Comparison
Overview
Company snapshot and where each provider is based.
| Field | Bird | SMSAPI |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | A Polish business-messaging platform (a brand of LINK Mobility Poland, part of LINK Mobility Group) offering bulk SMS, MMS, VMS voice, RCS and WhatsApp Business messaging via REST API and a web interface. |
| Founded | 2011 | 2007 |
| Ownership | private | public |
| Employees | 500-1,000 | 51-200 |
| HQ city | Amsterdam | Gliwice |
| HQ country | Netherlands (EU) | Poland (EU) |
What's the differenceBird edges ahead on the overall messaging.dev Score (76 vs 44). Bird is private and headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands (EU); SMSAPI is public and based in Gliwice, Poland (EU).
Channels
Which messaging channels each provider can send and receive on.
| Field | Bird | SMSAPI |
|---|---|---|
| SMS | Yes | Yes |
| MMS | No | Yes |
| RCS | No | Yes |
| 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, while SMSAPI additionally offers MMS, RCS.
Developer Experience
How quickly a developer can sign up and send a first message.
| Field | Bird | SMSAPI |
|---|---|---|
| Self-service onboarding | Yes | Yes |
| Free developer credit | Free email tier (1,000/month) | Free test SMS on signup |
| Docs quality | high | high |
| Documentation | Open ↗ | Open ↗ |
| SDKs | TypeScript, Python, Go | PHP, Python, JavaScript, Java, C#, Go, Bash |
| Sandbox / test env | Yes | Yes |
| API types | REST, SMTP | REST, SMTP |
What's the differenceOn SDKs, Bird adds TypeScript; SMSAPI adds PHP, JavaScript, Java, C#, Bash.
Data & Compliance
Data residency options and enterprise compliance certifications.
| Field | Bird | SMSAPI |
|---|---|---|
| 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 SMSAPI does not; Bird offers Choose region, while SMSAPI does not; Bird offers SOC 2, while SMSAPI does not; Bird offers HIPAA, while SMSAPI does not.
Data Retention
How long message content and metadata are stored, and whether that is configurable.
| Field | Bird | SMSAPI |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Messages are stored in accordance with applicable law and disclosed only when required by a lawful request; phone numbers are used solely for SMS campaign purposes. No specific retention period is publicly documented. All data is held within the EEA on two redundant data centers in Poland (ATMAN and T-Mobile, over 150 km apart). |
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. SMSAPI: Messages are stored in accordance with applicable law and disclosed only when required by a lawful request; phone numbers are used solely for SMS campaign purposes. No specific retention period is publicly documented. All data is held within the EEA on two redundant data centers in Poland (ATMAN and T-Mobile, over 150 km apart).
Pricing & Credits
Pricing model and the cost of a first message.
| Field | Bird | SMSAPI |
|---|---|---|
| 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 prepaid credit — pay only for sent messages with no setup fee or contract; minimum top-up around €30. |
| 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 ~€0.04 per SMS (international, varies by destination country) |
| Free developer credit | Free email tier (1,000/month) | Free test SMS on signup |
What's the differenceBird and SMSAPI are closely matched on pricing & credits — no material differences in the tracked fields.
Reach & Reliability
Global coverage and delivery dependability.
| Field | Bird | SMSAPI |
|---|---|---|
| Countries covered | 150 | 0 |
| Direct operator connections | Yes | No |
| Published uptime SLA | 99.95% (legacy MessageBird SLA; current SLAs are per-service-plan in Order Form terms) | No published SLA |
What's the differenceBird leads on Countries covered (150 vs 0 for SMSAPI); Bird offers Direct operator connections, while SMSAPI does not.
Company & Trust
Independent reviews and company profile.
| Field | Bird | SMSAPI |
|---|---|---|
| G2 rating | 3.9 | 0.0 |
| G2 reviews | 73 | 0 |
| Ownership | private | public |
| Employees | 500-1,000 | 51-200 |
What's the differenceBird leads on G2 rating (3.9 vs 0 for SMSAPI); Bird leads on G2 reviews (73 vs 0 for SMSAPI).
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