Telnyx vs Plivo pricing
Both are in sms & messaging apis. Telnyx is billed per sms segment; Plivo is billed per sms segment. Numbers below are copied from each vendor's pricing page.
TelnyxFree tier or trial
- Free tier
- $20 trial credit
- Billed
- Per SMS segment
- Best for
- Carrier-owned, price-led SMS & voice API
- Verified
- Jun 27, 2026
PlivoFree tier or trial
- Free tier
- $10 free credit, no card
- Billed
- Per SMS segment
- Best for
- Cost-effective SMS & voice CPaaS
- Verified
- Jun 27, 2026
Telnyx plans
| Plan | Price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Local / 10DLC (pay-as-you-go) | $0.004/part outbound SMS | Inbound SMS $0.004; outbound MMS $0.015, inbound MMS $0.005, all plus per-carrier fee. Volume discounts begin at 100M+ msgs/month (SMS as low as $0.0005/part). |
| Toll-Free | $0.0055/part SMS | Outbound/inbound SMS $0.0055; outbound MMS $0.016, inbound MMS $0.016, plus carrier fee. |
| Short Code | $0.007/part SMS | Outbound/inbound SMS $0.007; outbound MMS $0.018, inbound MMS $0.009. Volume discounts begin at 500K+ msgs/month. |
| RCS | $0.0065/segment rich text | RCS Rich Media $0.016/message, all directions/carriers. |
| Carrier fees (surcharge) | AT&T $0.0035/part, T-Mobile $0.0045/part | Added on top of base rates and vary by carrier and message type; many carriers charge no fee. |
| Volume / committed | Custom | Discounted rates for monthly spend commitments, with dedicated support for larger volumes. |
- Per-carrier surcharges mean real effective cost is meaningfully above the headline $0.004
- Carrier-fee and segment-based billing makes total cost harder to estimate up front
Plivo plans
| Plan | Price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Pay-as-you-go (Long code SMS, US) | $0.0077 / SMS | Outbound and inbound on US long codes and short codes; toll-free is $0.0079/SMS. No monthly platform fee. |
| Phone numbers | $0.50 / month (long code) | Toll-free numbers $1.00/month; short codes from $500/month (billed quarterly) plus a $1,500 one-time setup fee, vanity short codes $1,000/month. |
| Volume / committed-spend | From ~$750/month commit | Committed-spend agreements unlock discounted per-message rates, guided onboarding, and dedicated support; volume discounts reported to kick in around 200K messages/month. |
- Effective US A2P cost often 40-60% above sticker once 10DLC fees, carrier surcharges, and number rental are added
- Trustpilot reviews skew very negative (~1/5) citing billing surprises and account suspensions
- Multiple users report being charged for messages returning unknown/undelivered status