Why Tambua. Twilio Verify is a mature, multi-channel verification API used worldwide, backed by a large programmable SMS and voice platform. Tambua is Africa-first: it concentrates on African carriers, mobile money and channels such as M-PESA, and handles fallback as a per-app setting.
Why teams choose Tambua over Twilio
- Your users are mostly in Africa and you want routes, channels and pricing designed for it
- You want M-PESA PIN-prompt verification for Kenyan numbers
- You want public per-country rates in local currency and no separate per-verification fee
Pricing: Tambua vs Twilio
| Topic | Tambua | Twilio |
|---|---|---|
| How you are charged | KES 0.50 per SMS OTP in Kenya, with no separate verification fee | US$0.05 per successful verification plus the SMS, voice or WhatsApp cost of each message (from its Verify pricing page). |
| Failed attempts | Free | See Twilio's pricing page |
| Sender ID and numbers | Shared Tambua sender included, nothing to buy | See Twilio's pricing page |
| Fallback to another channel | A setting, not an add-on fee | See Twilio's pricing page |
See Tambua's full per-country rates, or check Twilio'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 Twilio publishes
| Topic | Twilio |
|---|---|
| Verification product | Twilio Verify is a dedicated verification API source |
| Channels | SMS, voice, WhatsApp, email, TOTP, passkeys, silent network authentication and push-style approval source |
| Pricing model | Its Verify pricing page lists a fee per successful verification plus channel costs (shown as US$0.05 per successful verification when checked) source |
| Public country prices | It publishes per-country SMS price pages for Kenya and Nigeria source |
| Fraud controls | Verify documents fraud protection that can block suspected-fraud destination prefixes source |
Frequently asked questions
Why choose Tambua over Twilio for OTP?
Your users are mostly in Africa and you want routes, channels and pricing designed for it. You want M-PESA PIN-prompt verification for Kenyan numbers. You want public per-country rates in local currency and no separate per-verification fee. 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 Twilio 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.