Bird vs Sinch
Compare Bird and Sinch side by side: iMessage features, channels, developer tools, pricing and compliance, checked on each provider's own site.
Bird
Email, SMS, WhatsApp and Apple Messages APIs
- Starting price
- $0.0035 per US outbound SMS segment plus carrier fees
- Free plan
- Free email tier of 1,000 emails a month; free shared Inbox
Sinch
CPaaS with 13 messaging channels in one API
- Starting price
- $0.0078 per US 10DLC SMS, plus carrier fees
- Free plan
- Free developer account with an SMS sandbox and test credit
Bird supports 36 of the 77 features compared here, and Sinch supports 33.
Where Bird is ahead
Where Sinch is ahead
Feature comparison
| Feature | ||
|---|---|---|
| iMessage messaging | ||
| iMessage | Not supportedNo iMessage support | Not supportedNo iMessage support |
| Group chats | Not supported | Not supported |
| Group management | Not supported | Not supported |
| Group name and photo | Not supported | Not supported |
| Mentions | Not supported | Not supported |
| Tapbacks | Not supported | Not supported |
| Threaded replies | Not supported | Not supported |
| Typing indicators | Not supported | Not supported |
| Read receipts | Not supported | Not supported |
| Edit and unsend | Not supported | Not supported |
| Message effects | Not supported | Not supported |
| Animated text effects | Not supported | Not supported |
| Stickers | Not supported | Not supported |
| Formatted text | Not supported | Not supported |
| Attachments | Not supported | Not supported |
| Live Photos | Not supported | Not supported |
| Rich link previews | Not supported | Not supported |
| Voice messages | Not supported | Not supported |
| Contact cards | Not supported | Not supported |
| Polls | Not supported | Not supported |
| Chat backgrounds | Not supported | Not supported |
| Location sharing | Not supported | Not supported |
| iMessage apps | Not supported | Not supported |
| Live app cards | Not supported | Not supported |
| Sender name and photo | Not supported | Not supported |
| FaceTime calls | Not supported | Not supported |
| Delivery status | Not supported | Not supported |
| iMessage availability check | Not supported | Not supported |
| Focus and Notify Anyway | Not supported | Not supported |
| Numbers and delivery | ||
| Managed lines | Not supportedNo iMessage support | Not supportedNo iMessage support |
| Dedicated numbers | ||
| Shared numbers | Not listed | |
| Bring your own number | ||
| Line pooling | Not listed | |
| SMS fallback | Not supportedNo iMessage support; RCS and push can fall back to SMS | Not supportedNo iMessage support; Conversation API can fall back from other channels to SMS |
| RCS fallback | Not supportedNo iMessage support | Not supportedNo iMessage support |
| Outbound-first messaging | ||
| Calls on the iMessage number | Not supportedNo iMessage support | Not supportedNo iMessage support |
| Other channels | ||
| SMS | ||
| RCS | ||
| Telegram | ||
| Slack | Not listed | Not supportedNot offered |
| Phone calls | ||
| Apple Messages for Business | Not listed | |
| Unified channel API | ||
| Developer tools | ||
| REST API | ||
| TypeScript SDK | ||
| Python SDK | ||
| Other SDKs | ||
| CLI | ||
| Webhooks | ||
| Signed webhooks | ||
| MCP server | ||
| Open source | ||
| Self-hosting | Not listed | |
| Local testing | ||
| Custom channel providers | Not listed | |
| Event replay | ||
| OpenTelemetry | Not listed | Not listed |
| No-code integrations | ||
| CRM integrations | ||
| Built for AI agents | ||
| Agent framework | ||
| Agent framework integrations | ||
| Streaming replies | Not listedNo edit or streaming API for SMS, WhatsApp or Apple Messages found; Realtime pub/sub serves your own app | |
| Agent group chats | ||
| Human handoff | ||
| Audit logs | Not listed | |
| Message history API | ||
| Plans and compliance | ||
| Free plan | ||
| Public pricing | ||
| No per-message fees | ||
| Uptime SLA | ||
| Isolated infrastructure | Not listed | |
| SOC 2 Type II | ||
| GDPR |
Checked on each provider's own site and docs on 2026-10-25. “Not listed” means the provider does not mention it.
Pricing
Bird
Pay as you go from a shared prepaid balance, priced per message or segment by channel and destination, with optional monthly plans that fund the balance.
Pricing model: per message, prepaid balance
SourceSinch
Pay as you go per message for SMS, MMS, RCS and voice, with carrier fees on top and custom plans through sales.
Pricing model: per message
SourceWhich should you choose?
Choose Bird if you need shared numbers, Apple Messages for Business, self-hosting and agent group chats.
Choose Sinch if you need custom channel providers, streaming replies and uptime SLA.
Frequently asked questions
Bird supports 36 of the 77 features compared here, and Sinch supports 33. Bird adds shared numbers, Apple Messages for Business, self-hosting, agent group chats and audit logs. Sinch adds custom channel providers, streaming replies and uptime SLA.
Bird: Pay as you go from a shared prepaid balance, priced per message or segment by channel and destination, with optional monthly plans that fund the balance. Sinch: Pay as you go per message for SMS, MMS, RCS and voice, with carrier fees on top and custom plans through sales.
Sinch does not list shared numbers on its site or in its docs.
Sinch does not list Apple Messages for Business on its site or in its docs.
Sinch does not list self-hosting on its site or in its docs.