MessageBird vs Telnyx
Compare MessageBird and Telnyx 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 ↓ | 2 | 11 |
| 1M–10M | 3rd of 7 ↑ | 66 | 163 |
From April 19th to July 17th, Knock routed <1M messages through MessageBird and 1M–10M through Telnyx. MessageBird reported 11 status page updates over the last 90 days, while Telnyx reported 163.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 333ms | 439ms | 465ms | 558ms |
| 280ms | 498ms | 700ms | 1037ms |
The chart above shows each provider's daily median response time (p50) from April 19th to July 17th. The top-line number is an average of these daily values: MessageBird averaged 333ms compared to 280ms for Telnyx. MessageBird's highest daily p50 was 519ms; Telnyx's was 743ms. Telnyx is 53ms faster at the median, which can add up at high volumes.
The 90th percentile (p90) captures the slowest 10% of requests, revealing how each provider handles moderate stress. Averaged across all days, MessageBird has a p90 of 439ms compared to 498ms for Telnyx. The highest daily p90 was 649ms for MessageBird and 2245ms for Telnyx. MessageBird handles these slower requests 59ms 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, MessageBird reached 558ms at p99 while Telnyx reached 1037ms. The highest daily p99 was 4875ms for MessageBird and 5216ms for Telnyx, indicating the worst-case response time during spikes or provider-side congestion. MessageBird shows a tighter tail, which may matter for time-sensitive SMS notifications like one-time passwords or real-time alerts where even rare delays can impact user experience.
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% | Apr 19 | 81 | 0 |
| 0.03% | 0.32% | May 28 | 30 | 34 |
Averaged across the date range, MessageBird shows a 0.00% daily error rate compared to 0.03% for Telnyx. The highest single-day error rate was 0.00% for MessageBird and 0.32% for Telnyx. 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 MessageBird incidents
Recent status page incidents for MessageBird
Started Jul 8, 2026 — Resolved Jul 8, 2026
Jul 9, 00:28 CEST Resolved - This incident has been resolved. Jul 9, 00:10 CEST Identified - The issue has been identified and a fix is being implemented. Jul 8, 22:12 CEST Investigating - We are observing delays in processing of Message & Contact Objects. We are actively investigating the issue The impact is limited to Customers in Bird Box platform, hosted in the us-west-1 region.
Started Jul 5, 2026 — Resolved Jul 5, 2026
Jul 5, 18:12 CEST Resolved - This incident has been resolved. Jul 5, 18:07 CEST Monitoring - A fix has been implemented and we are monitoring the results. Jul 5, 17:50 CEST Investigating - We are seeing a spike in errors in the Journeys logs right now. We are investigating the issue.
Started Jun 12, 2026 — Resolved Jun 12, 2026
Jun 12, 20:22 CEST Resolved - This incident has been resolved. Jun 12, 17:05 CEST Identified - We are continuing to monitor increased WhatsApp message delivery failures caused by ongoing disruptions in Meta’s services, as confirmed by Meta. Jun 12, 16:10 CEST Investigating - We are investigating increased WhatsApp message delivery failures caused by connectivity issues with Meta services. Customers may experience delays or failures when sending WhatsApp messages. Our team is actively mon
Started Jun 4, 2026 — Resolved Jun 4, 2026
Jun 4, 14:02 CEST Resolved - This incident has been resolved. Jun 4, 13:13 CEST Investigating - Flows and Journeys are unable to retrieve the Message Body property for Conversation Messages. We are investigating the issue.
Started Jun 4, 2026 — Resolved Jun 4, 2026
Jun 4, 13:42 CEST Resolved - This incident has been resolved. Jun 4, 11:57 CEST Monitoring - Between 9:30 AM and 9:34 AM UTC, there has been an intermittent increase in delivery latency for messages sent. The issue has been resolved. We are monitoring the situation.
