Twilio messaging: what you should know + comparisons - 2025

It seems that “Twilio messaging” is for some people almost synonymous with business text messaging.

So what should you know about Twilio? What should you know about what it is, what it can do, and how it compares to other SMS services?

Let’s go over all the in’s and out’s of Twilio, so that you can be armed with all the info you need to make better decisions about your messaging solutions.

What is Twilio messaging?

Twilio as a company is a CPaaS (communication platform as a service) provider located in the United States. It has existed since 2008, when it was founded by Jeff Lawson, Evan Cooke, and John Wolthuis.

Known as a leader in the CPaaS sphere, Twilio as a whole enables various kinds of business communication, including SMS/MMS, voice, and even WhatsApp. But it is perhaps best known for its text messaging services.

Twilio messaging, then, is the subset of Twilio's overall CPaaS approach that enables you to send and receive different types of messages (whether SMS, MMS, or WhatsApp).

As opposed to many mass texting services, Twilio messaging (or Twilio text) is an API-only service built for developers to be able to customize and implement into their respective businesses.

Twilio messaging features

What kinds of features does Twilio programmable SMS offer?

Here are a few…

1. Omnichannel marketing

Since Twilio offers a variety of communication services, it’s conducive to an omnichannel approach to marketing.

You can use the same service to connect with your prospects via text messages, voice calls, WhatsApp, and more—and with Twilio’s acquisition of SendGrid, you can also send emails through the overall Twilio universe.

From a messaging perspective, Twilio offers marketing through multiple messaging channels:

• SMS: Send mass text messages
• MMS: Send mass text messages containing media files such as images
• RCS: Send mass text messages with “rich” interactive features such as buttons and carousels
• WhatsApp: Send mass text messages via the popular international messaging app
• Facebook Messenger (Beta): Send mass text messages via the popular international messaging app

This variety means that you can reach your audience via the method that’s right for them and for your specific situation.

2. Developer-friendly API

One of the main points of Twilio is to offer a developer-friendly API allowing people to set up the messaging solutions that work for them and their businesses.

In order to allow developers to do that, the Twilio SMS service offers robust messaging APIs and corresponding documentation for the SMS gateway Twilio has access to.

These APIs are intended to make it easy to…

1. Programmatically send messages
2. Set up automated workflows
3. Integrate messaging services into your existing applications

3. Scalability

Some SMS services are not built for large-scale usage. They’re small companies with limited development resources building solutions for other small businesses.

And that’s perfectly fine as far as it goes! But these types of businesses may not have the infrastructure to handle much beyond that kind of limited activity.

(Being able to handle users who send messages in the thousands is one thing; being able to handle users who send messages in the millions is quite another.)

When it comes to Twilio messaging, one major point of emphasis is the potential for scalability.

Twilio’s APIs are designed with enterprise users in mind. So they’re set up to be able to handle large volumes of usage.

Twilio messaging use cases

As a communication service, the use cases for Twilio text messages are almost endless.

Below are some common ways that people use Twilio programmable SMS.

Marketing

SMS, MMS, RCS, and WhatsApp can be highly effective ways to market your products and services.

SMS marketing campaigns, for example, can range from…

• Flash sales
• New product promotions
• Webinar reminders and followups
• Inventory updates
• Event announcements
• Abandoned cart reminders

…or anything in between.

“

🔥 FLASH SALE! Get 20% off all products for the next 24 hours. Shop now at [Link]! Use code FLASH20 at checkout. Hurry, offer ends soon!

Customer service

Customer service is another common way to use personal channels such as SMS.

SMS allows you to have a personal connection with your customers so that you can really answer their questions and engage with them one-on-one.

Having this option for SMS/MMS customer support gives your customers another layer of convenience in regard to interacting with your brand.

“

Hi [Customer Name], thanks for reaching out! We’ve received your inquiry and will respond shortly. In the meantime, let us know if you have any other questions.

