Twilio vs. WhatsApp Business

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Twilio
Score 7.0 out of 10
N/A
Twilio offers a CPaaS and CCaaS solution, with the combination of its programmable Voice, Video, and Messaging APIs, as well as the Twilio Flex cloud contact center. Additional capabilities include Twilio's Elastic SIP Trunking, as well as API for WhatsApp.
$0
per min per participant
WhatsApp Business
Score 8.5 out of 10
N/A
WhatsApp Business is a free to download app that was built FOR small business, allowing users to connect with customers easily by using tools to automate, sort and quickly respond to messages. For medium and large businesses, the WhatsApp Business API powers communication with customers all over the world, allowing them to connect with them on WhatsApp in a simple, secure, and reliable way.N/A
Pricing
TwilioWhatsApp Business
Editions & Modules
Programmable Video
$0.0015
per min per participant
WhatsApp Business API
$0.0042
Per WhatsApp Template message sent
WhatsApp Business API
$0.005
Per WhatsApp session message
Elastic SIP Trunking
$0.007
Per min for termination
Programmable Messaging
$0.0075
per message sent or received
Programmable Voice
$0.0085
per minute to receive a call
Programmable Voice
$0.013
per min to make a call
Elastic SIP Trunking
$0.045
Per min for origination
Twilio Conversations
$0.05
per active user per month
Twilio Authy
$0.09
per authentication
Programmable Wireless
$0.1
per MB
Twilio Flex (Contact Center)
$1
per active user hour (5000 hours free)
Programmable Wireless
$2.00
per SIM card
Twilio SendGrid Email API
$14.95
per month up to 100k emails. (Up to 40k emails free for 30 days)
Twilio SendGrid Marketing Campaigns
$15
per month for 5,000 contacts and 15,000 emails. Your first 2,000 contacts are free
Twilio Flex (Contact Center)
$150
per named user per month (5000 hours free)
WhatsApp Business
Free
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
TwilioWhatsApp Business
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional Details1. Pay-as-you-go pricing: Simple usage-based pricing means you don’t get locked into big contracts. 2. Volume discounts: Discounts trigger as your usage grows, so you always get a fair price. 3. Start building today with free trial credit and full API access.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
TwilioWhatsApp Business
Considered Both Products
Twilio
Chose Twilio
Some of the products we used were MSG91 and SMSala but the issue with them we got to know after the integrations that at some part of the world these integrations are not able to deliver important OTP sms and also it was hard to find solutions in their site. Then we switched to …
Chose Twilio
I think Twilio is as stable as Avaya in the sense that it comunicates well, but the market is really more into Avaya, so we had to go into a lot of effort to convince everyone in the company that Twilio was good and would work. I think it doesn't hold up againt Watson, because …
Chose Twilio
I've also worked with ChatApp which is another communications integration platform for multiple channels such as WhatsApp and Telegram. I did find their integration setup process a bit more streamlined plus they don't have a WhatsApp template approval process. This then begs …
Chose Twilio
Twilio is the idea solution for our needs, which involves sending targeted SMS messages to prospects who have opted into our ads. We do this to communicate offers/services and also to remind prospects in the lead-up to sales appointments (plus post-meeting communications). We …
Chose Twilio
Twilio stacks up against competitors with its knowledge and experience in the messaging industry. Others lack the ability and know how, to compete effectively. Twilio knows how to do business in complex regions worldwide, and we are so happy to have Twilio as our partner to …
Chose Twilio
Twilio has given us more competitive rates than the other providers.
Chose Twilio
Twilio is most easy to implement and operate comparing with other solutions in the wide-industry. Easy to use, quickly integration, and excellent API documentation was helpful to developers for integrate Twilio solutions in our applications.
Chose Twilio
I’m using or have used these services. I like to try multiple applications. I’ve selected Twilio because the documentation in C# is amazing.
Chose Twilio
We evaluated many fundraising-based text-to-give programs and found the subscriptions prohibitively expensive for our small scale and uncertain first few years of development. While we may be willing to invest that kind of money after discovering how things work, we're happy …
Chose Twilio
We needed a tool that could be implemented into our software. Since Twilio offers libraries that can be programmed into any software, we decided to use Twilio. Also, the documentation and prices were better.
