Twilio vs Telnyx pricing
Both are in sms & messaging apis. Twilio is billed per sms segment; Telnyx is billed per sms segment. Numbers below are copied from each vendor's pricing page.
TwilioFree tier or trial
- Free tier
- $15.50 trial credit, no card
- Billed
- Per SMS segment
- Best for
- Full-stack CPaaS for SMS, voice, WhatsApp, email
- Verified
- Jun 27, 2026
TelnyxFree tier or trial
- Free tier
- $20 trial credit
- Billed
- Per SMS segment
- Best for
- Carrier-owned, price-led SMS & voice API
- Verified
- Jun 27, 2026
Twilio plans
| Plan | Price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| US SMS (long code, base) | $0.0083 / segment | Per outbound or inbound message segment; US carrier pass-through fees apply on top. |
| US Toll-Free SMS | $0.0083 / segment | Default 3 MPS throughput; toll-free number rental $2.15/mo. |
| Phone number rental | $1.15–$2.15 / month | Local long code $1.15/mo; toll-free $2.15/mo. |
| Engagement Suite (link shorten/click track) | $0.015 / outbound msg | First 1,000/month free, then per-message charge. |
| Compliance Toolkit | $0.015 / outbound msg | AI-based SMS compliance review add-on. |
| International SMS | Varies (e.g. UK $0.04, India $0.0029, Brazil $0.075) | Pay-as-you-go per destination; volume and committed-use discounts available. |
- Effective per-message cost runs 40–60% above the headline rate once US carrier pass-through fees are added
- Unpredictable monthly bills at scale from layered A2P 10DLC brand/campaign fees, failed-message charges, and add-ons
Telnyx plans
| Plan | Price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Local / 10DLC (pay-as-you-go) | $0.004/part outbound SMS | Inbound SMS $0.004; outbound MMS $0.015, inbound MMS $0.005, all plus per-carrier fee. Volume discounts begin at 100M+ msgs/month (SMS as low as $0.0005/part). |
| Toll-Free | $0.0055/part SMS | Outbound/inbound SMS $0.0055; outbound MMS $0.016, inbound MMS $0.016, plus carrier fee. |
| Short Code | $0.007/part SMS | Outbound/inbound SMS $0.007; outbound MMS $0.018, inbound MMS $0.009. Volume discounts begin at 500K+ msgs/month. |
| RCS | $0.0065/segment rich text | RCS Rich Media $0.016/message, all directions/carriers. |
| Carrier fees (surcharge) | AT&T $0.0035/part, T-Mobile $0.0045/part | Added on top of base rates and vary by carrier and message type; many carriers charge no fee. |
| Volume / committed | Custom | Discounted rates for monthly spend commitments, with dedicated support for larger volumes. |
- Per-carrier surcharges mean real effective cost is meaningfully above the headline $0.004
- Carrier-fee and segment-based billing makes total cost harder to estimate up front