Telecommunications · head to head
Five9 vs Twilio
Twilio
Telecommunications
Cloud communications platform for SMS, voice, and video
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Twilio has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Five9 a 50 seat minimum applies to the published rates, so the entry cost on the $119 Digital plan is $5,950 a month; Twilio pricing becomes unpredictable with carrier fees and additional charges for compliance, recordings, and phone number rentals
- They diverge on capability: Five9 covers Intelligent routing, Twilio covers SMS messaging.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Five9 and Twilio actually diverge.
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Telecommunications).
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 Five9
- Intelligent routing
- IVR
- ACD
- Dialer
- WFM
- Quality management
- Analytics
- ServiceNow
Only in Twilio
- SMS messaging
- Voice calls
- Video conferencing
- Programmable communication
- Slack
- HubSpot
- Zapier
- Mobile support
Both cover
- Salesforce
- Web support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Five9
- Cloud contact centre across voice, chat, email and social messagingnot Twilio
- Routing and managing high volume customer interactionsnot Twilio
Twilio
- Customer engagementnot Five9
- Lead generationnot Five9
- Customer supportnot Five9
- Sales automationnot Five9
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Five9
- A 50 seat minimum applies to the published rates, so the entry cost on the $119 Digital plan is $5,950 a month
- Prices are per concurrent user rather than per named agent, which changes what a seat means when shifts overlap
- Voice is excluded from the Digital plan and requires a quote
- Usage based charges apply on top of the per seat rate
- Three of the five tiers publish no price at all
Twilio
- Pricing becomes unpredictable with carrier fees and additional charges for compliance, recordings, and phone number rentals
- Phone number rentals are required for every number used, with carrier fees varying by region and billed separately
- Dashboard is not optimized for mobile use and logs are difficult to access
Pricing, plan by plan
Five9
$149/month- Core$149/month
- Inbound/outbound
- IVR
- Basic CTI
- Premium$169/month
- Core + Chat/email
- Quality management
- Optimum$199/month
- Premium + WFM
- Proactive chat
- Ultimate$229/month
- Full suite
- Advanced analytics
Twilio
Free- Pay-as-You-Go$undefined/mo
- Usage-based pricing
- No monthly minimum
- SMS, voice, video, messaging
Which should you pick?
Choose Twilio if
- You need sms messaging.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, APIs, Python, JavaScript, Ruby, Java, PHP, C#.
- You also want voice calls.
Questions people ask
- Is Five9 or Twilio better?
- Neither clearly leads. Five9 starts at $149/month and Twilio at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Five9 or Twilio?
- Twilio has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $149/month for Five9 and Free for Twilio.
- Does Five9 or Twilio run on more platforms?
- Five9 runs on Web, Desktop. Twilio runs on Web, APIs, Python, JavaScript, Ruby, Java, PHP, C#.
- Can I use Twilio for free?
- Yes. Twilio has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Five9 starts at $149/month.
- What is Five9 best used for?
- Five9 is most often used for cloud contact centre across voice, chat, email and social messaging, routing and managing high volume customer interactions. Of those, cloud contact centre across voice, chat, email and social messaging and routing and managing high volume customer interactions are not what Twilio is typically brought in for.
- What can Five9 do that Twilio cannot?
- Five9 covers Intelligent routing, IVR, ACD, Dialer. Twilio covers SMS messaging, Voice calls, Video conferencing, Programmable communication. Both handle Salesforce, Web support.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Twilio: What is Twilio's pricing model?
Twilio uses pay-as-you-go usage-based pricing with no monthly minimums or contracts. SMS costs $0.0083 per US message, voice calls cost $0.014 per minute, phone numbers cost $1.15 per month.
SourceTwilio: Does Twilio offer a free tier?
Yes, Twilio offers a free trial indefinitely with no credit card required for limited usage, plus a 7-14 day free trial period on paid plans.
SourceTwilio: What communication channels does Twilio support?
Twilio supports SMS, WhatsApp, RCS, MMS for messaging; Voice API and SIP Trunking for voice; Email via Twilio SendGrid; Video API; and Chat via Conversations API.
Source