The open-source alternatives to ElevenLabs Agents are Pipecat, LiveKit Agents and TEN Framework. ElevenLabs sells the agent platform and the voices together; the open-source split is a framework that connects any speech-to-text, language and text-to-speech model, including ElevenLabs' own voices if you keep them. Pipecat (BSD-2-Clause) lists the most providers and includes local options like Whisper, Kokoro and Piper. LiveKit Agents (Apache-2.0) runs the whole stack on your servers. TEN is source available under Agora's conditions. A team switches when it wants to swap any model in the pipeline without changing platform.
2 of 3 carry an OSI licence. 3 of 3 run on your own machines. Figures read from GitHub on October 26, 2026.
One project per need, with the reason from its own README and the one thing to know before you choose it.
BSD-2-Clause, maintained by Daily. Over twenty speech-to-text and language providers, over thirty voices including local Whisper, Ollama, Kokoro and Piper, and telephony serialisers for Twilio, Telnyx, Plivo, Vonage, Exotel and Genesys.
Know firstInterruption handling is not described beyond voice activity detection, and every provider is its own account and bill.
Apache-2.0. Semantic turn detection, native MCP tool support, a built-in test framework, and a media server plus SIP service that are open source too, so the entire path can run on your machines.
Know firstBeyond console testing it needs a LiveKit server, cloud or self-hosted, and the turn-detection models carry a separate model licence.
A visual designer, a SIP extension with a Twilio example, turn detection, and avatar extensions, run with Docker Compose.
Know firstSource available, not open source: Apache-2.0 plus Agora conditions that forbid competing deployments, and the quick start requires an Agora account.
The facts that decide most choices. Each project's page carries the full panel.
| Project | Best for | Openness | Licence | Runs as | Own machines | Stars |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pipecat | The widest provider and carrier list | OSI | BSD-2-Clause | pip, CLI | Yes | 16,834 |
| LiveKit Agents | The whole stack on your own servers | OSI | Apache-2.0 | pip (Python), npm (the separate AgentsJS repository) | Yes | 14,943 |
| TEN Framework | A visual designer, if Agora fits | Source available | See LICENSE | Docker Compose, GitHub Codespaces | Yes | 11,201 |
Licence and star figures read from GitHub on October 26, 2026. Stars are shown as a dated fact and were not used to rank this page.
A Python framework under BSD-2-Clause, maintained by Daily, for real-time voice and multimodal agents, with the widest provider list on this site and telephony serialisers for Twilio, Telnyx, Plivo, Vonage, Exotel and Genesys.
BSD-2-Clause, maintained by Daily. Over twenty speech-to-text and language providers, over thirty voices including local Whisper, Ollama, Kokoro and Piper, and telephony serialisers for Twilio, Telnyx, Plivo, Vonage, Exotel and Genesys.
Know firstInterruption handling is not described beyond voice activity detection, and every provider is its own account and bill.
An Apache-2.0 framework for real-time voice agents that connects any speech, language and voice provider, with semantic turn detection, native MCP tool support, a test framework, and an open-source media and SIP stack it can run on entirely.
Apache-2.0. Semantic turn detection, native MCP tool support, a built-in test framework, and a media server plus SIP service that are open source too, so the entire path can run on your machines.
Know firstBeyond console testing it needs a LiveKit server, cloud or self-hosted, and the turn-detection models carry a separate model licence.
A real-time conversational AI framework from Agora with a visual designer, a SIP extension and turn detection, released under Apache-2.0 plus conditions that forbid competing deployments, which makes it source available rather than open source.
A visual designer, a SIP extension with a Twilio example, turn detection, and avatar extensions, run with Docker Compose.
Know firstSource available, not open source: Apache-2.0 plus Agora conditions that forbid competing deployments, and the quick start requires an Agora account.
The questions that settle it, in the order they usually come up.
Pipecat lists ElevenLabs as a text-to-speech provider, and TEN's quick start requires an ElevenLabs key. LiveKit Agents describes a mix-and-match provider ecosystem.
Pipecat lists Whisper and Moonshine for speech to text, Ollama for the language model, and Kokoro, Piper and XTTS for voices.
LiveKit Agents has native MCP support. Pipecat lists function calling across its language model providers.
ElevenLabs Agents, in the vendor's own words, is "conversational agents that feel human" which you "configure, deploy and monitor" across voice, chat and email, by its own description. elevenlabs.io. The cases below are where that still wins.
Stars, licence, last commit and last release are read from the GitHub API by a script every week and carry the date they were read. Nobody types them.
What each project does is written from its own README and LICENSE, read in full on the date shown, and phrased as the project's claim. The sources are listed at the end.
That a project is faster, better or cheaper than ElevenLabs Agents. A price for anyone. A user count. A roadmap. If a fact is not on this page, it was not in the source.
Pipecat (BSD-2-Clause) if you want the widest provider list, including ElevenLabs itself for voices and local models like Whisper, Ollama, Kokoro and Piper. LiveKit Agents (Apache-2.0) if you want the media server, the SIP service and the framework all open source on your own machines, with semantic turn detection. Both are Python; LiveKit also has a Node.js version.
Yes. Pipecat lists ElevenLabs among its text-to-speech providers, and TEN's quick start requires an ElevenLabs key for speech. LiveKit Agents describes a mix-and-match ecosystem of speech, language and voice providers. The framework is open; the voice can stay with the vendor you prefer.
LiveKit Agents states that the entire stack, including the LiveKit media server, can run on your own servers. Pipecat runs locally and offers eight transports, one of which is a local transport. TEN's documented quick start depends on Agora's real-time service; its README describes self-hosting the TEN backend but not replacing that service.
LiveKit Agents has native MCP support, described as integrating tools from MCP servers in one line. Pipecat lists function calling across its language model providers and a skills package for Claude Code. TEN describes extensions rather than MCP in its README.
Pipecat lists Whisper and Moonshine for speech to text, Ollama for the language model, and Kokoro, Piper and XTTS for text to speech, all of which run on your hardware. LiveKit Agents does not enumerate local models in its README. TEN's quick start uses hosted providers.
Reveneau sets up the replacement on your own servers, connects it to your product, and builds the software around it.