Twilio vs KrosAI: Which Is Better for AI Voice Agents?

Twilio has been the go-to platform for programmable voice for years. But as AI voice agents powered by LLMs become more common, many developers are asking an important question:

Is Twilio still the right choice for AI-native voice applications?

In this guide, we compare KrosAI vs Twilio specifically for AI voice agents, not traditional IVRs or call routing systems.

What each platform is built for

Twilio

Twilio is a general-purpose communications platform. It was designed for:

• IVR systems
• Call routing
• SMS, WhatsApp, and notifications
• Traditional telephony workflows

AI support was added later through integrations.

KrosAI

KrosAI is a developer platform built specifically for AI voice agents.

It focuses on:

• Connecting LLM-powered voice agents to real phone numbers.
• Handling WebRTC ↔ SIP conversion.
• Real-time transcription and call events.
• Low-latency voice conversations.
• Emerging market telephony infrastructure.

Developer Experience

Twilio Developer Experience

Twilio offers powerful APIs, but:

• Setup can be complex for AI use cases.
• Developers must stitch together:
  • Voice
  • Streaming
  • Transcription
  • AI logic
• AI voice agents often require multiple services and workarounds.

Twilio works, but it takes effort.

KrosAI Developer Experience

KrosAI abstracts away telephony complexity so developers can focus on AI logic.

With KrosAI:

• You connect your AI voice agent directly.
• Telephony, routing, and call management are handled.
• You receive real-time webhooks:
  • call.started
  • call.ended
  • transcription
• You get recordings and analytics out of the box.

This makes KrosAI significantly faster to ship AI voice products.

Latency & Call Quality

Latency matters more for AI voice agents than traditional calls.

Twilio

• Designed for traditional call flows.
• AI voice introduces additional latency layers.
• Not optimized for real-time LLM conversations.

KrosAI

• Optimized audio routing.
• Sub-second latency.
• Built for natural, conversational AI voice experiences.

Emerging Market Support

This is one of the biggest differences.

Twilio

• Strong coverage in North America and Europe.
• Limited or expensive coverage in Africa and parts of MENA.
• Fewer local number options.

KrosAI

• Local phone numbers in:
  • Nigeria
  • Kenya
  • Ghana
  • UAE
  • Other emerging markets
• Designed for regions where voice calls are still critical.

If your users are in emerging markets, KrosAI is the clear winner.

Pricing Model

Twilio Pricing

• Per-minute billing.
• Additional costs for:
  • Streaming
  • Transcription
  • Add-ons
• Costs increase quickly for AI voice use cases.

KrosAI Pricing

• Per-second billing.
• Pay only for actual call time.
• Transparent pricing designed for AI workloads.

For AI voice agents that run frequently, this difference adds up fast.

When to Choose Each Platform

Choose KrosAI if:

• You’re building AI voice agents powered by LLMs
• You need real-time conversations
• You want fast setup and clean APIs
• You’re targeting emerging markets
• You want predictable AI-friendly pricing

Choose Twilio if:

• You need SMS-heavy workflows
• You’re building traditional IVR systems
• You already have deep Twilio infrastructure
• AI voice is not your core product

Twilio is a powerful communications platform, but it wasn’t built for the new generation of AI voice agents.

If your product depends on:

• Natural conversations
• Real-time AI reasoning
• Low latency
• Global phone coverage beyond the usual markets

Then KrosAI is the better choice.