Chose Twilio
Twilio was referred to me by a business colleague, and I can't be more thankful! Twilio has helped my Facebook page by leaps and bounds, and I haven't even considered trying another chat option for my page. It is easy to set up, and customer service is quick to answer any and …
Chose Twilio
This software is so complex we can say that Twilio works so much better in the interface, also the features provided by Twilio are far better than this software it also includes SMS, MMS, and so many other functionalities which helps a developer to communicate with the help of …
Chose Twilio
Can't say much as the test was not very thorough but I can say Twilio would've been in a strong position going by how quickly we could deploy, with very little vendor support as the product was well documented.
Chose Twilio
Our company used the text feature through Heymarket which was useful at first but did not provide the integration features we needed for our CRM system. Heymarket did not openly integrate nor help keep track of responses as well as Twilio does. Twilio has some buggy features …
Chose Twilio
I would say that Salesforce is possibly a more comprehensive product that I have used in the past (and still do occasionally for a client) but Salesforce wouldn't be suitable for the service-based SME which Twilio was used for in this instance.
Chose Twilio
I receive regular unsolicited communications from Twilio competitors but I do not have the time to review them, given there is no reason for me to switch. Twilio works great and its pricing is acceptable for our situation. Investigating point solutions for text only or voice …
Chose Twilio
I have been in to telecommunications since the beginning of my career and have a handful of experience in some of the software like Twilio. The great thing about Twilio is that it is able to combine all the requirements from the messaging/communications perspective that we …
Chose Twilio
We required more customizations and Twilio Flex offered exactly that.
Chose Twilio
Google Voice and Twilio both provide phone numbers; however, Twilio allows you to program how to respond to voice calls. We have only used a small portion of what Twilio is capable of. I appreciate being able to get information about a phone number to see the provider and …
Chose Twilio
Those solutions are just not the same, mailgun is a programmable SMS API with really low cost and is so far compared with Twilio SendGrid but since we are using more Twilio SMS or Whatsapp, [it's not used for] the same purpose. As OneSignal is an all in one solution for being …
WhatsApp Business
Chose WhatsApp Business
It is more reliable and secure and highly accepted by the business communities. Business community in Saudi Arabia has accepted the app with great enthusiasm. I have used Skype, Viber and many others apps but in compare to WhatsApp Business those are less effective because …
Chose WhatsApp Business
Slack is preferable for internal business comms whilst WhatsApp Business is better for communicating to customers or mentors. This is because slack has task management and calendar integration features. WhatsApp is best for customers because they have it on their phones already …
Chose WhatsApp Business
WhatsApp Business is best among all the applications available as it is fast and easy to use. The ROI is very good and helps reach a wide array of customers when it's a new business. Customers are happy because their queries are resolved in less time and organisations are happy …
Chose WhatsApp Business
WhatsApp does work well and does not crash similar to Skype that is very heavy on computers and Android devices therefore we do not have an issue with it and we get less issues from staff using it unlike Skype that has a lot of issues when being used in different locations.
Chose WhatsApp Business
We choose to use WhatsApp Business because of the following
Customer reach: WhatsApp has over 2 billion active users worldwide, making it a popular communication channel. By using WhatsApp Business, businesses can reach a large audience and communicate with customers directly on …
Chose WhatsApp Business
I can expand the group to about 200 persons and have them speak with one another. This makes communicating with a large group of individuals a breeze. In addition to chatting, WhatsApp may be used for audio and video conversations. I may connect with my team members and …
Chose WhatsApp Business
The most effective aspect is its privacy, it increases the number of clients as well as simplifies the business. It's safe to keep payment records, by sharing screenshots with clients and making the complete record in a group with all screenshots and receipts. Thus, highly …
Chose WhatsApp Business
In a business organisation communication is the main factor for the development. And Whatsapp business is the most perfect software for it. The software is designed with full of perfect features for the better communication. It performs very effectively than other software. …
Chose WhatsApp Business
WhatsApp Business is a great tool for businesses, which is why so many people use it. Many options are available, including video calling, calling, and the ability to set up automatic alerts for important events. Business users will find that WhatsApp is more than just a …
Chose WhatsApp Business
You don't need to sit and talk to the customers online, you just get the queries, orders and you go with that.
