Comparison
Overview
Company snapshot and where each provider is based.
| Field | Attentive | GatewayAPI |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | AI-powered SMS, MMS, RCS, email, and push marketing platform for consumer brands, with REST and GraphQL APIs for subscriber management and event-triggered messaging rather than direct message sending. | 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. |
| Founded | 2016 | 1999 |
| Ownership | private | private |
| Employees | 1,000-1,500 | 11-50 |
| HQ city | New York | Odense |
| HQ country | USA | Denmark (EU) |
What's the differenceGatewayAPI edges ahead on the overall messaging.dev Score (54 vs 40). Attentive is private and headquartered in New York, USA; GatewayAPI is private and based in Odense, Denmark (EU).
Channels
Which messaging channels each provider can send and receive on.
| Field | Attentive | GatewayAPI |
|---|---|---|
| SMS | Yes | Yes |
| MMS | Yes | No |
| RCS | Yes | Yes |
| No | No | |
| Viber | No | No |
| Facebook Messenger | No | No |
| Telegram | No | No |
| Apple Messages for Business | No | No |
| Voice | No | No |
| Yes | Yes |
What's the differenceThey share 3 channels. Attentive additionally offers MMS.
Developer Experience
How quickly a developer can sign up and send a first message.
| Field | Attentive | GatewayAPI |
|---|---|---|
| Self-service onboarding | No | Yes |
| Free developer credit | No | Test credits on request |
| Docs quality | med | med |
| Documentation | Open ↗ | Open ↗ |
| SDKs | iOS (Swift), Android (Kotlin), React Native | — |
| Sandbox / test env | Yes | No |
| API types | REST, GraphQL | REST, SMPP, Email-to-SMS |
What's the differenceGatewayAPI offers Self-service onboarding, while Attentive does not; on SDKs, Attentive adds iOS (Swift), Android (Kotlin), React Native; Attentive offers Sandbox / test env, while GatewayAPI does not; on API types, Attentive adds GraphQL; GatewayAPI adds SMPP, Email-to-SMS.
Data & Compliance
Data residency options and enterprise compliance certifications.
| Field | Attentive | GatewayAPI |
|---|---|---|
| EU data residency | No | Yes |
| US data residency | Yes | No |
| Choose region | No | Yes |
| GDPR | Yes | Yes |
| ISO 27001 | No | No |
| SOC 2 | Yes | No |
| HIPAA | No | No |
What's the differenceGatewayAPI offers EU data residency, while Attentive does not; Attentive offers US data residency, while GatewayAPI does not; GatewayAPI offers Choose region, while Attentive does not; Attentive offers SOC 2, while GatewayAPI does not.
Data Retention
How long message content and metadata are stored, and whether that is configurable.
| Field | Attentive | GatewayAPI |
|---|---|---|
| Retention policy | No fixed retention periods are published; the privacy policy states personal information is retained "for as long as necessary to provide our Service or as needed to comply with applicable legal obligations." EU/UK/Swiss consumer data is transferred to and processed in the United States under the EU-U.S., UK Extension, and Swiss-U.S. Data Privacy Frameworks. | 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. |
What's the differenceAttentive: No fixed retention periods are published; the privacy policy states personal information is retained "for as long as necessary to provide our Service or as needed to comply with applicable legal obligations." EU/UK/Swiss consumer data is transferred to and processed in the United States under the EU-U.S., UK Extension, and Swiss-U.S. Data Privacy Frameworks. GatewayAPI: 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.
Pricing & Credits
Pricing model and the cost of a first message.
| Field | Attentive | GatewayAPI |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Custom-quoted, usage-based subscription priced on message volume, subscriber list size, channels, and premium AI add-ons; no self-serve signup or published per-message rates. | 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. |
| SMS starting price | Not published | From €0.0061 per SMS (standard class, cheapest destination on the public price list; e.g. €0.0401 to Denmark) |
| Free developer credit | No | Test credits on request |
What's the differenceAttentive and GatewayAPI are closely matched on pricing & credits — no material differences in the tracked fields.
Reach & Reliability
Global coverage and delivery dependability.
| Field | Attentive | GatewayAPI |
|---|---|---|
| Countries covered | 20 | 200 |
| Direct operator connections | No | Yes |
| Published uptime SLA | No published SLA | No published SLA (99.99%+ historical uptime claimed) |
What's the differenceGatewayAPI leads on Countries covered (200 vs 20 for Attentive); GatewayAPI offers Direct operator connections, while Attentive does not.
Company & Trust
Independent reviews and company profile.
| Field | Attentive | GatewayAPI |
|---|---|---|
| G2 rating | 4.5 | 4.9 |
| G2 reviews | 1,483 | 7 |
| Ownership | private | private |
| Employees | 1,000-1,500 | 11-50 |
What's the differenceGatewayAPI leads on G2 rating (4.9 vs 4.5 for Attentive); Attentive leads on G2 reviews (1,483 vs 7 for GatewayAPI).
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