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Pay-as-you-goFreeBusinessCustomEnterpriseCustom
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All MessageBird Plans & Pricing

Plan Monthly Annual Best For
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Pay-as-you-go

  • SMS messaging
  • Voice calls
  • WhatsApp Business
  • API access

Business

  • Volume discounts
  • Dedicated support
  • SLA guarantees

Enterprise

  • Custom pricing
  • Dedicated infrastructure
  • Premium support
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Quick Answer
Last verified:
Medium confidence

MessageBird costs Free to $2 per message as of July 2026, with 3 plans available including a free tier. Plan: Pay-as-you-go (free). Enterprise pricing is available on request. The median contract is $38,146/year based on 38 verified purchases.

Use the interactive pricing calculator to estimate your exact cost based on team size and requirements.

  • Free tier: Yes

MessageBird offers 3 pricing tiers: Pay-as-you-go, Business, Enterprise. The Business plan is growing messaging needs.

Compared to other sms & voice api software, MessageBird is positioned at the budget-friendly price point.

  • Median contract: $38,146/yr from 38 purchases Precise
  • Average negotiated discount: 16%
  • 8 documented hidden costs beyond list price
Last verified: | Sources: 1 pricing pages and reviews

How much does MessageBird cost?

MessageBird offers 3 pricing plans, starting with a free tier and scaling to custom enterprise pricing. Plans include Pay-as-you-go (free), Business (custom pricing), Enterprise (custom pricing).

MessageBird Pricing Overview

MessageBird has 3 pricing plans, including a free tier. Paid plans range from $0 to $2/message. The Pay-as-you-go plan is free and is best for low-volume messaging. The Business plan requires contacting sales for a custom quote and is designed for growing messaging needs. The Enterprise plan requires contacting sales for a custom quote and is designed for high-volume enterprise messaging.

The median MessageBird customer pays $38,146/year based on 38 verified purchases, with an average 16% discount available through negotiation.

There are at least 8 documented hidden costs beyond MessageBird's list price, including implementation, training, and add-on fees.

This pricing was last verified in July 18, 2026 from 1 independent source.

Try MessageBird Free

MessageBird (now Bird) offers a Pay-as-you-go plan starting at $0/month with no base subscription fee—you only pay per message sent. For businesses needing custom pricing and higher volumes, Business and Enterprise plans are available with negotiated rates. Entry-level pricing starts at $45/month for 3,000 monthly contacts, while the median buyer on Vendr pays $38,146/year for mid-market usage.

How MessageBird Pricing Compares

Compare MessageBird pricing against top alternatives in SMS & Voice API.

Plivo $0.0-$2500.0/user/mo Compare → Vonage $0.0-$500.0/user/mo Compare → Twilio SMS $0.0083-$1000/segment View pricing →

Compare MessageBird vs Alternatives

Before committing to MessageBird, compare pricing with these 3 alternatives in the same category.

VSPlivo
From $0.0/user/mo

Full comparison
VSVonage
From $0.0/user/mo

Full comparison
VSTwilio SMS
From $0.0083/segment

Compare pricing

All MessageBird alternatives & migration guides

What Companies Actually Pay for MessageBird

The median MessageBird buyer pays $38,146/year based on 38 verified purchase transactions, with an average 16% savings through negotiation.

What companies actually pay $38,146/yr Median across 38 purchases Precise
16% avg. savings
with negotiation
Review scores
TrustRadius 8.4out of 10 (12)
Trustpilot 1.1out of 5 (23)
Third-party review aggregates, as of Jul 2026
Top pricing complaints
Accounts suspended without notice and wallet balance forfeitedUnauthorized charges after cancellation requestsExtremely poor and unresponsive customer supportWhatsApp free tier messages began being charged after 2024 rebrand to Bird
Source: Vendr buyer database — median calculated from 38 real purchase transactions. Savings figure reflects negotiated discounts reported by buyers.

MessageBird Year 1 Total Cost by Company Size

Real deployment costs including licenses, implementation, training, and admin — not just the sticker price.

Startup ~$60/month Year 1 total

10K SMS/month

WhatsApp Business ~$0.005-0.08/conversation Year 1 total

Customer support via WhatsApp

Enterprise Omnichannel Custom pricing Year 1 total

Full platform at scale

Small Business - 3,000 Monthly Contacts $45 Year 1 total
$540/year
Total $45

Entry-level usage with 3,000 monthly contacts for basic SMS and email notifications, suitable for small e-commerce or service businesses.

