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Twilio vs WebRTC: What are the differences?

Introduction

This Markdown code provides a comparison between Twilio and WebRTC, highlighting the key differences between the two technologies.

  1. Programming Interface: Twilio provides a comprehensive RESTful API that allows developers to integrate voice, video, and messaging functionalities into their applications. On the other hand, WebRTC is an open-source project that provides a collection of APIs and protocols to enable real-time communication directly in web browsers, without the need for any plugins or additional software.

  2. Platform Flexibility: Twilio is a cloud communication platform that works across various devices, browsers, and operating systems. It provides a high level of flexibility in terms of integrating communication functionalities into different applications. Conversely, WebRTC is native to web browsers and is primarily used for in-browser communication. It is limited to web-based applications and may not provide the same level of flexibility for offline or non-web applications.

  3. Media Handling: Twilio offers advanced media handling capabilities, allowing developers to control and manipulate audio, video, and messaging streams as per their application's requirements. It provides features like call recording, conference calling, and transcription services. WebRTC, on the other hand, focuses on real-time communication within the browser and does not provide fine-grained control over media streams by default. However, it can be extended with additional libraries to achieve similar capabilities.

  4. Signaling Protocol: Twilio uses its proprietary signaling protocol for establishing and managing communication sessions between clients and servers. It handles signaling, call control, and other communication-related tasks through its RESTful API. WebRTC, on the other hand, utilizes a standardized signaling protocol called Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). WebRTC clients communicate using the Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP) for media transport.

  5. Network Traversal: Twilio provides TURN (Traversal Using Relays around NAT) servers to overcome network traversal issues in real-time communication. These servers help establish direct peer-to-peer connections even in situations where clients are behind firewalls or use Network Address Translation (NAT). WebRTC also supports TURN servers but can use peer-to-peer communication directly whenever possible, improving network efficiency in certain scenarios.

  6. Pricing Model: Twilio follows a usage-based pricing model, wherein customers are billed for their usage of voice, video, and messaging services. The pricing is dependent on factors such as the number of minutes, number of messages, and data transfer involved in communication. WebRTC, being an open-source project, does not inherently have any pricing associated with its usage. However, additional costs may be incurred if third-party vendors or infrastructure services are used alongside WebRTC.

In Summary, Twilio provides a comprehensive cloud communication platform with a REST API, advanced media handling, proprietary signaling protocol, and a usage-based pricing model. WebRTC, as an open-source project, allows for real-time communication within web browsers, based on standardized signaling and media transport protocols, with inherent browser compatibility.

Advice on Twilio and WebRTC
Needs advice
on
MessageBirdMessageBird
and
TwilioTwilio

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!

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Replies (2)
Recommends

if the inbound SMS are sales rep specific you could potentially have twilio fwd that msg to a google voice phone number which will in turn put an email in their inbox (so they're looking at 1 inbox instead of multiple places) Just an idea. Probably way off in left field compared to what you're thinking and I also invision. I'm not all familiar with MessageBird nor am I at all familiar w/ your data flow / business process. Would be happy to help brainstorm anytime! 10+ years experience on the sfdc platform

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Ryan Hitchler
CEO & Co-founder at Centro · | 1 upvotes · 105.3K views
Recommends
on
TwilioTwilio
at

Check out Centro. We built this to solve this exact problem! We used tools like Twilio but wrapped it up in a application that runs on Slack.

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Needs advice
on
Amazon ChimeAmazon Chime
and
WebRTCWebRTC

Hello. So, I wanted to make a decision on whether to use WebRTC or Amazon Chime for a conference call (meeting). My plan is to build an app with features like video broadcasting, and the ability for all the participants to talk and chat. I have used Agora's web SDK for video broadcasting, and Socket.IO for chat features. As I read the comparison between Amazon Chime and WebRTC, it further intrigues me on what I should use given my scenario? Is there any way that so many related technologies could be a hindrance to the other? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks. Ritwik Neema

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Replies (1)
Edwin Ifionu
Software Developer at Sproft Media Inc · | 4 upvotes · 51.6K views
Recommends
on
Amazon ChimeAmazon Chime

I would recommend Amazon Chime. If I were you, I would eventually look into working with WebRTC as it is very interesting and teaches you a lot. I dove deep into webRTC recently building a webinar broadcasting application (one-to-many) and I can say it is difficult to understand how things actually work and to get it stable. I mean you can vaguely read up on it and get some things to work by copying code on StackOverflow or using a library but that wouldn't teach you much.

In short, go with Chime because it is easy to get started especially if you have a time constraint. But look into webRTC in the future as it enables you to build your own "Chime". Hope this helped!

