Twilio vs Plivo
SEPT 2026 auditA comparison of Twilio and Plivo built from values read directly from each provider's own documentation, with the source recorded against every figure.
The short answer
Choose Twilio if…
The most published detail in a market that publishes little. Its US carrier fees are broken out in five tables by number type, so the real cost of a segment is knowable before you send one — and the failed-message fee and 10DLC onboarding charge are stated rather than discovered on an invoice.
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…
- Twilio: You are price-sensitive at volume. At $0.0083 a segment it is the dearest of the three, and because Plivo publishes an identical carrier table the entire gap is Twilio's own margin rather than a difference in what is counted. Its long code costs $1.15 a month against Plivo's $0.50.
- 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.
Twilio 0
Plivo 0
At a glance.
| Criterion | Twilio | Plivo |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||
| Pricing model | Pay as you go per SEGMENT, not per message — a text longer than one segment is billed as several. Carrier fees are added on top of the quoted rate, US A2P 10DLC carries registration onboarding fees, and a message that ends in a failed status still costs $0.001. | 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 | $0.0083 per outbound segment sent to a US long code. Inbound is the same rate. The carrier fee is separate and roughly doubles it. | $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 | Added per message on top of the quoted rate, and published: on a US long code, $0.0035 to AT&T, $0.0045 to T-Mobile, $0.005 to US Cellular and $0.004 to all other carriers. Five separate tables cover long code, toll-free, short code, free-to-end-user short code and RCS. | 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 | $1.15 a month for a leased US long code, or $0.50 a month to bring your own. A toll-free number is $2.15 leased. | $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
- Twilio
- Pay as you go per SEGMENT, not per message — a text longer than one segment is billed as several. Carrier fees are added on top of the quoted rate, US A2P 10DLC carries registration onboarding fees, and a message that ends in a failed status still costs $0.001.
- 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 ↓
- Twilio SMS Pricing, United States ↗
“text messages are charged per segment. learn more about character limits and message segments. prices may change from time to time without notice and additional carrier fees may apply. see the carrier fees section below for more detail. US A2P 10DLC are subject to registration onboarding fees. a failed message processing fee of $0.001 per message will be applied only to messages that terminate in a "failed" status.”
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
- Twilio
- $0.0083 per outbound segment sent to a US long code. Inbound is the same rate. The carrier fee is separate and roughly doubles it.
- 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 ↓
- Twilio SMS Pricing, United States ↗
“long codes a 10-digit number for sms and voice calls with localized identity. $0.0083 $0.0083 $0.022 $0.0165”
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
- Twilio
- Added per message on top of the quoted rate, and published: on a US long code, $0.0035 to AT&T, $0.0045 to T-Mobile, $0.005 to US Cellular and $0.004 to all other carriers. Five separate tables cover long code, toll-free, short code, free-to-end-user short code and RCS.
- 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 ↓
- Twilio SMS Pricing, United States ↗
“there are additional carrier fees per message that are automatically applied based on the end-user's destination and carrier. [...] long code carrier sms outbound* sms inbound* mms outbound* mms inbound* at&t $0.0035 $0.0035 $0.009 $0.009 t-mobile $0.0045 $0.0025 $0.01 $0.01”
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
- Twilio
- $1.15 a month for a leased US long code, or $0.50 a month to bring your own. A toll-free number is $2.15 leased.
- 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 ↓
- Twilio SMS Pricing, United States ↗
“phone number type twilio leased cost per month bring your own number cost per month long codes a 10-digit number for sms and voice calls with localized identity. $1.15 $0.5”
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 Twilio or Plivo?
Pick Twilio if The most published detail in a market that publishes little. Its US carrier fees are broken out in five tables by number type, so the real cost of a segment is knowable before you send one — and the failed-message fee and 10DLC onboarding charge are stated rather than discovered on an invoice.
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.