Twilio vs WhatsApp
Compare Twilio and WhatsApp 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100M–500M | 1st of 7 → | 25 | 25 |
| <1M | 4th of 7 ↑ | 3 | 12 |
From March 5th to June 3rd, Knock routed 100M–500M messages through Twilio and <1M through WhatsApp. Twilio reported 25 status page updates over the last 90 days, while WhatsApp 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.
The chart above shows each provider's daily median response time (p50) from March 5th to June 3rd. The top-line number is an average of these daily values: Twilio averaged 61ms compared to 664ms for WhatsApp. Twilio's highest daily p50 was 79ms; WhatsApp's was 1052ms This peak coincided with a critical incident reported on WhatsApp's status page (Resolved: Embedded Signup).. Twilio is 603ms 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, Twilio has a p90 of 117ms compared to 1089ms for WhatsApp. The highest daily p90 was 126ms for Twilio and 1633ms for WhatsApp This peak coincided with a critical incident reported on WhatsApp's status page (Resolved: Embedded Signup).. Twilio handles these slower requests 972ms 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, Twilio reached 155ms at p99 while WhatsApp reached 1568ms. The highest daily p99 was 252ms for Twilio and 26296ms for WhatsApp, indicating the worst-case response time during spikes or provider-side congestion. Twilio 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% | Mar 5 | 91 | 0 |
| 0.05% | 2.39% | Apr 13 | 89 | 2 |
Averaged across the date range, Twilio shows a 0.00% daily error rate compared to 0.05% for WhatsApp. The highest single-day error rate was 0.00% for Twilio and 2.39% for WhatsApp. Twilio 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 Twilio incidents
Recent status page incidents for Twilio
Ongoing since Jul 30, 2026
THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Jul 29, 20:00 PDT - Jul 30, 00:00 PDT Jun 1, 16:39 PDT Scheduled - Twilio is conducting a planned maintenance from 29 July 2026 at 20:00 PDT until 30 July 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 Jul 23, 2026
THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Jul 22, 20:00 PDT - Jul 23, 00:00 PDT Jun 1, 16:39 PDT Scheduled - Twilio is conducting a planned maintenance from 22 July 2026 at 20:00 PDT until 23 July 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 Jul 16, 2026
THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Jul 15, 20:00 PDT - Jul 16, 00:00 PDT Jun 1, 16:38 PDT Scheduled - Twilio is conducting a planned maintenance from 15 July 2026 at 20:00 PDT until 16 July 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 Jul 9, 2026
THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Jul 8, 20:00 PDT - Jul 9, 00:00 PDT Jun 1, 16:38 PDT Scheduled - Twilio is conducting a planned maintenance from 08 July 2026 at 20:00 PDT until 09 July 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 Jul 2, 2026
THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Jul 1, 20:00 PDT - Jul 2, 00:00 PDT Jun 1, 16:38 PDT Scheduled - Twilio is conducting a planned maintenance from 01 July 2026 at 20:00 PDT until 02 July 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.
Recent WhatsApp incidents
Recent status page incidents for WhatsApp
Started May 19, 2026 — Resolved May 19, 2026
We are currently experiencing high disruptions impacting webhook delivery and sends of media messages on Whatsapp Cloud API. This issue started at 11:30 am SGT on May 19th. Our engineering teams are investigating the issue. We will provide another update within 1 hour or sooner if additional information is available.
Started May 19, 2026 — Resolved May 19, 2026
We are currently experiencing high disruptions impacting webhook delivery and sends of media messages on MM API for WhatsApp. This issue started at 11:30 am SGT on May 19th. Our engineering teams are investigating the issue. We will provide another update within 1 hour or sooner if additional information is available.
Started May 6, 2026 — Resolved May 7, 2026
We are currently experiencing high disruptions impacting onboarding on Whatsapp Coexistence. Our engineering teams are investigating the issue. We will provide another update within 4 hours or sooner if additional information is available.
Started Apr 30, 2026 — Resolved Apr 30, 2026
We are currently experiencing disruptions impacting sending messages on Marketing Messages API for WhatsApp. This issue started at 3:28 AM PST on April 30th. Our engineering teams are investigating the issue. We will provide another update within 4 hours or sooner if additional information is available.
Started Apr 30, 2026 — Resolved Apr 30, 2026
We are currently experiencing disruptions impacting sending messages on Cloud API for WhatsApp. This issue started at 3:28 AM PST on April 30th. Our engineering teams are investigating the issue. We will provide another update within 4 hours or sooner if additional information is available.
Pricing comparison
| Provider | Plan | Per message | Monthly cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Twilio | Pay-as-you-go | $0.0083 | $830 |
| Utility + authentication | $0.0034 | $340 |
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.
WhatsApp charges per message for utility and authentication conversations, with graduated volume discounts. Marketing and service conversations have separate rate cards. US rates shown; international rates vary by country.
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
Twilio
WhatsApp
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
Pros
- Reaches over 2 billion users on the platform they already use
- Rich messaging with media, buttons, and interactive elements
- Free 24-hour customer service window for inbound conversations
- High open rates compared to SMS and email
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
Cons
- Conversation-based pricing model is more complex than per-message SMS pricing
- Message templates require Meta approval before use, which can take up to 24 hours
- Limited to countries and regions where WhatsApp has significant adoption
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Twilio and WhatsApp?
Twilio is the most widely adopted cloud communications platform, offering SMS, MMS, voice, and WhatsApp through a unified API. WhatsApp is the world's most popular messaging platform, offering rich media messaging, interactive elements, and conversation-based pricing through Meta's Cloud API. Twilio is best suited for full-featured sms at scale, while WhatsApp is geared toward rich customer messaging.
Which is cheaper, Twilio or WhatsApp?
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. WhatsApp charges per message for utility and authentication conversations, with graduated volume discounts. Marketing and service conversations have separate rate cards. US rates shown; international rates vary by country. The best value depends on your sending volume and destination countries.
Which is faster, Twilio or WhatsApp?
Based on real-world data from Knock, Twilio has a median SMS API response time (p50) of 61ms compared to 664ms for WhatsApp.
Which is more reliable, Twilio or WhatsApp?
From March 5th to June 3rd, Twilio showed an error rate of 0.00% while WhatsApp showed 0.05%. 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, Twilio or WhatsApp?
On the Knock platform, Twilio handled 100M–500M messages from March 5th to June 3rd compared to <1M for WhatsApp. Twilio volume has remained stable, while WhatsApp is trending upward.
Can I use both Twilio and WhatsApp together?
Yes. Knock enables you to integrate multiple SMS providers into a single notification workflow. You can use Twilio and WhatsApp 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 Twilio vs WhatsApp?
Twilio strengths include largest ecosystem of sdks, tutorials, and community resources for sms and trusted by airbnb, uber, and netflix for mission-critical messaging. WhatsApp strengths include reaches over 2 billion users on the platform they already use and rich messaging with media, buttons, and interactive elements. On the other hand, Twilio drawbacks include per-message pricing can add up at high volumes without committed-use discounts, while WhatsApp drawbacks include conversation-based pricing model is more complex than per-message sms pricing.
Use either provider with Knock
Knock enables you to integrate Twilio, WhatsApp, or any combination of SMS providers into a single notification workflow. Manage templates, orchestrate cross-channel delivery, and switch providers without changing your code.