Comparison
Overview
Company snapshot and where each provider is based.
| Field | GatewayAPI | Prelude |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Danish SMS gateway and messaging platform by ONLINECITY.IO offering SMS, RCS and email APIs with pay-as-you-go pricing and EU data hosting. | Developer platform for phone and email verification (OTP), authentication, number intelligence, and anti-fraud onboarding delivered across SMS, RCS, WhatsApp, voice and other channels. |
| Founded | 1999 | 2022 |
| Ownership | private | private |
| Employees | 11-50 | 51-200 |
| HQ city | Odense | Paris |
| HQ country | Denmark (EU) | France (EU) |
What's the differencePrelude edges ahead on the overall messaging.dev Score (62 vs 54). GatewayAPI is private and headquartered in Odense, Denmark (EU); Prelude is private and based in Paris, France (EU).
Channels
Which messaging channels each provider can send and receive on.
| Field | GatewayAPI | Prelude |
|---|---|---|
| SMS | Yes | Yes |
| MMS | No | No |
| RCS | Yes | Yes |
| No | Yes | |
| Viber | No | Yes |
| Facebook Messenger | No | No |
| Telegram | No | Yes |
| Apple Messages for Business | No | No |
| Voice | No | Yes |
| Yes | Yes |
What's the differenceThey share 3 channels. Prelude additionally offers WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram, Voice.
Developer Experience
How quickly a developer can sign up and send a first message.
| Field | GatewayAPI | Prelude |
|---|---|---|
| Self-service onboarding | Yes | Yes |
| Free developer credit | Test credits on request | No |
| Docs quality | med | high |
| Documentation | Open ↗ | Open ↗ |
| SDKs | — | Node.js, Python, Go, Java, Ruby, PHP, C# |
| Sandbox / test env | No | No |
| API types | REST, SMPP, Email-to-SMS | REST |
What's the differenceOn SDKs, Prelude adds Node.js, Python, Go, Java, Ruby, PHP, C#; on API types, GatewayAPI adds SMPP, Email-to-SMS.
Data & Compliance
Data residency options and enterprise compliance certifications.
| Field | GatewayAPI | Prelude |
|---|---|---|
| EU data residency | Yes | Yes |
| US data residency | No | No |
| Choose region | Yes | No |
| GDPR | Yes | Yes |
| ISO 27001 | No | Yes |
| SOC 2 | No | Yes |
| HIPAA | No | No |
What's the differenceGatewayAPI offers Choose region, while Prelude does not; Prelude offers ISO 27001, while GatewayAPI does not; Prelude offers SOC 2, while GatewayAPI does not.
Data Retention
How long message content and metadata are stored, and whether that is configurable.
| Field | GatewayAPI | Prelude |
|---|---|---|
| Retention policy | Message content, sender and recipient are stored in the traffic log for 30 days, after which records are anonymized (message content and full sender deleted, last half of the recipient number removed). An optional "secret" message class skips storage of content, sender and recipient entirely. | Not publicly documented in detail. Prelude is a European (Paris-based) company that hosts and processes data in EU data centers under GDPR, with SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO 27001:2022 controls including encryption of data in transit and at rest. It states that only essential data is stored for delivery tracking, but specific message-content and metadata retention periods are not published on the site or trust center. |
What's the differenceGatewayAPI: Message content, sender and recipient are stored in the traffic log for 30 days, after which records are anonymized (message content and full sender deleted, last half of the recipient number removed). An optional "secret" message class skips storage of content, sender and recipient entirely. Prelude: Not publicly documented in detail. Prelude is a European (Paris-based) company that hosts and processes data in EU data centers under GDPR, with SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO 27001:2022 controls including encryption of data in transit and at rest. It states that only essential data is stored for delivery tracking, but specific message-content and metadata retention periods are not published on the site or trust center.
Pricing & Credits
Pricing model and the cost of a first message.
| Field | GatewayAPI | Prelude |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Pay-as-you-go per-message pricing with prepaid credit; no monthly subscriptions or fees (except short-code countries), with negotiated discounts for high volumes. | Pay-as-you-go per-verification pricing plus at-cost (zero-markup) per-message charges, with optional Startup subscription and custom Enterprise tiers. |
| SMS starting price | From €0.0061 per SMS (standard class, cheapest destination on the public price list; e.g. €0.0401 to Denmark) | €0.0043 per SMS (US, at-cost); verification fee from €0.032 |
| Free developer credit | Test credits on request | No |
What's the differenceGatewayAPI and Prelude are closely matched on pricing & credits — no material differences in the tracked fields.
Reach & Reliability
Global coverage and delivery dependability.
| Field | GatewayAPI | Prelude |
|---|---|---|
| Countries covered | 200 | 230 |
| Direct operator connections | Yes | Yes |
| Published uptime SLA | No published SLA (99.99%+ historical uptime claimed) | No published SLA |
What's the differencePrelude leads on Countries covered (230 vs 200 for GatewayAPI).
Company & Trust
Independent reviews and company profile.
| Field | GatewayAPI | Prelude |
|---|---|---|
| G2 rating | 4.9 | 4.9 |
| G2 reviews | 7 | 13 |
| Ownership | private | private |
| Employees | 11-50 | 51-200 |
What's the differencePrelude leads on G2 reviews (13 vs 7 for GatewayAPI).
Still deciding? Read the quickstart guides: