Africa's Talking vs MessageMedia
Compare Africa's Talking and MessageMedia 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 | 6th of 7 ↓ | 0 | 0 |
 | <1M | 5th of 7 → | 0 | 0 |
From January 2nd to April 2nd, Knock routed <1M messages through Africa's Talking and <1M through MessageMedia. Africa's Talking reported 0 status page updates over the last 90 days, while MessageMedia reported 0.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 320ms | 361ms | 396ms | 528ms |
| 221ms | 600ms | 633ms | 719ms |
The chart above shows each provider's daily median response time (p50) from January 2nd to April 2nd. The top-line number is an average of these daily values: Africa's Talking averaged 320ms compared to 221ms for MessageMedia. Africa's Talking's highest daily p50 was 347ms; MessageMedia's was 585ms. MessageMedia is 99ms 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, Africa's Talking has a p90 of 361ms compared to 600ms for MessageMedia. The highest daily p90 was 20317ms for Africa's Talking and 649ms for MessageMedia. Africa's Talking handles these slower requests 239ms 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, Africa's Talking reached 528ms at p99 while MessageMedia reached 719ms. The highest daily p99 was 31903ms for Africa's Talking and 894ms for MessageMedia, indicating the worst-case response time during spikes or provider-side congestion. Africa's Talking 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% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.16% | 20.37% | Jan 14 | 89 | 2 |
| 0.00% | 0.00% | Jan 2 | 91 | 0 |
Averaged across the date range, Africa's Talking shows a 0.16% daily error rate compared to 0.00% for MessageMedia. The highest single-day error rate was 20.37% for Africa's Talking and 0.00% for MessageMedia. MessageMedia 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 Africa's Talking incidents
Recent status page incidents for Africa's Talking
No incidents reported in the last 90 days
Recent MessageMedia incidents
Recent status page incidents for MessageMedia
No incidents reported in the last 90 days
Pricing comparison
| Provider | Plan | Per message | Monthly cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Africa's Talking | Pay-as-you-go | $0.03 | $2,960 |
| MessageMedia | Custom | — | Custom |
Africa's Talking
Free sandbox for testing. Production SMS pricing varies by country. US outbound messages cost approximately $0.0296 per message. African destinations range from $0.001 to $0.05 per message depending on the country.
MessageMedia
Custom pricing based on volume and destination. Contact sales for a quote. No publicly listed per-message rates.
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
Africa's Talking
MessageMedia
Pros
- Best-in-class coverage across African countries with local carrier relationships
- Competitive per-message pricing for African destinations
- Free sandbox environment for development and testing
- Supports USSD, voice, and airtime in addition to SMS
Pros
- Backed by Sinch's global carrier network for reliable delivery
- Strong presence in Australia, New Zealand, and Asia-Pacific markets
- Pre-built integrations with popular business tools and CRMs
- Supports both API-driven and web portal-based messaging workflows
Cons
- Limited coverage outside of Africa
- Smaller developer ecosystem and fewer SDKs than global providers
- US messaging rates are higher than domestic-focused providers
Cons
- Pricing is not publicly listed and requires contacting sales
- Developer documentation is less comprehensive than Twilio or Telnyx
- Brand identity can be confusing due to Sinch acquisition and rebranding
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Africa's Talking and MessageMedia?
Africa's Talking is a Pan-African communications platform with deep carrier integrations across the continent. MessageMedia is a Sinch-owned business SMS platform with strong Asia-Pacific coverage and enterprise integrations. Africa's Talking is best suited for africa-focused messaging, while MessageMedia is geared toward enterprise business messaging.
Which is cheaper, Africa's Talking or MessageMedia?
Free sandbox for testing. Production SMS pricing varies by country. US outbound messages cost approximately $0.0296 per message. African destinations range from $0.001 to $0.05 per message depending on the country. Custom pricing based on volume and destination. Contact sales for a quote. No publicly listed per-message rates. The best value depends on your sending volume and destination countries.
Which is faster, Africa's Talking or MessageMedia?
Based on real-world data from Knock, Africa's Talking has a median SMS API response time (p50) of 320ms compared to 221ms for MessageMedia.
Which is more reliable, Africa's Talking or MessageMedia?
From January 2nd to April 2nd, Africa's Talking showed an error rate of 0.16% while MessageMedia showed 0.00%. 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, Africa's Talking or MessageMedia?
On the Knock platform, Africa's Talking handled <1M messages from January 2nd to April 2nd compared to <1M for MessageMedia. Africa's Talking is currently seeing declining volume, while MessageMedia volume has remained stable.
Can I use both Africa's Talking and MessageMedia together?
Yes. Knock enables you to integrate multiple SMS providers into a single notification workflow. You can use Africa's Talking and MessageMedia 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 Africa's Talking vs MessageMedia?
Africa's Talking strengths include best-in-class coverage across african countries with local carrier relationships and competitive per-message pricing for african destinations. MessageMedia strengths include backed by sinch's global carrier network for reliable delivery and strong presence in australia, new zealand, and asia-pacific markets. On the other hand, Africa's Talking drawbacks include limited coverage outside of africa, while MessageMedia drawbacks include pricing is not publicly listed and requires contacting sales.
Use either provider with Knock
Knock enables you to integrate Africa's Talking, MessageMedia, or any combination of SMS providers into a single notification workflow. Manage templates, orchestrate cross-channel delivery, and switch providers without changing your code.