Call and text your customers right from your Aptly inbox. Connect Twilio to track inbound/outbound calls or send/receive SMS messages from Aptly. You can add a private phone number as well as a shared phone number.
What is Twilio and Why Do I Need It?
Twilio is a service that provides businesses with phone numbers for calling and SMS. When you connect a Twilio line to your Aptly account, you can:
- Send/receive SMS messages
- Track inbound calls routed to your existing phone line (landline, mobile phone, or VOIP provider) with caller ID and call recording
- Make outbound calls with recording
- Automate SMS communications to trigger automatically within your workflows
Unlike other services, you fully own your Twilio account and phone lines, including all call and SMS history.
Twilio Costs
Aptly does not set or control Twilio pricing. Twilio charges for phone numbers, call usage, messaging, and applicable extras. Check Twilio's current rates and the price shown in your Twilio account before purchasing a number or estimating usage.
The examples below were checked against the linked official Twilio pages on October 26, 2026. They are reference rates in USD, not a quote or a guarantee of your total bill. Country, number type, destination, carrier, volume, and optional features can affect charges.
Voice and phone numbers
Country / number type | Monthly phone number | Make calls / min | Receive calls / min |
United States / local | $1.15 | $0.0140 | $0.0085 |
Canada / local | $1.15 | $0.0140 | $0.0085 |
United Kingdom / local | Verify in Twilio (see note) | $0.0158 | $0.0100 |
United Kingdom / mobile | $2.50 | $0.0305 | $0.0100 |
Mexico / local | Verify in Twilio (see note) | $0.0160 | $0.0100 |
Sources: US Voice, Canada Voice, UK Voice, and Mexico Voice. These are the listed base rates; special destinations and surcharged routes may differ.
At the time of review, Twilio's Voice and SMS pages showed different monthly local-number prices for the UK ($3.50 versus $1.15) and Mexico ($6.25 versus $6.50). Verify the price for your specific number in Twilio rather than relying on a single estimate here.
Call recording, storage, and transcription can add charges. The US Voice pricing page lists recording at $0.0025/min, recording storage at $0.0005/min per month, and the call-recording transcription option at $0.0500/min. Other transcription products have different prices. Review the options you use and Twilio's billing-rounding guidance when estimating costs.
SMS and MMS
SMS is billed per segment, not necessarily per message displayed in your inbox. The table below lists base messaging rates. Additional carrier fees, taxes, registration charges, and other applicable charges are not included.
Country / sender type | Outbound SMS / segment | Inbound SMS / segment | Outbound MMS | Inbound MMS |
United States / long code | $0.0083 | $0.0083 | $0.022 | $0.0165 |
Canada / long code | $0.0083 | $0.0083 | $0.022 | $0.0165 |
United Kingdom / mobile number | $0.056 | $0.0075 | Not listed | Not listed |
Mexico / long code | $0.1819 | $0.02 | Not listed | Not listed |
Sources: US messaging, Canada messaging, UK messaging, and Mexico messaging. “Not listed” means the referenced pricing table did not provide an MMS rate for that row; it is not a statement about Aptly feature availability.
Review carrier fees, registration-related charges, phone-number fees, and any failed-message processing fees on Twilio's current pricing pages. Confirm messaging availability for your number and destination separately from pricing.
Why one SMS can cost more than one segment
A single GSM-7 SMS supports up to 160 characters; longer messages normally use 153 characters per segment. UCS-2 messages have lower limits: 70 characters for one segment and normally 67 per segment in a longer message. Emojis and some punctuation can change the encoding and increase the segment count. US/Canada toll-free multipart messages have different limits. See Twilio's SMS character and segment guide before estimating a message's cost.
How to Sign Up with Twilio
You can sign up for a Twilio account online at:
Once you’ve created an account, you will need to upgrade your account and buy a phone number. Here’s a short video walk-thru of that process:
You will need to upgrade to a paid account to ensure continuity with your Twilio service.
What is A2P 10DLC?
Due to regulations around business SMS messaging, you must register for A2P 10DLC in your Twilio account. Without completing the A2P 10DLC application, you will not be able to send outbound SMS messages from Aptly.
We’ve collected some information about A2P 10DLC from Twilio to help with this process:
- What is A2P 10DLC - A2P 10DLC is a system in the United States that allows businesses to send Application-to-Person (A2P) type messaging via standard 10-digit long code (10DLC) phone numbers.
- Toll Free Number Verification: if you send more than 2k messages per day or regularly work with Canadian numbers this should be done.
How to Register Your Phone Number for A2P 10DLC
Every business phone number needs to be registered for A2P 10DLC. You’ll need to complete this in your own Twilio account for every number. You can find more details on how to register here: Twilio Help Articles
A2P 10DLC Best Practices
- See our help article designed to help you get an approved campaign: A2P 10DLC Registration
- For campaign registration guidance, see: A2P 10DLC Campaign Approval Requirements
Adding a Twilio Phone Line in Aptly
You can add a phone line to your Aptly account by connecting an existing Twilio account or signing up for a new account. Twilio phone lines can be added to Aptly as a private line dedicated to a user or shared between a group of users.
Step 1: Connect your Twilio Account
Still from an earlier walkthrough: the Twilio entry point under Help Desk Inboxes, before an account is connected.
- Click your avatar in the upper right and select Settings.
- To add a private phone line, click the Personal Phone Numbers option in the My Settings Menu. To add a shared phone line, click Help Desk option in the Company Settings menu.
- Click the Twilio button to connect a Twilio account.
- Add in your Twilio account details. You can find this information in your Twilio console. (Account > API Keys & Tokens). Alternatively, you can click Create your Twilio Account now to be taken to the new Twilio accounts page.
Access your Live Credentials by accessing Account > API Keys & Tokens. Scroll down the page to find Auth Tokens. You’ll need your Live credentials.
Earlier screenshot: Twilio Console credential labels, with account identifiers omitted and auth-token fields masked.
Still from an earlier walkthrough: Twilio account connection fields shown empty.
Once you've connected a Twilio account, you have the option of adding a new phone line or importing an existing one.
Step 2: Adding a New Phone Number
Earlier screenshot: Add Inbox in Help Desk Inboxes after a Twilio account is connected.
- Click Add Inbox.
- Enter a Friendly Name to help you identify this phone line throughout Aptly.
- Choose the Ring to Phone Number where incoming calls will ring. This can be a landline, VOIP line, or mobile phone.
- Search for a new phone number by state/region or area code.
- Click the box to select the phone number you prefer and click Save.
Importing an Existing Phone Number from Your Twilio Account
- Click the Import Number button.
- Enter a search term if you know the name/number you are seeking. This would be the area code of the phone number you want to import. Then, click the Search button.
- Find the number you'd like to import from Twilio and click Import.
- Check the features you'd like to manage in Aptly. Checking all is recommended unless you'd like to continue using a different service for call logs, inbound calls, or inbound SMS. Confirm your Ring To number is the number you'd like to receive the calls and texts.
- Click Import Number.
Twilio Personal Phone Line Settings
With your Twilio phone number connected to your Aptly account, you are ready to track calls and send/receive SMS in your inbox. Each phone line has its own settings which include a phone line feature, team access (shared lines), and automations that allow for the creation of Cards on a designated board for any inbound call/SMS and automatic SMS replies for missed calls.
How to Configure Automations
- Click on the blue Configure link.
- Choose the contact type by clicking on the pencil icon to select from the dropdown menu.
- Choose the Action by clicking on the pencil to select from the dropdown menu. Available actions are to create a new card & update the existing card or to only add to existing cards.
Twilio Shared Phone Line Settings
Earlier screenshot: Permissions search and an access toggle, with user details omitted.
- Select a Shared Phone Line and click Edit.
- Scroll down to Permissions.
- Type in the name of the user that needs to be added to the phone line and toggle the button on.
- The user will now have access to the phone line.