Forrester Wave Leader 2026 — enterprise voice and chat agent platform (now NiCE Cognigy).
Tool useVoiceMemoryRAG
Demo · hover to playCresta vs Sardinewhich AI support agent should you pick in 2026?
Conversational AI agent assist for contact centers — coaches reps and automates after-call work in real time.
VoiceTool useMemoryRAG
Cresta vs Sardine — specs
| Spec | Cresta | Sardine |
|---|---|---|
| Agent Rank | 80 / 100 (A) | 67 / 100 (B) |
| Autonomy | Semi-autonomous | Autonomous |
| Pricing | Subscription · Free tier | Subscription |
| Open source | No | No |
| Capabilities | Voice, Tool use, Memory, RAG | Tool use, Memory, RAG, Multi-agent |
| Integrations | 4 apps | 4 apps |
| Verified | Verified | — |
| Released | Mar 2025 | Jan 2025 |
Agent Rank breakdown
Cresta
Agent Rank
80/ 100
- Autonomy
- 8
- Capabilities
- 8
- Integrations
- 8
- Pricing
- 9
- Polish
- 5
- Verifiability
- 10
Auto-computed from autonomy, capabilities, integrations, pricing, maturity and editorial verification. Updated every deploy. How is this computed?
Sardine
Agent Rank
67/ 100
- Autonomy
- 9
- Capabilities
- 8
- Integrations
- 6
- Pricing
- 4
- Polish
- 7
- Verifiability
- 6
Auto-computed from autonomy, capabilities, integrations, pricing, maturity and editorial verification. Updated every deploy. How is this computed?
Pros & cons
Cresta
Pros
- +Best-in-class real-time coaching — recommendations during the call
- +Auto-summarizes calls + drafts after-call work, saving reps 5+ min per call
- +Strong deployments at Fortune 500 contact centers
Cons
- −Enterprise-only — minimum seat counts in the hundreds
- −Implementation requires conversation-data training (4–8 weeks)
- −Augments humans rather than replacing them — different positioning than fully autonomous tier
Sardine
Pros
- +$145M total (a16z) — top of the agentic financial-crime category
- +Consolidates 11 fraud/KYC/AML vendors into one platform
- +Auto-reviews 40% of monthly applications — major cost reduction
Cons
- −Enterprise focus — not priced for SMB fintechs
- −Regulatory complexity requires legal review per deployment
- −Best ROI requires existing high-volume transaction flow
Pricing
Cresta
Enterprise
Custom
Contact centers 200+ reps
- +Real-time agent assist
- +Conversation intelligence
- +After-call work automation
Sardine
Growth
Custom
Mid-market fintechs
- +Fraud + AML core agents
- +4 integrations
- +Standard SLA
Recommended
Enterprise
Custom
Large banks + fintechs
- +Full agent suite
- +Unlimited integrations
- +Custom rules engine
Sovereign
Custom
Regulated
- +EU/US data residency
- +On-prem option
- +Dedicated CS
Which one should you pick?
Cresta
Pick Cresta if cost is the main constraint or if you want a vendor we've verified for accessibility and pricing accuracy.
Try Cresta →Sardine
Pick Sardine if you want the highest autonomy and the verification loop is in place.
Try Sardine →Affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Frequently asked
Should I pick Cresta or Sardine in 2026?+
Pick Cresta if cost is the main constraint or if you want a vendor we've verified for accessibility and pricing accuracy. Pick Sardine if you want the highest autonomy and the verification loop is in place. Most working teams running both can use Cresta for primary work and Sardine for the workflows where its specific strengths matter.
What's the price difference between Cresta and Sardine?+
Cresta starts at Subscription · Free tier; Sardine starts at Subscription. Cresta is the cheaper entry option. For team deployments the TCO can differ — use the AI Agent Rank TCO calculator for your specific volume.
Which is more autonomous, Cresta or Sardine?+
Sardine is the more autonomous of the two (Autonomous vs Semi-autonomous). Higher autonomy ships throughput faster but requires verification loops in place — see our autonomous-vs-copilot framing for when each tier wins.
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Enterprise voice assistants for call centers — natural conversations that resolve customer calls.
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See more alternatives: alternatives to Cresta · alternatives to Sardine
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