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 | 3rd of 7 → | 0 | 14 |
From May 30th to August 28th, 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 14.
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 May 30th to August 28th. The top-line number is an average of these daily values: Twilio averaged 55ms compared to 311ms for WhatsApp. Twilio's highest daily p50 was 67ms; WhatsApp's was 891ms. Twilio is 256ms 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 120ms compared to 999ms for WhatsApp. The highest daily p90 was 130ms for Twilio and 1295ms for WhatsApp. Twilio handles these slower requests 879ms 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 154ms at p99 while WhatsApp reached 1394ms. The highest daily p99 was 178ms for Twilio and 1972ms 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% | May 30 | 91 | 0 |
| 0.24% | 41.67% | Jun 12 | 83 | 8 |
Averaged across the date range, Twilio shows a 0.00% daily error rate compared to 0.24% for WhatsApp. The highest single-day error rate was 0.00% for Twilio and 41.67% for WhatsApp This peak coincided with a critical incident reported on WhatsApp's status page (Resolved: Cloud API - Calling).. 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 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 1, 2026
THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Sep 30, 20:00 PDT - Oct 1, 00:00 PDT Aug 12, 11:57 PDT Scheduled - Twilio is conducting a planned maintenance from 30 September 2026 at 20:00 PDT until 01 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 via subset of long codes, short codes and toll free numbers.
Ongoing since Sep 24, 2026
THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Sep 23, 20:00 PDT - Sep 24, 00:00 PDT Aug 12, 11:57 PDT Scheduled - Twilio is conducting a planned maintenance from 23 September 2026 at 20:00 PDT until 24 September 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 via subset of long codes, short codes and toll free numbers.
Ongoing since Sep 22, 2026
THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Sep 22, 15:00 - 21:00 PDT Aug 24, 23:50 PDT Scheduled - Our Voice carrier partner in the Czech Republic is conducting a planned maintenance from 22 September 2026 at 15:00 PDT until 22 September 2026 at 21:00 PDT. During the maintenance window, there could be intermittent call disconnects or call failures from and to Twilio Czech Republic phone numbers.
Ongoing since Sep 21, 2026
THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Sep 21, 15:00 - 21:00 PDT Aug 24, 23:49 PDT Scheduled - Our Voice carrier partner in the Czech Republic is conducting a planned maintenance from 21 September 2026 at 15:00 PDT until 21 September 2026 at 21:00 PDT. During the maintenance window, there could be intermittent call disconnects or call failures from and to Twilio Czech Republic phone numbers.
Recent WhatsApp incidents
Recent status page incidents for WhatsApp
Started Jul 19, 2026 — Resolved Jul 19, 2026
We are currently experiencing high disruptions impacting WhatsApp Marketing Message API. This issue started on July 19th 1:10am PST. Our engineering teams are investigating the issue. We will provide another update within 1 hour or sooner if additional information is available.
Started Jul 6, 2026 — Resolved Jul 6, 2026
We are currently experiencing high disruptions impacting 2fa email deliveries on WhatsApp Business Account Management. Our engineering teams are investigating the issue. We will provide another update if additional information is available.
Started Jun 23, 2026 — Resolved Jun 23, 2026
We are currently experiencing high disruptions impacting sending messages on Coexistence - Messaging. This issue started at 2:24PM on June 24th. Our engineering teams are investigating the issue. We will provide another update within 1 hour or sooner if additional information is available.
Started Jun 23, 2026 — Resolved Jun 23, 2026
We are currently experiencing high disruptions impacting sending messages on Coexistence - Onboarding. This issue started at 2:24PM on June 24th. Our engineering teams are investigating the issue. We will provide another update within 1 hour or sooner if additional information is available.
Started Jun 23, 2026 — Resolved Jun 23, 2026
We are currently experiencing medium disruptions impacting the WhatApp Cloud API Calling. This issue started at 02:24PM GMT on June 24th. 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 55ms compared to 311ms for WhatsApp.
Which is more reliable, Twilio or WhatsApp?
From May 30th to August 28th, Twilio showed an error rate of 0.00% while WhatsApp showed 0.24%. 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 May 30th to August 28th compared to <1M for WhatsApp. Twilio volume has remained stable, while WhatsApp volume has remained stable.
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.