MessageBird vs Plivo
Compare MessageBird and Plivo 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 MessageBird only. Comparison charts will appear once both providers have sufficient data.
| Provider | Message volume | Growth | Status page updates (30d) | Status page updates (90d) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | <1M | 7th of 7 ↑ | 4 | 12 |
 | — | — | 1 | 10 |
From January 3rd to April 2nd, Knock routed <1M messages through MessageBird. MessageBird reported 12 status page updates over the last 90 days, while Plivo reported 10.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 311ms | 407ms | 432ms | 535ms |
| — | — | — | — |
MessageBird has a median response time (p50) of 311ms, a p90 of 407ms, and a p99 of 535ms from January 3rd to April 2nd. 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% | 0.00% | Jan 3 | 79 | 0 |
| — | — | — | — | — |
Averaged across January 3rd to April 2nd, MessageBird 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 MessageBird incidents
Recent status page incidents for MessageBird
Started Mar 31, 2026 — Resolved Mar 31, 2026
Mar 31, 15:47 CEST Resolved - This incident has been resolved.Mar 31, 14:25 CEST Monitoring - A fix has been implemented and we are monitoring the results. Affected customers are advised to retry their campaigns.Mar 31, 13:29 CEST Identified - We are currently investigating an issue impacting campaigns activated in the EP Marketing Suite within the last 30 minutes. Affected campaigns are failing approximately 10 minutes after activation. Our team is actively working on a fix.
Started Mar 24, 2026 — Resolved Mar 24, 2026
Mar 24, 15:37 CET Resolved - This incident has been resolved.Mar 24, 15:16 CET Monitoring - A fix has been implemented and we are monitoring the results.Mar 24, 14:49 CET Investigating - We are currently investigating this issue.
Started Mar 23, 2026 — Resolved Mar 23, 2026
Mar 23, 10:34 CET Resolved - This incident has been resolved.Mar 23, 09:42 CET Monitoring - A fix has been implemented and we are monitoring the results.Mar 23, 08:29 CET Investigating - Flows and Journeys are impacted. We are investigating this issue.
Started Mar 11, 2026 — Resolved Mar 11, 2026
Mar 11, 16:07 CET Resolved - This incident has been resolved.Mar 11, 14:52 CET Investigating - We are currently investigating processing delays impacting a subset of flows & journeys configured with contact-added-to-list triggers.
Started Feb 24, 2026 — Resolved Feb 24, 2026
Feb 24, 01:10 CET Resolved - This incident has been resolved.Feb 24, 01:00 CET Monitoring - A fix has been implemented and we are monitoring the results.Feb 24, 00:49 CET Update - We are continuing to work on a fix for this issue.Feb 23, 23:43 CET Identified - The issue has been identified and a fix is being implemented.Feb 23, 23:30 CET Investigating - We are currently observing problems with our MMS service resulting in failed messages sending to US based routes. We are investigating the situa
Recent Plivo incidents
Recent status page incidents for Plivo
Started Mar 28, 2026 — Resolved Mar 28, 2026
Mar 28, 14:52 UTC Resolved - This incident has been resolvedMar 28, 14:46 UTC Monitoring - A fix has been implemented and we are monitoring the resultsMar 28, 14:13 UTC Identified - Issue has been identified. Fix is being implemented.Mar 28, 13:23 UTC Investigating - Some webhook events for voice calls are not being generated in the India region. We are actively investigating and working to resolve this as quickly as possible. Updates will be provided as they become available.
Started Feb 9, 2026 — Resolved Feb 9, 2026
Feb 9, 15:59 UTC Resolved - This incident has been resolved.Feb 9, 15:41 UTC Monitoring - A fix has been implemented and we are monitoring the results.Feb 9, 15:14 UTC Update - We are continuing to investigate this issue.Feb 9, 14:59 UTC Investigating - Please be advised that voice calls in the US region are currently being impacted by an infrastructure issue. We are investigating the matter alongside our infrastructure partner to resolve this as quickly as possible. We will provide further
Started Feb 9, 2026 — Resolved Feb 9, 2026
Feb 9, 12:52 UTC Resolved - This incident has been resolved.Feb 9, 12:26 UTC Monitoring - A fix has been implemented and we are monitoring the results.Feb 9, 12:25 UTC Investigating - Dear Valued Customer, We are observing failures to retrieve CDR and recordings. All other services are operating normally. Our engineers are actively working to resolve the issue and restore service. Please contact Plivo Support for any questions. Support portal: https://support.plivo.com/hc/en-us
Started Feb 8, 2026 — Resolved Feb 8, 2026
Feb 8, 17:11 UTC Resolved - This incident has been resolved.Feb 8, 14:49 UTC Monitoring - A fix has been implemented and we are monitoring the results.Feb 8, 13:41 UTC Investigating - Dear Valued Customer, We are currently experiencing intermittent message failures affecting a subset of Messaging traffic. Our engineering teams have identified the issue and are actively working to stabilize the service. Other platform services continue to operate normally. We are closely monitoring the situa
Started Feb 8, 2026 — Resolved Feb 8, 2026
Feb 8, 06:48 UTC Completed - The scheduled maintenance has been completed.Feb 8, 06:47 UTC Verifying - Verification is currently underway for the maintenance items.Feb 8, 03:30 UTC In progress - Scheduled maintenance is currently in progress. We will provide updates as necessary.Jan 20, 08:17 UTC Scheduled - Dear Valued Customer, We will perform planned maintenance on our Plivo database on Sunday, 8th February 2026 to improve the overall availability of our database engines. During that time
Pricing comparison
| Provider | Plan | Per message | Monthly cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| MessageBird | Local number | $0.0003 | $31 |
| Plivo | Pay-as-you-go | $0.0077 | $770 |
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.
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.
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
Plivo
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 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
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
- 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
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between MessageBird and Plivo?
MessageBird (now Bird) is an omnichannel communications platform with global SMS coverage and a unified messaging API. Plivo is a cost-effective communications platform with direct carrier connections, a Twilio-compatible API design, and a 99.99% uptime SLA. MessageBird is best suited for global omnichannel messaging, while Plivo is geared toward cost-effective high-volume sms.
Which is cheaper, MessageBird or Plivo?
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. 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. The best value depends on your sending volume and destination countries.
Which is faster, MessageBird or Plivo?
Based on real-world data from Knock, MessageBird has a median SMS API response time (p50) of 311ms. We don't yet have enough data for Plivo to make a direct comparison.
Which is more reliable, MessageBird or Plivo?
From January 3rd to April 2nd, MessageBird 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, MessageBird or Plivo?
On the Knock platform, MessageBird handled <1M messages from January 3rd to April 2nd. MessageBird is currently trending upward in adoption. We don't yet have enough data for Plivo to compare popularity.
Can I use both MessageBird and Plivo together?
Yes. Knock enables you to integrate multiple SMS providers into a single notification workflow. You can use MessageBird and Plivo 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 Plivo?
MessageBird strengths include strong global coverage with direct carrier connections in 190+ countries and unified api across sms, whatsapp, telegram, and other channels. Plivo strengths include among the lowest per-message rates with automatic volume discounts and familiar api design modeled after twilio, making migration straightforward. On the other hand, MessageBird drawbacks include pricing is published as per-country rate cards rather than simple headline rates, making comparison harder, while Plivo drawbacks include narrower feature set with no native support for whatsapp or other messaging channels.
Use either provider with Knock
Knock enables you to integrate MessageBird, Plivo, or any combination of SMS providers into a single notification workflow. Manage templates, orchestrate cross-channel delivery, and switch providers without changing your code.