ORIGINAL REDDIT POST
Best way to send SMS & WhatsApp links internationally?
Hi folks, I'm building a web app that generates a unique link for each user. The next step is sending that link via SMS or WhatsApp to users in different countries. What's the most reliable and cost-effective solution for international delivery? Any providers…
Hi folks, I'm building a web app that generates a unique link for each user. The next step is sending that link via SMS or WhatsApp to users in different countries. What's the most reliable and cost-effective solution for international delivery? Any providers or APIs you'd recommend?
Collected discussion
Twilio and MessageBird are the standard for international SMS but they're expensive. For WhatsApp specifically you need WhatsApp Business API which routes through providers like 360dialog, Twilio, or Gupshup
thanks, I’ve heard of Twilio, but it seems a bit expensive for sending bulk SMS.
If it's just transactional links, I'd keep SMS and WhatsApp as separate pipes instead of trying to find one magic vendor. Twilio/MessageBird are boring but reliable for SMS; WhatsApp usually means Business API via 360dialog/Twilio/Gupshup. Also budget for deliverability weirdness by country. That part is where the cheap providers get expensive in spirit.
thb for the whatsapp side I've been using Wassenger cause it's one API and no per-country SMS pricing mess... Honestly I'd make it the main channel and keep SMS as a fallback for numbers that aren't on it just in case
Twilio is the world's most secure SMS solution. For WhatsApp, use the WhatsApp Business API provided by service providers such as Twilio, 360dialog, or Gupshup. If cost is a primary consideration, it is recommended to use WhatsApp as the primary channel and SMS as a fallback.