SMSTunnel vs Plivo

A Plivo alternative for texts from your own phone and number

Checked November 2026 on the official websites. See the sources.

The short version

Plivo is an SMS API provider for businesses that send at scale. Its pricing page lists SMS on the Enterprise plan, from $1,000 a month, through its sales team; your software then sends texts from numbers you rent from Plivo, for $0.0077 each in the US plus carrier fees.

With SMSTunnel, your own Android phone sends the texts from its SIM, from your own number. There's a free plan, and paid plans from $9 a month, with no per-message fees; the texts go over your own mobile plan.

The prices aren't like for like: Plivo delivers every text over the carrier networks itself, and its price per text pays for that. With SMSTunnel your phone does the delivery, so each text is paid for by your mobile plan (often unlimited texts), not by SMSTunnel.

Choose SMSTunnel for texts a phone sends comfortably, from a number people already know. Choose Plivo for high volumes, US 10DLC numbers, short codes, sender names or numbers in many countries.

Side by side

SMSTunnel and Plivo compared
Topic SMSTunnel Plivo
Who sends the text Your own Android phone, from its SIM Plivo, from numbers you rent from it, over its carrier connections
What people see Your own number, which people can reply to A Plivo number, a toll-free number or a short code; a sender name in some countries
Plan A free plan, and paid plans from $9 a month SMS is on the Enterprise plan, from $1,000 a month
Each text (US) No per-message fees from SMSTunnel. Your mobile plan's SMS charges or allowance apply $0.0077 per segment sent or received from a local number, plus carrier fees
A US number The SIM you already have: nothing to rent $0.50 a month (local), $1 a month (toll-free)
US registration SMSTunnel registers no numbers. Texts go out over your own mobile plan, under its terms A2P 10DLC: $4.50 brand, $15 per use case, $1.50 to $10 a month
Short codes and sender names Your phone's own number only Short codes from $500 a month plus $1,500 once; sender names where the country allows them
Countries Any number your SIM can text, at your carrier's rates 226 countries, according to its SMS page
Volume What one phone sends: 30 send requests a minute, with daily caps on Free, Starter and Standard Up to 100 texts a second on a short code; 10,000+ a second across its platform
Replies They reach your phone. Optional sync to your dashboard and the API A webhook to your own app
Status of a text Pending, sent or failed, as your phone reports it, through the API Status callbacks to your URL, with delivery reports
Sign-in codes Your software makes the code, SMSTunnel sends it, with a separate daily allowance Plivo Verify sends codes and checks them for you: no verification fee, you pay for the text ($0.0077 in the US)
Pictures and other channels No: texts only MMS, RCS and WhatsApp on the Enterprise plan
Availability Your phone must be on and online; texts wait for it up to 3 days Its SMS page states 99.99% platform uptime
To start Free plan, no credit card: 25 texts and 50 sign-in codes a day Through Plivo's sales team: self-service sign-up for SMS isn't available
Libraries and integrations More than 40 ready-made: WordPress, WooCommerce, Shopify, n8n, Home Assistant and more Python, Node.js, Ruby, PHP, Java, .NET and Go

Plivo's prices are its US list prices; they differ by country, and Plivo offers volume discounts on the Enterprise plan. SMSTunnel's current prices are on its pricing page.

What you pay

Plivo, for texts to US numbers

  • The Enterprise plan: at least $1,000 a month across Plivo's products. Your use counts toward it, and in a month you use less, you pay the minimum.
  • $0.0077 for each segment you send or receive from a local number or a short code ($0.0079 from a toll-free number).
  • Carrier surcharges, for example $0.0035 (AT&T), $0.0045 (T-Mobile) or $0.005 (Verizon) for each text sent; some carriers charge on received texts too.
  • $0.50 a month for a local number, $1 for a toll-free one.
  • A2P 10DLC registration: $4.50 for the brand, $15 to review each use case, and $10 a month for each one ($1.50 for low volumes, billed quarterly).

Other countries have other prices: see Plivo's SMS pricing and pick the country. Some older Plivo pages still describe SMS as pay as you go.

SMSTunnel

  • There's a free plan, and paid plans from $9 a month. The current prices and each plan's daily allowance are on the pricing page.
  • No monthly minimum, and nothing per text or per number from SMSTunnel.
  • The texts go over your own mobile plan, so your carrier's SMS charges or allowance apply, including for texts to other countries.

When to choose Plivo instead

  • You send at scale: Plivo built its SMS service for businesses sending in production at scale, with short codes that send up to 100 texts a second. SMSTunnel sends what one phone can.
  • You need a short code, a toll-free number or a sender name instead of a phone number.
  • You text US customers as a business from a local number: Plivo registers your brand and use case for A2P 10DLC, and says texts from unregistered numbers aren't delivered.
  • Delivery mustn't depend on a phone being on and online: Plivo sends through its own carrier connections and reports each text's status to your URL.
  • You need numbers in many countries without a SIM in each: Plivo's SMS page lists 226.
  • You want MMS, RCS or WhatsApp from the same API, or a service that sends sign-in codes and checks them for you (Plivo Verify).
  • Your volume fits a monthly commitment of $1,000 or more.