Appointment reminders

Missed appointments are a bane for many businesses, such as medical offices and other professional services.

How can you reduce the impact of no-shows?

There are several ways, but text messaging is one of the most effective—it’s simple, it’s convenient, and it gives people all the info they need about their appointment directly on their phone.

“

Reminder: Your appointment with Dr. Smith is scheduled for tomorrow at 2:30 PM. Please reply ‘C’ to confirm or ‘R’ to reschedule.

Transactional messages

The Twilio SMS service is also used for a variety of miscellaneous transactional messages via SMS.

Transactional messaging refers to messages that are sent in response to an action the user took.

For example, this could be…

• A payment receipt
• An order confirmation
• A shipping confirmation
• A delivery update
• A payment due date reminder
• A “past due” notice

Any and all of this type of information can be communicated via text message or other similar messaging option.

“

Thank you for your payment of $100.00 to [Company Name]. Your transaction ID is #12345. If you have any questions, reply to this message.

Two-factor authentication

This could fall under the category of “transactional messages,” but since it’s such a prominent use case for taking advantage of the SMS gateway that Twilio uses, it warrants its own section.

SMS is one of the primary ways to go about the security process of two-factor authentication (2FA)—the process by which a user must use two methods of entering credentials before being given access to something potentially confidential.

Twilio messaging enables you to send out these 2FA messages containing the secondary codes users must input in order to access whatever it is they’re trying to access.

“

Your security code is 478932. Enter this code to verify your account. If you didn’t request this, please contact support immediately.

Alerts and updates

The final category we’ll discuss for Twilio text use cases is alerts and updates.

Users can use SMS/MMS to communicate important alerts or updates to whatever audience they’re trying to reach—this can be both internally (within your team) and externally (to a group of people such as a congregation of church members).

When it comes to this category, this typically involves notifications such as…

• Internal team updates
• Meeting reminders
• Safety notices
• Cancellation notices
• Weather-related alerts

“

⏰ Reminder: Our weekly team meeting starts in 30 minutes. Don’t forget to join the call at [Link].

Twilio messaging for developers

Twilio programmable SMS is, of course, built for developers.

It’s known for its robust APIs that are intended to allow you to incorporate SMS and other messaging features into your business.

So how can developers actually use the Twilio SMS service?

Integrating Twilio messaging into applications

The SMS gateway Twilio uses is powered by a strong API that’s compatible with a wide range of programming languages.

Integrating into your applications involves just following the instructions laid out in Twilio’s documentation which detail everything from getting started to sending out messages to responding to incoming messages.

You can find Twilio’s API documentation here.

Twilio’s API documentation

Twilio’s API documentation gives enough information for new developers to implement yet is robust enough to offer creative freedom to more experienced developers.

The documentation offers sections for general usage and global infrastructure, as well as detailed documentation on multiple different products the company offers. Additional resources, such as a developer marketplace, are available and described in the documentation as well.

Twilio’s messaging channels

The messaging channels Twilio offers have already been mentioned above, but to reiterate…

These are the types of messages you can currently send through Twilio:

• SMS: Send mass text messages
• MMS: Send mass text messages containing media files such as images
• RCS: Send mass text messages with “rich” interactive features such as buttons and carousels
• WhatsApp: Send mass text messages via the popular international messaging app
• Facebook Messenger (Beta): Send mass text messages via the popular international messaging app

The right channel to use will be dependent on your purposes and your own unique situation. But whichever option you choose, you need to make sure to follow the right documentation for that specific messaging option in Twilio’s documentation.

Twilio messaging pricing and plans

In general, Twilio messaging operates on a pay-per-use basis.

Standard US pricing

For text messaging in the United States, Twilio pricing starts at the following:

• $0.0079 per outbound message for SMS
• $0.0079 per inbound message for SMS
• $0.02 per outbound message for MMS
• $0.01 per inbound message for MMS

In addition, you’ll need to pay pass-through “carrier fees” that are charged by the mobile phone carriers, and you’ll pay a $0.001 per message fee for any attempted messages that fail.