Chose WhatsApp Business
Telegram is a good application but it is not as widely used as WhatsApp. Moreover, operating telegram might be tough for general users. WhatsApp Business is enriched with extreme business features that help the owners of any SME grow furthest. The catalogs and sales/order …
Chose WhatsApp Business
Whatsapp is very popular, registered by using phone number. Every company has a phone number to get reach from the customer. Build a new optional way of communication to customers instead of using email. But because of using phone numbers sometimes will get disturbed by people …
Chose WhatsApp Business
WhatsApp Business is an overall competitor beside these two. It has everything to offer. Communication, transparency, overall dialing out and receiving calls. Honestly I can't find a reason not to like this amazing app. It has its up's and down's like any other software. But I …
Chose WhatsApp Business
We opted for Whatsapp Business for [a] large number of adept people. Compared to other products, Whatsapp has already been disseminated all over the world, which makes it much easier for users to use. The fact that we can use it on cell phones and computers brings us even more …
Chose WhatsApp Business
WhatsApp don't have any adds. It is very reliable and free. WhatsApp interface is simple and user friendly and very easy to use.
It checks all contacts in phone and lets you know who uses WhatsApp already.
What can be very useful is sharing live location for 15 minutes, 1 hour or …
Chose WhatsApp Business
The speed and practicality of the application are unique features, hardly found in other communication tools. Exchanging an instant message over the internet is much faster than making a call or sending an email.
Chose WhatsApp Business
Instead of using only chat system, WhatsApp Business provides groups and organizes your contacts. It's a well known platform since the consumer version is widely used in the world and this means an easy adoption for people in the company. For your customer it will be natural to …
Chose WhatsApp Business
Many people are using WhatsApp Business for personal and business reasons. Due to the size of the user community, we felt it would be useful during communication. It has excellent features like calling, texting, video calling, setting up auto alerts that worked for our business …
Chose WhatsApp Business
WhatsApp has been my choice for a few reasons. 1) being already sth I use everyday 2) more reasonable in terms of pricing compared to Zoom and others 3) more widely accepted, compared to Telegram and viber. The familiarity of WhatsApp I think is the winner here. Others are …
Best Alternatives
TwilioWhatsApp Business
Small Businesses
Simplify360
Simplify360
Score 7.8 out of 10
Telegram
Telegram
Score 9.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Dialpad Support
Dialpad Support
Score 9.0 out of 10
Telegram
Telegram
Score 9.1 out of 10
Enterprises
Verint Community
Verint Community
Score 9.9 out of 10
Telegram
Telegram
Score 9.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
TwilioWhatsApp Business
Likelihood to Recommend
6.7
(0 ratings)
9.5
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
7.5
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.5
(0 ratings)
9.8
(0 ratings)
Performance
7.4
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
5.7
(0 ratings)
8.3
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.5
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
TwilioWhatsApp Business
Likelihood to Recommend
Twilio is well suited to sending SMS reminders to prospects on the lead-up to sales appointments. This has helped us improve attendance rates for these meetings. We also use Twilio to communicate with these prospects post-meeting to make offers on products and services and for feedback on their meeting.
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By using WhatsApp Business, I can now respond to customers faster, keep them updated about new deals, and even send out surveys to understand their needs. The ability to send stickers and photos makes the app more interactive and engaging. It easily beats other social networks in terms of the quality and quantity of messages sent, which is a good thing for businesses.
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Pros
  • Easy to see my team in one place, when they log in and out and what call status they are in.
  • Twilio is a simple, user friendly way to log in and out of work activities.
  • Excellent services and support.
  • The omnichannel feature which allows agents to get request from all channels.
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  • Easy to use by registering a phone number as your personal WhatsApp number and attaching your company profile by opening and closing your image to your product.
