{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "telnyx", "name": "Telnyx API + MCP", "vendor": "Telnyx", "vendorUrl": "https://telnyx.com", "kind": "http-api", "category": "messaging", "summary": "Carrier-owned CPaaS with SMS, MMS, RCS and WhatsApp on one REST API, plus an official hosted MCP server at api.telnyx.com/v2/mcp and a stdio MCP package.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/telnyx", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/telnyx.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/telnyx.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/telnyx.json", "repo": "https://github.com/team-telnyx/telnyx-node", "license": "MIT", "transports": [ "http", "streamable-http", "stdio" ], "remoteUrl": "https://api.telnyx.com/v2", "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "telnyx" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "telnyx-mcp" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "telnyx" } ], "auth": "api-key", "authNotes": "Bearer API key from the portal for both the REST API and the hosted MCP endpoint. Claude custom connectors can instead grant access through the Telnyx portal. Webhooks are signed.", "pricing": "usage", "pricingNotes": "Pay as you go with no minimum and no free credit. Fund by card, or by x402 (USDC on Base), MPP or ACP top-ups through the API. US SMS per part, outbound or inbound, $0.004 on long code, $0.0055 on toll-free and $0.007 on short code, plus carrier passthrough fees ($0.0035 AT\u0026T, $0.0045 Verizon and T-Mobile). US MMS $0.015 a part outbound and $0.005 inbound on long code. Numbers $1 a month. WhatsApp adds a $0.004 platform fee a message on top of Meta's rate card. 10DLC brand registration $4.50 and campaign $10 a month. Committed plans start at $500 a month (https://telnyx.com/pricing/messaging, https://telnyx.com/agent-signup.md).", "priceSummary": "Pay per use", "where": "both", "x402": { "level": "partial", "evidence": "Telnyx's agent signup guide documents POST https://api.telnyx.com/v2/x402/credit_account to top up account credit in USDC on Base, alongside MPP at /v2/machine-payments/account-credit and ACP checkout sessions. These are account top-ups, not per-message payments on the messaging endpoints, and per-payment limits aren't published. Not tested by us (https://telnyx.com/agent-signup.md, checked 2026-10-01).", "endpoints": [ { "url": "https://api.telnyx.com/v2/x402/credit_account", "priceUsd": null, "network": "eip155:8453" } ] }, "toolCount": 3, "popularity": { "githubStars": 197, "npmWeekly": 416629, "pypiWeekly": 178817, "asOf": "2026-09-30" }, "docsUrl": "https://developers.telnyx.com", "llmsTxt": "https://developers.telnyx.com/llms.txt", "openapi": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/team-telnyx/openapi/master/openapi/spec3.json", "registryName": "io.github.team-telnyx/telnyx", "capabilities": [ "messaging.sms", "messaging.mms", "messaging.rcs", "messaging.whatsapp", "messaging.voice", "messaging.verify", "messaging.inbound" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "mcp", "llms-txt", "openapi", "typescript", "python", "webhooks", "sms", "whatsapp", "x402", "stablecoin", "prepaid" ], "lastRelease": "2026-09-25", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 73.6, "grade": "BB", "agentReady": true, "rank": 76, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 722, "categoryRank": 4, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 80, "maintenance": 83, "payments": 65, "reliability": 80, "schema": 93, "security": 45, "transparency": 71 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-01" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "US long code SMS $0.004 a part outbound and inbound, published with carrier fees and as machine-readable pricing.md. No per-key scopes or read-only keys, and the MCP can send or buy numbers without confirmation.", "bestFor": "Cost-sensitive US SMS and for agents that must onboard and pay without a person.", "strengths": [ "US long code SMS $0.004 a part outbound and inbound, published with carrier fees and as machine-readable pricing.md", "Agent signup and x402 or MPP top-ups with no browser", "429 responses carry Retry-After and x-ratelimit headers, with documented backoff guidance", "Hosted MCP with 3 meta-tools that load endpoint schemas on demand", "19 telnyx-node releases in 90 days, the latest v7.24.0 on 2026-09-25" ], "weaknesses": [ "No per-key scopes or read-only keys, and the MCP can send or buy numbers without confirmation", "No free credit, a new account starts at zero", "API-wide 5XX errors for about 2 hours on 2026-09-23, plus messaging latency and delivery incidents through September", "x402 and MPP only top up account credit, they don't pay per message", "No security.txt or bug bounty found" ], "agentNotes": [ "Register the 10DLC brand ($4.50) and campaign ($10 a month) before sending US long code traffic", "Back off on error 10011 for as long as the Retry-After header says", "Call get_api_endpoint_schema before invoke_api_endpoint, the schemas aren't in the tool list", "Give each agent its own key, since keys can't be scoped", "Verify the signature on inbound message webhooks before acting on the text" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 2, "avgRating": 3.5, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "BB", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 73.6 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 80, "maintenance": 83, "payments": 