# Agora vs Bird

**Leader by Vioscale score:** Agora

| Attribute | Agora | Bird |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 82.7 (48% (low)) | 72.5 (30% (low)) |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true}` | `{"cloud":true}` |
| description.long | Platform for building voice AI agents, avatars, and real-time communication (voice, video, chat). Provides conversational AI infrastructure with <200ms global latency, serving 450,000 developers across 3+ billion devices. | Multi-channel communications platform enabling email, SMS, voice, WhatsApp, and real-time messaging through a single API designed for developers and AI agents. |
| features.capabilities | `{"chat":true,"video":true,"voice":true,"two_way":true,"global_coverage":"global","usage_pricing_transparent":true}` | `{"rcs":true,"sms":true,"email":true,"voice":true,"two_way":true,"whatsapp":true,"verify_otp":true,"global_coverage":"global","deliverability_tools":true,"usage_pricing_transparent":true}` |
| platform.support | `{"ios":true,"mac":true,"web":true,"android":true,"windows":true}` | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"usage","plans":[{"free":false,"name":"Conversational AI Engine","summary":"$0.10/minute, 300 free minutes/month","components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"minute"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.1,"currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"free_minutes":"300/month"}},{"free":false,"name":"Video Calling","summary":"$3.99/1000 minutes, 10,000 free minutes/month","components":[{"per":{"qty":1000,"unit":"minutes"},"kind":"metered","amount":3.99,"currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"free_minutes":"10,000/month"}},{"free":false,"name":"Voice Calling","summary":"$0.99/1000 minutes, 10,000 free minutes/month","components":[{"per":{"qty":1000,"unit":"minutes"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.99,"currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"free_minutes":"10,000/month"}},{"free":false,"name":"Interactive Live Streaming","summary":"$0.99/1000 minutes, 10,000 free minutes/month","components":[{"per":{"qty":1000,"unit":"minutes"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.99,"currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"free_minutes":"10,000/month"}},{"free":false,"name":"Convo AI Device Kit","summary":"Customized pricing, 10,000 free minutes/month","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"free_minutes":"10,000/month"}},{"free":false,"name":"Agent Studio","summary":"Customized pricing","contactSales":true}],"summary":"Usage-based pricing from $0.10/minute (Conversational AI) to $3.99/1000 minutes (Video). Free tier includes 10,000 minutes/month on core products.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.agora.io","retrievedAt":"2026-08-03T14:24:03.871Z","startingPrice":{"amount":0.1,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}}` | `{"type":"usage","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Free","summary":"1000 emails/month, no credit card required","features":["1 webhook endpoint","1 sending domain","Shared sending IP"],"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":0,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"emails":"1000/month","daily_cap":"50/day"}},{"free":false,"name":"Startup","summary":"$15/month for 50K emails or $30/month for 100K","features":["1 webhook endpoint","10 sending domains","Shared sending IP"],"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":15,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"emails":"50000-100000/month"}},{"free":false,"name":"Growth","summary":"From $80/month at 100K emails. Per-message rate declines to $0.42 per 1000 at 2.5M volume","features":["10 webhook endpoints","1000 sending domains","Dedicated IPs available as add-on"],"components":[{"per":{"qty":1000,"unit":"email"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.8,"currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"emails":"100000-2500000/month"}},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise","summary":"Custom pricing for 2.5M+ monthly emails","features":["Negotiated per-message rates","Multi-year invoiced billing","Overage cap lifted by agreement"],"commitment":"annual","contactSales":true,"includedLimits":{"emails":"2500000+/month"}}],"addOns":[{"name":"Dedicated IP","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":24.95,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]}],"summary":"Free tier with 1000 emails/month. Startup from $15/month. Growth from $80/month with volume-based pricing declining to $0.42 per 1000 emails.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://bird.com","retrievedAt":"2026-08-03T13:21:15.007Z","startingPrice":{"amount":0.8,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | commercial |
| pricing.price_level | low | low |
| pricing.starting_gbp | 0.1 | 0.8 |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| reliability.sla_pct | 99.999 | - |
| reliability.status_page | yes | yes |
| security.disclosure_policy | - | yes |
| security.gdpr | yes | - |
| security.hipaa | yes | - |
| security.soc2 | yes | - |

## Capabilities (Communication APIs)

| Capability | Agora | Bird |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Channels** |  |  |
| SMS | - | ✓ |
| Voice | ✓ | ✓ |
| WhatsApp | - | ✓ |
| RCS | - | ✓ |
| Transactional email | - | ✓ |
| Video / real-time | ✓ | - |
| In-app chat | ✓ | - |
| Verify / OTP / 2FA | - | ✓ |
| **Messaging** |  |  |
| Two-way messaging | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Reach** |  |  |
| Geographic coverage | Global | Global |
| **Delivery** |  |  |
| Email deliverability tools | - | ✓ |
| **Commercial** |  |  |
| Published per-unit pricing | ✓ | ✓ |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-08-07T00:06:54.270Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*