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Dainis Duļbinskis
Marketing project manager at Colortime · | 2 upvotes · 112.2K views
Needs advice
on
PlivoPlivo
and
TwilioTwilio

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

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Replies (4)
Recommends
on
NexmoNexmo

Twilio is the leader. Strong API, excellent documentation and reliable service. I suggest Nexmo since their API has smaller learning curve, offering better prices and also reliable solution. Also Nexmo offers more call per sec. 3 vs 2 and 2, out of the box. Good luck

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Recommends
on
TwilioTwilio

Twilio might be not cheapest, but they have awesome documentation (a lot of examples), easy to use API and libraries. I think it's a very good product to start. If the bill will become too heavy, you can shop around for economical options.

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Recommends
on
TwilioTwilio
at

Twilio documentation is very good and as a platform it just works. It's robust and reliable. We road-tested plivo and it wasn't anywhere near in terms of docs or support. In fact their support was terrible at replying to us. 48 hours to answer basic questions.

That's said, were also using sendgrid by twilio and that's not been pleasant . Their email builder appears to be react based but written by a team who don't understand react very well. That's a nightmare as yet

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Andrew Voirol
Founder at The Social Diner · | 1 upvotes · 111.8K views
Recommends
on
PlivoPlivo

stackshare doesn't seem to have this in the stack list yet, but in my experience Twillio is attractive. It's good for basics, their acquisition of SendGrid gives them a bit more market share.. They are stronger at marketing to those that benefit them. That said from my understanding SendGrid leases the networks, channels, and lines. While their interface is friendly, their pricing suited for lower volume, you want to look at what they are using via an API, a contract, etc. Is it a more friend UI to a combination of others. What redunancies do to they have, try their support. It's not that Twillio is bad, it's about the volume, the use case, the liabiitlies you might have to your end-users if Twillio isn't the right choice. Another option is Bandwidth. You ask for affordable, Twillio is an option, but front end costs v/s the costs of support you'll need to consider. Bandwidth has more reliability but requires more engineering and more skillset. Another option that is worth considering, not the most affordable, but https://www.zipwhip.com/ have perhaps options that might be higher and the cost is relative. Wight costs, of support costs of integration, cost of scale, costs of a volume..

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Pros of Twilio
Pros of WebRTC
  • 148
    Powerful, simple, and well documented api
  • 88
    RESTful API
  • 66
    Clear pricing
  • 61
    Great sms services
  • 58
    Low cost of entry
  • 29
    Global SMS Gateway
  • 14
    Good value
  • 12
    Cloud IVR
  • 11
    Simple
  • 11
    Extremely simple to integrate with rails
  • 6
    Great for startups
  • 5
    SMS
  • 3
    Great developer program
  • 3
    Hassle free
  • 2
    Text me the app pages
  • 1
    New Features constantly rolling out
  • 1
    Many deployment options, from build from scratch to buy
  • 1
    Easy integration
  • 1
    Two factor authentication
  • 3
    OpenSource
  • 2
    No Download
  • 1
    You can write anything around it, because it's a protoc

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Cons of Twilio
Cons of WebRTC
  • 4
    Predictable pricing
  • 2
    Expensive
    Be the first to leave a con

    Sign up to add or upvote consMake informed product decisions

    What is Twilio?

    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.

    What is WebRTC?

    It is a free, open project that enables web browsers with Real-Time Communications (RTC) capabilities via simple JavaScript APIs. The WebRTC components have been optimized to best serve this purpose.

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    Blog Posts

    Jul 2 2019 at 9:34PM

    Segment

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    What are some alternatives to Twilio and WebRTC?
    Nexmo
    Nexmo connects your apps directly to carriers around the world. Integrate SMS and Voice messages using one simple API. Use Nexmo Verity to register users, verify transactions, and implement two factor authentication.
    Plivo
    Plivo provides basic building block APIs in the form of Plivo XML and HTTP API, to create telephony apps, so developers can completely do away with learning the nitty-gritty of the telephony plumbing.
    OpenTok
    It adds the clarity and emotion of face-to-face communication to your brand whether you're developing for the web, iOS, or Android. We make the integration of high-quality live video a breeze so that you can focus on building a great product.
    Bandwidth
    A Communications Platform as a Service company offering a full suite of voice, messaging, and 9-1-1 APIs, all built atop the company's own all-IP voice network.
    RingCentral
    Since RingCentral is cloud based, you enjoy the freedom to connect and manage multiple locations, devices and workers within your cloud phone system. You can easily customize users, departments, and call handling rules. No matter where you, or the users, are. You only need a high-speed Internet connection and your phone system is ready to work lightning fast, anytime and anyplace. There’s no PBX hardware.
    See all alternatives