Telnyx vs Plivo
SEPT 2026 auditA comparison of Telnyx and Plivo built from values read directly from each provider's own documentation, with the source recorded against every figure.
The short answer
Choose 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.
Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved
Choose 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.
Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved
Consider something else if…
- 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.
- 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.
4 sourced criteria separate them — see where, with sources, below.
Pick the criteria you care about. The chart counts how many of them lean toward each provider — the same read as scanning the bars below, just totalled for the ones you chose.
Telnyx 0
Plivo 0
At a glance.
| Criterion | Telnyx | Plivo |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||
| 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. |
| Messaging | ||
| 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.
- 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.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Telnyx SMS API Pricing ↗
“$0.004 a part. then the carrier, at cost. two lines: our rate and the carrier's passthrough, both published, neither marked up. volume tiers apply automatically at 100m parts.”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
- Plivo SMS Pricing, United States ↗
“sms text messages per-message rates for available sms sender routes. additional carrier surcharge fees apply to inbound and outbound sms usage.”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
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.
- 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.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Telnyx SMS API Pricing ↗
“send outbound messages $0.004 per message part + carrier fee $0.015 per message part + carrier fee receive inbound messages $0.004 per message part + carrier fee”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
- Plivo SMS Pricing, United States ↗
“route type to send sms (outbound) to receive sms (inbound) long codes* $0.0077/sms $0.0077/sms short code* $0.0077/sms $0.0077/sms toll-free $0.0079/sms $0.0079/sms”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
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.
- 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.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Telnyx SMS API Pricing ↗
“carrier passthrough · blended us 1,000,000 × $0.0038 $3,800 published rates, pay as you go, before volume tiers. carrier passthrough and taxes vary by destination.”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
- Plivo SMS Pricing, United States ↗
“sms carrier surcharge fee carrier long codes / to send sms long codes / to receive sms short codes / to send sms short codes / to receive sms toll-free / to send sms toll-free / to receive sms at&t $0.0035/sms $0.0035/sms $0.0035/sms $0.0035/sms $0.0035/sms $0.0035/sms t-mobile $0.0045/sms $0.0025/sms”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
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.
- 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.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Telnyx Global Numbers Pricing ↗
“local numbers from $1 per month * toll-free numbers from $1 per month * 800 tfn numbers $500 otc (covers 12-mo term) + $40 mrc (after 12 months)** short code numbers $1,000 per month vanity short code numbers $1,500 per month [...] an additional charge of $0.10 per month applies to add sms and mms capabilities to a number.”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
- Plivo SMS Pricing, United States ↗
“all short codes have a $1,500 one-time fee charged at the time of purchase. sender type price long codes $0.50/month toll-free numbers $1.00/month short code plus one-time setup fee** regular $500/month (billed quarterly) vanity $1,000/month (billed quarterly)”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
When these numbers change, hear about it. Sources are re-checked monthly; a repricing goes out as a short note.
Documented by only one.
These criteria are published by one provider and not the other. An absence here means we have not found a source, not that the feature is missing.
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.