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 → | 3 | 10 |
| <1M | 4th of 7 → | 58 | 164 |
From May 31st to August 28th, Knock routed <1M messages through MessageBird and <1M through Telnyx. MessageBird reported 10 status page updates over the last 90 days, while Telnyx reported 164.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 309ms | 416ms | 439ms | 528ms |
| 313ms | 727ms | 860ms | 2988ms |
The chart above shows each provider's daily median response time (p50) from May 31st to August 28th. The top-line number is an average of these daily values: MessageBird averaged 309ms compared to 313ms for Telnyx. MessageBird's highest daily p50 was 462ms; Telnyx's was 743ms. 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, MessageBird has a p90 of 416ms compared to 727ms for Telnyx. The highest daily p90 was 588ms for MessageBird and 10103ms for Telnyx. MessageBird handles these slower requests 311ms 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 528ms at p99 while Telnyx reached 2988ms. The highest daily p99 was 2317ms for MessageBird and 10144ms 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% | May 31 | 80 | 0 |
| 0.80% | 22.09% | Aug 26 | 16 | 57 |
Averaged across the date range, MessageBird shows a 0.00% daily error rate compared to 0.80% for Telnyx. The highest single-day error rate was 0.00% for MessageBird and 22.09% for Telnyx. MessageBird demonstrates a lower error rate, indicating slightly more consistent availability during this period. 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 Aug 19, 2026 — Resolved Aug 19, 2026
Aug 20, 00:23 CEST Completed - The scheduled maintenance has been completed. Aug 19, 22:00 CEST In progress - Scheduled maintenance is currently in progress. We will provide updates as necessary. Aug 19, 15:53 CEST Scheduled - We will perform an unexpected maintenance in order to assure continuity of our services. During the time window short delays and intermittent unavailability may occur. This maintenance doesn't impact SMS or Voice services.
Started Aug 13, 2026 — Resolved Aug 13, 2026
Aug 14, 00:17 CEST Resolved - This incident has been resolved. Aug 13, 19:21 CEST Update - We are seeing stabilization of Inbox availability. Users should now be able to access conversations. We are continuing to monitor closely to confirm the issue is fully resolved before closing this incident. We will provide a further update within 60 minutes. Aug 13, 19:10 CEST Monitoring - We have confirmed that our hosting provider is currently experiencing capacity issues which are affecting the a
Started Aug 6, 2026 — Resolved Aug 6, 2026
Aug 7, 00:08 CEST Resolved - This incident has been resolved. Aug 7, 00:02 CEST Update - We are continuing to monitor for any further issues. Aug 7, 00:02 CEST Monitoring - A fix has been implemented and we are monitoring the results. Aug 6, 22:49 CEST Update - We identified the root cause and continuing to work on a fix for this issue. Aug 6, 20:46 CEST Update - We are continuing to work on a fix for this issue. Aug 6, 19:48 CEST Identified - The issue has been identified
Started Jul 22, 2026 — Resolved Jul 22, 2026
Jul 22, 16:54 CEST Resolved - This incident has been resolved. Jul 22, 15:58 CEST Update - The fix has been deployed, and dashboard search functionality has been restored. We are replaying events from the incident period to refresh the search index and ensure all affected items are available in search results. Jul 22, 14:54 CEST Monitoring - A fix has been implemented and we are monitoring the results. Jul 22, 14:16 CEST Identified - We've identified an issue affecting search functiona
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.
Recent Telnyx incidents
Recent status page incidents for Telnyx
Started Aug 27, 2026 — Resolved Aug 27, 2026
Status: Resolved Issue was resolved Affected components Programmable Wireless (Operational)
Started Aug 27, 2026 — Resolved Aug 27, 2026
Status: Resolved This is resolved Affected components Kimi-K2.6 (Operational)
Ongoing since Aug 27, 2026
Status: Scheduled The Wireless team will be applying configuration updates to Network Functions on the US East site. The work includes UPF configuration changes requiring restarts, timer parameter updates, and logging configuration enablement. There will be rolling restarts of some components, which have the potential to cause disruption to active data sessions. These disruptions are not expected to last more than 5 minutes. This would affect users connected in North, Central and South America
Ongoing since Aug 27, 2026
Status: Scheduled Our Wireless Engineers will perform maintenance on our Wireless services billing infrastructure. Small delays in WDR generation may occur. Affected components Programmable Wireless (Under maintenance)
Started Aug 27, 2026 — Resolved Aug 27, 2026
Status: Complete Maintenance has completed Affected components Europe (Operational) US (Operational) Europe (Operational) US (Operational) Australia (Operational)
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 309ms compared to 313ms for Telnyx.
Which is more reliable, MessageBird or Telnyx?
From May 31st to August 28th, MessageBird showed an error rate of 0.00% while Telnyx showed 0.80%. 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 May 31st to August 28th compared to <1M for Telnyx. MessageBird volume has remained stable, while Telnyx volume has remained stable.
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.