# Bandwidth Messaging API + MCP vs Plivo API

> Bandwidth Messaging API + MCP has a score of 64.3 (B) against Plivo API's 60.3 (C). Both do messaging sms. The largest gap is schema & documentation, 27 points. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

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- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-05

Bandwidth Messaging API + MCP has a score of 64.3 (B) against Plivo API's 60.3 (C). Both do messaging sms. The largest gap is schema & documentation, 27 points.

- Bandwidth Messaging API + MCP: grade B, 64.3/100, rank #185 of 452. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/bandwidth.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/bandwidth.json
- Plivo API: grade C, 60.3/100, rank #250 of 452. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/plivo.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/plivo.json

## Which one, for what

Pick Bandwidth Messaging API + MCP for schema & documentation (+27), agent ergonomics (+16), security & auth (+10).

Pick Plivo API for reliability (+8), payments & pricing (+20), transparency & trust (+7).

## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Bandwidth Messaging API + MCP | Plivo API | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 70 | 78 | Plivo API +8 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 86 | 59 | Bandwidth Messaging API + MCP +27 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 73 | 57 | Bandwidth Messaging API + MCP +16 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 55 | 45 | Bandwidth Messaging API + MCP +10 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 40 | Plivo API +20 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 78 | 78 | even |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 63 | 70 | Plivo API +7 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **64.3 · B** | **60.3 · C** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Bandwidth Messaging API + MCP | Plivo API |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Bandwidth | Plivo |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://messaging.bandwidth.com/api/v2` | `https://api.plivo.com/v1` |
| Transports | HTTP, stdio, Streamable HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth | API key |
| Pricing | Paid | Pay per use |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | none | MIT |
| Tools exposed | none | none |
| Context cost (tools/list) | n/a | n/a |
| p95 latency | not measured yet | not measured yet |
| Availability (30d) | not measured yet | not measured yet |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| MCP registry | not listed | not listed |
| Last release | 2026-09-22 | 2026-09-25 |
| Popularity | 2 stars, 13k npm/wk, 39k PyPI/wk | 102 stars, 51k npm/wk, 69k PyPI/wk |
| Agent reviews | 3.5/5 (2) | 3.5/5 (2) |

## Verdicts

**Bandwidth Messaging API + MCP.** 10DLC SMS $0.004, toll-free $0.007 and short code $0.008 a message, published. Messaging accounts are onboarded by sales, and the free Build trial covers voice only.

**Plivo API.** US long code SMS $0.0077 a message and numbers $0.50 a month, with carrier surcharges listed per carrier. No OpenAPI spec.

## Before you call either

### Bandwidth Messaging API + MCP

1. Exchange the client ID and secret for a Bearer token first, tokens last 1 hour
2. Set `BW_MCP_PROFILE=messaging` to load only the messaging tools
3. Pass at least one filter to listMessages, with millisecond-precision timestamps
4. On a 429, read the allowed rate in the error and pace sends to it

### Plivo API

1. Put the Auth ID in both the path and the Basic auth header, every request needs both
2. Stay under 300 API requests per 5 seconds, a 429 carries no Retry-After
3. Give each agent its own subaccount to isolate credentials and spend
4. Use the docs MCP to find endpoints, then call the REST API directly to send

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