Comparison
Overview
Company snapshot and where each provider is based.
| Field | 46elks | Bird |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Swedish telecom API platform ("telecom infrastructure for the web") for sending and receiving SMS and MMS, making and receiving phone calls, and managing virtual phone numbers. | 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. |
| Founded | 2011 | 2011 |
| Ownership | private | private |
| Employees | 10-50 | 500-1,000 |
| HQ city | Uppsala | Amsterdam |
| HQ country | Sweden (EU) | Netherlands (EU) |
What's the differenceBird edges ahead on the overall messaging.dev Score (76 vs 33). 46elks is private and headquartered in Uppsala, Sweden (EU); Bird is private and based in Amsterdam, Netherlands (EU).
Channels
Which messaging channels each provider can send and receive on.
| Field | 46elks | Bird |
|---|---|---|
| SMS | Yes | Yes |
| MMS | Yes | No |
| RCS | No | No |
| No | Yes | |
| Viber | No | No |
| Facebook Messenger | No | No |
| Telegram | No | No |
| Apple Messages for Business | No | No |
| Voice | Yes | Yes |
| No | Yes |
What's the differenceThey share 2 channels. 46elks additionally offers MMS, while Bird additionally offers WhatsApp, Email.
Developer Experience
How quickly a developer can sign up and send a first message.
| Field | 46elks | Bird |
|---|---|---|
| Self-service onboarding | Yes | Yes |
| Free developer credit | No | Free email tier (1,000/month) |
| Docs quality | med | high |
| Documentation | Open ↗ | Open ↗ |
| SDKs | — | TypeScript, Python, Go |
| Sandbox / test env | Yes | Yes |
| API types | REST | REST, SMTP |
What's the differenceOn SDKs, Bird adds TypeScript, Python, Go; on API types, Bird adds SMTP.
Data & Compliance
Data residency options and enterprise compliance certifications.
| Field | 46elks | Bird |
|---|---|---|
| EU data residency | Yes | Yes |
| US data residency | No | Yes |
| Choose region | No | Yes |
| GDPR | Yes | Yes |
| ISO 27001 | No | Yes |
| SOC 2 | No | Yes |
| HIPAA | No | Yes |
What's the differenceBird offers US data residency, while 46elks does not; Bird offers Choose region, while 46elks does not; Bird offers ISO 27001, while 46elks does not; Bird offers SOC 2, while 46elks does not; Bird offers HIPAA, while 46elks does not.
Data Retention
How long message content and metadata are stored, and whether that is configurable.
| Field | 46elks | Bird |
|---|---|---|
| Retention policy | Not publicly documented in detail. 46elks' data protection policy states that personal data stays inside the EU on servers owned by 46elks and that system backups are stored for a maximum of 14 days; specific retention periods for message content and metadata are not published, and the service operates under EU ePrivacy directive 2002/58/EG and Swedish telecom law (LEK 2022:482, PTS rules). | 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. |
What's the difference46elks: Not publicly documented in detail. 46elks' data protection policy states that personal data stays inside the EU on servers owned by 46elks and that system backups are stored for a maximum of 14 days; specific retention periods for message content and metadata are not published, and the service operates under EU ePrivacy directive 2002/58/EG and Swedish telecom law (LEK 2022:482, PTS rules). Bird: 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.
Pricing & Credits
Pricing model and the cost of a first message.
| Field | 46elks | Bird |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Pay-as-you-go per message/minute from a prepaid account balance, with no startup fees and no minimum monthly costs. | 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. |
| SMS starting price | €0.047 per SMS part to Sweden (ex VAT); prices vary by destination country | $0.0073 per message to US numbers (long code, toll-free and short code; carrier fees extra), per-country pricing grid published |
| Free developer credit | No | Free email tier (1,000/month) |
What's the difference46elks and Bird are closely matched on pricing & credits — no material differences in the tracked fields.
Reach & Reliability
Global coverage and delivery dependability.
| Field | 46elks | Bird |
|---|---|---|
| Countries covered | 215 | 150 |
| Direct operator connections | No | Yes |
| Published uptime SLA | No published uptime SLA (business-hours support SLA only; extended SLA available on request) | 99.95% (legacy MessageBird SLA; current SLAs are per-service-plan in Order Form terms) |
What's the difference46elks leads on Countries covered (215 vs 150 for Bird); Bird offers Direct operator connections, while 46elks does not.
Company & Trust
Independent reviews and company profile.
| Field | 46elks | Bird |
|---|---|---|
| G2 rating | 0.0 | 3.9 |
| G2 reviews | 0 | 73 |
| Ownership | private | private |
| Employees | 10-50 | 500-1,000 |
What's the differenceBird leads on G2 rating (3.9 vs 0 for 46elks); Bird leads on G2 reviews (73 vs 0 for 46elks).
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