Daily
WebRTC APIs for embedding video calls and realtime voice agents into any product.
why this verdict
Keep it — OpenAI has not replaced it
OpenAI's version overlaps, but does not finish the video job, so this one is still worth keeping open.
- A named launch, not a vibe named, unlinked
- OpenAI and Google shipping realtime voice APIs that include their own transport layer. OpenAI, October 1, 2025 — no announcement link recorded yet.
- How much of the job it covers not the job editorial call
- Parts of it. The job still needs the tool to get finished.
- Is there a free way to do it? yes
- 1 of 3 listed replacements have a usable free tier: LiveKit.
- What the call is worth nothing to cancel
- No paid entry tier tracked, so there is no subscription to cancel.
- Threatened by
- OpenAI
- Since
- October 1, 2025
- List price
- free
- Per year
- —
The backstory
Daily provides the transport for video and voice inside other people's products, and its Pipecat framework became a widely used way to build realtime voice agents. Model providers now ship realtime APIs with transport included, which threatens to make the plumbing invisible. Daily's position is that production voice agents need telephony, recording, turn detection and the freedom to swap model vendors, which is the orchestration around the model rather than the model itself.
Escape hatches
Open-source realtime infrastructure with strong agent tooling
livekit.io open_in_newMature global realtime engagement platform
agora.io open_in_newBundled with the rest of Twilio's communication APIs
twilio.com open_in_new1 of 3 replacements have a usable free tier.