Why Tambua. Plivo offers SMS, voice and a Verify API, and publishes per-carrier prices for Kenya and Nigeria. Tambua adds an OTP layer with fallback journeys and M-PESA.
Why teams choose Tambua over Plivo
- You want ordered fallback and M-PESA built in
- You want African country rates in local currency
Pricing: Tambua vs Plivo
| Topic | Tambua | Plivo |
|---|---|---|
| How you are charged | KES 0.50 per SMS OTP in Kenya, with no separate verification fee | Verification is not billed, you pay the channel cost; per-carrier Kenya and Nigeria SMS prices are published (from its pricing pages). |
| Failed attempts | Free | See Plivo's pricing page |
| Sender ID and numbers | Shared Tambua sender included, nothing to buy | See Plivo's pricing page |
| Fallback to another channel | A setting, not an add-on fee | See Plivo's pricing page |
See Tambua's full per-country rates, or check Plivo's own pricing for your destination before you compare.
Tambua at a glance
| Topic | Tambua |
|---|---|
| Focus | OTP generation, delivery and verification API for Africa |
| Channels | SMS, WhatsApp, voice, email, M-PESA, Reverse OTP (Telegram, USSD and shortcode are coming soon) |
| Sender ID and numbers | Shared Tambua sender ID and numbers included. Nothing to buy, lease or register |
| Channel fallback | Ordered journey of up to three channels per app, on failure or after a timer; one code across attempts |
| Failed attempts | Not billed; only carrier-accepted attempts are charged |
| Pricing | Public per-country rates on the pricing page |
| Free testing | Test keys return the code in the API response, no messages sent |
| Webhooks | Signed webhooks for sent, delivered, verified and fallback events |
What Plivo publishes
| Topic | Plivo |
|---|---|
| Verification product | Plivo Verify API source |
| Pricing model | Verification itself is not billed; you pay channel costs source |
| Public country prices | It publishes per-carrier SMS prices for Kenya and Nigeria source |
| Channels | SMS, voice and WhatsApp, with RCS and email listed as coming soon source |
Frequently asked questions
Why choose Tambua over Plivo for OTP?
You want ordered fallback and M-PESA built in. You want African country rates in local currency. Tambua is built only for sending and verifying one-time codes across Africa, so you integrate in two calls and start free with test keys.
How do I switch from Plivo to Tambua?
Create a free test key, call send to deliver a code and verify to check it. Most teams replace their existing send and check logic in an afternoon, then swap to a live key.
Start free with a test key and send your first OTP in minutes. Get an API key, read the docs or see more comparisons.