International pricing

Twilio messaging support extends beyond the United States to countries across the world.

International pricing varies widely from country to country, anywhere from $0.0079 per message for Canada to $0.7544 per message for Papua New Guinea.

The complete list of international pricing as of October 2024 can be found here.

Here are some of the major countries:

• Canada: $0.0079 per message for both outbound and inbound SMS; $0.02 per message for both outbound and inbound MMS (some inbound MMS may be $0.01)
• India: $0.0832 per message for outbound SMS (MMS and inbound messages not available)
• Australia: $0.0515 per message for outbound SMS and $0.0075 per message for inbound SMS; $0.35 per message for both outbound and inbound MMS
• United Kingdom: $0.0463 per message for outbound SMS and $0.0075 per message for inbound SMS (MMS not available)

Twilio messaging pricing comparison to other providers

Let's compare Twilio's starting pricing to other competitors like Mobile Text Alerts, SlickText, Bird, and Salesmsg.

Note that most if not all of these platforms offer discounted pricing the more messages that you send, so these are just the prices for the starting tiers.

Also note that a comparison such as below can be misleading, because the pricing structures of different providers are different, so it’s sometimes a case of comparing apples to oranges. Furthermore, there are factors that may influence pricing that can’t easily be reflected in a chart.

Twilio messaging reviews

What do actual Twilio customers say about their experience with Twilio?

Below is some of the feedback from review sites.

These reviews were not pulled selectively but are the most recent reviews available that had brief enough comments to include in the context of this article. Thus, they represent no bias on the part of Mobile Text Alerts as we include them in this article.

Positive comments

• “The way in which Twilio is integrated is amazing, it allows us to implement it literally in any application and software, plus it has a large repertoire of native applications, allowing us to connect without a code bar. … Twilio helped us to provide communications to our database via SMS and allowed us to have a second channel for our customers to clarify all their doubts.” – Jose David C., Digital Marketing Specialist
• “What I like about Twilio is its user-friendly system—the API alone is straightforward, and integration with communication systems is super easy. Reliable it is. … It helps us increase customer engagement through calls, sms, etc. and be more efficient since communication tasks can be automated.” – Nikko R., Sales Manager
• “The price is good. Reasonably simple to set up.” – Christopher A., Graphic Designer/ Videographer
• “I like the easy setup and integration process of twilio with other applications like dynamics 365CE. … It helps in integrating with Microsoft dynamic 365 customer service application where it resolves the issue of voice as well as SMS communication with customers.” – Peerzada Tabish Javaid Q., Functional Consultant
• “Endless features, straightforward to get phone numbers from everywhere in the world. User friendly.” – Anonymous
• “They offer so much communication options from sms, IVR and much more.” – Shobhit G., Digital Marketing Strategist & Automation Specialist

Negative comments

• “When there are no native applications, it is very complex to connect, since it is mandatory that you know how to program to do it, plus it does not have a platform for people who just want to send simple messages. … ” – Jose David C., Digital Marketing Specialist
• “Though some features are easy to use, the advanced ones tend to get tricky to implement. Also, the cost is a bit high especially if it's used by high-volume users.” – Nikko R., Sales Manager
• “The customer support is somewhere between awful and non-existent.” – Christopher A., Graphic Designer/ Videographer
• “I dislike the hiked prices for getting the numbers.” – Peerzada Tabish Javaid Q., Functional Consultant
• “It's very basic no perks at all standard online phone. … It's too basic not allowing you to see who's waiting for calls nor can you see who's logged in.” – Tabitha H.
• “The new regulation of text messages with the approvals makes the campaigns and the process very slow to approve.” – Anonymous
• “Their dashboard navigational is hard for beginners and it might seem complex.” – Shobhit G., Digital Marketing Strategist & Automation Specialist

Twilio messaging vs. competitors

Here’s how Twilio compares to a few competitors, based primarily on online reviews.