Mid-Market - 30,000 SMS/Month $38,146 Year 1 total
Vendr median
Total $38,146

Moderate volume SMS usage for customer notifications, two-factor authentication, and transactional messages. Based on Vendr median pricing and user-reported volumes.

How MessageBird Pricing Compares

Software Starting Price Top Price
MessageBird Free $2/message
Plivo Free $1000/pay-as-you-go
Vonage Custom Custom
Twilio SMS $0.0083/segment $1000/segment
Podium Texting API Custom Custom
Kaleyra Custom Custom

Detailed pricing comparisons:

Browse all SMS & Voice API pricing →

8 MessageBird Hidden Costs Beyond the List Price

Beyond the listed price, MessageBird has at least 8 documented hidden costs that can significantly increase total cost of ownership.

Watch for 8 hidden costs
  • SMS Authentication Costs 10-20% of license costs
    medium 1 source
    TrustRadius "SMS authentication is pricey (like other players)"
  • Per-Message SMS Costs in Europe $0.05-$0.10 per SMS
    medium 1 source
    Reddit "look at the prices of for example messagebird: https://www.messagebird.com/en/pricing/sms-voice or cm.com: https://www.cm.com/pricing/sms/, the cost per sms in europe is 5-10 cents for companies."
  • Regional Coverage Limitations 5-10% of license costs
    low 1 source
    TrustRadius "Lack dedicated SMS phone numbers for Brazil"
  • Unexpected Account Charges After Cancellation Requests $50-$200/month
    critical 2 sources
    Trustpilot "BIRD has shown poor responses to my service issues. They are still charging us for something I have requested be cancelled, despite numerous attempts to contact them they fail to respond appropriately."
    Trustpilot "After verification for our bank account We discover that messagebird crerdit our account each month 50 dollars , Why ?? We didn't choose any subscription on their site"
  • WhatsApp Free Tier Messages Now Charged 5-15% of license costs
    high 1 source
    Trustpilot "MessageBird started as my B2P for all my business. Since the new year of 2024 they have streamlined their brand to Bird which now they charge you for everything even for Free Tier messages like WhatsApp (under 1k), Instagram and Facebook."
  • Non-Refundable Account Balance on Suspension or Closure $30-$500
    critical 4 sources
    Trustpilot "they suspended my account and took my balance, what kind of businesses that does that?"
    Trustpilot "Account suspended, and they refused to give me access to get back my data. They refuse also to refund the balance."
    Trustpilot "I experienced really bad service. I had an account for multiple years, paid my bills, and out of nowhere, my account was deleted, including the balance."
    Trustpilot "I loaded $30 into the wallet upfront, and they provided a terrible service without refunding the money."
  • Unexpected Business Model Changes Mid-Contract 15-30% of license costs
    high 1 source
    Trustpilot "After one year, and after all the time invested and problems solved, MB decided to change drastically the business model."
  • Phone Number Registration Complexity and Delays 5-10% of license costs
    high 2 sources
    Trustpilot "3 weeks, 1 number trying to register an SMS Number to allow for sending of SMS and stop these errors "details: sender unregistered; reason: carrier_rejected; code: 104""
    Trustpilot "We purchased the number waited 2 weeks for approval and they didn't even reply to our tickets."
Tip

Ask your MessageBird sales rep about these costs upfront. Getting them in writing before signing can save you from surprise charges later.

Full hidden costs breakdown →

Intelligence sourced from 4 independent sources
TrustRadius Enterprise reviews Reddit User discussions Trustpilot Consumer reviews Vendr Verified buyer transactions
Key claims include inline source attribution. Data verified against multiple independent sources. 20 source citations total.

MessageBird Contract Terms

MessageBird contracts do not auto-renew. Changes require advance notice. These terms are sourced from verified buyer experiences.

Contract Terms
Auto-Renewal No
Mid-Term Downgrade Not allowed
Payment Terms Pay-as-you-go wallet top-up; Business and Enterprise plans are custom-quoted
Price Escalation Business model changes have occurred without notice per user reports; no published price escalation schedule found in sources
Based on 1 verified source

How to Negotiate MessageBird Pricing

MessageBird contracts are negotiable — buyers save an average of 16% off list price. These 5 tactics are sourced from real buyer experiences and procurement specialists.

