Overview

Twilio

Stacks11.5K

Followers8.8K

Votes521

Agora

Stacks101

Followers290

Votes14

Agora vs Twilio: What are the differences?

Key Differences Between Agora and Twilio

Pricing Model: Agora offers a pay-as-you-go pricing model, where users are charged based on their usage of various communication features, such as voice and video calls. On the other hand, Twilio follows a usage-based pricing model, where users pay for the number of minutes or messages they consume. Agora's pricing model may be more cost-effective for businesses with unpredictable communication needs, while Twilio's pricing may suit those with more consistent usage patterns.
Global Infrastructure: Agora provides a global real-time network infrastructure with data centers distributed across different regions, ensuring low latency and reliable connections for users worldwide. Twilio also has a global infrastructure but is relatively smaller in scale compared to Agora. Agora's extensive network coverage provides an advantage for businesses with a global presence or targeting international audiences.
Developer-Friendly SDK: Agora's SDK (Software Development Kit) and API documentation are known for being developer-friendly, providing detailed code samples, tutorials, and clear documentation. Twilio also offers a well-documented SDK, but some developers find Agora's SDK easier to use and integrate into their applications. Agora's developer-friendly approach can help developers save time and effort during the implementation process.
Video Quality and Scalability: Agora specializes in real-time audio and video communication and is often praised for its superior video quality and low latency. Agora's adaptive video codec and advanced network optimization techniques result in a smoother visual experience compared to Twilio. Additionally, Agora's infrastructure is designed for high scalability, allowing businesses to handle large-scale video conferences or live streaming events effortlessly.
Additional Communication Features: Agora stands out by offering a range of additional communication features beyond voice and video calls. These include interactive live streaming, real-time messaging, and even augmented reality (AR) integration possibilities. Twilio primarily focuses on voice, video, and messaging, with fewer additional features. Agora's broader feature set may appeal to businesses looking to enhance their communication capabilities with innovative functionalities.
Community Support: Agora has a vibrant developer community where users can interact, share knowledge, and seek help from experienced users and Agora's support team. Twilio also has a community and support resources but is relatively smaller compared to Agora. The availability of a supportive community can be valuable for developers and businesses seeking assistance or discussions related to Agora's services.

In summary, Agora and Twilio differ in their pricing models, global infrastructure coverage, developer-friendly SDKs, video quality and scalability, additional communication features, and community support. Agora's pay-as-you-go pricing, extensive global infrastructure, and developer-friendly SDK make it an attractive choice for businesses seeking superior video quality and innovative communication features, with access to a supportive community.

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Advice on Twilio, Agora

Finch

Ops at SLS

Jul 23, 2020

Needs adviceon

Salesforce Sales Cloud

Salesforce

Hey! We need an omnichannel inbox that's housed within Salesforce Sales Cloud that makes it super easy for our reps to respond to inbound communication (needs: clean inbox, provides historical context, etc.). We're a high-volume call center, and we get a ton of incoming SMS and email every day. We'd love a solution that lets us view all of that in one place — ideally Salesforce, as that's where our reps work, and we want to avoid needing them to switch between windows. Thanks!

189k views189k

Comments

Dainis

Marketing project manager at Colortime

Jan 31, 2020

Needs advice

Hello! We need to integrate an SMS gateway into our app for user phone verification. As we are just starting, we are searching for the most affordable/best price/performance option for SMS gateway to verify client phone numbers with the code, maybe you can suggest something between those two or maybe something else. We are planning to do business in Europe

135k views135k

Comments

Detailed Comparison

Twilio	Agora
Twilio offers developers a powerful API for phone services to make and receive phone calls, and send and receive text messages. Their product allows programmers to more easily integrate various communication methods into their software and programs.	Agora.io provides building blocks for you to add real-time voice and video communications through a simple and powerful SDK. You can integrate the Agora SDK to enable real-time communications in your own application quickly.
Phone- Phone Numbers API;Phone- Convert Text to Speech and Play Audio;Phone- Record Calls and Store Them;Phone- Create Conferences;Phone- API Queueing;Phone- Call Queues;Phone- Convert Speech to Text;Phone- Usage API;Phone- Status Callbacks and Logs;Phone- Global Reach;SMS- Supports Unicode;SMS- Message Queueing;SMS- Realtime API;SMS- Global Reach;SMS- Status Callbacks and Logs;SMS- Usage metering & API triggers;SMS- Voice Enabled Numbers;SMS- Short Codes;Two-factor authentication;Call tracking;Voice broadcasting;Cloud IVR;Mobile app distribution	-
Statistics
Stacks 11.5K	Stacks 101
Followers 8.8K	Followers 290
Votes 521	Votes 14
Pros & Cons
Pros 148 Powerful, simple, and well documented api 88 RESTful API 66 Clear pricing 61 Great sms services 58 Low cost of entry Cons 4 Predictable pricing 2 Expensive	Pros 8 Easy setup 6 RESTful API
Integrations
Google App Engine Bugsnag Zendesk Twilio SendGrid Parse	Android SDK Electron Unity Flutter React Native Cocoa Touch (iOS)

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