Twilio Alternatives 2026: 6 SMS and WhatsApp Options Compared

The main Twilio alternatives are other messaging APIs, Telnyx, Plivo, Sinch, Bird and Infobip, for developers who want to keep building, and ready-made apps for teams who would rather not. For a Shopify store, that app is Kanal: WhatsApp campaigns, cart reminders and order updates from your store data, with SMS, RCS and iMessage from the Scale plan, and nothing to code.

Every price below comes from each vendor's own pricing page, read on November 7, 2026. You will find the US SMS rate of each API next to Twilio's, what they charge for WhatsApp, a cost example on 10,000 texts, and the questions to ask before you switch.

What are the best Twilio alternatives?

Sources: each vendor's pricing page, linked in its section below, read on November 7, 2026; Kanal pricing and Kanal SMS page the same day. Carrier fees are the US networks' per-message charges that every provider passes through.

Why do businesses look for a Twilio alternative?

Twilio's bill has several layers, detailed in our guide to Twilio SMS pricing: $0.0083 per US segment sent or received, carrier fees from $0.0035 to $0.005 per segment, $1.15 a month per long code and A2P 10DLC registration fees. On WhatsApp, its pricing page adds $0.005 to every message, inbound or outbound, on top of Meta's fee.

Two different problems push people to look elsewhere:

• The price per message. At high volume, a fraction of a cent per text adds up, and several APIs publish lower base rates than Twilio's.
• The build. Twilio sells API access. For an online store, the campaign editor, the abandoned cart trigger, the opt-out handling and the inbox are what developers build and maintain. A cheaper API does not remove that work; an app does.

Start by deciding which of the two you want to solve. The first section below is for the second problem, the next five for the first.

1. Kanal, the Twilio alternative for Shopify stores

Kanal is a Shopify app, used by 500+ brands, that turns WhatsApp into a sales channel for your store. If you used Twilio to send texts from Shopify, Kanal replaces the code you would write with flows that run from your store data:

• Automations ready to switch on. Abandoned cart recovery, order notifications, back in stock alerts, post-purchase offers and review requests, triggered by Shopify events.
• Campaigns to your Shopify segments, with the orders each send brings in.
• Every channel in one app. WhatsApp on every plan; SMS, RCS and iMessage from the Scale plan, as our SMS page and iMessage page describe, so you choose the channel campaign by campaign.
• Replies handled. A chat widget and a shared inbox on every plan, and an AI agent from the Scale plan.

Source: Kanal pricing, read on November 7, 2026. Meta's WhatsApp fees are passed through at cost; SMS messages are billed by destination country and number of segments, with the rate for your volumes given during a demo.

Kanal is not an API: if you need texts inside your own software, a booking system or a login flow, one of the providers below fits better.

2. Telnyx

Telnyx's messaging pricing page lists $0.004 per message part to send or receive an SMS on a US long code, plus the carrier fee, with "$0 platform fee". The page describes its pricing as two published lines, its own rate and the carrier passthrough, with volume tiers that start automatically above 100 million parts a month ($0.0020 per part for the next 150 million). A number costs $1.00 a month.

The same page prices a month of 1,000,000 message parts as an example: $4,000 at Telnyx's rate, plus $3,800 of carrier passthrough at a blended US rate of $0.0038, so $7,800.

Source: Telnyx messaging pricing, read on November 7, 2026.

On WhatsApp, its WhatsApp pricing page says Telnyx is a WhatsApp Business Solution Provider, passes Meta's fees through unchanged and adds $0.004 per message.

Worth a look if your developers want a low published rate per text and per WhatsApp message, carrier fees shown at cost and voice on the same account.

3. Plivo

Plivo's US SMS pricing page lists $0.0077 per SMS to send or receive on a long code or a short code, and $0.0079 on a toll-free number, with "additional carrier surcharge fees" on top. A long code rents for $0.50 a month and a toll-free number for $1.00.

Source: Plivo US SMS pricing, read on November 7, 2026.

For WhatsApp, the Plivo WhatsApp pricing page adds a platform fee of $0.001 per message, inbound or outbound, and $10 a month for each WhatsApp Business Account, on top of Meta's rates.

Worth a look if you want an API close to Twilio's in scope, with a lower rate per text and the lowest published WhatsApp fee per message of this list.

4. Sinch

Sinch's SMS pricing page lists $0.0078 per outbound and per inbound message on a US 10DLC number or a toll-free number, and $0.009 on a short code, with carrier fees applying. Its site presents Sinch as a "messaging platform for SMS, RCS, and WhatsApp", next to its communication APIs for voice, email and verification.

Worth a look if you send in many countries and want one provider for SMS, RCS and WhatsApp at scale.

5. Bird

Bird's pricing page lists SMS "without a monthly plan at segment rates by destination and sender": $0.0035 per US outbound long code segment, carrier fees separate, and $0.50 a month per US local number. WhatsApp is billed as "Bird processing and Meta template charges, priced by destination", $0.005 per US marketing message plus Meta's fees. Each product draws from one Bird balance, and some plans fund it monthly (email from $15 a month).

Source: Bird pricing, read on November 7, 2026.

Worth a look if you want email, SMS and WhatsApp on one account and the lowest published US rate per segment of this list.

6. Infobip

Infobip's SMS pricing page gives an average price per message by country, across all networks: €0.00704 ($0.00818) to the United States, €0.07181 ($0.09686) to France and €0.03786 ($0.044) to the United Kingdom, "last updated November 6, 2026". The page calls them indicative published rates, refreshed daily, with final pricing that may vary by volume, contract and account. WhatsApp is priced per message in a separate calculator, by message type and country.

Worth a look if you send at enterprise volume across many countries and want a negotiated contract.

What do 10,000 US texts cost with each provider?

The provider's own rate for 10,000 outbound segments of plain text to US customers from a long code, before carrier fees, numbers and registration:

Computed from each vendor's pricing page read on November 7, 2026. Carrier fees are added by every provider; Twilio's long code table lists $0.0035 (AT&T) to $0.005 (Verizon) per outbound segment, about $35 to $50 on 10,000 texts.

The gap between the cheapest and the most expensive is $48 on 10,000 texts. For a store, that is often less than one day of developer time on the cart reminder or the opt-out flow, which is why the build, not the rate, usually decides.

How do you choose a Twilio alternative?

1. Name the job. Texts inside your own product or login flow: an API. Campaigns and automations for a Shopify store: an app such as Kanal.
2. Price the full message, provider rate plus carrier fee, for your real split of countries. Outside the US, rates change by destination: our WhatsApp and SMS prices by country shows the gaps.
3. Count the replies. Twilio, Plivo, Sinch and Telnyx bill inbound texts too.
4. Check WhatsApp separately: the per-message fee on top of Meta's rate ($0.005 at Twilio, $0.004 at Telnyx, $0.001 plus $10 a month at Plivo), and whether templates and the inbox are included. Our Twilio WhatsApp pricing guide shows the math, and our comparison of WhatsApp Business API providers goes further on this type of tool.
5. Add the build and the upkeep: campaigns, triggers, consent, reporting and the inbox your team answers in.

Twilio alternatives at a glance

If you are a developer, the cheapest API for your countries is a fair choice, and the table above is a starting point. If you run a Shopify store and Twilio was the way to send cart reminders and campaigns, the alternative is not another API: book a Kanal demo and we will show the WhatsApp and SMS flows running on your store.