When SMSTunnel fits better

  • Your texts don't add up to a $1,000 monthly minimum: SMSTunnel has a free plan, and paid plans from $9 a month.
  • People should see your own number, the one they already know, and reply to it.
  • You want to start today, without a sales call: install the app, sign in and create an API key.
  • Your texts are ones a phone sends comfortably: order updates, booking reminders, sign-in codes, alerts to yourself and your team.
  • Your site or tool already has an SMSTunnel plugin or guide: WordPress, WooCommerce, Magento, PrestaShop, OpenCart, n8n, Better Auth and more.
  • You want end-to-end encryption: your software encrypts the text for your phone, and SMSTunnel can't read it.

How switching works

The call your software makes changes a little; the rest is setting up your phone.

  1. 1Install SMSTunnel from Google Play on the phone whose number should send the texts, and sign in.
  2. 2In your dashboard, open Apps → Add an app and copy the API key.
  3. 3Change the send call. dst becomes to (one number per text) and text becomes message, up to 1,600 characters in both. src goes away: your phone's number is the sender, and with several phones deviceId picks one. The key goes in an X-API-Key header instead of your Auth ID and token.
  4. 4Instead of the status callback in url, poll GET /api/v1/sms/status/{messageId}. Instead of the message URL for replies, turn on Sync received texts in the app and read GET /api/v1/sms/received with a key allowed to read them.
  5. 5Using a plugin with Plivo? Check SMSTunnel's integrations for the same tool first.
Before: Plivo
curl -X POST "https://api.plivo.com/v1/Account/$PLIVO_AUTH_ID/Message/" \
  --user "$PLIVO_AUTH_ID:$PLIVO_AUTH_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"src": "+14155550100", "dst": "+14155550123", "text": "Your order has shipped."}'
After: SMSTunnel
curl -X POST https://smstunnel.io/api/v1/sms/send \
  -H "X-API-Key: sk_live_..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"to": "+14155550123", "message": "Your order has shipped."}'

Every field and answer is in the API reference. If your phone is offline, the text waits and goes out when it is back, for up to 3 days.

Ready-made integrations

Plugins, modules and guides that send through your own phone, ready to use.

Magento
Order texts for Magento 2.4.6 to 2.4.9
PrestaShop
Order texts for PrestaShop 8.1 and 9
n8n
A community node for your workflows
PHP
A small client for your own PHP apps
Better Auth
Phone sign-in codes for the phoneNumber plugin
Grafana
Alerts from a webhook contact point

More on the integrations page, and any other software can use the REST API.

Questions people ask

Is SMSTunnel an alternative to Plivo?

For texts a phone sends comfortably, yes: order updates, reminders, sign-in codes and alerts, from your own number, with no per-message fees and no monthly minimum. For high volumes, short codes, sender names, US 10DLC numbers or many countries, Plivo fits better.

How much does Plivo charge for SMS?

Plivo's pricing page lists SMS on the Enterprise plan, which starts at $1,000 a month. Its US page lists $0.0077 per text from local numbers and short codes, sent or received, plus carrier surcharges, and prices differ by country.

Can I sign up for Plivo SMS on my own?

Plivo says SMS is provisioned through its sales team with a minimum monthly commitment, that self-service onboarding for SMS isn't available, and that SMS isn't offered to resellers or software vendors. Some older Plivo pages still describe pay-as-you-go SMS. With SMSTunnel, you create an account, install the app and send your first text on the free plan.

Do I need A2P 10DLC registration with SMSTunnel?

SMSTunnel registers no numbers: your phone sends the texts over your own mobile plan, from your own number, so your carrier's terms apply to them. If you text US customers at business volumes, a registered 10DLC number from a provider such as Plivo is the route US carriers set for that.

Can my customers reply?

Yes, with both. With SMSTunnel, replies reach your phone like any text; turn on Sync received texts in the app to see them in your dashboard and read them through the API. With Plivo, replies reach your app through the message URL you set.

Does SMSTunnel check sign-in codes, like Plivo Verify?

No. Your software makes the code and checks it, and SMSTunnel sends the text, with a separate allowance for codes (50 a day on Free, no daily cap on paid plans). Plivo Verify sends the codes and checks them for you; Plivo charges no verification fee, only the text.

Sources

Checked November 2026 on Plivo's own website and documentation. Prices and features change, and some depend on the country, so check these pages before you decide.

Responsible use

Send only texts people expect from you: sending business texts from a personal SIM can break some carriers' terms, so check your plan.

Plivo and the other product names on this page are trademarks of their owners. SMSTunnel is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by them.

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Try it with your own phone

Start on the free plan: no credit card. Install the app, sign in, and your own software can hand texts to your phone.

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