So you’re thinking of migrating from Twilio to a new CPaaS provider. Maybe you’re looking for more control over your call quality, or perhaps you’ve outgrown Twilio’s pricing structure; no matter the reason, it’s worth your time to explore Twilio alternatives.
But before you dive into migrating, there are a few things and steps to consider.
Three reasons to consider a Twilio alternative
There are many reasons why you might be hitting a product roadblock with Twilio. We’ve seen frequent use cases:
Costs ?
Twilio doesn’t own its network, so it can’t offer direct-to-network. Bandwidth’s volume-based pricing can save you up to 50%. When your evaluating voice providers, it’s also worth looking at billing segments. While some providers bill in 60-second increments, Bandwidth bills in 6-second increments, which compounds fast at high call volume.
Scale ?
Your product is evolving faster than Twilio’s APIs can keep up with. Meanwhile, Bandwidth’s Voice and Messaging APIs are built with AI-ready features designed for AI hyperscalers and SaaS platforms in specialized industries ranging from Retail to Healthcare.
When it comes to voice, your network makes a big difference in scaling, too. Bandwidth is a licensed US carrier running its own network; resellers add a hop to every call, which can break the conversational AI experience.
Support ?
Twilio’s lack of technical support is causing product disruption and delays. Bandwidth’s support team is made up of real people with real industry expertise, ready to answer the phone and answer your questions.
If you are experiencing these growing pains, it might be time to look at Bandwidth as a Twilio alternative.
Migrating from Twilio is repointing, not rebuilding.
The migration question is a big one when considering alternative voice and messaging providers. We get it. But the good news is, you’re not rebuilding your entire application. You’re swapping the endpoints.
Here are some steps to remember during your research process:
1. Learn & document API differences
Every provider differs in how they allow users to accomplish tasks. These differences include incoming calls and messages, number ordering, and hangup events.
Additionally, while just about every CPaaS provider has a VoiceXML (VXML), some offer a REST API and Callback option. Identifying those differences makes the rest of the process smoother.
Curious to see how your code would translate to our Voice API’s BXML? We’ve got a Developer Migration Toolkit for that!
2. Determine & scope out necessary changes
Once you’ve identified the differences between other provider offerings of APIs and Twilio’s, it’s time to scope out any changes you’ll need to make. While most of the call logic should remain the same, you should focus time on three main areas:
- CallState Events
- Message Events
- Database changes
These areas tend to have the most variation between CPaaS providers, and focusing there will help streamline your migration. You can see exactly what would need to change with our new compatibility checker, part of the Developer Migration Toolkit.
3. Implement the changes
Time to make the switch!
After selecting a Twilio alternative, you’re ready to implement the changes and complete the migration. A few things to keep in mind:
- A keen eye for detail is the key to success in making the changes
- The switch can take as little as a week for simple migrations with a single engineer.
- More complicated call flows can take a month or so with a team of developers
- And don’t forget…CLEAN CODE = STABLE CODE
See how Attentive relies on Bandwidth to scale Messaging
Find your Twilio alternative
Changing communications partners is not an easy decision, but hopefully, you can find a solution that offers top-tier support, competitive pricing, and ideal scalability with the right resources.
Considering Bandwidth as a Twilio alternative? (We are honored!) Learn more about migrating to Bandwidth in our migration guide.
Twilio is a registered trademark of Twilio, Inc. and is unaffiliated with Bandwidth.
