Comparison
Overview
Company snapshot and where each provider is based.
| Field | Bird | SMS.to |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Communications infrastructure platform (formerly MessageBird) providing unified APIs for email, SMS, WhatsApp and voice on a network that carries about 40% of the world's commercial SMS volume. | Omnichannel business messaging platform and API from Cyprus-based Intergo Telecom for sending SMS, Viber, WhatsApp, RCS and Telegram messages worldwide. |
| Founded | 2011 | 2016 |
| Ownership | private | private |
| Employees | 500-1,000 | 51-200 |
| HQ city | Amsterdam | Paphos |
| HQ country | Netherlands (EU) | Cyprus (EU) |
What's the differenceBird edges ahead on the overall messaging.dev Score (76 vs 49). Bird is private and headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands (EU); SMS.to is private and based in Paphos, Cyprus (EU).
Channels
Which messaging channels each provider can send and receive on.
| Field | Bird | SMS.to |
|---|---|---|
| SMS | Yes | Yes |
| MMS | No | No |
| RCS | No | Yes |
| Yes | Yes | |
| Viber | No | Yes |
| Facebook Messenger | No | No |
| Telegram | No | Yes |
| Apple Messages for Business | No | No |
| Voice | Yes | No |
| Yes | No |
What's the differenceThey share 2 channels. Bird additionally offers Voice, Email, while SMS.to additionally offers RCS, Viber, Telegram.
Developer Experience
How quickly a developer can sign up and send a first message.
| Field | Bird | SMS.to |
|---|---|---|
| Self-service onboarding | Yes | Yes |
| Free developer credit | Free email tier (1,000/month) | Free trial credits on sign-up |
| Docs quality | high | med |
| Documentation | Open ↗ | Open ↗ |
| SDKs | TypeScript, Python, Go | PHP |
| Sandbox / test env | Yes | No |
| API types | REST, SMTP | REST, SMPP |
What's the differenceOn SDKs, Bird adds TypeScript, Python, Go; SMS.to adds PHP; Bird offers Sandbox / test env, while SMS.to does not; on API types, Bird adds SMTP; SMS.to adds SMPP.
Data & Compliance
Data residency options and enterprise compliance certifications.
| Field | Bird | SMS.to |
|---|---|---|
| EU data residency | Yes | Yes |
| US data residency | Yes | Yes |
| Choose region | Yes | Yes |
| GDPR | Yes | Yes |
| ISO 27001 | Yes | Yes |
| SOC 2 | Yes | No |
| HIPAA | Yes | No |
What's the differenceBird offers SOC 2, while SMS.to does not; Bird offers HIPAA, while SMS.to does not.
Data Retention
How long message content and metadata are stored, and whether that is configurable.
| Field | Bird | SMS.to |
|---|---|---|
| Retention policy | Privacy statement: for telecom products (SMS, email, voice), metadata and traffic data are retained for 6 months after transmission, extended up to two years where local law requires; email message content is held for at most 72 hours. | Customer data is retained only while the account remains open; on an account deletion request all data is deleted within 30 days. Customers can choose to have data processed only within the EU, in which case it is not transferred outside the EU; per-message content retention periods are not publicly documented in detail. |
What's the differenceBird: Privacy statement: for telecom products (SMS, email, voice), metadata and traffic data are retained for 6 months after transmission, extended up to two years where local law requires; email message content is held for at most 72 hours. SMS.to: Customer data is retained only while the account remains open; on an account deletion request all data is deleted within 30 days. Customers can choose to have data processed only within the EU, in which case it is not transferred outside the EU; per-message content retention periods are not publicly documented in detail.
Pricing & Credits
Pricing model and the cost of a first message.
| Field | Bird | SMS.to |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Usage-based transactional pricing with no platform or seat fees: volume-tiered email subscriptions (free tier, then e.g. $15/month for 50K emails) and published per-country per-message SMS rates; WhatsApp priced by destination country and message category. | Prepaid pay-as-you-go credit with no contracts or commitments; per-SMS rates vary by destination and volume discounts are negotiated with sales. |
| SMS starting price | $0.0073 per message to US numbers (long code, toll-free and short code; carrier fees extra), per-country pricing grid published | From $0.023 per SMS (advertised base rate; per-country rates via downloadable price list) |
| Free developer credit | Free email tier (1,000/month) | Free trial credits on sign-up |
What's the differenceBird and SMS.to are closely matched on pricing & credits — no material differences in the tracked fields.
Reach & Reliability
Global coverage and delivery dependability.
| Field | Bird | SMS.to |
|---|---|---|
| Countries covered | 150 | 0 |
| Direct operator connections | Yes | Yes |
| Published uptime SLA | 99.95% (legacy MessageBird SLA; current SLAs are per-service-plan in Order Form terms) | No published SLA (public status page at status.sms.to) |
What's the differenceBird leads on Countries covered (150 vs 0 for SMS.to).
Company & Trust
Independent reviews and company profile.
| Field | Bird | SMS.to |
|---|---|---|
| G2 rating | 3.9 | 4.4 |
| G2 reviews | 73 | 4 |
| Ownership | private | private |
| Employees | 500-1,000 | 51-200 |
What's the differenceSMS.to leads on G2 rating (4.4 vs 3.9 for Bird); Bird leads on G2 reviews (73 vs 4 for SMS.to).
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