The Model

How TelBuddy Works

One sentence version: you keep your own Twilio account, and TelBuddy gives it a dashboard, an inbox, an AI receptionist, and a phone menu builder, instead of the raw developer console.

You bring your own Twilio

Every TelBuddy customer connects their own Twilio account. No shared numbers, no shared credentials, ever. Your account, your numbers, your billing relationship with Twilio. (Telnyx is also supported, if you'd rather use that instead, or both.)

TelBuddy adds the dashboard

A shared team inbox for texting, a visual IVR/phone-menu builder, an AI receptionist for calls and texts, and click-to-call dialing, all on top of the account you already control.

You pay two simple bills

A flat monthly fee to TelBuddy for the software, and Twilio's own wholesale usage rates (about a cent per SMS segment) directly to Twilio. No marked-up per-minute pricing, ever.

What you actually get

Four things a typical Twilio Console user has to build (or hire a developer to build) themselves, already built, already working, inside one dashboard.

💬

Shared Team SMS Inbox

Every text to every synced number lands in one inbox your whole team can see, reply to, and hand off, instead of everyone reading raw webhook payloads.

Real TelBuddy AI bot configuration screen

🤖

AI Receptionist (Voice + SMS)

Answers calls, replies to texts, and can run in Draft mode (you approve every reply) or Auto mode (it replies on its own). Your choice, per number.

☎️

Visual IVR / Phone Menu Builder

"Press 1 for Sales, Press 2 for Support", built by clicking, not by hand-writing TwiML XML.

Real TelBuddy website widget picker and live preview

🔗

A Widget for Your Own Website

A floating "Call Us / Text Us" button you embed on your own site, wired straight to your TelBuddy number.

Why This Costs So Much Less

Bring Your Own Twilio, Explained

Traditional All-in-One Platforms

$50–$150 / user / mo

You rent their phone numbers and pay their marked-up per-minute and per-message rates, bundled into a per-seat subscription. Costs climb with every user and every message.

TelBuddy + Your Own Twilio

From $19 / mo + Twilio usage

One flat TelBuddy subscription for the dashboard, with no per-message markup, and you pay Twilio directly at their wholesale rates. Plans scale by numbers and team seats, not by how much you use the platform.

Want the full breakdown? See TelBuddy vs. traditional business phone platforms.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is TelBuddy a replacement for Twilio?

No. TelBuddy runs on top of your own Twilio account. Think of it as the dashboard and AI layer Twilio doesn't give you out of the box, not a competing phone carrier.

Can I use TelBuddy with numbers I already own in Twilio?

Yes. Connect your Account SID and Auth Token, then sync your existing numbers, and nothing needs to be repurchased or ported.

Do multiple team members share one login?

No. You invite teammates as Admin or Agent users under your own company account, each with their own login, all sharing the same synced numbers and inbox.

What does TelBuddy actually charge for?

Only the software: the dashboard, inbox, AI receptionist, and IVR builder. Twilio bills you separately, directly, at their own published rates for the actual SMS/calling usage.