SMS and messaging APIs · Comparison
Twilio vs Plivo vs Telnyx: Telnyx leads at 8.2; 10,000 US texts cost $130.61, $1,046.46 or $85.89
We read the pricing pages, fee articles, security, legal and docs pages of three SMS APIs on the same day and scored them on the same six indicators. What 10,000 US texts a month cost with carrier and 10DLC fees, and who should pick which.
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On six indicators read from each vendor's public pages, Telnyx Messaging API scores 8.2, Twilio Programmable Messaging 7.2 and Plivo SMS API 4.6 out of 10. For our reference scenario, 10,000 single-segment texts a month to US mobile numbers from one registered 10DLC number, Telnyx comes to $85.89 a month and Twilio to $130.61, both computed from their own pages. Plivo's list rates would give $123.96, but its pages now put SMS on an Enterprise plan with a $1,000 monthly minimum, so the same traffic comes to $1,046.46 (both figures computed). All three handle STOP replies by default, let you register 10DLC brands through the API and list carrier fees per carrier; they differ on price, on how you buy and on the compliance paperwork.
Telnyx is in the Excellent band, Twilio in Good and Plivo in Fair. Plivo's score comes mostly from how SMS is sold today rather than from what its API does: it scores 0 on the free trial and on price, because SMS has no trial and needs the monthly minimum. The scores measure what the public pages commit to, not delivery or how each product feels to use, and we did not sign up for any of them.
At a glance
| Twilio | Plivo | Telnyx | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you pay for | Every US fee and the compliance paperwork on public pages | Low list rates inside an Enterprise contract | The lowest published rate, with fees passed through at cost |
| US SMS rate (10DLC) | $0.0083 per segment | $0.0077 per segment | $0.004 per part |
| US carrier fees (AT&T / T-Mobile / Verizon, outbound) | $0.0035 / $0.0045 / $0.005 | $0.0035 / $0.0045 / $0.005 | $0.0035 / $0.0045 / $0.0045 |
| Local number | $1.15/mo | $0.50/mo | $1.00/mo plus $0.10 for SMS |
| How you buy | Pay as you go online | Through sales, $1,000/mo minimum | Pay as you go online; 10DLC needs the Verified tier (KYC) |
| Free option | 100 SMS for 30 days, no card | None for SMS | $5 testing credit, no card |
| Reference scenario (10,000 US texts) | $130.61, computed | $1,046.46 with the minimum, computed | $85.89, computed |
| SOC 2 / ISO 27001 | SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO 27001 | SOC 2 Type II; ISO 27001 not stated | SOC 2 Type 1 and Type 2; ISO 27001:2013 |
| DPA | Part of the terms | On request | On request |
| SSO | SAML in Editions, by sales | Enterprise plan, by sales | SAML through Organizations, no plan gate stated |
| Score (public pages) | 7.2 Good | 4.6 Fair | 8.2 Excellent |
What the public pages show
Twilio lists one rate for long codes, toll-free numbers and short codes, sent or received, with carrier fee tables per carrier and sender type and $0.001 for each message that ends "Failed". Its 10DLC article, updated Sep 26, 2026, lists the brand, vetting and campaign fees, passed through "with no added cost". The trial is 100 SMS for 30 days to up to 5 verified numbers, and 10DLC registration needs a paid account.
Plivo lists per-carrier surcharges and a 10DLC fee table dated "from Aug 1, 2025". Its docs and pricing page FAQ say SMS is provisioned only to direct brands through sales, with a USD 1,000 Minimum Monthly Commitment across Plivo products, and that resellers and ISVs are not onboarded. The US SMS pricing page and the site FAQ still describe pay-as-you-go SMS with trial credits.
Telnyx passes carrier fees through without markup, and a public rate sheet gives every messaging rate in US dollars, including volume tiers from 100M parts a month. The $5 trial credit, after a fraud review, covers texts to your own verified number; US 10DLC sending needs the Verified tier, which adds a KYC review.
Strengths and things to know
Twilio. Strengths: every US fee on its own pages; SOC 2 Type 2 for all services and ISO 27001; Programmable SMS on the HIPAA eligible list, with a BAA on a Security or Enterprise Edition; an Ireland region for SMS; support plans with published prices. Things to know: a higher scenario figure than Telnyx or AWS, volume pricing the FAQ mentions but the pricing page does not list, pages that disagree on inbound carrier fees, short code rates and 10DLC brand fees, a small trial, and SAML SSO in Editions priced by sales.
Plivo. Strengths: low list rates, opt-outs on by default across every number in a campaign, Verify with no per-verification fee, five team roles and required 2FA. Things to know: SMS needs the $1,000 monthly minimum through sales; the $10 trial covers voice products, not SMS; ISO 27001 and a non-US SMS region are not stated; and pages disagree on whether pay-as-you-go still applies.
Telnyx. Strengths: the lowest base rate and scenario figure here, fees at cost, published volume tiers, SAML SSO and an audit log API without a sales step, and message records in the EU, Australia, the UAE or Canada. Things to know: the KYC step for 10DLC, no sandbox that does not bill, terms that renew yearly unless you give 90 days' notice, and pages that disagree on carrier fees, on the BAA (the pricing page shows "$0 support · HIPAA", the rate sheet a $2,500/mo BAA charge) and on plan names and minimums.
