MessageBird vs Plivo
Compare MessageBird and Plivo based on observed SMS API performance, features, and pricing
Live performance comparison
Real-world performance data from messages sent through Knock
We don't have enough message volume through Knock for Plivo to publish statistically meaningful benchmarks yet. The data below reflects MessageBird only. Comparison charts will appear once both providers have sufficient data.
| Provider | Message volume | Growth | Status page updates (30d) | Status page updates (90d) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| <1M | 5th of 7 → | 4 | 12 |
| — | — | 5 | 7 |
From February 15th to May 14th, Knock routed <1M messages through MessageBird. MessageBird reported 12 status page updates over the last 90 days, while Plivo reported 7.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 328ms | 429ms | 454ms | 552ms |
| — | — | — | — |
MessageBird has a median response time (p50) of 328ms, a p90 of 429ms, and a p99 of 552ms from February 15th to May 14th. Comparison charts for Plivo will appear once enough data is available.
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% | Feb 15 | 80 | 0 |
| — | — | — | — | — |
Averaged across February 15th to May 14th, MessageBird shows a 0.00% daily error rate. Comparison data for Plivo will appear once enough message volume is available. Knock automatically retries failed requests to minimize 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 MessageBird incidents
Recent status page incidents for MessageBird
Started May 13, 2026 — Resolved May 13, 2026
May 13, 15:33 CEST Resolved - This incident has been resolved.May 13, 14:25 CEST Monitoring - A fix has been implemented and we are monitoring the results.May 13, 14:16 CEST Identified - The issue has been identified and a fix is being implemented.May 13, 13:33 CEST Investigating - We are currently experiencing an issue where journeys are not displaying in the user interface. Journey runs are not affected and continue to execute normally. At this time, the issue is limited to the listing/viewin
Started May 12, 2026 — Resolved May 12, 2026
May 12, 16:16 CEST Resolved - This incident has been resolved.May 12, 15:58 CEST Monitoring - A fix has been implemented and we are monitoring the results.May 12, 15:41 CEST Investigating - We are currently experiencing delays in processing journeys. The team is actively working to increase processing speed and reduce delays.
Started May 8, 2026 — Resolved May 8, 2026
May 8, 12:55 CEST Identified - KPN Netherlands has reported issues with A2P delivery to a small subset of their customer base, which may cause messages to be delivered with a delay or not at all. We are working closely with their engineering teams to have this resolved.
Started May 1, 2026 — Resolved May 1, 2026
May 1, 23:37 CEST Resolved - This incident has been resolved.May 1, 23:14 CEST Identified - The issue has been identified and a fix is being implemented.May 1, 22:06 CEST Investigating - We are seeing elevated errors with conversations involving bots in the EU region and we are currently investigating this issue.
Started Apr 7, 2026 — Resolved Apr 7, 2026
Apr 7, 10:32 CEST Resolved - All backlog fully processed.Apr 7, 09:28 CEST Monitoring - We've identified the cause of the issue affecting wait steps in automations. A rapid spike in automation activity outpaced our infrastructure's autoscaling response, leading to a temporary processing backlog. Our systems have since scaled to meet demand and the backlog is expected to clear completely in 30mins.Apr 7, 07:49 CEST Investigating - We are currently investigating this issue.
