Softwr

Telecommunications · head to head

46elks vs Playvox

46elks logo

46elks

Telecommunications

Small Swedish SMS and voice API with Nordic depth and fully published prices

From
€0.02/per SMS part
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Playvox logo

Playvox

Customer Support

Contact centre quality management, coaching and workforce management, now sold by NiCE

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 46elks it is a small company, so global route depth, redundancy and round-the-clock support do not match the large aggregators.; Playvox niCE acquired Playvox in 2023 and also sells CXone above it, so at renewal you are negotiating with a vendor that has a commercial incentive to move you to the more expensive tier rather than invest in the one you bought.
  • They diverge on capability: 46elks covers Nordic numbering and coverage, Playvox covers Quality management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which 46elks and Playvox actually diverge.

Attributes where 46elks and Playvox differ
Attribute46elksPlayvox
Starting price€0.02/per SMS partOn request
Pricing modelPer message and per minute, priced by destination countryquote
PlatformsWeb, APIs, Python, JavaScript, PHP, RubyWeb
CategoryTelecommunicationsCustomer Support

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in 46elks

  • Nordic numbering and coverage
  • Regulated Swedish operator
  • Fully published rate card
  • Simple HTTP API
  • Programmable voice

Only in Playvox

  • Quality management
  • Agent coaching
  • Workforce management
  • Performance management
  • Agent motivation
  • Helpdesk connectors
  • Interaction analytics

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

46elks

  • Swedish and Nordic products needing local numbers and compliant sender identitiesnot Playvox
  • Organisations that must contract and invoice with a regulated supplier inside the EUnot Playvox
  • Small teams wanting a minimal SMS API without an enterprise onboarding processnot Playvox
  • Internal alerting and two-factor systems with modest message volumenot Playvox

Playvox

  • A 200-agent support team on Zendesk that wants structured call and ticket scoring without moving to a full contact centre platformnot 46elks
  • A CX operations group running chat, email and voice queues that needs one forecasting model across all three rather than a voice-only rota toolnot 46elks
  • A BPO that must evidence quality scores per client and needs calibration workflows to prove reviewers score consistentlynot 46elks
  • A support organisation with high first-year attrition that wants coaching assignments tied directly to the criteria an agent failednot 46elks

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

46elks

  • It is a small company, so global route depth, redundancy and round-the-clock support do not match the large aggregators.
  • Its advantages are Nordic and regulatory, so an organisation sending mainly to other regions gains nothing and pays more per message than it would at scale elsewhere.
  • The feature set covers SMS, voice and numbers only, with no WhatsApp, RCS, email or fraud products, so multi-channel needs a second vendor.
  • Sending to the United States requires purchasing a number first, and US inbound messaging and mobile numbers are not available self-serve at all.
  • US A2P traffic also requires 10DLC registration with its own fees and carrier surcharges, making a small European vendor a poor fit for a US-focused business.

Playvox

  • NiCE acquired Playvox in 2023 and also sells CXone above it, so at renewal you are negotiating with a vendor that has a commercial incentive to move you to the more expensive tier rather than invest in the one you bought.
  • Playvox WFM carries a minimum agent commitment reported around 35 seats, so a team of 20 either pays for agents it does not have or cannot buy the module at all.
  • The suite is modular and priced modularly, so the quality, performance, coaching, WFM and analytics pieces each carry a line item and the advertised mid-market saving disappears once you licence three or four of them.
  • Forecasting was built around digital and omnichannel volume, and teams with complex voice requirements such as skills-based routing with heavy shrinkage rules routinely find the scheduling engine less precise than dedicated voice WFM tools.
  • Because it sits on top of another vendor helpdesk rather than owning the interaction data, scoring depends on connector fidelity, and when a source platform changes its API or its recording retention the scorecards go stale before anyone notices.

Pricing, plan by plan

46elks

€0.02/per SMS part
  • Pay as you go$0.02/per SMS part
    • Swedish SMS about 0.047 EUR per part, US SMS about 0.02 EUR per part
    • Swedish landline calls about 0.013 EUR per minute
    • Phone numbers from about 3 EUR per month

Playvox

On request
  • Playvox by NiCE Workforce Engagement Management$undefined/year
    • Quality management and scorecards
    • Coaching workflows
    • Performance dashboards

Which should you pick?

Choose 46elks if

  • You need nordic numbering and coverage.
  • You work on Web, APIs, Python, JavaScript, PHP, Ruby.
  • You also want regulated swedish operator.
46elks review

Choose Playvox if

  • You need quality management.
  • You also want agent coaching.
Playvox review

Questions people ask

Is 46elks or Playvox better?
Neither clearly leads. 46elks starts at €0.02/per SMS part and Playvox at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, 46elks or Playvox?
46elks starts at €0.02/per SMS part and Playvox at On request.
Does 46elks or Playvox run on more platforms?
46elks runs on Web, APIs, Python, JavaScript, PHP, Ruby. Playvox runs on Web.
What is 46elks best used for?
46elks is most often used for swedish and nordic products needing local numbers and compliant sender identities, organisations that must contract and invoice with a regulated supplier inside the eu, small teams wanting a minimal sms api without an enterprise onboarding process, internal alerting and two-factor systems with modest message volume. Of those, swedish and nordic products needing local numbers and compliant sender identities and organisations that must contract and invoice with a regulated supplier inside the eu are not what Playvox is typically brought in for.
What can 46elks do that Playvox cannot?
46elks covers Nordic numbering and coverage, Regulated Swedish operator, Fully published rate card, Simple HTTP API. Playvox covers Quality management, Agent coaching, Workforce management, Performance management.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

46elks: Why choose 46elks over Twilio?

Only for Nordic and regulatory reasons: local numbers, sender identity handling, a supplier regulated under Swedish electronic communications law, EU contracting, and support in your own time zone. On global reach and price at volume the large vendors win.

Playvox: Is Playvox still sold as its own product?

Yes, as Playvox by NiCE. It is a distinct SKU beneath NiCE CXone, not a discontinued brand, but it is sold by NiCE sales rather than an independent company.

46elks: Does 46elks publish its prices?

Yes, all of them, without a login, in Swedish kronor and euros. Swedish messages run about 0.047 euros per part and Swedish landline calls about 0.013 euros a minute.

Playvox: Do I need NiCE CXone to use it?

No. Playvox connects to Zendesk, Salesforce, Freshdesk, Genesys and others. Running it against a competitor platform is supported, though it is not where the vendor makes the most money.

46elks: Is it suitable for sending to the United States?

Poorly. You must buy a number before you can send there, US inbound messaging and mobile numbers are not self-serve, and US A2P traffic requires 10DLC registration with its own fees and carrier surcharges.

Playvox: What does it actually cost?

Nothing is published. Full-suite list pricing reported by buyers sits around 70 to 120 US dollars per agent per month, with WFM alone around 30 to 60, before volume discounting.

Playvox: Can a 15-agent team buy it?

Not realistically for WFM, which carries a minimum seat commitment. Quality management alone is more accessible but still sold on an annual quoted contract.

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