65, "reliability": 80, "schema": 93, "security": 45, "transparency": 55 }, "provenanceScore": 87 }, "connect": { "http": "curl -X POST https://api.telnyx.com/v2/messages -H \"Authorization: Bearer $TELNYX_API_KEY\" \\\n -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" -d '{\"from\":\"+15551234567\",\"to\":\"+15559876543\",\"text\":\"Hello from Telnyx\"}'", "claudeCode": "claude mcp add --transport http telnyx https://api.telnyx.com/v2/mcp --header \"Authorization: Bearer $TELNYX_API_KEY\"", "config": { "mcpServers": { "telnyx": { "args": [ "-y", "telnyx-mcp" ], "command": "npx", "env": { "TELNYX_API_KEY": "${TELNYX_API_KEY}" } } } } }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/messaging.sms", "tool": "https://letme.dev/telnyx" }, "sameCompany": [ "telnyx-voice" ], "area": "communication", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "SMS outbound, US long code", "unit": "message", "usd": 0.004, "note": "US, per part, carrier fees extra, tiered down at 100M parts" }, { "item": "SMS outbound, UK", "unit": "message", "usd": 0.05, "note": "UK, per part" }, { "item": "MMS outbound, US long code", "unit": "message", "usd": 0.015, "note": "US, per part, carrier fees extra" }, { "item": "WhatsApp platform fee", "unit": "message", "usd": 0.004, "note": "on top of Meta's per-message rate" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Telnyx LLC", "domain": "telnyx.com", "domainRegistered": "2009-05-04", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://telnyx.com/terms-and-conditions-of-service", "privacy": "https://telnyx.com/privacy-policy", "statusPage": "https://status.telnyx.com", "changelog": "https://telnyx.com/release-notes", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-09-30", "score": 87 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/telnyx.json", "live": { "slug": "telnyx", "probe": { "target": "https://api.telnyx.com/v2", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-08T20:21:30.058200177Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 404, "lastMs": 102, "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 110, "p95ms24h": 163, "samples24h": 271, "samples30d": 2148, "days": [ { "date": "2026-09-30", "probes": 35, "ok": 35 }, { "date": "2026-10-01", "probes": 276, "ok": 276 }, { "date": "2026-10-02", "probes": 248, "ok": 248 }, { "date": "2026-10-03", "probes": 271, "ok": 271 }, { "date": "2026-10-04", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-05", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-06", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-07", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-08", "probes": 230, "ok": 230 } ] }, "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.telnyx.com", "indicator": "maintenance", "summary": "Under Maintenance", "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T20:22:55.316862545Z" }, "versions": [ { "registry": "github", "name": "team-telnyx/telnyx-node", "version": "v7.25.0", "released": "2026-10-06", "seenAt": "2026-10-08T16:31:45.759431571Z" }, { "registry": "mcp-registry", "name": "io.github.team-telnyx/telnyx", "version": "6.29.3", "seenAt": "2026-10-08T02:42:52.272076636Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "telnyx", "version": "7.25.0", "seenAt": "2026-10-08T16:31:43.617853739Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "telnyx-mcp", "version": "7.25.0", "seenAt": "2026-10-08T16:31:43.679534048Z" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "telnyx", "version": "4.184.0", "released": "2026-10-07", "seenAt": "2026-10-08T16:31:45.642105522Z" } ], "githubStars": 197, "npmWeekly": 487202, "pypiWeekly": 211921, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://telnyx.com/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "none", "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T15:39:09.162828278Z" }, "llmsTxt": { "url": "https://developers.telnyx.com/llms.txt", "ok": true, "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T14:00:58.450746322Z" }, "domain": { "domain": "telnyx.com", "registered": "2009-05-04", "source": "https://rdap.verisign.com/com/v1/domain/telnyx.com", "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T13:09:33.721251862Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://telnyx.com/pricing/messaging", "kind": "pricing", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:25:10.028419665Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-08T18:25:10.028419665Z", "fingerprint": "901908e4ff6f" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-08T20:22:55.316862545Z" } }, "answer": "Telnyx API + MCP scores 73.6 (BB) on agent readiness against WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API)'s 67.1 (B), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API) leads on security \u0026 auth and transparency \u0026 trust.", "b": { "slug": "whatsapp-cloud-api", "name": "WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API)", "vendor": "Meta Platforms, Inc.", "vendorUrl": "https://developers.facebook.com", "kind": "http-api", "category": "messaging", "summary": "Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform Cloud API sends and receives WhatsApp messages for a business phone number through the Graph API, with inbound messages and status updates arriving by webhook. Access uses a Meta developer app and OAuth access tokens.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/whatsapp-cloud-api", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/whatsapp-cloud-api.