Pricing reality
A US text carries three layers of cost: the vendor's rate, a carrier fee per message and 10DLC registration fees. Reference scenario: 10,000 single-segment outbound texts a month to US mobile numbers, split evenly across AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon, from one registered 10DLC local number on a low-volume standard brand with one low-volume mixed campaign, with one-time fees spread over 12 months, at the lowest listed rates.
| Service | Plan | Monthly cost | Where the number comes from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Telnyx | Pay as you go | $85.89 | Computed: 10,000 × $0.004 = $40.00; carrier fees averaging $0.004167 = $41.67; number with SMS $1.10; campaign $1.50; ($4.50 brand + $15 review) / 12 = $1.63 |
| Twilio | Pay as you go | $130.61 | Computed: 10,000 × $0.0083 = $83.00; carrier fees averaging $0.004333 = $43.33; number $1.15; campaign $1.50; ($4.50 brand + $15 vetting) / 12 = $1.63 |
| Plivo | Enterprise | $1,046.46 | Computed: $1,000 minimum (covers $77.00 in messages and the $0.50 number); carrier surcharges $43.33; campaign $1.50; one-time fees $1.63 |
Carrier fees are about half of Telnyx's figure and a third of Twilio's, so the base rate is where Telnyx and Twilio differ most. Telnyx's 10DLC fee article lists $0.003 for AT&T and T-Mobile; with those fees its figure would be $79.23. Twilio's figure leaves out the $0.001 failed-message fee, assuming every message is delivered. At Plivo's list rates alone the same traffic would be $123.96, and segments alone fill the $1,000 minimum at about 129,870 a month (computed). A standard campaign, for senders past the low-volume limits, is $10 a month at all three.
How we scored them
Every product in this category is scored on the same six indicators, read from the vendor's own pricing, fee, security, legal or docs pages, with fixed formulas. The overall score is the plain mean. Our methodology page explains how these scores work.
| Indicator | Twilio | Plivo | Telnyx |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing clarity | 5 | 5 | 6 |
| Free trial | 4 | 0 | 6.4 |
| Price for 10,000 US texts | 5.8 | 0 | 7.7 |
| Compliance documents | 10 | 6 | 9 |
| Messaging features | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Team access and support | 8.5 | 6.5 | 10 |
| Overall | 7.2 | 4.6 | 8.2 |
All three get full marks on messaging features. Plivo scores 0 on the free trial and on price because SMS has no trial and the $1,000 minimum puts the scenario far above $500, where the price scale reaches 0; at list rates alone it would land between Telnyx and Twilio. Twilio loses on the free trial, which gives 100 SMS rather than a dollar credit and no test credentials in the new Console, on pricing clarity, one point for each of four fees its pages disagree on or do not publish, and on price. Telnyx loses on pricing clarity, one point for each of four fees or plan terms its pages disagree on or leave unexplained, on the free trial, which has no sandbox that does not bill, and on compliance because its DPA is on request.
The rubric rewards what a buyer can confirm before signing up. It does not score delivery rates, send speed or how each console feels to use.
Also in this category
Sinch SMS API scores 7.6: a prepaid SMS API with prices for 241 countries, SAML SSO with no plan condition stated, non-US SMS servers and a SOC 2 Type II that names the SMS API. Its US carrier and 10DLC fees sit in community help articles that call them "only indications"; with them our scenario comes to $134.00 a month (computed), with a $10 campaign because Sinch limits its low-volume mixed campaign to under 10k texts a month. AWS End User Messaging SMS scores 6.9: texts from your own AWS account inside AWS's SOC 2, ISO 27001 and HIPAA scope, at $122.88 a month for our scenario with one carrier fee for every network, but no SMS trial.
Who should choose which
- Choose Telnyx if per-message cost is your main criterion, you want every fee itemized at cost and published volume tiers, and you can complete a KYC review. Look elsewhere if you need a DPA in the standard terms or a sandbox that does not bill.
- Choose Twilio if you need SOC 2, ISO 27001, a HIPAA BAA, a DPA in the terms or an EU region documented for SMS, and want to pay as you go. Look elsewhere if per-message cost leads or you need SSO without a sales conversation.
- Choose Plivo if you are a direct brand spending $1,000 a month or more across Plivo products and want low list rates, Verify with no verification fee, and a BAA and SSO in one Enterprise package. Look elsewhere if you send a few thousand texts a month, send for other brands as a reseller or ISV, or need ISO 27001 or a non-US SMS region.
Bottom line
From public pages alone, Telnyx is the lowest-cost of the three for US texting and publishes a full rate sheet with volume tiers, though some of its pages disagree with each other. Twilio costs more per text and has the most complete compliance paperwork for SMS, all of it readable before you sign up. Plivo lists low rates and a full fee sheet, but SMS now sits behind a sales-led Enterprise plan with a $1,000 monthly minimum, which suits larger brands rather than small senders.
How we checked
We read the vendors' pricing pages and price sheets, 10DLC fee articles, product, security, legal and documentation pages on Oct 15, 2026. Where a help center loaded only with JavaScript (Twilio, Plivo) we read Twilio's articles on support.twilio.com and Plivo's docs FAQ pages instead, and Telnyx's compliance facts come from its Data & Privacy page because its trust center returned a bot challenge. We did not sign up, send a message, register a brand or contact sales. Facts the pages did not state, such as Twilio's volume tiers or Telnyx's port-out fees, are left out rather than guessed. Every figure is on the vendors' pages as of that date or, where marked, computed from them.
