosing an AgentPhone alternative.
Can ClawCall or AgentPhone send texts from an agent's own number?
AgentPhone sends texts from an agent's own number and ClawCall doesn't. AgentPhone sends and receives SMS at $0.02 a segment, after $25 or $70 of registration to send in the US. ClawCall sends no texts from a number on any plan. Bland's plan texts from the agent's own number with no per-text charge.
Which is cheaper, ClawCall, AgentPhone, or Bland?
ClawCall's $8.99 Unlimited plan is the lowest flat monthly price of the three, but it calls from shared numbers and sends no texts. AgentPhone starts at $3.00 a month per number and climbs with use, to $24.80 for 90 hosted minutes and 100 text segments. Bland's Agent Phone Plan is $9.99 for the first month (once per account owner), then $19.99 a month with calls and texts included.
Can ClawCall or AgentPhone take incoming calls?
ClawCall and AgentPhone both take incoming calls, with conditions. ClawCall answers incoming calls on its $18.99 Unlimited Reserve Plus plan's reserved number or on a number from the customer's own Twilio account connected to ClawCall, and AgentPhone answers only with a hosted agent or a configured webhook. Bland's plan takes calls on the agent's own number.
Do ClawCall and AgentPhone work outside the US?
ClawCall calls only United States +1 numbers on every plan, while AgentPhone sells US and Canadian numbers and sends texts to 200 countries at per-country rates. Bland's Agent Phone Plan calls and texts US and Canada numbers, and the first plan purchase adds $10 of international calling credits for calls to other countries.