Recent Plivo incidents
Recent status page incidents for Plivo
Ongoing since May 16, 2026
THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT May 16, 23:30 UTC - May 17, 02:30 UTCMay 8, 11:40 UTC Scheduled - Dear Valued Customer, We will perform planned maintenance on our Plivo database to improve the overall availability of our database engines. During that time Plivo customers may find intermittent service failure. When is the maintenance? 16th May 2026 23:30 - 17th May 2026 02:30 UTC 16th May 2026 16:30 - 16th May 2026 19:30 PDT What services will be affected? All Plivo services will be in
Started May 12, 2026 — Resolved May 12, 2026
May 12, 10:50 UTC Resolved - Dear Valued Customer, We recently experienced intermittent Inbound Call failures in India region. Our engineering and operations teams promptly investigated and resolved the issue. The root cause was identified, and corrective actions have been implemented to prevent recurrence. Incident Start Time: 12th May 2026 10:50 UTC Incident End Time: 12th May 2026 11:20 UTC If you have any questions or concerns regarding this incident, please contact Plivo Support. Suppor
Started May 11, 2026 — Resolved May 11, 2026
May 11, 02:30 UTC Completed - The scheduled maintenance has been completed.May 10, 23:30 UTC In progress - Scheduled maintenance is currently in progress. We will provide updates as necessary.Apr 27, 06:41 UTC Scheduled - Dear Valued Customer, We will be performing a planned database maintenance to improve the overall availability of our database engines. The impact should be minimal with downtime and should last no more than 180 minutes. When is the maintenance? 11th May 2026 05:00 IST - 11th
Started May 4, 2026 — Resolved May 4, 2026
May 4, 02:30 UTC Completed - The scheduled maintenance has been completed.May 3, 23:30 UTC In progress - Scheduled maintenance is currently in progress. We will provide updates as necessary.Apr 21, 11:15 UTC Scheduled - Dear Valued Customer, We will be conducting a series of planned maintenance activities across our database infrastructure to enhance the overall reliability, performance, and availability of our platform. When is the maintenance? 3rd May 2026 23:30 - 4th May 2026 02:30 UTC 3r
Started Apr 26, 2026 — Resolved Apr 26, 2026
Apr 26, 04:30 UTC Completed - The scheduled maintenance has been completed.Apr 26, 00:30 UTC In progress - Scheduled maintenance is currently in progress. We will provide updates as necessary.Apr 8, 09:14 UTC Scheduled - Dear Valued Customer, We will be conducting a series of planned maintenance activities across our database infrastructure to enhance the overall reliability, performance, and availability of our platform. When is the maintenance? 26th April 2026 00:30 - 26th April 2026 04:30
Pricing comparison
| Provider | Plan | Per message | Monthly cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| MessageBird | Local number | $0.0003 | $31 |
| Plivo | Pay-as-you-go | $0.0077 | $770 |
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.
Plivo
Pay-as-you-go with no minimums or monthly fees. US outbound SMS costs $0.0077 per message. Inbound messages are $0.0055 each. Volume discounts available for high monthly usage. Carrier surcharges apply on top of the base rate.
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
MessageBird
Plivo
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
Pros
- Among the lowest per-message rates with automatic volume discounts
- Familiar API design modeled after Twilio, making migration straightforward
- 99.99% uptime SLA with direct carrier connections to 190+ countries
- Free inbound messages and no monthly minimums or base fees
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
Cons
- Narrower feature set with no native support for WhatsApp or other messaging channels
- Smaller community and fewer third-party tutorials compared to Twilio
- Web dashboard is functional but not polished for managing large number inventories
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between MessageBird and Plivo?
MessageBird (now Bird) is an omnichannel communications platform with global SMS coverage and a unified messaging API. Plivo is a cost-effective communications platform with direct carrier connections, a Twilio-compatible API design, and a 99.99% uptime SLA. MessageBird is best suited for global omnichannel messaging, while Plivo is geared toward cost-effective high-volume sms.
Which is cheaper, MessageBird or Plivo?
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. Pay-as-you-go with no minimums or monthly fees. US outbound SMS costs $0.0077 per message. Inbound messages are $0.0055 each. Volume discounts available for high monthly usage. Carrier surcharges apply on top of the base rate. The best value depends on your sending volume and destination countries.
Which is faster, MessageBird or Plivo?
Based on real-world data from Knock, MessageBird has a median SMS API response time (p50) of 328ms. We don't yet have enough data for Plivo to make a direct comparison.
Which is more reliable, MessageBird or Plivo?
From February 15th to May 14th, MessageBird showed an error rate of 0.00%. We don't yet have enough data for Plivo to compare reliability directly. Knock automatically retries failed requests to minimize the impact of transient errors.
Which is more popular, MessageBird or Plivo?
On the Knock platform, MessageBird handled <1M messages from February 15th to May 14th. MessageBird volume has remained stable. We don't yet have enough data for Plivo to compare popularity.
Can I use both MessageBird and Plivo together?
Yes. Knock enables you to integrate multiple SMS providers into a single notification workflow. You can use MessageBird and Plivo 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 MessageBird vs Plivo?
MessageBird strengths include strong global coverage with direct carrier connections in 190+ countries and unified api across sms, whatsapp, telegram, and other channels. Plivo strengths include among the lowest per-message rates with automatic volume discounts and familiar api design modeled after twilio, making migration straightforward. On the other hand, MessageBird drawbacks include pricing is published as per-country rate cards rather than simple headline rates, making comparison harder, while Plivo drawbacks include narrower feature set with no native support for whatsapp or other messaging channels.
Use either provider with Knock
Knock enables you to integrate MessageBird, Plivo, or any combination of SMS providers into a single notification workflow. Manage templates, orchestrate cross-channel delivery, and switch providers without changing your code.