Negotiation Playbook 5 tactics
Volume-based negotiation high success

Vendr data shows buyers achieve an average of 16% savings, suggesting that MessageBird is open to volume discounts and negotiation for larger commitments. Compare initial quotes with Vendr's median annual cost of $38,146 to gauge if you're getting competitive pricing.

Vendr marketplace data showing 16% average savings
Compare with Twilio pricing high success

Multiple users report MessageBird being significantly cheaper than Twilio for comparable SMS volumes. Use Twilio quotes as leverage in negotiations, particularly for volumes in the 30k+ messages per month range.

TrustRadius review: 'Twilio prices were much higher for our initial volume (30k SMS/month)'
Pilot on Pay-as-you-go Before Enterprise Commitment high success

Start on the Pay-as-you-go plan to validate delivery rates and support quality in your target markets before signing any Business or Enterprise contract. This reduces risk given reported service quality issues.

Trustpilot reviews + Reddit discussions
Negotiate Volume Rates for High SMS Usage medium success

MessageBird's Business and Enterprise tiers are custom-priced. If your team sends 30k+ messages per month, use competitor per-message rates (Twilio, Plivo, 360dialog) as leverage to negotiate a lower per-message rate before signing a contract.

Vendr marketplace data + Reddit discussions
Request Written Confirmation of Business Model Terms low success

Given documented cases of unilateral business model changes mid-contract, request that any negotiated rates and included features be explicitly locked in writing before committing. Ask for a price-stability clause or advance notice period for changes.

Trustpilot reviews
High success Medium Low / difficult

Full negotiation guide →

MessageBird Pricing FAQ

01 How much does MessageBird cost?

MessageBird SMS starts at $0.006/message for US. Pay-as-you-go with no minimum commitment. WhatsApp conversations priced separately.

02 Is MessageBird cheaper than Twilio?

MessageBird is generally 10-20% cheaper than Twilio for SMS, with competitive WhatsApp Business API pricing.

03 How does MessageBird pricing compare to Twilio?

MessageBird is generally more affordable than Twilio for SMS-focused use cases. One user reported that 'Twilio prices were much higher for our initial volume (30k SMS/month)' compared to MessageBird. However, Twilio offers more extensive APIs and additional services if you need multi-channel integration beyond basic SMS and email. MessageBird focuses on competitive per-message pricing with a pay-as-you-go model starting at $0/month.

04 What are the per-message costs for SMS?

MessageBird's SMS costs vary by region. In Europe, business customers pay approximately 5-10 cents per SMS. The pay-as-you-go pricing model means you only pay for messages sent, with no base subscription fee. For higher volumes, custom Business and Enterprise plans offer negotiated rates.

05 Does MessageBird support WhatsApp messaging?

Yes, MessageBird (now Bird) supports WhatsApp messaging through their platform. However, the WhatsApp integration doesn't support all native WhatsApp features. Some users report that it 'does not accept all the functions of whatsapp' and 'sometimes it doesn't work in real time.' For basic WhatsApp business messaging and templates, it works well, but advanced features may be limited.

06 Does MessageBird have a free plan?

MessageBird offers a Pay-as-you-go plan with no monthly fee — you only pay for the messages you send. There are no included message credits; every SMS, WhatsApp message, or voice call is charged at MessageBird's per-unit rates. This is effectively a pay-per-use model, not a free tier with bundled usage.

07 What happened to MessageBird's free WhatsApp messages?

Following MessageBird's rebrand to Bird in early 2024, the platform began charging for WhatsApp messages under 1,000/month that were previously included at no cost. Instagram and Facebook messages were also affected. Users reported this change was poorly communicated and the updated pricing page was hard to find.

08 What is MessageBird's pricing for SMS in Europe?

Business SMS rates in Europe typically run 5–10 cents per message. This is substantially higher than consumer personal plans, and the exact rate varies by country. At volume, these per-message costs add up quickly.

09 How does MessageBird's Business plan pricing work?

The Business and Enterprise plans are custom-quoted — no published pricing is available. You need to contact MessageBird's sales team directly for a quote. Pricing is typically based on message volume, channels used, and contract length.

10 Can I get a refund if I top up my MessageBird wallet but don't use it?

Based on user reports, MessageBird has consistently refused to refund unused wallet balances — including in cases where the service failed to work as expected, where accounts were suspended, or where users explicitly requested account closure before using their credits. Always start with the minimum top-up amount until the service is validated for your use case.

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