Plivo
Plivo is a global communications platform — alternative to Twilio with a similar feature set and often slightly lower per-minute rates. SIP endpoints are first-class: you create a SIP user in the dashboard, get an alias + password, and point any standards-compliant softphone at them.
What you’ll need from Plivo
If you don’t have a Plivo account yet, sign up and add credit. Like Twilio, you’ll need a small balance to keep numbers live.
Inside the Plivo console:
- Buy a phone number (Phone Numbers → Buy Numbers) for inbound calls.
- Create a SIP endpoint (Voice → Endpoints → New Endpoint). Plivo asks for:
- Username — call it whatever you like (e.g.
mac-laptop). This becomes your SIP username. - Password — set one. This is your SIP password (distinct from your Plivo account password).
- Application — pick or create one; this controls call routing.
- Username — call it whatever you like (e.g.
- Route inbound calls to your endpoint. The simplest path: configure your phone number to use a Plivo Application whose Answer URL forwards to your endpoint, or wire it to a Dial XML that targets
sip:<username>@phone.plivo.com.
Fields for WaveKat Voice
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Provider | Plivo (in the dropdown) |
| Account name | Anything — e.g. Plivo work |
| Username | The endpoint username from step 2 above |
| Domain | phone.plivo.com (pre-filled by the preset) |
| Password | The endpoint password you set in step 2 |
Advanced fields stay at the defaults: UDP, port 5060, 60-second refresh.
Test it
After saving, the green dot on your Plivo account chip on WaveKat Voice’s Home screen confirms you’re registered. Plivo doesn’t publish a public echo number, so:
- Call your own Plivo number from another phone and confirm WaveKat Voice rings.
- Or call a friend’s mobile and confirm two-way audio works.
If you want a quick programmable test, you can point a Plivo Application’s Answer URL at a <Play> XML snippet that just plays a known clip — useful to confirm outbound routing without involving another person.
Common gotchas
401 Unauthorizedon sign-in: the endpoint password is different from your Plivo console password. Reset the endpoint password from the dashboard if you’ve lost it (Plivo doesn’t display it after creation).- Inbound calls don’t ring: the phone number’s Application isn’t routing to your endpoint. Plivo’s endpoint dialing guide walks through the Dial XML for this.
- Outbound calls fail with a strange error: Plivo requires E.164 numbers (
+14155550199, not4155550199). The WaveKat Voice dial pad accepts both; if you’re typing the bare local number, your endpoint’s region defaults may be picking the wrong country code.
Pricing
Plivo’s pricing page is authoritative. As of writing: outbound to US/Canada is roughly $0.0085/min, inbound to US toll-free or local numbers ranges $0.0035–$0.0070/min, and a US local number is $0.80/month. Competitive with Twilio; the exact winner depends on which countries you call most.