Twilio vs Plivo
Twilio scores 7.42 out of 10 against 6.25 for Plivo, and is higher on features, reliability and compliance. At 1,000 texts a month, message charges come to $7.70 on Plivo against $8.30 on Twilio, before number rental and carrier fees. Plivo: SMS is sold only on the Enterprise plan, which starts at $1,000 a month.
Alain Grossbard OAM, with Justin Grossbard Updated How we rate Reader supported, we may earn a commission Reader supported. We may earn a commission when you sign up through a link on this page, and it never changes a score. How we make money.
Compare costs at your volume
| Provider | What applies | Estimate |
|---|---|---|
| Twilio | 0.83c, long code (10DLC) | $8.30Message charges |
| Plivo$1,000 a month minimum (Enterprise plan) | 0.77c, long code (10DLC) | $7.70Message charges |
At 1,000 texts a month on a long code, Plivo costs $0.60 less in message charges (Plivo: $1,000 a month minimum (Enterprise plan)).
Message charges exclude number rental and carrier fees. Plan months include only captured plan fees. Number type applies to message rates, not plan eligibility. Registration, setup, inbound SMS, MMS and tax excluded. Unknown fees are not zero.
Pricing sources and read dates
Twilio
Twilio and Plivo side by side
| What we compared | Twilio | Plivo$1,000 a month minimum (Enterprise plan) | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Our scores | |||
| Overall score | 7.42 | 6.25 | Twilio higher |
| Value for money | 7 | 7 | Tie |
| Features | 8 | 6 | Twilio higher |
| Reliability | 8 | 3.5 | Twilio higher |
| Reputation | 4.5 | 4.5 | Tie |
| Compliance | 10 | 9.5 | Twilio higher |
| Customer service | 7 | 7 | Tie |
| US prices | |||
| How the rate is published | By number type | By number type | Same basis |
| Published reference rate per SMS | 0.83c | 0.77c | Plivo lower |
| Rate per SMS, long code (10DLC) | 0.83c | 0.77c | Plivo cheaper |
| Rate per SMS, toll-free number | 0.83c | 0.79c | Plivo cheaper |
| Rate per SMS, short code | 0.83c | 0.77c | Plivo cheaper |
| Message charges, 1,000 SMS a month | $8.30 | $7.70 | Plivo cheaper |
| Long code rental | $1.15 a month | $0.50 a month | Plivo cheaper |
| Toll-free number rental | $2.15 a month | $1 a month | Plivo cheaper |
| Carrier fees on top | Billed per message on top, by carrier: AT&T $0.0035, T-Mobile $0.0045, Verizon $0.0045, US Cellular $0.005, all other carriers $0.004 (long code outbound) | Billed per message on top, by carrier: AT&T $0.0035, T-Mobile $0.0045, Verizon $0.0045, US Cellular and other $0.0050 | Read each |
| Conditions before the rate | None stated on the pages read | SMS is sold only on the Enterprise plan, which starts at $1,000 a month. | Read each |
| Numbers and sending | |||
| 10DLC long codes | Yes | Yes | Both |
| Toll-free numbers | Yes | Yes | Both |
| Short codes | Yes | Yes | Both |
| REST API for sending | Yes | Yes | Both |
| Send to a whole list from the web app | No | Not captured | Not comparable |
| Two-way SMS | Yes | Yes | Both |
| Email to SMS | Not published | Not published | Not comparable |
| Trial and reputation | |||
| Free trial | Free 30 day trial, no credit card, 100 free SMS; trial accounts text only verified numbers | $10 in free credits, no credit card required, credits valid for the first 3 weeks | Read each |
| Trustpilot | 1.1 out of 5 from 965 reviews (21 September 2026) | 1.2 out of 5 from 87 reviews (21 September 2026) | Plivo higher |
Every row names the winner in words. Scores are out of 10 on the six equally weighted criteria; Rate, volume-band and fee read dates are listed in the pricing evidence above. Not captured means our capture holds no value for that field, which is not the same as the provider lacking it. Not published means the provider's own pages were checked and state no figure.
Message charges at your volume
Both providers priced by the same rule from their own published rates: the band, top-up or number type your volume reaches. Number rental and carrier fees are billed on top and are listed in the table above.
Read the two reviews
Each review carries the scores behind this table and the dated quotes they come from: the Twilio review and the Plivo review. Both are ranked with the other 43 providers: where Twilio and Plivo rank among the best SMS gateway providers.
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