# Telnyx vs Plivo

Canonical: https://inetgeek.com/compare/telnyx-vs-plivo/

Every value below is read from Telnyx's and Plivo's own documentation. See https://inetgeek.com/methodology/ for how.

## At a glance

| Criterion | Telnyx | Plivo |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pricing model | Two lines rather than one: Telnyx's own rate per message part, and the carrier's charge passed through at cost. Both are published and the company states the passthrough is not marked up. Volume tiers apply automatically at 100 million parts. | Pay as you go, quoted per SMS rather than per segment — the page's only segment footnote is about RCS, and the SMS table says nothing about character limits. Carrier surcharges apply to inbound and outbound usage on top. |
| Outbound SMS, US | $0.004 per message PART for outbound SMS, before the carrier passthrough. The unit is a part and not a message, so a text over one segment costs a multiple of this. | $0.0077 per SMS sent to a US long code or short code, and $0.0079 toll-free. Inbound is the same. Carrier surcharge is separate. |
| Carrier fees on top | Passed through at cost on a separate published line, which Telnyx states is not marked up. Its own worked example puts the blended US carrier charge at $0.0038 a part — close to its own rate, so the carrier is roughly half the bill. | Published in full on the pricing page itself: on a US long code, $0.0035 to AT&T, $0.0045 to T-Mobile and Verizon, and $0.005 to US Cellular and other networks. Verizon inbound is marked na rather than zero. |
| Phone number, per month | $1.00 a month for a local or toll-free number, plus $0.10 a month to add SMS and MMS capability to it — the messaging capability is billed separately from the number. Short codes are $1,000 a month, vanity short codes $1,500. | $0.50 a month for a US long code and $1.00 for a toll-free number. A regular short code is $500 a month billed quarterly, on top of a $1,500 one-time fee; a vanity short code is $1,000 a month. |

## Where they differ

### Pricing model

- Telnyx: Two lines rather than one: Telnyx's own rate per message part, and the carrier's charge passed through at cost. Both are published and the company states the passthrough is not marked up. Volume tiers apply automatically at 100 million parts. ([source](https://telnyx.com/pricing/messaging))
- Plivo: Pay as you go, quoted per SMS rather than per segment — the page's only segment footnote is about RCS, and the SMS table says nothing about character limits. Carrier surcharges apply to inbound and outbound usage on top. ([source](https://www.plivo.com/sms/pricing/us/))

### Outbound SMS, US

- Telnyx: $0.004 per message PART for outbound SMS, before the carrier passthrough. The unit is a part and not a message, so a text over one segment costs a multiple of this. ([source](https://telnyx.com/pricing/messaging))
- Plivo: $0.0077 per SMS sent to a US long code or short code, and $0.0079 toll-free. Inbound is the same. Carrier surcharge is separate. ([source](https://www.plivo.com/sms/pricing/us/))

### Carrier fees on top

- Telnyx: Passed through at cost on a separate published line, which Telnyx states is not marked up. Its own worked example puts the blended US carrier charge at $0.0038 a part — close to its own rate, so the carrier is roughly half the bill. ([source](https://telnyx.com/pricing/messaging))
- Plivo: Published in full on the pricing page itself: on a US long code, $0.0035 to AT&T, $0.0045 to T-Mobile and Verizon, and $0.005 to US Cellular and other networks. Verizon inbound is marked na rather than zero. ([source](https://www.plivo.com/sms/pricing/us/))

### Phone number, per month

- Telnyx: $1.00 a month for a local or toll-free number, plus $0.10 a month to add SMS and MMS capability to it — the messaging capability is billed separately from the number. Short codes are $1,000 a month, vanity short codes $1,500. ([source](https://telnyx.com/pricing/numbers))
- Plivo: $0.50 a month for a US long code and $1.00 for a toll-free number. A regular short code is $500 a month billed quarterly, on top of a $1,500 one-time fee; a vanity short code is $1,000 a month. ([source](https://www.plivo.com/sms/pricing/us/))

## Which should you choose?

Pick Telnyx if Wanting to see where the money goes. Telnyx publishes its own rate and the carrier passthrough as two separate lines and states the second is not marked up, with no platform fee and no support fee — the only one of the three that itemises the carrier's share rather than folding it in.

Pick Plivo if The cheapest number and a genuinely cheaper message. $0.50 a month for a US long code against Twilio's $1.15, and $0.0077 a message against $0.0083 — on an identical published carrier surcharge table, so the saving is real rather than an artefact of counting something different.

Consider something else: Telnyx — Your messages run long. The $0.004 is per message PART, so a 300-character text bills twice before the carrier takes its share, and the headline rate flatters short-message workloads. Adding SMS capability to a number is $0.10 a month on top of the $1.00 the number itself costs.

Consider something else: Plivo — You need to know how a long text is billed. The page quotes a flat $0.0077/sms and its only segment footnote is about RCS, so unlike Twilio and Telnyx it never says whether a message past one segment costs once or twice. It states no free tier either.

## Documented by only one

- Entry paid plan: Telnyx: No platform fee and no support fee — $0 for both, with usage billed as you go.
- Rate limits: Plivo: Message queueing is included with SMS usage rather than sold as an add-on.
- Support on entry paid plan: Telnyx: $0 support — Telnyx lists support at no charge beside the platform fee rather than as a paid plan tier.
- HIPAA: Telnyx: HIPAA is named on the pricing card beside the $0 platform and support fees. No further detail is given there.

## Questions this comparison answers

**Should I choose Telnyx or Plivo?**

Pick Telnyx if Wanting to see where the money goes. Telnyx publishes its own rate and the carrier passthrough as two separate lines and states the second is not marked up, with no platform fee and no support fee — the only one of the three that itemises the carrier's share rather than folding it in.
Pick Plivo if The cheapest number and a genuinely cheaper message. $0.50 a month for a US long code against Twilio's $1.15, and $0.0077 a message against $0.0083 — on an identical published carrier surcharge table, so the saving is real rather than an artefact of counting something different.