Recent Telnyx incidents
Recent status page incidents for Telnyx
Started Jul 17, 2026 — Resolved Jul 17, 2026
Status: Complete Maintenance has completed Affected components London, UK (Under maintenance) Sydney, Australia (Under maintenance) Dubai, UAE (Under maintenance) Sydney, Australia (Under maintenance) Europe (Under maintenance) Chicago, IL (Under maintenance) Amsterdam, Netherlands (Under maintenance) Ashburn, VA (Under maintenance) Chicago, IL (Under maintenance) US (Under maintenance) Chennai, India (Under maintenance) Frankfurt, Germany (Under maintenance) US (Under ma
Ongoing since Jul 17, 2026
Status: Investigating Data Connectivity Issues - Europe Affected components Programmable Wireless (Partial outage)
Started Jul 17, 2026 — Resolved Jul 17, 2026
Status: Complete Maintenance has completed Affected components Programmable Wireless (Under maintenance)
Ongoing since Jul 17, 2026
Status: Scheduled The Wireless team will be performing maintenance on core wireless nodes in the Europe region. Devices in in the EMEA region and continental Asia may experience a brief (Affected components Programmable Wireless (Under maintenance)
Ongoing since Jul 17, 2026
Status: Scheduled The wireless team will be performing non service impacting maintenance on redundant nodes in the Europe region. No service impact is expected. Affected components Programmable Wireless (Under maintenance)
Pricing comparison
| Provider | Plan | Per message | Monthly cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| MessageBird | Local number | $0.0003 | $31 |
| Telnyx | Pay-as-you-go | $0.004 | $400 |
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.
Telnyx
No free tier. Outbound SMS to US numbers costs $0.004 per message. Inbound messages are $0.004 each. Phone numbers start at $1.00/month for local numbers. Carrier surcharges are passed through at cost with no markup.
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
Telnyx
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 for US domestic SMS
- Private IP network provides lower latency than providers using the public internet
- Transparent, pay-as-you-go pricing with no monthly minimums
- Strong developer experience with well-documented APIs and SDKs
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
- Smaller community and ecosystem compared to Twilio
- No free trial credits for new accounts
- Feature set is narrower than full-suite platforms like Twilio
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between MessageBird and Telnyx?
MessageBird (now Bird) is an omnichannel communications platform with global SMS coverage and a unified messaging API. Telnyx is a developer-first communications platform with competitive pricing and a private IP network for reliable SMS delivery. MessageBird is best suited for global omnichannel messaging, while Telnyx is geared toward cost-effective developer sms.
Which is cheaper, MessageBird or Telnyx?
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. No free tier. Outbound SMS to US numbers costs $0.004 per message. Inbound messages are $0.004 each. Phone numbers start at $1.00/month for local numbers. Carrier surcharges are passed through at cost with no markup. The best value depends on your sending volume and destination countries.
Which is faster, MessageBird or Telnyx?
Based on real-world data from Knock, MessageBird has a median SMS API response time (p50) of 333ms compared to 280ms for Telnyx.
Which is more reliable, MessageBird or Telnyx?
From April 19th to July 17th, MessageBird showed an error rate of 0.00% while Telnyx showed 0.03%. 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, MessageBird or Telnyx?
On the Knock platform, MessageBird handled <1M messages from April 19th to July 17th compared to 1M–10M for Telnyx. MessageBird is currently seeing declining volume, while Telnyx is trending upward.
Can I use both MessageBird and Telnyx together?
Yes. Knock enables you to integrate multiple SMS providers into a single notification workflow. You can use MessageBird and Telnyx 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 Telnyx?
MessageBird strengths include strong global coverage with direct carrier connections in 190+ countries and unified api across sms, whatsapp, telegram, and other channels. Telnyx strengths include among the lowest per-message rates for us domestic sms and private ip network provides lower latency than providers using the public internet. On the other hand, MessageBird drawbacks include pricing is published as per-country rate cards rather than simple headline rates, making comparison harder, while Telnyx drawbacks include smaller community and ecosystem compared to twilio.
Use either provider with Knock
Knock enables you to integrate MessageBird, Telnyx, or any combination of SMS providers into a single notification workflow. Manage templates, orchestrate cross-channel delivery, and switch providers without changing your code.