Comparison
Overview
Company snapshot and where each provider is based.
| Field | Bird | Smstools |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Belgian business-messaging platform by Xtreme Internet Solutions offering an SMS gateway API, bulk SMS marketing software, WhatsApp Business API, voice messages and email-to-SMS with EU-only hosting. |
| Founded | 2011 | 2004 |
| Ownership | private | private |
| Employees | 500-1,000 | 1-10 |
| HQ city | Amsterdam | Dilsen-Stokkem |
| HQ country | Netherlands (EU) | Belgium (EU) |
What's the differenceBird edges ahead on the overall messaging.dev Score (76 vs 56). Bird is private and headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands (EU); Smstools is private and based in Dilsen-Stokkem, Belgium (EU).
Channels
Which messaging channels each provider can send and receive on.
| Field | Bird | Smstools |
|---|---|---|
| SMS | Yes | Yes |
| MMS | No | No |
| RCS | No | No |
| Yes | Yes | |
| Viber | No | No |
| Facebook Messenger | No | No |
| Telegram | No | No |
| Apple Messages for Business | No | No |
| Voice | Yes | Yes |
| Yes | No |
What's the differenceThey share 3 channels. Bird additionally offers Email.
Developer Experience
How quickly a developer can sign up and send a first message.
| Field | Bird | Smstools |
|---|---|---|
| Self-service onboarding | Yes | Yes |
| Free developer credit | Free email tier (1,000/month) | Free test credit on sign-up |
| Docs quality | high | high |
| Documentation | Open ↗ | Open ↗ |
| SDKs | TypeScript, Python, Go | PHP, Node.js, Python, Ruby, PowerShell |
| Sandbox / test env | Yes | Yes |
| API types | REST, SMTP | REST, SMTP |
What's the differenceOn SDKs, Bird adds TypeScript, Go; Smstools adds PHP, Node.js, Ruby, PowerShell.
Data & Compliance
Data residency options and enterprise compliance certifications.
| Field | Bird | Smstools |
|---|---|---|
| EU data residency | Yes | Yes |
| US data residency | Yes | No |
| Choose region | Yes | No |
| GDPR | Yes | Yes |
| ISO 27001 | Yes | No |
| SOC 2 | Yes | No |
| HIPAA | Yes | No |
What's the differenceBird offers US data residency, while Smstools does not; Bird offers Choose region, while Smstools does not; Bird offers ISO 27001, while Smstools does not; Bird offers SOC 2, while Smstools does not; Bird offers HIPAA, while Smstools does not.
Data Retention
How long message content and metadata are stored, and whether that is configurable.
| Field | Bird | Smstools |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Not publicly documented in detail. Smstools states all data is stored on servers located in Europe under GDPR-compliant processes, with AES-256 encryption at rest and TLS 1.3 in transit, and a Data Processing Agreement is available on request, but no specific message content/metadata retention periods are published. |
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. Smstools: Not publicly documented in detail. Smstools states all data is stored on servers located in Europe under GDPR-compliant processes, with AES-256 encryption at rest and TLS 1.3 in transit, and a Data Processing Agreement is available on request, but no specific message content/metadata retention periods are published.
Pricing & Credits
Pricing model and the cost of a first message.
| Field | Bird | Smstools |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Pay-as-you-go per message with volume discounts; no subscription, setup fee or monthly minimum, with a personalised rate sheet issued on registration. |
| 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 €0.025 per SMS to the USA (rates vary by destination country and volume) |
| Free developer credit | Free email tier (1,000/month) | Free test credit on sign-up |
What's the differenceBird and Smstools are closely matched on pricing & credits — no material differences in the tracked fields.
Reach & Reliability
Global coverage and delivery dependability.
| Field | Bird | Smstools |
|---|---|---|
| Countries covered | 150 | 200 |
| Direct operator connections | Yes | Yes |
| Published uptime SLA | 99.95% (legacy MessageBird SLA; current SLAs are per-service-plan in Order Form terms) | 99.99% (uptime SLA) |
What's the differenceSmstools leads on Countries covered (200 vs 150 for Bird).
Company & Trust
Independent reviews and company profile.
| Field | Bird | Smstools |
|---|---|---|
| G2 rating | 3.9 | 0.0 |
| G2 reviews | 73 | 0 |
| Ownership | private | private |
| Employees | 500-1,000 | 1-10 |
What's the differenceBird leads on G2 rating (3.9 vs 0 for Smstools); Bird leads on G2 reviews (73 vs 0 for Smstools).
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