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/whatsapp-cloud-api.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/whatsapp-cloud-api.json", "repo": "https://github.com/facebook/openapi", "license": "Proprietary service under the Meta Terms for WhatsApp Business Platform. The OpenAPI document in facebook/openapi is MIT", "transports": [ "http" ], "remoteUrl": "https://graph.facebook.com", "packages": [], "auth": "oauth", "authNotes": "Every call needs a Bearer access token from a Meta developer app with the WhatsApp use case. Access is self-serve for a business using its own account, with no App Review. A person creates the app, a business portfolio and a system user in Meta's dashboards, then generates a system user token with `whatsapp_business_messaging` and `whatsapp_business_management`. Apps that act for other businesses need Advanced access through App Review and onboard customers with Embedded Signup. Business verification raises the messaging limit above 250 recipients a day.", "pricing": "usage", "pricingNotes": "Charged per delivered message, by category (marketing, utility, authentication, service) and recipient country, with no platform or per-number fee found. Meta publishes rate cards as CSV and PDF in 16 currencies. We couldn't read the files, and the one rate we saw in prose is 0.68 US cents for a utility or authentication message to Brazil. Service messages are charged from 1 October 2026 per Meta's timeline. A test account and test number send without a payment method, so an agent can start without a contract (checked 2026-10-08).", "priceSummary": "Pay per use", "where": "hosted", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the WhatsApp documentation, the llms.txt indexes, the pricing pages or the OpenAPI document (checked 2026-10-08).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-08" }, "docsUrl": "https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/overview", "llmsTxt": "https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/llms.txt", "openapi": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/facebook/openapi/main/business-messaging-api_v23.0.yaml", "capabilities": [ "messaging.whatsapp", "messaging.inbound" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "usage-based", "oauth", "openapi", "llms-txt", "webhooks", "whatsapp", "mcp", "sandbox", "status-page", "bug-bounty", "soc2" ], "lastRelease": "2026-08-11", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 67.1, "grade": "B", "agentReady": false, "rank": 218, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 722, "categoryRank": 5, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 67, "maintenance": 34, "payments": 40, "reliability": 80, "schema": 82, "security": 67, "transparency": 82 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-08" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "The first-party WhatsApp API has a public OpenAPI document, Markdown docs with llms.txt, numeric rate limits and a test number that sends without a payment method. Setup needs a person in three Meta dashboards, no idempotency key was found for sends, and Meta's terms restrict general-purpose AI assistants on the platform.", "bestFor": "The direct route to WhatsApp for a business messaging its own customers, with no reseller fee.", "strengths": [ "A test WhatsApp Business account and test number are created with the app and send template messages with no payment method on file", "OpenAPI 3.1 document under MIT in facebook/openapi (78 paths, 113 operations), plus llms.txt indexes and a Markdown copy of each docs page", "Limits are published with numbers, including 80 messages a second per number, 5,000 requests an hour per active account and one message every 6 seconds per recipient", "Message data is kept for at most 30 days, with local storage and no-storage options per phone number, and SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 reports for Cloud API", "Webhook payloads are signed with HMAC-SHA256 in `X-Hub-Signature-256`, and mutual TLS is available" ], "weaknesses": [ "A person has to create a Meta account, a developer app, a business portfolio and a system user in a browser before any token exists", "No idempotency key for message sends was found in the reviewed documentation or the OpenAPI document, so a retried send can reach the user twice", "Meta's pricing page says the 15 January 2026 terms permit general-purpose AI assistants only where Meta is legally required to allow them", "Outside the 24-hour customer service window only pre-approved templates can be sent, and a new business portfolio is limited to 250 recipients in 24 hours", "Meta archived its Node.js SDK, and the published OpenAPI document is pinned to v23.0 while the Graph API is at v26.0" ], "agentNotes": [ "Check when the user last wrote. Free-form messages are accepted only within 24 hours of the user's last message. After that, send an approved template.", "Record the message id from each send and match it to `messages` webhook statuses. Many failures arrive only by webhook, and no idempotency key was found.", "On error 130429 or 131056 wait and retry. Meta's guidance for the per-recipient limit is 4^X seconds, with X rising by one per failure.", "Verify `X-Hub-Signature-256` with the app secret on every webhook, and deduplicate, because failed deliveries are retried for up to 7 days.", "Request `health_status` on the phone number before a campaign to see whether the app, business, account, number and template can send." ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "B", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 67.1 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 67, "maintenance": 34, "payments": 40, "reliability": 80, "schema": 82, "security": 67, "transparency": 70 }, "provenanceScore": 94 }, "connect": { "http": "curl 'https://graph.facebook.com/v23.0/\u003cBUSINESS_PHONE_NUMBER_ID\u003e/messages' \\\n -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \\\n -H 'Authorization: Bearer \u003cSYSTEM_USER_ACCESS_TOKEN\u003e' \\\n -d '{\"messaging_product\":\"whatsapp\",\"recipient_type\":\"individual\",\"to\":\"\u003cWHATSAPP_USER_PHONE_NUMBER\u003e\",\"type\":\"text\",\"text\":{\"body\":\"Hello!\"}}'", "claudeCode": "claude mcp add --transport http whatsapp_business_tools https://mcp.facebook.com/whatsapp_business_tools" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/messaging.whatsapp", "tool": "https://letme.dev/whatsapp-cloud-api" }, "sameCompany": [ "meta-marketing-api" ], "area": "communication", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Utility or authentication template, Brazil", "unit": "message", "usd": 0.0068, "note": "the one rate quoted in prose on Meta's non-template pricing page. Rates vary by country and category, and the rate card files weren't read" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Meta Platforms, Inc.", "domain": "facebook.com", "domainRegistered": "1997-03-29", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://www.facebook.com/legal/Meta-Terms-for-WhatsApp-Business-Platform", "privacy": "https://www.whatsapp.com/legal/business-data-processing-terms", "statusPage": "https://metastatus.com/whatsapp-business-api", "changelog": "https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/changelog", "securityTxt": "valid", "checked": "2026-10-08", "notes": [ "The API answers at graph.facebook.com and the MCP server at mcp.facebook.com, both facebook.com subdomains.", "www.whatsapp.com/legal/business-solution-terms and /legal/meta-terms-whatsapp-business both redirect to www.facebook.com/legal/Meta-Terms-for-WhatsApp-Business-Platform. That page and the Cloud API hosting terms at www.facebook.com/legal/WhatsApp-Business-Platform-Cloud-API render only with JavaScript, so their text wasn't read.", "The privacy field points at the WhatsApp Business Data Processing Terms (last updated 22 August 2025), which we read. Meta's docs name the Cloud API hosting terms as the other data document for Cloud API customers.", "The legal entity is taken from the copyright line of the MIT licence in facebook/openapi. The data processing terms name WhatsApp LLC and WhatsApp Ireland Limited as contracting entities.", "www.facebook.com/.well-known/security.txt and www.whatsapp.com/.well-known/security.txt name a contact, the bug bounty policy at bugbounty.meta.com and a disclosure policy, and expire on 7 November 2026.", "RDAP for facebook.com gives a registration date of 1997-03-29.", "The WhatsApp changelog's newest entry is 12 May 2026, and the one before it 8 December 2025." ], "score": 94 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/whatsapp-cloud-api.json", "live": { "slug": "whatsapp-cloud-api", "probe": { "target": "https://graph.facebook.com", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-08T20:21:32.890899075Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 400, "lastMs": 105, "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 110, "p95ms24h": 124, "samples24h": 32, "samples30d": 32, "days": [ { "date": "2026-10-08", "probes": 32, "ok": 32 } ] }, "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://metastatus.com/whatsapp-business-api", "indicator": "unknown", "summary": "no machine-readable status found", "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T19:39:20.381545782Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/changelog", "kind": "changelog", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:17:37.55658412Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "c1607719e42e" }, { "url": "https://www.whatsapp.com/legal/business-data-processing-terms", "kind": "privacy", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:31:35.269938621Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "3a883fb460c8" }, { "url": "https://www.facebook.com/legal/Meta-Terms-for-WhatsApp-Business-Platform", "kind": "terms", "status": 0, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:27:43.250256264Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "blockedByRobots": true } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-08T20:21:32.890899075Z" } }, "facts": [ { "a": "HTTP API", "b": "HTTP API", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "Telnyx", "b": "Meta Platforms, Inc.", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "https://api.telnyx.com/v2", "b": "https://graph.facebook.com", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "HTTP, Streamable HTTP, stdio", "b": "HTTP", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "API key", "b": "OAuth", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Pay per use", "b": "Pay per use", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "$0.004 per message", "b": "not published", "name": "Price for messaging whatsapp" }, { "a": "payer tooling only", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "MIT", "b": "Proprietary service under the Meta Terms for WhatsApp Business