  • Fast and accurate connection.
  • It allows you to split chat between business and personal as WhatsApp Business and Personal can be downloaded on the same smartphone by registering a different number.
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Cons
  • Authy does not support the "push button" multi-factor authentication from your application's native apps. This means if you want to use Authy, you still need to use TOTP based codes.
  • Not really a shortcoming of Authy, but it does nothing to help with multi-factor authentication using text messages - those are still sent to your platform's messaging app.
  • Authy doesn't always display how much time is left before your current token expires, making it difficult to know how much time you have left to enter the current code.
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  • UI/UX of WhatsApp has room for improvement. The goal should be to add more features for business interactions outside of the everyday messenger. (interface wise, not feature wise)
  • Multi-device use is added but it's still not as flexible and fast as other messengers like Telegram
  • File transfer is time consuming and troublesome. It also has limits.
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Likelihood to Renew
We are happy with Twilio because the price per message is low. The API is not difficult to implement and the documentation is very complete. Twilio as a company keeps you well informed of issues that happen. They also offer free online workshops or conferences to make notices of new laws, etc.
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It's ease and pocket friendly use makes it best in the market when you are required to connect with client directly and showcase your products. One needs to understand how powerful WhatsApp Business as a tool is if he/she knows it's use at it's potential. There are many customisations one can do and interact with multiple clients at one time which saves time and efforts.
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Usability
Overall the product API is extremely well documented so it is very easy to build a product with their technology. The website is a little bit cumbersome to use as they have greatly expanded the number of products that they have over the years, but the dashboard UI has not been improved much since.
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Most reliable app for business and personal use. I rely on it with any hesitation. Its encrypted chatting system impresses me a lot. Easy file transfer is also appreciated. Maximum people use this app, so I can communicate with most people through this. It makes my life more comfortable.
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Performance
The problem tends to be us, the user, rather than Twilio. We don't reach out to support fast enough (spend time struggling), but when we have, they've solved our issue immediately. We are rural, so there are signal issues to accommodate, however, we find that a few staff on a few cellular networks can triangulate where we all have signal to put up a sign.
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No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Good interface to connect with different API systems for communication through different channel[s]. Twilio has good market coverage of the client across the globe for generating revenue through multi-channel approach. It works with [a] programmable feature that makes life easy for every user. Automated call is one of the advance[d] feature[s] of this tool.
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There were some issues in the beginning when the app used to get hanged. We had emailed customer support, and we received a response promptly. There was an issue with the phone where some updates had to be downloaded. You can also complete a form online to contact customer support. The staff can speak many languages
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Implementation Rating
The developer APIs and SDKs are super easy to follow.
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No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
We have looked at some of Twilio competitors, like Infobip, Sich and Bandwith. Prices on all of them for voice minutes and SMS are way cheaper than Twilio. But none of them seem to offer as many features and ease of use as Twilio. Specially from an API point of view
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In a business organisation communication is the main factor for the development. And WhatsApp Business is the most perfect software for it. The software is designed with full of perfect features for the better communication. It performs very effectively than other software. I am fully satisfied with the features of the software. A superb software to me.
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Return on Investment
  • We found that associates who had the opportunity to respond to a survey about their assigned job were 37% more likely to return to a job site
  • We were able to reduce the number of resources required to manually respond to associates using Twilio Studio, so those resources could have more time to complete other tasks
  • We were able to scale the number of associates who received survey messages at least by a factor of 8 without increasing our resource demand
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  • With WhatsApp Business help, productivity has risen while email and text messages continue to be used.
  • It’s helpful to adapt, have a positive business return, and use WhatsApp Business groups to manage communication with specific people.
  • Integrating the company and the improvement of its visibility allowed for better optimization of customer engagement.
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ScreenShots

Twilio Screenshots

Screenshot of To access any of the products in Console, head over to the “Explore Products” section and start building.Screenshot of Whether you prefer to build with a drag-and-drop visual editor or with code, Twilio SendGrid Marketing Campaigns helps you engage your customers through email.Screenshot of Flex is a programmable Contact Center that puts you in control.