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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Bird

    Score8.5 out of 10
    N/ABird 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

    Square Appointments

    Score10 out of 10
    N/ASquare headquartered in San Francisco, California offers Square Appointments, appointment scheduling software. The software is based on technology acquired with BookFresh in February 2014.

    $29

    per month per location

    Twilio

    Score7.7 out of 10
    N/ATwilio offers a CPaaS and CCaaS solution, with the combination of its programmable Voice, Video, and Messaging APIs, as well as the Twilio Flex cloud contact center. Additional capabilities include Twilio's Elastic SIP Trunking, as well as API for WhatsApp.

    $0

    per min per participant

    Pricing
    BirdSquare AppointmentsTwilio
    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
    Free
    $0
    Plus
    $29
    per month per location
    Premium
    $69
    per month per location
    Programmable Video
    $0.0015
    per min per participant
    WhatsApp Business API
    $0.0042
    Per WhatsApp Template message sent
    WhatsApp Business API
    $0.005
    Per WhatsApp session message
    Elastic SIP Trunking
    $0.007
    Per min for termination
    Programmable Messaging
    $0.0075
    per message sent or received
    Programmable Voice
    $0.0085
    per minute to receive a call
    Programmable Voice
    $0.013
    per min to make a call
    Elastic SIP Trunking
    $0.045
    Per min for origination
    Twilio Conversations
    $0.05
    per active user per month
    Twilio Authy
    $0.09
    per authentication
    Programmable Wireless
    $0.1
    per MB
    Twilio Flex (Contact Center)
    $1
    per active user hour (5000 hours free)
    Programmable Wireless
    $2.00
    per SIM card
    Twilio SendGrid Email API
    $14.95
    per month up to 100k emails. (Up to 40k emails free for 30 days)
    Twilio SendGrid Marketing Campaigns
    $15
    per month for 5,000 contacts and 15,000 emails. Your first 2,000 contacts are free
    Twilio Flex (Contact Center)
    $150
    per named user per month (5000 hours free)
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    BirdSquare AppointmentsTwilio
    Free Trial
    NoNoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoYesNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNoYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup feeOptional
    Additional Details1. Pay-as-you-go pricing: Simple usage-based pricing without contracts. 2. Volume discounts: Discounts trigger as usage grows. 3. Free trial credit that includes full API access.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    BirdSquare AppointmentsTwilio
    Considered Multiple Products
    Bird (formerly MessageBird)
    Chose Bird
    Twilio prices were much higher for our initial volume (30k SMS/month). But they have more APIs and more services if you need to integrate email, SMS, and other channels.
    We didn't need those features, only basic SMS and email, so we kept each feature from one provider. Email …
    Incentivized
    Block, Inc (Square)
    No answer on this topic
    Twilio
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Would buy again
    7 Answers
    92%
    Would buy again
    66 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    6 Answers
    92%
    Delivers good value for the price
    58 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    7 Answers
    94%
    Happy with the feature set
    68 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    6 Answers
    88%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    45 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    6 Answers
    89%
    Implementation went as expected
    56 Answers
    Best Alternatives
    BirdSquare AppointmentsTwilio
    Small Businesses
    Telegram
    Score9 out of 10
    Calendly
    Score8.7 out of 10
    Simplify360
    Score7.8 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Telegram
    Score9 out of 10
    Chili Piper
    Score8.8 out of 10
    Customer.io
    Score9.1 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Telegram
    Score9 out of 10
    Doodle
    Score8.5 out of 10
    SAP Service Cloud
    Score8.5 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    BirdSquare AppointmentsTwilio
    Likelihood to Recommend
    5.3
    (3 ratings)
    9.1
    (7 ratings)
    8.1
    (94 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.5
    (5 ratings)
    Usability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.5
    (10 ratings)
    Performance
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.0
    (38 ratings)
    Support Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (3 ratings)
    5.7
    (16 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.5
    (2 ratings)
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Professional Services
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    BirdSquare AppointmentsTwilio
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Block, Inc (Square)
    Great for booking and managing appointments. This software is very user-friendly due to its simplicity. The interface is intuitive and easy to use for all ages. The only time this software may not be appropriate might be with someone who is managing their calendar manually and not using a software solution at all.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Twilio
    I have tried other competitors. But I always end up going back to Twilio because I feel like it is dependable, easy to use, and, has competitive pricing. The only time I wouldn't recommend Twilio to someone as if they are completely inexperienced about using webhooks or APIs. Because you can't really just sign up and start using Twilio without connecting it to another platform first.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Block, Inc (Square)
    • Square had good interoperability with Google Calendar, so all of our calendars were in sync.
    • Square Appointments we easy to use for clients, and with a few Luddite exceptions, worked flawlessly.