Platform. The OpenAPI document in facebook/openapi is MIT", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "3", "b": "none", "name": "Tools exposed" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "yes", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "io.github.team-telnyx/telnyx", "b": "not listed", "name": "MCP registry" }, { "a": "2026-09-25", "b": "2026-08-11", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "no date given", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "2026-03-01", "b": "2025-08-22", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "197 stars, 417k npm/wk, 179k PyPI/wk", "b": "none", "name": "Popularity" }, { "a": "3.5/5 (2)", "b": "none", "name": "Agent reviews" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "Telnyx API + MCP scores 73.6 (BB) on agent readiness against WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API)'s 67.1 (B), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API) leads on security \u0026 auth and transparency \u0026 trust.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, Telnyx API + MCP or WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API)?" }, { "answer": "Telnyx API + MCP needs an API key. WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API) uses an OAuth sign-in.", "question": "Do Telnyx API + MCP and WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API) need an API key?" }, { "answer": "Yes. Telnyx API + MCP has a hosted endpoint at https://api.telnyx.com/v2 and WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API) at https://graph.facebook.com.", "question": "Can an agent call Telnyx API + MCP and WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API) without installing anything?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Schema \u0026 documentation, 93 against 82", "Agent ergonomics, 80 against 67", "Payments \u0026 pricing, 65 against 40", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 83 against 34" ], "also": [ "Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better", "Runs on your own machine" ], "goodFor": "Cost-sensitive US SMS and for agents that must onboard and pay without a person.", "slug": "telnyx", "watchFor": "No per-key scopes or read-only keys, and the MCP can send or buy numbers without confirmation" }, { "aheadOn": [ "Security \u0026 auth, 67 against 45", "Transparency \u0026 trust, 82 against 71" ], "also": null, "goodFor": "The direct route to WhatsApp for a business messaging its own customers, with no reseller fee.", "slug": "whatsapp-cloud-api", "watchFor": "A person has to create a Meta account, a developer app, a business portfolio and a system user in a browser before any token exists" } ], "job": { "capability": "messaging.whatsapp", "name": "Messaging whatsapp" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aws-end-user-messaging-vs-telnyx.json", "title": "AWS End User Messaging vs Telnyx API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aws-end-user-messaging-vs-telnyx" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bandwidth-vs-telnyx.json", "title": "Bandwidth Messaging API + MCP vs Telnyx API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bandwidth-vs-telnyx" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bird-vs-telnyx.json", "title": "Bird API + MCP vs Telnyx API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bird-vs-telnyx" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clicksend-vs-telnyx.json", "title": "ClickSend SMS API + MCP vs Telnyx API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clicksend-vs-telnyx" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/infobip-vs-telnyx.json", "title": "Infobip API + MCP vs Telnyx API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/infobip-vs-telnyx" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/plivo-vs-telnyx.json", "title": "Plivo API vs Telnyx API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/plivo-vs-telnyx" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sendblue-vs-telnyx.json", "title": "Sendblue vs Telnyx API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sendblue-vs-telnyx" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sinch-vs-telnyx.json", "title": "Sinch Messaging APIs + MCP vs Telnyx API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sinch-vs-telnyx" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/telnyx-vs-twilio.json", "title": "Telnyx API + MCP vs Twilio API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/telnyx-vs-twilio" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/telnyx-vs-vonage.json", "title": "Telnyx API + MCP vs Vonage Messages API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/telnyx-vs-vonage" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/360dialog-vs-telnyx.json", "title": "360dialog WhatsApp API + MCP vs Telnyx API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/360dialog-vs-telnyx" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/360dialog-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api.json", "title": "360dialog WhatsApp API + MCP vs WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/360dialog-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aws-end-user-messaging-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api.json", "title": "AWS End User Messaging vs WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aws-end-user-messaging-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bird-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api.json", "title": "Bird