Plivo Review

Plivo is a cloud communications platform for SMS, MMS, RCS, voice, and WhatsApp APIs. Its published US long-code SMS rate is $0.0077 per message, but SMS sits in the Enterprise plan, which starts at $1,000 per month. New accounts get $10 in free credits for three weeks. No card required. Rates read September 9, 2026.

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Plivo pricing

Plivo’s US SMS pricing page, read September 9, 2026, lists a long-code rate of $0.0077 per message, but SMS access requires the Enterprise plan, which starts at $1,000 per month in the US data region.

Carrier surcharges are added on top. Plivo lists AT&T at $0.0035 per outbound message, T-Mobile and Verizon at $0.0045, and US Cellular and other routes at $0.0050. MMS costs $0.0180 per message on long codes and $0.0200 on toll-free and short codes. RCS costs $0.0077 per rich-text segment and $0.0180 per rich-media message, plus carrier surcharges. Volume discounts exist only on the Enterprise plan and are not published.

Number fees are separate. US long codes cost $0.50 per month, toll-free numbers cost $1.00 per month, and random short codes cost $500 per month plus a one-time $1,500 setup fee. Plivo also lists 10DLC fees, including a one-time brand registration fee of $4.50 and a $10 monthly campaign fee.

Plivo pricing page, captured through a US proxy, September 9, 2026.

Plivo features

Plivo supports two-way SMS, MMS, and reporting through an HTTP REST API and a web dashboard. Number types include 10DLC long codes, toll-free numbers, and short codes.

• Two-way SMS: yes
• MMS: yes
• Reporting: SMS logs in the console
• Email-to-SMS: not published
• SMPP: not published
• SMS scheduling: not in the Send Message API
• SMS templates: not documented

Plivo documents integrations with Zapier, Salesforce, HubSpot, Shopify, WooCommerce, Microsoft Power Automate, n8n, Pipedream, and others. The Send Message API has no send_at parameter, so no SMS scheduling is documented. WhatsApp templates are documented, but SMS templates do not appear in the checked documentation.

Plivo reliability and compliance

Plivo’s SMS overview page, read September 9, 2026, shows a 99.99% Platform Uptime tile. The SLA document contains no uptime percentage and no service-credit mechanism.

Plivo’s security page states that Plivo connects to at least two local carriers per country and claims more than 1,600 carriers across more than 190 countries. Plivo requires 10DLC registration for US long codes. It requires toll-free verification before A2P messaging in the US and Canada. US short codes are offered as 5 or 6 digit numbers with 100 messages per second throughput and a 6 to 8 week procurement window.

The same security page says Plivo is SOC 2 certified and audited annually. Plivo states that a HIPAA Business Associate Agreement is available on the Enterprise plan. The security page names PCI DSS Level 1 and CSA STAR Level 1. Plivo does not publish an ISO 27001 claim.

Plivo support

Plivo’s support channels are an online ticket portal, [email protected], and an in-console chat agent. Enterprise onboarding adds a dedicated Slack channel. Plivo’s security page says priority 1 business-critical incidents are handled around the clock, 365 days a year. No response-time target is published for other priorities.

Plivo does not publish a US support phone number. Its documentation includes a machine-readable /docs/llms.txt index and covers the messaging API in depth.

Plivo alternatives

Twilio is a CPaaS alternative with self-serve, pay-as-you-go SMS and no $1,000 per month Enterprise gate.

Telnyx offers self-serve SMS pricing without Plivo’s Enterprise-only SMS restriction.

Sinch is a global CPaaS operator with direct carrier relationships and no Enterprise-only SMS gate.

Plivo verdict

Plivo’s strongest points are:

• A machine-readable documentation index at /docs/llms.txt covers about 15 messaging use-case tutorials, an error-code reference, Twilio and Zipwhip migration guides, and code samples in curl, Python, Node, Ruby, PHP, Java, C#, and Go.
• A compliance stack of SOC 2 certification audited annually, a HIPAA Business Associate Agreement on the Enterprise plan, and PCI DSS Level 1 named on the security page.
• Powerpack number pooling includes sticky sender, local connect, automatic number-pool refresh, and configurable fallback across short code, toll-free, and long code routes.
• $10 in free credits for three weeks, no credit card required. The trial cannot send SMS because SMS is Enterprise-only.
• Direct carrier connections: Plivo states a minimum of two local carriers per country and claims more than 1,600 carriers across more than 190 countries.

Plivo’s main drawbacks are:

• SMS is Enterprise-only. The plan table shows SMS, MMS, and RCS unavailable on Professional and available only on Enterprise, which starts at $1,000 per month.
• The all-in US long-code cost is about $0.0112 to $0.0127 per message after carrier surcharges of $0.0035 to $0.0050. The $0.0077 headline rate is not the whole price.
• No contractual uptime. The SLA document has no uptime percentage or service-credit mechanism, though the SMS page shows a 99.99% Platform Uptime tile.
• Trustpilot score of 1.2 out of 5 from 87 reviews, read September 9, 2026, with only 5 reviews in the last 12 months.
• No SMPP, no email-to-SMS, no SMS scheduling, and no SMS templates. The Send Message API has no send_at parameter.

Plivo suits a business that already commits to $1,000 per month or more and wants one platform for SMS, MMS, RCS, voice, WhatsApp, and AI voice agents with audited HIPAA, SOC 2, and PCI compliance. It is a poor fit for a small business or solo developer that wants to start sending US SMS today on a pay-as-you-go basis, because SMS is not sold on the Professional plan. It is equally a poor fit for any buyer that needs SMPP connectivity or a published US support phone line.

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