1. Twilio vs. Mobile Text Alerts

Rating: Mobile Text Alerts (4.6) vs. Twilio (4.2)

• Pros:
  • Mobile Text Alerts: Noted for its ease of use and responsive customer support. (Bonus features include business iMessage capabilities and an AI SMS chatbot.)
  • Twilio: Strong ease of integration with other apps, and scalable use for developers.
• Cons:
  • Mobile Text Alerts: Some users report frequent messaging issues and limited functionality.
  • Twilio: Some report lackluster customer service.

Summary: Mobile Text Alerts is ideal for businesses needing simplicity and responsive support, whereas Twilio stands out for its developer-friendly integrations, but with potentially weaker customer service.

2. Twilio vs. Tatango

Rating: Tatango (4.5) vs. Twilio (4.2)

• Pros:
  • Tatango: Praised for its customer support and features like segmentation and A/B testing, offering a user-friendly experience.
  • Twilio: Highly versatile in terms of integrations and automation features.
• Cons:
  • Tatango: Users point to issues with reporting clarity.
  • Twilio: Reports of poor customer support impact its usability.

Summary: Tatango is strong in its support and marketing features, while Twilio excels with its integration capabilities. Tatango might be a better fit for marketers, while Twilio is ideal for tech-heavy use cases.

3. Twilio vs. SlickText

Rating: SlickText (4.8) vs. Twilio (4.2)

• Pros:
  • SlickText: Easy to use, great customer support, and strong results for SMS marketing.
  • Twilio: Superior for integrations and automation.
• Cons:
  • SlickText: Higher costs and some messaging issues.
  • Twilio: Has received negative feedback regarding customer service.

Summary: SlickText is excellent for businesses focusing on simplicity and support, while Twilio is better suited for larger operations requiring advanced features.

4. Twilio vs. Omnisend

Rating: Omnisend (4.5) vs. Twilio (4.2)

• Pros:
  • Omnisend: Combines SMS with email marketing, and offers powerful automation options.
  • Twilio: Offers ease of use for developers and customizable workflows.
• Cons:
  • Omnisend: Expensive with limited SMS functionality.
  • Twilio: Some reports of poor customer support.

Summary: Omnisend is a solid option for businesses looking to combine SMS with email marketing, while Twilio is better for those needing a customizable and integration-heavy platform.

5. Twilio vs. Attentive

Rating: Attentive (4.7) vs. Twilio (4.2)

• Pros:
  • Attentive: Strong in customer support, ease of use, and detailed tracking capabilities.
  • Twilio: Versatile for integration and automation.
• Cons:
  • Attentive: Expensive and some users experience reporting issues.
  • Twilio: Customer support has been criticized.

Summary: Attentive shines in customer service and advanced tracking, making it a great choice for marketers, while Twilio is the preferred option for more technical, developer-focused setups.

How to get started with Twilio messaging

Getting started with Twilio text messaging is simple.

All you need to do is…

1. Go to the Twilio website.
2. Click the “Start for free” button at the top

With your free trial you’ll get $15.50 of credits to test out Twilio’s services.

You’ll also be given an Auth Token you can use to implement the code from the API documentation.

Have you thought about trying a Twilio messaging alternative?

We’ve gone over a lot of details regarding Twilio programmable SMS.

We’ve seen what Twilio is, some of its use cases, how developers can implement it, and comparisons between competitors.

So you’re now a lot better equipped to make a decision about whether or not you’d like to move forward with Twilio for your messaging purposes.

But have you thought about trying a Twilio messaging alternative?

Mobile Text Alerts is an alternative you can consider with a more out-of-the-box setup and personal support to address any of your questions or concerns.

Try it free now to see if it’s a good fit for you!