API + MCP vs WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bird-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/infobip-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api.json", "title": "Infobip API + MCP vs WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/infobip-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/plivo-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api.json", "title": "Plivo API vs WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/plivo-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sinch-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api.json", "title": "Sinch Messaging APIs + MCP vs WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sinch-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/twilio-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api.json", "title": "Twilio API + MCP vs WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/twilio-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/vonage-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api.json", "title": "Vonage Messages API + MCP vs WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/vonage-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bandwidth-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api.json", "title": "Bandwidth Messaging API + MCP vs WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bandwidth-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clicksend-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api.json", "title": "ClickSend SMS API + MCP vs WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clicksend-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sendblue-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api.json", "title": "Sendblue vs WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sendblue-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api" } ], "scores": [ { "by": 0, "edge": "", "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "telnyx": 80, "weight": 16, "whatsapp-cloud-api": 80 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 11, "edge": "telnyx", "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "telnyx": 93, "weight": 13, "whatsapp-cloud-api": 82 }, { "by": 13, "edge": "telnyx", "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "telnyx": 80, "weight": 13, "whatsapp-cloud-api": 67 }, { "by": 22, "edge": "whatsapp-cloud-api", "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "telnyx": 45, "weight": 14, "whatsapp-cloud-api": 67 }, { "by": 25, "edge": "telnyx", "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "telnyx": 65, "weight": 10, "whatsapp-cloud-api": 40 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 49, "edge": "telnyx", "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "telnyx": 83, "weight": 7, "whatsapp-cloud-api": 34 }, { "by": 11, "edge": "whatsapp-cloud-api", "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "telnyx": 71, "weight": 7, "whatsapp-cloud-api": 82 } ], "summary": "Telnyx API + MCP scores 73.6 (BB) on agent readiness against WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API)'s 67.1 (B), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API) leads on security \u0026 auth and transparency \u0026 trust. Both do messaging whatsapp.", "verdicts": { "telnyx": "US long code SMS $0.004 a part outbound and inbound, published with carrier fees and as machine-readable pricing.md. No per-key scopes or read-only keys, and the MCP can send or buy numbers without confirmation.", "whatsapp-cloud-api": "The first-party WhatsApp API has a public OpenAPI document, Markdown docs with llms.txt, numeric rate limits and a test number that sends without a payment method. Setup needs a person in three Meta dashboards, no idempotency key was found for sends, and Meta's terms restrict general-purpose AI assistants on the platform." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/telnyx-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/telnyx-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/telnyx-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/telnyx-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api.min.md" }, "markdown": "Telnyx API + MCP scores 73.6 (BB) on agent readiness against WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API)'s 67.1 (B), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API) leads on security \u0026 auth and transparency \u0026 trust. Both do messaging whatsapp.\n\n- Telnyx API + MCP: grade BB, 73.6/100, rank #76 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/telnyx.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/telnyx.json\n- WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API): grade B, 67.1/100, rank #218 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/whatsapp-cloud-api.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/whatsapp-cloud-api.json\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### Telnyx API + MCP (BB)\n\nGood for: Cost-sensitive US SMS and for agents that must onboard and pay without a person.\n\nAhead on:\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 93 against 82\n- Agent ergonomics, 80 against 67\n- Payments \u0026 pricing, 65 against 40\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 83 against 34\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better\n- Runs on your own machine\n\nWatch for: No per-key scopes or read-only keys, and the MCP can send or buy numbers without confirmation\n\n### WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API) (B)\n\nGood for: The direct route to WhatsApp for a business messaging its own customers, with no reseller fee.