Voice Agent Platforms for React Developers - orb-ui

Voice agent platforms can provide speech, realtime audio, call orchestration, tool calls, and deployment. React teams still need a clear frontend layer for state, activity, and trust. orb-ui is intentionally narrow. It is the React UI layer that can sit on top of provider stacks.

Where orb-ui fits

Layer	Examples	orb-ui role
Voice agent platform	Vapi, LiveKit, Retell AI, Bland AI, Synthflow	Render the visible state layer
Realtime model API	OpenAI Realtime, Gemini Live API	Use the dedicated provider adapter
Voice generation	ElevenLabs	Render conversational state and audio activity
Custom backend	WebRTC, WebSocket, telephony	Use controlled mode or write an adapter

Comparison posture

When comparing tools, keep the distinction clear:

Vapi is a voice agent platform.
LiveKit Agents can provide realtime media infrastructure for voice agents.
ElevenLabs can provide voice and conversational agent capabilities.
OpenAI Realtime and Gemini Live API are lower-level realtime model APIs.
orb-ui is the frontend component layer.

That distinction is better for trust and more useful for developers than pretending everything is interchangeable.

Last modified on July 16, 2026