Twilio
performance benchmarks
Browse Twilio's observed SMS API response time, error rates, and incident history over the last 90 days.
Live performance metrics
Real-world performance data from messages sent through Knock
| Message volume | Growth | Status page updates (30d) | Status page updates (90d) |
|---|---|---|---|
100M–500M | 1st of 7 → | 25 | 25 |
From April 17th to July 16th, Knock routed 100M–500M messages through Twilio. For adoption, Twilio ranks 1st of 7 providers based on new channel connections, with adoption holding steady over the period. Twilio reported 25 status page updates over the last 90 days, 25 of which were in the last 30 days.
Response time
Response time measures how long Twilio takes to accept an SMS API request from Knock, including connection overhead and any automatic retries. Lower values mean faster message hand-off.
| Median (p50) | p90 | p95 | p99 |
|---|---|---|---|
56ms | 120ms | 130ms | 159ms |
From April 17th to July 16th, Twilio averaged a daily median response time (p50) of 56ms across all days in the range, meaning half of all SMS API requests on a typical day complete in under 56ms. The 99th percentile averaged 159ms, with a peak daily p99 of 252ms. This is slightly higher than some providers, which may reflect additional processing Twilio performs on message acceptance.
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.
| Avg. daily error rate | Highest daily rate | Peak error date | Zero-error days | Days above 0.01% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
0.00% | 0.00% | Apr 17 | 91 | 0 |
From April 17th to July 16th, Twilio averaged a 0.00% daily error rate for 5xx responses and timeouts, with the highest single-day error rate reaching 0.00%. This is one of the lowest error rates among providers on Knock, indicating strong reliability and consistent uptime. Knock automatically retries failed requests, so transient provider errors rarely affect end-user delivery.
About these metrics: Data represents messages sent through Knock to Twilio 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 Aug 27, 2026
THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Aug 26, 20:00 PDT - Aug 27, 00:00 PDT Jul 6, 19:26 PDT Scheduled - Twilio is conducting a planned maintenance from 26 August 2026 at 20:00 PDT until 27 August 2026 at 00:00 PDT. During the maintenance window, there could be intermittent delays or failures delivering SMS and MMS to United States and Canada handsets when sending via subset of long codes and short codes.
Ongoing since Aug 22, 2026
THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Aug 22, 14:00 - 21:00 PDT Jul 14, 19:15 PDT Scheduled - Twilio will conduct planned infrastructure maintenance on the London (IE1) PoP from August 22, 2026, at 14:00 PDT until August 22, 2026, at 21:00 PDT. Overall service impact is expected to be minimal; however, Authentication Services (Verify and/or Lookup) through the IE1/London edge location may experience a brief interruption or intermittent impact of up to 90 seconds during traffic reconvergence. Customers w
Ongoing since Aug 22, 2026
THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Aug 22, 14:00 - 21:00 PDT Jul 14, 19:09 PDT Scheduled - Twilio will conduct planned infrastructure maintenance on the London (IE1) PoP from August 22, 2026, at 14:00 PDT until August 22, 2026, at 21:00 PDT. Overall service impact is expected to be minimal; however, Interconnect Services through the IE1/London edge location may experience a brief interruption or intermittent impact of up to 90 seconds during traffic reconvergence. Customers with redundant connections
Ongoing since Aug 22, 2026
THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Aug 22, 14:00 - 21:00 PDT Jul 14, 05:43 PDT Scheduled - Twilio will conduct infrastructure maintenance on the London (IE1) PoP from August 22, 2026, at 14:00 PDT until August 22, 2026, at 21:00 PDT. Overall service impact is expected to be minimal. However, there could be intermittent message delivery failures and delivery delays of up to 90 seconds during traffic reconvergence for traffic routing to and from Twilio’s IE1/London edge location. Customers with redunda
Ongoing since Aug 22, 2026
THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Aug 22, 14:00 - 21:00 PDT Jul 14, 05:38 PDT Scheduled - Twilio will conduct planned infrastructure maintenance on the London (IE1) PoP from August 22, 2026, at 14:00 PDT until August 22, 2026, at 21:00 PDT. Overall service impact is expected to be minimal; however, Voice traffic routing through the IE1/London edge location may experience a brief interruption or intermittent impact of up to 90 seconds during traffic reconvergence. Customers with redundant connections
Pricing calculator
| Plan | Per message | Monthly cost |
|---|---|---|
| Pay-as-you-go | $0.0083 | $830 |
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 |
Compare Twilio with other providers
About Twilio
Twilio is the most widely adopted cloud communications platform, offering SMS, MMS, voice, and WhatsApp through a unified API.
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
- 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 Twilio?
Twilio is an SMS provider commonly used for two-factor authentication and otp, transactional notifications, marketing campaigns and promotions. Twilio is the most widely adopted cloud communications platform, offering SMS, MMS, voice, and WhatsApp through a unified API.
How much does Twilio cost?
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. Twilio does not offer a permanent free tier.
How fast is Twilio?
Based on real-world data from messages sent through Knock, Twilio accepts SMS API requests with a median response time of 56ms (p50) and 159ms at the 99th percentile.
How reliable is Twilio?
From April 17th to July 16th, Twilio showed an error rate of 0.00% for 5xx responses and timeouts across 100M–500M messages sent through Knock. Knock automatically retries failed requests, so transient provider errors rarely affect end-user delivery.
What are the pros and cons of Twilio?
Key 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, per-message pricing can add up at high volumes without committed-use discounts and phone number provisioning and compliance setup can be complex for new users.
Does Twilio work with Knock?
Yes. Knock has a native Twilio integration that enables you to send SMS notifications through Twilio as part of a cross-channel workflow. You can combine Twilio with other channels like in-app feeds, push, email, and Slack from a single API call.
Use Twilio with Knock
Knock enables you to integrate Twilio alongside other notification channels, manage templates, and orchestrate cross-channel workflows from a single platform.