    • Square Appointments made it easy to schedule appointments without having multiple email messages or play phone tag with anyone.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Twilio
    • Easy to see my team in one place, when they log in and out and what call status they are in.
    • Twilio is a simple, user friendly way to log in and out of work activities.
    • Excellent services and support.
    • The omnichannel feature which allows agents to get request from all channels.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Bird (formerly MessageBird)
    • SMS authentication is pricey (like other players)
    • Lack dedicated SMS phone numbers for Brazil
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Block, Inc (Square)
    • Additional functionality: real-time availability calendar to customers
    • Not redirect away from our site to Square
    • Additional functionality: Ability for customers to add up sales when checking out
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Twilio
    • Control panel. Often, navigating through lists is challenging. I want endless scrolling, not pagination.
    • Conversational intelligence service require a Language. I would like it to detect it.
    • We would like to have some credit on clients that chose to use their own Twilio account.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Bird (formerly MessageBird)
    No answers on this topic
    Block, Inc (Square)
    No answers on this topic
    Twilio
    Unless we can get this handled quickly -- less than 1 week -- we will likely switch to another provider who, in my opinion, we'll have to spend close to $3,000 in development time to build a new integration for texting. Our clients need texting and I feel Twilio has failed us miserably.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Bird (formerly MessageBird)
    No answers on this topic
    Block, Inc (Square)
    No answers on this topic
    Twilio
    Twilio has well documented APIs and examples. There are several tutorials, videos and Q&As regarding their services. So, usability is very good. I must say that advanced knowledge of telephony, API/Programming and error-handling is essential to make good use of Twilio. It's not just plug-and-play unless you are integrated with a system that has all of the programming built for it.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Performance
    Bird (formerly MessageBird)
    No answers on this topic
    Block, Inc (Square)
    No answers on this topic
    Twilio
    Twilio executes what it is designed to do: send SMS messages at scale while providing very good deliverability. I believe that Twilio is very good at what we use for adding SMS messages to our comms strategy. We can see those messages get opened and replied to, which is exactly what we are looking to achieve.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Bird (formerly MessageBird)
    No answers on this topic
    Block, Inc (Square)
    • Square Appointment is excellent at support! I have had several calls with them, and not one time have they dropped the ball, leaving me frustrated without a solution — not one time.
    • The community forum in Square Appointment can answer most of the questions, but if I have had real issues, I am always able to talk to a person. That is very valuable to me as a customer.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Twilio
    I have not had to communicate with Twilio support in the last 3 years but my past experience with them has been very positive. They replied to my previous requests promptly and kept me well informed to resolve my inquiries. With their documentation that's available, I hardly imagine why anyone would need to contact support since it's all there in a concise and easy to understand format. It would probably take you longer to type out a support ticket than to just open their doc websites.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Bird (formerly MessageBird)
    No answers on this topic
    Block, Inc (Square)
    No answers on this topic
    Twilio
    The developer APIs and SDKs are super easy to follow.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Block, Inc (Square)
    Though office can offer a lot of appointment base tasks. Square appointments seem to help keep track, with a more direct approach. It helps to declutter integrations and information, that can often get missed and feel to convoluted. It's approach is more specific in handling appointment needs and scheduling. We would recommend it.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Twilio
    We evaluated many fundraising-based text-to-give programs and found the subscriptions prohibitively expensive for our small scale and uncertain first few years of development. While we may be willing to invest that kind of money after discovering how things work, we're happy with Twilio now and have no desire to start over.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    Bird (formerly MessageBird)
    No answers on this topic
    Block, Inc (Square)
    No answers on this topic
    Twilio
    Being in South Africa, direct local currency support would be nice
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Block, Inc (Square)
    • Ease of scheduling brings in more appointments
    • Must have a card on system to schedule and prepay for an appointment
    • Offers multiple types of appointments
    • Cancellation fees
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Twilio
    • We found that associates who had the opportunity to respond to a survey about their assigned job were 37% more likely to return to a job site
    • We were able to reduce the number of resources required to manually respond to associates using Twilio Studio, so those resources could have more time to complete other tasks
    • We were able to scale the number of associates who received survey messages at least by a factor of 8 without increasing our resource demand
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Twilio Screenshots

    Screenshot of the “Explore Products” section, which is where to build products.Screenshot of the optional drag-and-drop visual editor and code editor.Screenshot of Flex, which is a programmable Contact Center that puts you in control.