Africa's Talking vs MessageBird
Compare Africa's Talking and MessageBird based on observed SMS API performance, features, and pricing
Live performance comparison
Real-world performance data from messages sent through Knock
| Provider | Message volume | Growth | Status page updates (30d) | Status page updates (90d) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| <1M | 7th of 7 → | 0 | 0 |
| <1M | 5th of 7 ↑ | 0 | 0 |
From January 24th to April 23rd, Knock routed <1M messages through Africa's Talking and <1M through MessageBird. Africa's Talking reported 0 status page updates over the last 90 days, while MessageBird reported 0.
Response time
Response time measures how long each provider takes to accept an SMS API request from Knock, including connection overhead and any automatic retries. Lower values mean faster message hand-off.
| Provider | Median (p50) | p90 | p95 | p99 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 322ms | 360ms | 383ms | 508ms |
| 320ms | 418ms | 441ms | 518ms |
The chart above shows each provider's daily median response time (p50) from January 24th to April 23rd. The top-line number is an average of these daily values: Africa's Talking averaged 322ms compared to 320ms for MessageBird. Africa's Talking's highest daily p50 was 347ms; MessageBird's was 473ms. Both providers deliver comparable response times for the typical request.
The 90th percentile (p90) captures the slowest 10% of requests, revealing how each provider handles moderate stress. Averaged across all days, Africa's Talking has a p90 of 360ms compared to 418ms for MessageBird. The highest daily p90 was 617ms for Africa's Talking and 862ms for MessageBird. Africa's Talking handles these slower requests 58ms faster, suggesting more consistent performance across the board.
The 99th percentile (p99) represents the long tail — the slowest 1% of requests. Averaged across all days, Africa's Talking reached 508ms at p99 while MessageBird reached 518ms. The highest daily p99 was 6587ms for Africa's Talking and 7528ms for MessageBird, indicating the worst-case response time during spikes or provider-side congestion. Both providers exhibit comparable tail response times, meaning neither is significantly more prone to outlier slowdowns.
Error rate
Error rate tracks the ratio of 5xx responses and timeouts to total SMS API requests. Knock automatically retries failed requests, so transient provider errors rarely affect end-user delivery.
| Provider | Avg. daily error rate | Highest daily rate | Peak error date | Zero-error days | Days above 0.01% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.00% | 0.00% | Jan 24 | 90 | 0 |
| 0.00% | 0.00% | Jan 26 | 78 | 0 |
Averaged across the date range, Africa's Talking shows a 0.00% daily error rate compared to 0.00% for MessageBird. The highest single-day error rate was 0.00% for Africa's Talking and 0.00% for MessageBird. Both providers show similar reliability levels, with error rates well within acceptable thresholds. Knock automatically retries failed requests to both providers, minimizing the impact of transient errors on end-user delivery.
About these metrics: Data represents messages sent through Knock during the specified period. Response time measures time from Knock to provider acceptance. Error rate includes only provider 5xx responses and timeouts.
Recent Africa's Talking incidents
Recent status page incidents for Africa's Talking
No incidents reported in the last 90 days
Recent MessageBird incidents
Recent status page incidents for MessageBird
No incidents reported in the last 90 days
Pricing comparison
| Provider | Plan | Per message | Monthly cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Africa's Talking | Pay-as-you-go | $0.03 | $2,960 |
| MessageBird | Local number | $0.0003 | $31 |
Africa's Talking
Free sandbox for testing. Production SMS pricing varies by country. US outbound messages cost approximately $0.0296 per message. African destinations range from $0.001 to $0.05 per message depending on the country.
MessageBird
Bird (formerly MessageBird) publishes per-country rate cards rather than a single headline price. US outbound SMS via local numbers costs $0.00031 per message, with short codes at $0.0009 and toll-free at $0.00147. Carrier surcharges apply on top. International rates vary widely by destination.
US carrier surcharges
All US A2P SMS sent via 10DLC incurs mandatory carrier fees on top of the provider base rate. Most providers pass these through at cost.
| Carrier | Outbound SMS | Inbound SMS |
|---|---|---|
| T-Mobile | $0.0045 | $0.0025 |
| AT&T | $0.003 | $0.003 |
| Verizon | $0.004 | $0.00 |
| US Cellular | $0.005 | $0.00 |
Pros and cons
Africa's Talking
MessageBird
Pros
- Best-in-class coverage across African countries with local carrier relationships
- Competitive per-message pricing for African destinations
- Free sandbox environment for development and testing
- Supports USSD, voice, and airtime in addition to SMS
Pros
- Strong global coverage with direct carrier connections in 190+ countries
- Unified API across SMS, WhatsApp, Telegram, and other channels
- Visual flow builder enables non-technical users to create messaging workflows
- Now part of Bird, offering an expanded platform for customer engagement
Cons
- Limited coverage outside of Africa
- Smaller developer ecosystem and fewer SDKs than global providers
- US messaging rates are higher than domestic-focused providers
Cons
- Pricing is published as per-country rate cards rather than simple headline rates, making comparison harder
- Rebranding to Bird has caused some confusion in documentation and branding
- Smaller developer community compared to Twilio
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Africa's Talking and MessageBird?
Africa's Talking is a Pan-African communications platform with deep carrier integrations across the continent. MessageBird (now Bird) is an omnichannel communications platform with global SMS coverage and a unified messaging API. Africa's Talking is best suited for africa-focused messaging, while MessageBird is geared toward global omnichannel messaging.
Which is cheaper, Africa's Talking or MessageBird?
Free sandbox for testing. Production SMS pricing varies by country. US outbound messages cost approximately $0.0296 per message. African destinations range from $0.001 to $0.05 per message depending on the country. Bird (formerly MessageBird) publishes per-country rate cards rather than a single headline price. US outbound SMS via local numbers costs $0.00031 per message, with short codes at $0.0009 and toll-free at $0.00147. Carrier surcharges apply on top. International rates vary widely by destination. The best value depends on your sending volume and destination countries.
Which is faster, Africa's Talking or MessageBird?
Based on real-world data from Knock, Africa's Talking has a median SMS API response time (p50) of 322ms compared to 320ms for MessageBird.
Which is more reliable, Africa's Talking or MessageBird?
From January 24th to April 23rd, Africa's Talking showed an error rate of 0.00% while MessageBird showed 0.00%. Both rates are within acceptable thresholds for production SMS delivery, and Knock automatically retries failed requests to minimize the impact of transient errors.
Which is more popular, Africa's Talking or MessageBird?
On the Knock platform, Africa's Talking handled <1M messages from January 24th to April 23rd compared to <1M for MessageBird. Africa's Talking volume has remained stable, while MessageBird is trending upward.
Can I use both Africa's Talking and MessageBird together?
Yes. Knock enables you to integrate multiple SMS providers into a single notification workflow. You can use Africa's Talking and MessageBird side by side, route traffic between them, or migrate from one to the other without changing your application code.
What are the main pros and cons of Africa's Talking vs MessageBird?
Africa's Talking strengths include best-in-class coverage across african countries with local carrier relationships and competitive per-message pricing for african destinations. MessageBird strengths include strong global coverage with direct carrier connections in 190+ countries and unified api across sms, whatsapp, telegram, and other channels. On the other hand, Africa's Talking drawbacks include limited coverage outside of africa, while MessageBird drawbacks include pricing is published as per-country rate cards rather than simple headline rates, making comparison harder.
Use either provider with Knock
Knock enables you to integrate Africa's Talking, MessageBird, or any combination of SMS providers into a single notification workflow. Manage templates, orchestrate cross-channel delivery, and switch providers without changing your code.