Twilio Pricing Explained
If you find it challenging to understand Twilio’s pricing model, you’re not alone. It’s easy to get confused and frustrated when reviewing your usage/cost data on Twilio. This is because the price you pay for voice and SMS communications on Twilio is determined by several variables and factors.
To help you better understand your billing data, here’s a rundown of the variables and factors that affect how much you pay for Twilio’s services.
Note: There are two pricing categories on Twilio:- Pay-as-you-go and Monthly Recurring Charges (MRCs). Also, Twilio’s pricing varies by geographical location and can quickly get expensive if you operate in certain regions.
Pay-as-you-go
If you’re a pay-as-you-go customer, Twilio bills your account on a per-use basis. There’s no restriction on the number of calls and SMS you can make/receive — as long as you have enough funds to cover your bills.
Monthly Recurring Charges (MRCs)
If you hold an MRC account with Twilio, it means that your account is billed at regular monthly intervals. You may be charged for the following
- Twilio phone number
- Shortcodes SMS
- Calls per second
The cost of purchasing a Twilio phone number is based on the country of origin, capabilities and type of phone number (whether mobile, local or toll-free). The price you pay for shortcode messages also varies by country of origin, whether it’s a random/vanity number and if Twilio operates your number.
Do note that all these charges are fixed and billed monthly. If you exceed the number of allotted shortcode SMS and outbound calls, you have to pay for throughput increases.
For better phone support, flexible billing and invoicing options, and additional security/user controls, you may subscribe to one or more of the following value-added plans.
- Twilio Studio Enterprise
- Twilio Interconnect
- Twilio Enterprise Plans
- Twilio Support Plans
Each of these value-added plans/services come with a separate charge. We’ll now take a deeper look at the factors that affect the price of calls and SMS on Twilio
Calls
Twilio allows you to make and receive calls in several ways including
- Mobile
- In-browser
- Local
- Toll-free
- SIP Integration
Each type of voice call on Twilio has a unique cost per minute for making and receiving calls. There are also separate charges for special services like
- Intelligent call services
- Conference calls
- Call recording
- Answering machine detection
- Call insights
SMS
Twilio allows you to send both pictures and text messages. While texting costs the same (whether you’re sending or receiving), the cost of sending a picture message is twice that of receiving one.
Also, the above costs vary depending on the location and the type of phone number used to send and receive. This means there’s a unique cost if you send and receive SMS via shortcodes, toll-free and local numbers.
Making sense of your billing data
Whether you are an MRC or pay-as-you-go customer, Twilio is required to collect taxes (depending on your location).
To make sense of your Twilio billing and set a weekly, monthly or quarterly budget, you must take cognizance of all these factors. The complexity increases if you operate in multiple geographical locations.
Another frustrating thing is that Twilio calls are charged in USD and documented in UTC format. This means you must manually convert each of your individual clients’ calls to the local currency and time to make sense of your billing data.
All this makes Twilio bookkeeping a tedious, time-consuming task — one which can quickly become a nightmare…if you don’t have the right tools. Also, Twilio’s default billing platform doesn’t allow for customized billing. This makes it difficult to charge your customers an appropriate amount for your services.
Enter the Trifecta Billing Engine
Trying to track Twilio pricing on your own is tedious, time-consuming and challenging. Start managing your call center more efficiently with the help of the Trifecta Billing Engine.
It allows you to access your Twilio billing data in one simple platform anywhere, anytime. Get real-time insights into your usage data and costs and save money on every message and call by customizing Twilio pricing on the fly.
The Trifecta Billing Engine puts control of your Twilio pricing back in your hands. Get in touch today and see how much easier Trifecta can make your life!