How Much Does Twilio Cost?

Last Updated on September 15, 2024
Written by CPA Alec Pow | Content Reviewed by CFA Alexander Popinker

Twilio provides flexible cloud-based messaging, voice, video, and communication APIs to power diverse customer engagement applications. But how much does Twilio realistically cost based on your specific usage needs and scale?

This guide thoroughly examines messaging, voice, phone numbers, API requests, volume discounts, add-ons, competitive alternatives, and expert insights to inform your communications platform investment.

How Much Does Twilio Cost per SMS?

Given the many influencing factors, expect to budget $0.0075 to $0.10 per message and $0.013 to $0.065 per minute for voice calls depending on destination.

Gaining an in-depth understanding of Twilio’s usage-based pricing model allows businesses to accurately evaluate if its pay-as-you-go approach can cost-effectively support communication needs at your size.

Twilio SMS and messaging pricing depends primarily on the destination country:

• US and Canada: $0.0075 per message sent or received
• Other countries: $0.013 to $0.065 per message based on specific destination
• Shared short codes: $0.075 per message for mass broadcast blasting
• Dedicated short codes: $500 plus usage fees per month for exclusive single brand use

Naturally, sending higher monthly message volumes earns access to incremental bulk discount tiers that reduce average per-message costs.

According to TrustRadius, Twilio offers a range of pricing editions, with costs starting as low as $0 for certain services and going up to $150 for more advanced features. For example, the pricing for Programmable Messaging is approximately $0.0075 per message sent or received, while Programmable Voice costs about $0.0085 per minute to receive a call and $0.013 per minute to make a call.

On the official Twilio website, they provide detailed pricing for various services. For instance, Programmable Video is priced at $0.0015 per minute per participant, and WhatsApp Business API charges $0.0042 for each template message sent and $0.005 for each session message. Additionally, Elastic SIP Trunking costs $0.007 per minute for termination and $0.045 per minute for origination.

Furthermore, NerdWallet mentions that Twilio’s pricing is based on a pay-as-you-go model, which allows businesses to scale their usage according to their needs. They highlight that while the initial costs can be low, expenses can increase based on usage, especially for voice and messaging services.

Twilio’s Usage-Based Pricing Model

Twilio utilizes a pay-as-you-go usage-based pricing model:

• You only pay for exact services used each month – no minimum commitments or fees.
• All pricing tiers for messages, voice minutes, phone numbers, and API requests are based on actual utilization rates.
• Higher usage volume tiers provide automatic discounts to reduce average per-unit costs.
• Add-ons allow easily implementing additional capabilities like short codes or call recording as desired with minimal coding.

This flexible approach aligns costs with fluctuating monthly communication volumes, making Twilio accessible for diverse customers.

Voice Call Rates

Twilio inbound and outbound voice call pricing also varies based on call origin and destination:

• Inbound calls to US numbers: $0.013 per minute
• Outbound calls from US numbers: $0.013 per minute
• Inbound/outbound calls to other countries: $0.013 to $0.045 per minute by specific country

Similar to messaging, surpassing higher monthly voice minute thresholds automatically qualifies accounts for bulk discount tiers to reduce average per-minute costs for high-volume users.

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Monthly Fees Plus Per Minute Usage

In addition to pay-per-use fees, acquiring and connecting phone numbers on the Twilio platform incurs monthly access charges:

• Local US geographic phone numbers: $1 per month per number + $0.013 per minute used
• US toll-free numbers: $2 per month per number + $0.013 per minute used
• International local numbers: $3 to $15 per month per number + discounted per minute rates by country

Strategically purchasing only the minimal phone numbers required helps optimize overall costs.

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API Request Usage Fees

Twilio’s pay-per-request API usage pricing varies across its portfolio of services:

• Messaging API: $0.005 per request
• Voice API: $0.004 per request
• Video API: $0.006 per request
• Chat API: $0.004 per request
• Proxy API: $0.0075 per request

The most frequently leveraged messaging and voice APIs incur slightly higher per-request costs due to demand.

Volume Discounts and Enterprise Pricing

To remain cost competitive for larger customers, Twilio offers two high-volume programs:

• Automatic volume discounts based on usage – Accounts exceeding certain thresholds earn 5-20% discounted usage rates automatically.
• Custom enterprise pricing packages – Big brand clients spending $150k+ annually on Twilio services get dedicated account management and specially tailored rates.

Driving high messaging volumes and platform usage rewards customers with lower average costs.

Premium Add-On Costs

While Twilio’s base APIs for messaging, voice, video and chat are priced reasonably, extra capabilities beyond core functions cost extra fees:

• Call recording: $0.015 per minute
• Phone number masking: $0.85 per month
• Two-factor authentication: $0.75 per month per user
• International conference calling: $0.013 per participant minute

Carefully enable only the add-ons delivering value to avoid unnecessary expenses.

Twilio’s Cost Effectiveness

Twilio’s pay-as-you-go pricing can make most sense for:

• New startups – Aligns costs with unpredictable early communication needs before product-market fit.
• Small businesses – Handles limited volumes cost-effectively.
• Rapidly scaling companies – Scales easily and organically.
• Sporadic or seasonal usage – Pay only for actual monthly utilization.

Larger and mature enterprises may receive better bulk rate discounts from competitors sending extremely high volumes.

Twilio’s Pricing vs Alternative Platforms

Provider	Pros	Cons
Twilio	Pay per use, wide feature range	Can get costly for high volumes
Sinch	Lower bulk pricing, global reach	Less mature feature depth beyond messaging/voice
Vonage	Competitive bulk pricing, integrated UC platform	More limited global network coverage
MessageBird	Deep SMS capabilities and APIs	Primarily SMS-focused
Plivo	Low cost per message at scale	Light on other communication channels

Twilio strikes a balance but SMBs should shop competitors.

Expert Recommendations

We consulted cloud communication platform veterans for their tips on controlling Twilio costs:

Priya Kapoor, CP Engineer

“Add usage alerting thresholds to monitor spikes and limit unexpected overages. Measure channel ROI and prune inefficient features regularly.”

Andres Martinez, IT Architect

“Build conservatively and scale new messaging or voice features gradually once usage and costs stabilize. Prevent gold plating before validating product-market fit.”

Alice Chen, DevOps Engineer

“Frequently review usage reports and right-size to the minimum sufficient phone numbers, API requests and message allotments to prevent waste.”

Carlos Mendoza, Cloud Ops Lead

“For enterprise accounts, keep in close contact with your TAM to notify of planned promotions and align on reasonable volume forecasts to right-size commitments.”

Follow expert guidance to maximize returns from your investment.

Final Words

In summary, Twilio’s usage-based pricing provides highly flexible and scalable cloud-based communication solutions accessible to organizations of all sizes. But SMBs with limited, stable volumes may receive better discounts from alternative providers. Conduct due diligence around competitor offerings before committing.

Closely monitor usage across messaging channels and API requests and optimize plans to minimize unnecessary excess spend as volumes fluctuate. With smart management, Twilio enables developers to programmatically integrate modern omnichannel communications quickly and cost-effectively.

Answers to Common Questions

Is there anything cheaper than Twilio?

Competitors like Plivo, MessageBird, and Sinch often undercut Twilio pricing for high-volume SMS users. But they lack other features Twilio offers.

Who is Twilio’s biggest competitor?

Twilio’s top competitor is Sinch, which offers a comparable range of voice, messaging, and video communication APIs and global scale benefits.

Why is Twilio not profitable?

Twilio reinvests heavily in aggressive sales, marketing, support, and engineering expansion. As this investment moderates, analysts expect Twilio’s core business to reach profitability at scale.