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MessageBird vs Twilio: What are the differences?
Introduction
In this article, we will explore the key differences between MessageBird and Twilio, two popular communication platform-as-a-service providers.
Twilio APIs and SDKs: Twilio offers a wide range of APIs and SDKs that developers can integrate into their applications to add communication capabilities such as voice, SMS, and video. These APIs are well-documented and optimized for developers, allowing for easier and quicker integration. MessageBird also offers APIs, but their range is not as extensive as Twilio's.
Global Coverage: MessageBird boasts extensive global coverage, offering services in more than 190 countries. They have direct connections with local telecom carriers, allowing for reliable and high-quality communication services. Twilio, on the other hand, covers fewer countries and might rely on third-party carriers in some locations, which may impact quality and reliability in certain regions.
Pricing Structure: MessageBird offers flexible pricing options, including both pay-as-you-go and volume-based plans. They also provide tailored pricing for enterprises with specific communication needs. Twilio, on the other hand, offers a pay-as-you-go pricing model with different pricing tiers based on usage. The pricing structure of both platforms may vary depending on the specific services and features used.
Customer Support: Twilio is known for its comprehensive customer support offerings, including 24/7 live chat, email, and phone support. They also have an active developer community and extensive online documentation. MessageBird also provides customer support through multiple channels, but their availability might be limited based on the user's location and plan.
Additional Communication Channels: Both MessageBird and Twilio offer voice and SMS capabilities, but Twilio also provides more diverse communication options. Twilio offers APIs for WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, LINE, and WeChat, allowing developers to easily integrate these popular messaging platforms into their applications. MessageBird does not currently support these additional communication channels.
Integration and Partnerships: Twilio has extensive integration capabilities, allowing developers to seamlessly integrate their communication services with other popular platforms like Salesforce, Zendesk, and HubSpot. They also have a wide range of technology partners, enabling easy integration with various third-party tools. MessageBird also offers integrations with popular platforms but may have a more limited selection compared to Twilio.
In summary, Twilio offers a more extensive range of APIs and SDKs, global coverage in fewer countries, flexible pricing options, comprehensive customer support, additional communication channels, and broader integrations and partnerships compared to MessageBird. However, MessageBird excels in its direct connections with local telecom carriers and tailored pricing options for enterprise customers.
Hey! We need an omnichannel inbox that's housed within Salesforce Sales Cloud that makes it super easy for our reps to respond to inbound communication (needs: clean inbox, provides historical context, etc.). We're a high-volume call center, and we get a ton of incoming SMS and email every day. We'd love a solution that lets us view all of that in one place — ideally Salesforce, as that's where our reps work, and we want to avoid needing them to switch between windows. Thanks!
if the inbound SMS are sales rep specific you could potentially have twilio fwd that msg to a google voice phone number which will in turn put an email in their inbox (so they're looking at 1 inbox instead of multiple places) Just an idea. Probably way off in left field compared to what you're thinking and I also invision. I'm not all familiar with MessageBird nor am I at all familiar w/ your data flow / business process. Would be happy to help brainstorm anytime! 10+ years experience on the sfdc platform
Check out Centro. We built this to solve this exact problem! We used tools like Twilio but wrapped it up in a application that runs on Slack.
Hello! We need to integrate an SMS gateway into our app for user phone verification. As we are just starting, we are searching for the most affordable/best price/performance option for SMS gateway to verify client phone numbers with the code, maybe you can suggest something between those two or maybe something else. We are planning to do business in Europe
Twilio is the leader. Strong API, excellent documentation and reliable service. I suggest Nexmo since their API has smaller learning curve, offering better prices and also reliable solution. Also Nexmo offers more call per sec. 3 vs 2 and 2, out of the box. Good luck
Twilio documentation is very good and as a platform it just works. It's robust and reliable. We road-tested plivo and it wasn't anywhere near in terms of docs or support. In fact their support was terrible at replying to us. 48 hours to answer basic questions.
That's said, were also using sendgrid by twilio and that's not been pleasant . Their email builder appears to be react based but written by a team who don't understand react very well. That's a nightmare as yet
Twilio might be not cheapest, but they have awesome documentation (a lot of examples), easy to use API and libraries. I think it's a very good product to start. If the bill will become too heavy, you can shop around for economical options.
stackshare doesn't seem to have this in the stack list yet, but in my experience Twillio is attractive. It's good for basics, their acquisition of SendGrid gives them a bit more market share.. They are stronger at marketing to those that benefit them. That said from my understanding SendGrid leases the networks, channels, and lines. While their interface is friendly, their pricing suited for lower volume, you want to look at what they are using via an API, a contract, etc. Is it a more friend UI to a combination of others. What redunancies do to they have, try their support. It's not that Twillio is bad, it's about the volume, the use case, the liabiitlies you might have to your end-users if Twillio isn't the right choice. Another option is Bandwidth. You ask for affordable, Twillio is an option, but front end costs v/s the costs of support you'll need to consider. Bandwidth has more reliability but requires more engineering and more skillset. Another option that is worth considering, not the most affordable, but https://www.zipwhip.com/ have perhaps options that might be higher and the cost is relative. Wight costs, of support costs of integration, cost of scale, costs of a volume..
Pros of MessageBird
- User friendly1
- Quality1
- Low Cost of entry1
- Powerful1
Pros of Twilio
- Powerful, simple, and well documented api148
- RESTful API88
- Clear pricing66
- Great sms services61
- Low cost of entry58
- Global SMS Gateway29
- Good value14
- Cloud IVR12
- Simple11
- Extremely simple to integrate with rails11
- Great for startups6
- SMS5
- Great developer program3
- Hassle free3
- Text me the app pages2
- New Features constantly rolling out1
- Many deployment options, from build from scratch to buy1
- Easy integration1
- Two factor authentication1
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Cons of MessageBird
Cons of Twilio
- Predictable pricing4
- Expensive2