Plivo vs Twilio
Compare Plivo and Twilio 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 Twilio only. Comparison charts will appear once both providers have sufficient data.
| Provider | Message volume | Growth | Status page updates (30d) | Status page updates (90d) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | 2 | 12 |
| 25M–100M | 1st of 7 → | 25 | 25 |
From June 18th to September 16th, Knock routed 25M–100M messages through Twilio. Twilio reported 25 status page updates over the last 90 days, while Plivo reported 12.
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.
Twilio has a median response time (p50) of 114ms, a p90 of 137ms, and a p99 of 174ms from June 18th to September 16th. 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% | 0.31% | Sep 1 | 90 | 1 |
Averaged across June 18th to September 16th, Twilio 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 Plivo incidents
Recent status page incidents for Plivo
Started Sep 11, 2026 — Resolved Sep 11, 2026
Sep 11, 06:35 UTC Resolved - This incident has been resolved Sep 11, 06:27 UTC Monitoring - carrier partner fixed the issue and we are monitoring the results. Sep 11, 06:02 UTC Identified - Dear Valued Customers, We are currently observing intermittent call failures affecting both inbound and outbound calls to India. Our team is actively working with our carrier partner to identify the root cause and restore service as quickly as possible. We will provide our next update within the nex
Started Aug 25, 2026 — Resolved Aug 25, 2026
Aug 25, 14:16 UTC Resolved - This incident has been resolved. Aug 25, 07:41 UTC Monitoring - A fix has been implemented and we are monitoring the results. Aug 25, 07:25 UTC Identified - Dear Valued Customers, We are currently observing an intermittent issue where a subset of voice calls are not triggering status callbacks, including ringing, hangup, and call-status webhook events. Call processing itself is unaffected, and calls are connecting and completing normally. We have identified
Started Aug 14, 2026 — Resolved Aug 14, 2026
Aug 14, 00:30 UTC Completed - The scheduled maintenance has been completed. Aug 13, 22:30 UTC In progress - Scheduled maintenance is currently in progress. We will provide updates as necessary. Aug 5, 05:57 UTC Scheduled - Dear Valued Customer, We will be performing planned maintenance on our carrier layer to improve the overall reliability and resilience of our network infrastructure. Maintenance Window 2026-08-13 22:30 UTC to 2026-08-14 00:30 UTC 2026-08 14 04:00 IST to 2026-08-14 06
Started Aug 5, 2026 — Resolved Aug 5, 2026
Aug 5, 20:30 UTC Completed - The scheduled maintenance has been completed. Aug 5, 18:30 UTC In progress - Scheduled maintenance is currently in progress. We will provide updates as necessary. Aug 5, 05:55 UTC Scheduled - Dear Valued Customer, We will be performing planned maintenance on our carrier layer to improve the overall reliability and resilience of our network infrastructure. Maintenance Window 2026-08-05 18:30 UTC to 2026-08-05 20:30 UTC 2026-08 06 00:00 IST to 2026-08-06 02
Started Aug 1, 2026 — Resolved Aug 1, 2026
Aug 1, 03:37 UTC Resolved - This incident has been resolved. Jul 31, 18:36 UTC Monitoring - A fix has been implemented and we are monitoring the results. Jul 31, 17:45 UTC Identified - We have identified the issue with our cloud service provider. Our team is working closely with them to resolve the issue, and we will provide another update as soon as more information becomes available. Jul 31, 17:01 UTC Investigating - Dear Valued Customer, We are observing outbound call failures in
Recent Twilio incidents
Recent status page incidents for Twilio
Ongoing since Oct 29, 2026
THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Oct 28, 20:00 PDT - Oct 29, 00:00 PDT Sep 4, 00:24 PDT Scheduled - Twilio is conducting a planned maintenance from 28 October 2026 at 20:00 PDT until 29 October 2026 at 00:00 PDT. During the maintenance window, there could be intermittent delays or failures delivering SMS and MMS to and from United States and Canada handsets when sending via long codes, short codes and toll free numbers.
Ongoing since Oct 22, 2026
THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Oct 21, 22:00 - 23:30 PDT Sep 15, 15:09 PDT Scheduled - Twilio will conduct infrastructure maintenance on the San Jose (US2) PoP on October 21, 2026, from 10:00pm PDT until 11:30pm PDT. Overall service impact is expected to be minimal. However, there could be intermittent message delivery failures and delivery delays during traffic re-convergence for traffic routing to and from Twilio’s US2/San Jose edge location.
