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What's the Best Twilio Alternative?
Angela Stringfellow
Last updated on
Communicating with users is critical for every business in the modern age. You have a wide variety of users who have different preferred modes of communication and you’ll need to find the communication channel best suited for each customer.
The major communication channels required for a business are:
- SMS
- Telegram
- Messenger
- Push notifications
- Voice calls
- Video calls
Building the infrastructure to facilitate each of these communication channels can be cumbersome, and the resulting costs can also be very high. This means only a very limited number of businesses can afford to reach customers through every channel.
Communications as a Service
One solution to this problem is to use a communication infrastructure provider. This works in much the same way as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) providers offer computing infrastructure to users.
Communication as a Service (CaaS) providers makes it easy for businesses to utilize the communication infrastructure they need to reach their customers. This includes a myriad of communication channels such as voice calls, SMS, instant messaging, emails, etc.
Users can access these services through APIs, allowing businesses to use a superior communication infrastructure for a very low cost. Most CaaS providers also offer their services with a pay-as-you-go structure, making a world-class communication infrastructure affordable for small businesses.
An additional advantage is that users aren’t required to use separate service providers for each channel. This provides the added convenience of using a CaaS provider as a single point of access for all communication needs.
What Is Twilio?
Twilio is one of the most popular Communication as a Service providers and has extensive infrastructure for:
- SMS
- Email (SendGrid)
- Voice calls
- Video calls
- Audio/Video live streaming
- Authentication
Twilio has a great API ecosystem that makes it easy to build solutions with the infrastructure on offer and many developers are familiar with the Twilio ecosystem.
This makes it even easier to find a developer who can work with Twilio API. The scaling support with Twilio is also impressive. You can start as a small business with small requirements and then, as future needs change, the service can be dynamically scaled accordingly. This, plus many other similar advantages, places Twilio in a commanding position among communication service providers.
A Viable Twilio Alternative
You could have many reasons for needing an alternative service for Twilio. This could be due to legal reasons, jurisdictional challenges, geographical limitations, pricing, and various other reasons. A service similar to Twilio that offers a wide range of options is the best way to go.
What Does MessageBird Offer?
Based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, MessageBird is an omnichannel communication platform for businesses. The company’s infrastructure operates from 10 international hubs, enabling its 25,000 clients to regularly reach more than 7 billion devices around the world. Some of MessageBird’s best known clients include Uber, Amazon Prime Video, Zilingo, WhatsApp, Facebook, Aramex and SAP. This strong client list is an indication that the communication infrastructure of the business is robust and reliable.
MessageBird has a range of products and services comparable to, sometimes even better than, Twilio. Some of the services on offer include:
- SMS: MessageBird has the ability to send transactional messages programmatically, with charges as low as $0.007 per message.
- Email: MessageBird’s email service has a high deliverability and superior inbox placement.
- Voice: The turnkey voice call solution from MessageBird is optimized for speed, quality, and cost. The pricing for voice calls starts from $0.015 per minute and there’s a low cost of $1 per month for each phone number you use.
- WhatsApp: Billions of individuals across the world use WhatsApp as part of their daily lives, and MessageBird’s WhatsApp Business API enables clients to reach those users.
- Instagram messaging: You can reach billions of Instagram users directly on the platform with tools from MessageBird.
- Video scheduling: You’ll be able to create a one-click video meeting platform with 24Sessions offered by MessageBird.
- Push notifications: You can also set up web and mobile push notifications with MessageBird.
In addition to the most commonly used services mentioned above, MessageBird also offers additional products and services, such as:
- Google business message
- Omnichannel widget
- Flow builder
Flow builder is a particularly useful tool to determine how automated communication happens with users. It allows you to develop and execute a predetermined communication flow and automate communication and data aggregation.
The platform also has a robust API with extensive documentation, making the service developer-friendly.
MagicBell’s All-in-One Solution
While MessageBird is one viable alternative to Twilio, there are of course others.
MagicBell offers a complete notification system that works across multiple platforms and supports all the major notification channels, including:
- In-app
- Web-push
- Mobile-push
Smart, user-defined categories and APIs give you the full flexibility you need to meet the demands of your messaging strategy.
MagicBell also features a notification inbox, a powerful tool with an extensible API that offers actionable analytics and easy configuration from the MagicBell dashboard with no coding required. In fact, if you’re a current Twilio user, you can even integrate MagicBell to seamlessly manage your SMS notifications. Schedule a free demo to learn more.
Wrapping Up
Twilio has become one of the most widely used communication platforms, but this commanding position raises the possibility of price increases in the future. MessageBird covers the same communication channels as Twilio and should be considered a worthy Twilio alternative.
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