Bird vs. Customer.io

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Bird
Score 8.2 out of 10
N/A
Bird CRM, replacing the former MessageBird, is a CRM for Marketing, Sales, and Payments, powering messages to customers across Email, SMS, and WhatsApp.
$45
per month 3000 monthly contacts
Customer.io
Score 8.8 out of 10
Small Businesses (1-50 employees)
Customer.io is a customer engagement platform that enables marketers to build sophisticated automated messaging campaigns. With access to real-time behavioral data, users can create personalized and relevant messages to engage and retain customers. This includes sending emails, push notifications, SMS, in-app messages, and more through a visual building experience. Built for scale, Customer.io boasts users among over 5,300 companies, sending over 17 billion messages per year.
$100
per month
Pricing
BirdCustomer.io
Editions & Modules
API Pricing - WhatsApp
$0.01
per message
API Pricing - Voice
$0.01
per minute
API Pricing - SMS
$0.01
per message
API Pricing - Numbers
$1
per month
Pro
$50
per month
Pro Plus
$150
per month
Start Up
Free
Custom Plan
Contact sales team
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
BirdCustomer.io
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
Additional DetailsEssentials: For startups and small teams engaging customers on their mobile and web apps. - Up to 5,000 profiles*, Send Emails, Push, In-App, and SMS, Visual Workflow Builder, Segmentation, Two Workspaces, Email Support, Customer Community Premium: For high-growth companies looking for greater control over their messaging outcomes. - Everything in Essentials, Custom Data + Message Volume, Premium Product Features, Additional Workspaces, 90-day Onboarding Program, Premium Email & Chat Support, Managed Deliverability, Dedicated IPs, Parcel Pro Licenses, HIPAA Compliance Enterprise: For at-scale companies looking to create world-class customer experiences. - Everything in Premium, Managed Infrastructure*, Customer Success Manager, Quarterly Success Reviews, Technical Account Manager*, Audit Logging & Data Governance*, Parcel Business Licenses, Migration Support*, *Available by consultation.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
BirdCustomer.io
Best Alternatives
BirdCustomer.io
Small Businesses
Telegram
Telegram
Score 8.7 out of 10
Simplify360
Simplify360
Score 7.8 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Telegram
Telegram
Score 8.7 out of 10
Dialpad Support
Dialpad Support
Score 9.1 out of 10
Enterprises
Telegram
Telegram
Score 8.7 out of 10
Verint Community
Verint Community
Score 9.4 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
BirdCustomer.io
Likelihood to Recommend
5.3
(3 ratings)
10.0
(9 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
BirdCustomer.io
Likelihood to Recommend
Bird (formerly MessageBird)
MessageBird seems to me a very useful tool for the times we are living [in] and the paradigm shift in corporate communications in all industries. It is very good at exchanging information and plain text. It works with some difficulty for sending images and other functionalities that the real WhatsApp application has, but the client on the other side does not know about this and sometimes sends information such as location that it is not possible to obtain.
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Customer.io
This tool is well-suited for companies looking to run email marketing campaigns or send out newsletters regularly to their users/customers. The workflow setup is especially useful for companies who want to send specific emails based on user behavior - i.e. they've not logged in recently, have bought a specific product, haven't opened any emails, etc. This could also be useful for freelancers like me since you can create different workspaces within Customer.io. I have configured it this way to handle email marketing for a few of my clients, and the software keeps everything organized and separate. This might not be the best tool for small businesses, considering the price. It may be better to start out with a cheaper email marketing tool, and then if/when necessary, scale-up with a tool like Customer.io.
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Pros
Bird (formerly MessageBird)
  • Call reminders and follow up incl reviews
  • Easy for the client to access the call without needing to download software
  • Customizable branding
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Customer.io
  • Managing users, attributes and events. You are easily able to modify any user, based on their ID, and add or remove attributes, assign events to them. That makes it very easy to segment later and to assign them to several campaigns based on behavior. Just a warning: this integration isn't so easy (at least it wasn't for us).
  • Creating workflows of campaigns is very easy. You can quickly create behavioral campaigns based on attributes, segments and add elements to the workflow. You can send an email, then wait, then send another, then exit the campaign if they converted, etc. The workflow is easy to configure and very powerful for automation.
  • We don't use many email templates (we make them in MJML) but it's very easy to add senders, to change templates and in general to test designs.
  • Deliverability works very well, at least for us. It sends emails pretty fast and without issues.
  • Exporting is very quick and easy. Importing wasn't a feature until recently, but it works well too.
  • Seeing activity it's also useful. In general, logs are awesome (be it of a customer, of activity on the site, email sends, etc.).
  • We don't use environments, but it might be very useful for a bigger company.
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Cons
Bird (formerly MessageBird)
  • SMS authentication is pricey (like other players)
  • Lack dedicated SMS phone numbers for Brazil
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Customer.io
  • Push notifications are very rudimentary. Everything has to be done by hand unless you're sending an extremely simple message.
  • A bit too email centric.
  • Lacks an ability to schedule messages on a daily, weekly, etc. basis.
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Usability
Bird (formerly MessageBird)
No answers on this topic
Customer.io
It's user friendly and easy enough to use, but there are more polished tools available on the market
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Alternatives Considered
Bird (formerly MessageBird)
Regarding WhatsApp Business, it is a very useful tool because templates can be programmed for the entire organization and clients can also be referred to other users in order to decongest an agent who can become quite busy. Otherwise there would be no way to serve you through two agents and you could have a bad end user or customer experience.
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Customer.io
Customer.io was really the first pure, full-featured drip email program on the market and as far as I know, it's still the simplest and best overall for that specific function. SendGrid has also added drip campaign features, but I would seriously evaluate Customer.io against any other drip email provider because they really have all the key elements you need to make it work.
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Return on Investment
Bird (formerly MessageBird)
  • Easy video calling for scheduled appointments has meant customer retention as they don't need specific software etc to have a call.
  • Negative impact whilst our internet has been slow as I've been unable to use the product well as dial in to the call using a phone option.
  • Emails reminders has meant more clients turning up for the calls leading to retained income and happier customers.
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Customer.io
  • Fast testing for new products to specific groups. It saves a lot of time and money.
  • Removed workload from marketing = more time to make it better.
  • Better contact with specific groups, seeing a increase in sales because of this.
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ScreenShots

Customer.io Screenshots

Screenshot of data-driven or manual segments that can be created in the no-code builder for recipient lists, campaign triggers, filters, and conversion goals.Screenshot of the code editor for email, that helps navigate code and iterate.Screenshot of account performance, visible at a glance from the Dashboard view.Screenshot of drag and drop messages, time delays, and branches where desired, to build cross-channel campaigns.Screenshot of triggered campaigns based on forms submissions, customer attributes, customer actions, and dates.Screenshot of localization for global audiences. One message can be delivered in multiple languages.