Question 1

How much does Twilio charge per SMS message?

Accepted Answer

Twilio charges $0.0079 per outbound or inbound SMS in the United States. As of December 2024, this is the base rate for standard SMS messaging. MMS messages cost $0.0200 outbound and $0.0100 inbound. Messages exceeding 160 characters are split into segments, each billed separately. Additional carrier fees apply automatically based on destination carrier. US A2P 10DLC messages require registration, with a $0.001 fee for failed messages. Volume discounts of 20-30% are available for high-volume senders.

Question 2

What are Twilio's voice call rates?

Accepted Answer

Twilio charges $0.014 per minute for outbound calls and $0.0085 per minute for inbound calls in the US. Phone numbers cost $1.00/month for local numbers and $2.00/month for toll-free numbers. Additional features include call recording at $0.0025/minute, transcription at $0.024/minute, and answering machine detection at $0.0075/call. There is a minimum charge of $0.0025 per call. Volume discounts can reduce per-minute rates by 5-20% based on monthly usage, with committed spend plans offering rates as low as $0.00385/minute.

Question 3

What does Twilio's free trial include?

Accepted Answer

Twilio offers $15.50 in free trial credits when you sign up, with no credit card required. These credits can be used across SMS, voice, and WhatsApp APIs for testing purposes. Trial limitations include one active phone number, one sub-account, one Elastic SIP Trunk, and a brief trial message played to callers. Twilio Flex contact center includes 5,000 free hours, and SendGrid email offers 100 emails/day free. Upgrading removes trial restrictions but forfeits remaining trial balance.

Question 4

How does Twilio compare to Vonage and MessageBird?

Accepted Answer

Twilio and Vonage are both Gartner CPaaS leaders with 4.2/5 G2 ratings. Twilio excels in developer-focused, customizable APIs with extensive documentation and community support, making it ideal for technical teams needing maximum flexibility. Vonage offers more user-friendly interfaces with stronger UCaaS integration, better for non-developers. Bird (formerly MessageBird) prioritizes omnichannel communication and WhatsApp integration with easy third-party connections to Zendesk, Zapier, and Salesforce. Twilio's pay-as-you-go pricing can be expensive at high volumes.

Question 5

What are Twilio's main communication products?

Accepted Answer

Twilio offers programmable SMS starting at $0.0079/message for two-way text messaging. Voice API enables call handling at $0.014/minute outbound. Verify provides phone verification and two-factor authentication. SendGrid (acquired by Twilio) handles transactional and marketing email with 100 free emails/day. WhatsApp Business API costs $0.005/message. Twilio Flex is a customizable contact center with 5,000 free hours. Video API costs $0.004/minute per participant. All products use pay-as-you-go pricing with volume discounts.

Question 6

Does Twilio offer startup credits or discounts?

Accepted Answer

Twilio does not offer general startup credits beyond the standard $15.50 trial balance. However, the AI Startup Searchlight program awards $10,000 in Twilio credits plus a $5,000 Ramp gift card to selected AI-focused startups that have raised under $200M. The Twilio Segment Startup Program offers up to $50,000 in Segment credits for companies under 24 months old with less than $5M funding. Non-profits can access the Impact Access Program for $100 in launch credits and 25% ongoing discounts on most Twilio products.

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