Comparison
Overview
Company snapshot and where each provider is based.
| Field | GatewayAPI | Telesign |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Digital identity and programmable communications platform offering SMS, RCS, voice, WhatsApp, Viber and email APIs alongside phone verification and fraud-prevention services. |
| Founded | 1999 | 2005 |
| Ownership | private | private |
| Employees | 11-50 | 500-1,000 |
| HQ city | Odense | Marina del Rey |
| HQ country | Denmark (EU) | USA |
What's the differenceTelesign edges ahead on the overall messaging.dev Score (70 vs 54). GatewayAPI is private and headquartered in Odense, Denmark (EU); Telesign is private and based in Marina del Rey, USA.
Channels
Which messaging channels each provider can send and receive on.
| Field | GatewayAPI | Telesign |
|---|---|---|
| SMS | Yes | Yes |
| MMS | No | No |
| RCS | Yes | Yes |
| No | Yes | |
| Viber | No | Yes |
| Facebook Messenger | No | No |
| Telegram | No | No |
| Apple Messages for Business | No | No |
| Voice | No | Yes |
| Yes | Yes |
What's the differenceThey share 3 channels. Telesign additionally offers WhatsApp, Viber, Voice.
Developer Experience
How quickly a developer can sign up and send a first message.
| Field | GatewayAPI | Telesign |
|---|---|---|
| Self-service onboarding | Yes | Yes |
| Free developer credit | Test credits on request | Yes |
| Docs quality | med | high |
| Documentation | Open ↗ | Open ↗ |
| SDKs | — | C#, Java, Node.js, PHP, Python, Ruby |
| Sandbox / test env | No | No |
| API types | REST, SMPP, Email-to-SMS | REST |
What's the differenceOn SDKs, Telesign adds C#, Java, Node.js, PHP, Python, Ruby; on API types, GatewayAPI adds SMPP, Email-to-SMS.
Data & Compliance
Data residency options and enterprise compliance certifications.
| Field | GatewayAPI | Telesign |
|---|---|---|
| EU data residency | Yes | Yes |
| US data residency | No | Yes |
| Choose region | Yes | No |
| GDPR | Yes | Yes |
| ISO 27001 | No | Yes |
| SOC 2 | No | Yes |
| HIPAA | No | Yes |
What's the differenceTelesign offers US data residency, while GatewayAPI does not; GatewayAPI offers Choose region, while Telesign does not; Telesign offers ISO 27001, while GatewayAPI does not; Telesign offers SOC 2, while GatewayAPI does not; Telesign offers HIPAA, while GatewayAPI does not.
Data Retention
How long message content and metadata are stored, and whether that is configurable.
| Field | GatewayAPI | Telesign |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Customer transaction data is retained for 90 days for operational troubleshooting and billing purposes, with full backups maintained across two separate data centers also kept for 90 days. |
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. Telesign: Customer transaction data is retained for 90 days for operational troubleshooting and billing purposes, with full backups maintained across two separate data centers also kept for 90 days.
Pricing & Credits
Pricing model and the cost of a first message.
| Field | GatewayAPI | Telesign |
|---|---|---|
| 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-message/per-transaction pricing with volume-based enterprise contracts; public per-message rates are not transparently listed. |
| SMS starting price | From €0.0061 per SMS (standard class, cheapest destination on the public price list; e.g. €0.0401 to Denmark) | Not published |
| Free developer credit | Test credits on request | Yes |
What's the differenceGatewayAPI and Telesign are closely matched on pricing & credits — no material differences in the tracked fields.
Reach & Reliability
Global coverage and delivery dependability.
| Field | GatewayAPI | Telesign |
|---|---|---|
| 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 differenceTelesign leads on Countries covered (230 vs 200 for GatewayAPI).
Company & Trust
Independent reviews and company profile.
| Field | GatewayAPI | Telesign |
|---|---|---|
| G2 rating | 4.9 | 4.3 |
| G2 reviews | 7 | 20 |
| Ownership | private | private |
| Employees | 11-50 | 500-1,000 |
What's the differenceGatewayAPI leads on G2 rating (4.9 vs 4.3 for Telesign); Telesign leads on G2 reviews (20 vs 7 for GatewayAPI).
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