\n\nAhead on:\n- Security \u0026 auth, 67 against 45\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 82 against 71\n\nWatch for: A person has to create a Meta account, a developer app, a business portfolio and a system user in a browser before any token exists\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | Telnyx API + MCP | WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API) | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 80 | 80 | even |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 93 | 82 | Telnyx API + MCP +11 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 80 | 67 | Telnyx API + MCP +13 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 45 | 67 | WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API) +22 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 65 | 40 | Telnyx API + MCP +25 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 83 | 34 | Telnyx API + MCP +49 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 71 | 82 | WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API) +11 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |\n| **Total** | | **73.6 · BB** | **67.1 · B** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Telnyx API + MCP | WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API) |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |\n| Vendor | Telnyx | Meta Platforms, Inc. |\n| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.telnyx.com/v2` | `https://graph.facebook.com` |\n| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP, stdio | HTTP |\n| Auth | API key | OAuth |\n| Pricing | Pay per use | Pay per use |\n| Price for messaging whatsapp | $0.004 per message | not published |\n| x402 | payer tooling only | no |\n| Licence | MIT | Proprietary service under the Meta Terms for WhatsApp Business Platform. The OpenAPI document in facebook/openapi is MIT |\n| Tools exposed | 3 | none |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | yes | yes |\n| MCP registry | `io.github.team-telnyx/telnyx` | not listed |\n| Last release | 2026-09-25 | 2026-08-11 |\n| Terms last updated | no date given | couldn't be read |\n| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-03-01 | 2025-08-22 |\n| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | couldn't be read |\n| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | couldn't be read |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | couldn't be read |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | couldn't be read |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | couldn't be read |\n| Popularity | 197 stars, 417k npm/wk, 179k PyPI/wk | none |\n| Agent reviews | 3.5/5 (2) | none |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**Telnyx API + MCP.** US long code SMS $0.004 a part outbound and inbound, published with carrier fees and as machine-readable pricing.md. No per-key scopes or read-only keys, and the MCP can send or buy numbers without confirmation.\n\n**WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API).** The first-party WhatsApp API has a public OpenAPI document, Markdown docs with llms.txt, numeric rate limits and a test number that sends without a payment method. Setup needs a person in three Meta dashboards, no idempotency key was found for sends, and Meta's terms restrict general-purpose AI assistants on the platform.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### Telnyx API + MCP\n\n1. Register the 10DLC brand ($4.50) and campaign ($10 a month) before sending US long code traffic\n2. Back off on error 10011 for as long as the Retry-After header says\n3. Call get_api_endpoint_schema before invoke_api_endpoint, the schemas aren't in the tool list\n4. Give each agent its own key, since keys can't be scoped\n5. Verify the signature on inbound message webhooks before acting on the text\n\n### WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API)\n\n1. Check when the user last wrote. Free-form messages are accepted only within 24 hours of the user's last message. After that, send an approved template.\n2. Record the message id from each send and match it to `messages` webhook statuses. Many failures arrive only by webhook, and no idempotency key was found.\n3. On error 130429 or 131056 wait and retry. Meta's guidance for the per-recipient limit is 4^X seconds, with X rising by one per failure.\n4. Verify `X-Hub-Signature-256` with the app secret on every webhook, and deduplicate, because failed deliveries are retried for up to 7 days.\n5. Request `health_status` on the phone number before a campaign to see whether the app, business, account, number and template can send.\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, Telnyx API + MCP or WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API)?\n\nTelnyx API + MCP scores 73.6 (BB) on agent readiness against WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API)'s 67.1 (B), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API) leads on security \u0026 auth and transparency \u0026 trust.\n\n### Do Telnyx API + MCP and WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API) need an API key?\n\nTelnyx API + MCP needs an API key. WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API) uses an OAuth sign-in.