Choose a Number or Sender type
Each number and sender type has distinct capabilities, use cases, and setup requirements. You can manage all of them from the Numbers and Senders or Products and Services page in the Twilio Console.
To determine which number or sender type best suits your needs, have a look at the following tabs, outlining the capabilities and uses of each sender type available.
To send and receive messages and calls from numeric senders like phone numbers and short codes, use the following sender types:
Gives you access to local, national, mobile, 10DLC, and toll-free numbers for voice and messaging applications. Use phone numbers to place calls, send SMS or MMS messages, and reach customers globally.
Alphanumeric sender IDs are custom sender IDs for outbound-only messaging. Recipients cannot reply to messages sent from alphanumeric sender IDs.
Send messages with a custom sender ID of up to 11 alphanumeric characters (letters, numbers, and spaces). This option lets you send messages from a branded sender ID that recipients can recognize.
To send messages to customers across different channels with one API, you can use the following Programmable Messaging senders. These senders require additional setup and approval.
Send messages through the Rich Communication Services (RCS) protocol by using Twilio APIs. RCS senders enhance traditional SMS and MMS, letting you send branded, interactive messages to customers. You can send longer texts, large media files, turn on read receipts, and more within your device's default messaging app.
RCS messaging is only available certain countries, and is subject to local regulations. For country-specific availability and requirements, see the RCS Guidelines. For more detail and steps on how to get started with RCS, see Get Started with branded RCS messaging.