Comparison
Overview
Company snapshot and where each provider is based.
| Field | Bird | GMS |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Enterprise CPaaS and A2P messaging provider offering SMS, WhatsApp, Viber, RCS and email through a single API, plus messaging-hub and SMS-firewall services for mobile network operators. |
| Founded | 2011 | 2006 |
| Ownership | private | private |
| Employees | 500-1,000 | 500-1,000 |
| HQ city | Amsterdam | Baar |
| HQ country | Netherlands (EU) | Switzerland |
What's the differenceBird edges ahead on the overall messaging.dev Score (76 vs 36). Bird is private and headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands (EU); GMS is private and based in Baar, Switzerland.
Channels
Which messaging channels each provider can send and receive on.
| Field | Bird | GMS |
|---|---|---|
| SMS | Yes | Yes |
| MMS | No | No |
| RCS | No | Yes |
| Yes | Yes | |
| Viber | No | Yes |
| Facebook Messenger | No | No |
| Telegram | No | No |
| Apple Messages for Business | No | No |
| Voice | Yes | No |
| Yes | Yes |
What's the differenceThey share 3 channels. Bird additionally offers Voice, while GMS additionally offers RCS, Viber.
Developer Experience
How quickly a developer can sign up and send a first message.
| Field | Bird | GMS |
|---|---|---|
| Self-service onboarding | Yes | No |
| Free developer credit | Free email tier (1,000/month) | No |
| Docs quality | high | med |
| Documentation | Open ↗ | Open ↗ |
| SDKs | TypeScript, Python, Go | iOS (Swift), Android (Kotlin) |
| Sandbox / test env | Yes | No |
| API types | REST, SMTP | REST |
What's the differenceBird offers Self-service onboarding, while GMS does not; on SDKs, Bird adds TypeScript, Python, Go; GMS adds iOS (Swift), Android (Kotlin); Bird offers Sandbox / test env, while GMS does not; on API types, Bird adds SMTP.
Data & Compliance
Data residency options and enterprise compliance certifications.
| Field | Bird | GMS |
|---|---|---|
| EU data residency | Yes | Yes |
| US data residency | Yes | No |
| Choose region | Yes | No |
| GDPR | Yes | Yes |
| ISO 27001 | Yes | Yes |
| SOC 2 | Yes | No |
| HIPAA | Yes | No |
What's the differenceBird offers US data residency, while GMS does not; Bird offers Choose region, while GMS does not; Bird offers SOC 2, while GMS does not; Bird offers HIPAA, while GMS does not.
Data Retention
How long message content and metadata are stored, and whether that is configurable.
| Field | Bird | GMS |
|---|---|---|
| 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. GMS's privacy notice states personal data is processed under EU GDPR (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) and held at its Switzerland headquarters (recognized by the European Commission as providing an adequate level of data protection); no specific retention periods for message content or metadata are published. GMS also holds ISO/IEC 27701 (privacy information management) certification. |
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. GMS: Not publicly documented in detail. GMS's privacy notice states personal data is processed under EU GDPR (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) and held at its Switzerland headquarters (recognized by the European Commission as providing an adequate level of data protection); no specific retention periods for message content or metadata are published. GMS also holds ISO/IEC 27701 (privacy information management) certification.
Pricing & Credits
Pricing model and the cost of a first message.
| Field | Bird | GMS |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Custom enterprise pricing negotiated with sales; no public self-service or per-message price list. |
| 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 | Not published |
| Free developer credit | Free email tier (1,000/month) | No |
What's the differenceBird and GMS are closely matched on pricing & credits — no material differences in the tracked fields.
Reach & Reliability
Global coverage and delivery dependability.
| Field | Bird | GMS |
|---|---|---|
| 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) | 99.99% network availability (claimed; no formal SLA published) |
What's the differenceBird leads on Countries covered (150 vs 0 for GMS).
Company & Trust
Independent reviews and company profile.
| Field | Bird | GMS |
|---|---|---|
| G2 rating | 3.9 | 0.0 |
| G2 reviews | 73 | 0 |
| Ownership | private | private |
| Employees | 500-1,000 | 500-1,000 |
What's the differenceBird leads on G2 rating (3.9 vs 0 for GMS); Bird leads on G2 reviews (73 vs 0 for GMS).
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