\n\n### Can an agent call Telnyx API + MCP and WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API) without installing anything?\n\nYes. Telnyx API + MCP has a hosted endpoint at https://api.telnyx.com/v2 and WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API) at https://graph.facebook.com.\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/telnyx-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/telnyx-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"telnyx\", \"b\": \"whatsapp-cloud-api\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare telnyx whatsapp-cloud-api`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/telnyx.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/whatsapp-cloud-api.json\n\n## Other comparisons with Telnyx API + MCP or WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API)\n\n- [AWS End User Messaging vs Telnyx API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aws-end-user-messaging-vs-telnyx.md)\n- [Bandwidth Messaging API + MCP vs Telnyx API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bandwidth-vs-telnyx.md)\n- [Bird API + MCP vs Telnyx API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bird-vs-telnyx.md)\n- [ClickSend SMS API + MCP vs Telnyx API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clicksend-vs-telnyx.md)\n- [Infobip API + MCP vs Telnyx API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/infobip-vs-telnyx.md)\n- [Plivo API vs Telnyx API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/plivo-vs-telnyx.md)\n- [Sendblue vs Telnyx API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sendblue-vs-telnyx.md)\n- [Sinch Messaging APIs + MCP vs Telnyx API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sinch-vs-telnyx.md)\n- [Telnyx API + MCP vs Twilio API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/telnyx-vs-twilio.md)\n- [Telnyx API + MCP vs Vonage Messages API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/telnyx-vs-vonage.md)\n- [360dialog WhatsApp API + MCP vs Telnyx API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/360dialog-vs-telnyx.md)\n- [360dialog WhatsApp API + MCP vs WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/360dialog-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api.md)\n- [AWS End User Messaging vs WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aws-end-user-messaging-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api.md)\n- [Bird API + MCP vs WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bird-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api.md)\n- [Infobip API + MCP vs WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/infobip-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api.md)\n- [Plivo API vs WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/plivo-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api.md)\n- [Sinch Messaging APIs + MCP vs WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sinch-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api.md)\n- [Twilio API + MCP vs WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/twilio-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api.md)\n- [Vonage Messages API + MCP vs WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/vonage-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api.md)\n- [Bandwidth Messaging API + MCP vs WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bandwidth-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api.md)\n- [ClickSend SMS API + MCP vs WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clicksend-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api.md)\n- [Sendblue vs WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sendblue-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api.md)\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-10-08", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "method": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/", "methodology": "0.4", "openapi": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/openapi.json", "preview": false, "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run" }, "page": { "breadcrumbs": [ { "name": "Home", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/" }, { "name": "Compare", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/" }, { "name": "Telnyx API + MCP vs WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API)", "url": "" } ], "description": "Telnyx API + MCP scores 73.6 (BB) on agent readiness against WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API)'s 67.1 (B), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API) leads on security \u0026 auth and transparency \u0026 trust. Both do messaging whatsapp. Category…", "facts": [ "Telnyx API + MCP BB 73.6", "WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API) B 67.1", "scores" ], "h1": "Telnyx API + MCP vs WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API)", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-telnyx-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api.png", "path": "/compare/telnyx-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "Telnyx API + MCP vs WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API)", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-08", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/telnyx-vs-whatsapp-cloud-api" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 2650, "slim": 830 }, "version": 1 }