Ongoing since Oct 22, 2026
THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Oct 21, 20:00 PDT - Oct 22, 00:00 PDT Sep 4, 00:24 PDT Scheduled - Twilio is conducting a planned maintenance from 21 October 2026 at 20:00 PDT until 22 October 2026 at 00:00 PDT. During the maintenance window, there could be intermittent delays or failures delivering SMS and MMS to and from United States and Canada handsets when sending via long codes, short codes and toll free numbers.
Ongoing since Oct 16, 2026
THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Oct 16, 14:00 - 22:00 PDT Jul 29, 00:27 PDT Scheduled - Twilio will perform scheduled network maintenance in our IE1 region during an 8-hour window from 16 October 2026 at 14:00 PDT to 16 October 2026 at 22:00 PDT. During this window, customers may experience a brief service interruption of up to 90 seconds affecting the following: Interconnected Customers: All IE1 interconnected customers will experience a brief interconnection service interruption of up to 90 seco
Ongoing since Oct 15, 2026
THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Oct 14, 22:00 PDT - Oct 15, 04:00 PDT Sep 4, 13:02 PDT Scheduled - Our SMS carrier partner in the United States and Canada is conducting a planned maintenance from 14 October 2026 at 22:00 PDT until 15 October 2026 at 04:00 PDT. During the maintenance window, there could be intermittent delays delivering SMS to and from United States and Canada handsets via United States and Canada long codes.
Pricing comparison
| Provider | Plan | Per message | Monthly cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plivo | Pay-as-you-go | $0.0077 | $770 |
| Twilio | Pay-as-you-go | $0.0083 | $830 |
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.
Twilio
Outbound SMS to US numbers costs $0.0083 per message. Inbound messages are $0.0075 each. Phone numbers start at $1.15/month for local numbers. Carrier surcharges of ~$0.003–$0.005 per message 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
Plivo
Twilio
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
Pros
- Largest ecosystem of SDKs, tutorials, and community resources for SMS
- Trusted by Airbnb, Uber, and Netflix for mission-critical messaging
- Comprehensive compliance tooling with opt-out management and content filtering
- Supports SMS, MMS, WhatsApp, and voice in a single platform
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
Cons
- Per-message pricing can add up at high volumes without committed-use discounts
- Phone number provisioning and compliance setup can be complex for new users
- Support response times vary by plan tier
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Plivo and Twilio?
Plivo is a cost-effective communications platform with direct carrier connections, a Twilio-compatible API design, and a 99.99% uptime SLA. Twilio is the most widely adopted cloud communications platform, offering SMS, MMS, voice, and WhatsApp through a unified API. Plivo is best suited for cost-effective high-volume sms, while Twilio is geared toward full-featured sms at scale.
Which is cheaper, Plivo or Twilio?
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. Outbound SMS to US numbers costs $0.0083 per message. Inbound messages are $0.0075 each. Phone numbers start at $1.15/month for local numbers. Carrier surcharges of ~$0.003–$0.005 per message apply on top of the base rate. The best value depends on your sending volume and destination countries.
Which is faster, Plivo or Twilio?
Based on real-world data from Knock, Twilio has a median SMS API response time (p50) of 114ms. We don't yet have enough data for Plivo to make a direct comparison.
Which is more reliable, Plivo or Twilio?
From June 18th to September 16th, Twilio 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, Plivo or Twilio?
On the Knock platform, Twilio handled 25M–100M messages from June 18th to September 16th. Twilio volume has remained stable. We don't yet have enough data for Plivo to compare popularity.
Can I use both Plivo and Twilio together?
Yes. Knock enables you to integrate multiple SMS providers into a single notification workflow. You can use Plivo and Twilio 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 Plivo vs Twilio?
Plivo strengths include among the lowest per-message rates with automatic volume discounts and familiar api design modeled after twilio, making migration straightforward. Twilio strengths include largest ecosystem of sdks, tutorials, and community resources for sms and trusted by airbnb, uber, and netflix for mission-critical messaging. On the other hand, Plivo drawbacks include narrower feature set with no native support for whatsapp or other messaging channels, while Twilio drawbacks include per-message pricing can add up at high volumes without committed-use discounts.
Use either provider with Knock
Knock enables you to integrate Plivo, Twilio, or any combination of SMS providers into a single notification workflow. Manage templates, orchestrate cross-channel delivery, and switch providers without changing your code.