Comparison

CheckThatPhone vs Twilio Lookup: an alternative for US and Canadian numbers

Q: What changes in the integration?

Twilio Lookup v2 is a GET to /v2/PhoneNumbers/{PhoneNumber} with a Fields parameter and HTTP Basic auth. CheckThatPhone is a POST to https://api.checkthatphone.com/v1/lookup with a JSON body and a bearer API key, and returns flat fields such as dipCarrier and nanpType, with booleans as strings ("true" / "false"). Official SDKs: npm install checkthatphone and pip install checkthatphone.

CheckThatPhone is a Twilio Lookup alternative for teams that only need US and Canadian numbers. Twilio Lookup charges per data package (Line Type Intelligence is $0.008 per request), while one CheckThatPhone credit, $0.005 down to $0.0009, returns carrier, line type, porting, deliverability and location together.

Twilio is the stronger choice for numbers outside North America, for checks we don't offer (reassigned numbers, SIM swap, caller name, identity match), and for pay-as-you-go use with no monthly plan. CheckThatPhone adds TCPA litigator, state DNC and landline-SMS checks, which Twilio's Lookup pricing page doesn't list.

As of October 2026. Twilio facts were checked on October 3, 2026 against Twilio's own pricing page and documentation, linked next to each fact. Twilio's pricing page says its prices are current as of August 2026. Prices change, so check the source before you commit budget. CheckThatPhone is our product.

Get 500 free lookups Read the API docs →

At a glance

	CheckThatPhone	Twilio Lookup
Coverage	US and Canada (NANP) only	Line Type Intelligence worldwide; Canadian numbers need special approval source
Free usage	500 full lookups a month, hard-capped	Formatting and validation free on every request source
Pricing model	Monthly plans from $5 (1,000 lookups) to $450 (500,000); overage $0.005 down to $0.0009 per lookup	Pay per request, per data package, no monthly commitment source
Carrier and line type	Included in every lookup (1 credit)	Line Type Intelligence, $0.008 per request source
Line type detail	Mobile or landline, plus carrier sub-type (`IPES` = VoIP)	Mobile, landline, fixed VoIP, non-fixed VoIP, toll free, premium and more source
Routing number (LRN) and ported flag	`dipLrn` and `dipPorted` on every lookup	Not among the Line Type Intelligence response fields source
Reachability	`action`, `deliverable`, `deactivationDate`, included	Line Status, $0.007 per request up to 100,000, down to $0.00385 above 10M; public beta pricing docs
Reassigned numbers	Not offered	Reassigned Number, $0.02 down to $0.0015 per request, US only pricing docs
Caller name, SIM swap, identity match	Not offered	Caller name $0.01 (US only), identity match $0.10 (varies by country), SIM swap via sales source
TCPA litigator scrub	Add-on, +1 credit, refreshed daily	Not listed on the Lookup pricing page source
State DNC and complainer checks	Free add-on: 38 states plus DC, refreshed weekly (no federal DNC)	Not listed on the Lookup pricing page source
Text-enabled landlines	Add-on, +1 credit on landlines only	Not listed on the Lookup pricing page source
List upload	CSV upload in the dashboard, up to 1,000,000 rows, deduplicated	Lookup Bulk (file upload) in private beta since October 2025 source
Request	`POST /v1/lookup`, JSON body, bearer API key	`GET /v2/PhoneNumbers/{PhoneNumber}` with a `Fields` parameter, HTTP Basic auth source

Cost of carrier and line type at volume

Like for like: carrier and line type for US numbers each month, monthly billing. Twilio column is Line Type Intelligence at its $0.008 list price per request (Twilio pricing; enterprise accounts can negotiate committed-use discounts with Twilio Sales); CheckThatPhone column is our cheapest plan for that volume, including any overage.

Lookups a month	Twilio Line Type Intelligence	CheckThatPhone
1,000	$8	$5 (1K plan)
10,000	$80	$30 (10K plan)
100,000	$800	$100 (100K plan)
500,000	$4,000	$450 (500K plan)

Two caveats. Twilio's formatting check is free at any volume, so for format validation alone Twilio costs less. And Twilio's Line Status package ($0.007 per request for the first 100,000) is a separate reachability signal; our base lookup includes action, deliverable and deactivationDate, which are not the same check, so compare them on your own numbers.

Where Twilio Lookup is the better fit

Numbers outside the US and Canada. We don't cover them.
Checks we don't offer: reassigned numbers (US), SIM swap, call forwarding (UK carriers), caller name and identity match.
Format validation only. Twilio's is free.
Finer line types: fixed vs non-fixed VoIP, toll free, premium and others.
Low or irregular volume with no monthly plan, or a stack that already runs on Twilio.

Where CheckThatPhone fits better

US and Canadian calling or texting, where you want the current carrier, porting status, line type, deliverability and location for one credit. See the carrier lookup API and line type lookup API.
Compliance screening in the same call: the TCPA litigator scrub (+1 credit) and the free state DNC and complainer checks.
Text-enabled landlines. About 7% of landlines we check are SMS-capable; the landline SMS lookup finds them.
Lists. CSV upload up to 1,000,000 rows, each unique number billed once.
Canadian numbers on every plan, with no separate approval step.

Example request and response

A CheckThatPhone lookup with the TCPA litigator scrub switched on:

curl --request POST \
  --url 'https://api.checkthatphone.com/v1/lookup' \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{"phone": "+1 312 555 0142", "litigatorFilter": true}'

An illustrative response (a fictional 555 number; field names and formats match the live API):

{
  "success": true,
  "credits_used": 2,
  "data": {
    "subscriber": "3125550142",
    "optDate": "2026-10-03T15:20:05.114Z",
    "action": "send",
    "deliverable": "true",
    "reason": "",
    "nanpType": "mobile",
    "blackList": "false",
    "dip": "success",
    "dipLrn": "3125550199",
    "dipPorted": "true",
    "dipOcn": "6010",
    "dipCarrier": "AT&T",
    "dipCarrierSubType": "WIRELESS",
    "dipCarrierType": "mobile",
    "litigator": "false",
    "geoState": "IL",
    "geoCity": "chicago",
    "geoCountry": "US",
    "geoSource": "area-code",
    "timezone": "America/Chicago",
    "tzOffset": 6,
    "error": "false"
  }
}

The carrier name Twilio returns as carrier_name under line_type_intelligence is dipCarrier here, and its line type maps to nanpType, dipCarrierType and dipCarrierSubType. Every field is documented in the API reference.

CheckThatPhone vs Twilio Lookup: common questions

Is CheckThatPhone a good Twilio Lookup alternative?

For US and Canadian numbers, yes, if you want carrier, line type, porting and deliverability in one call, plus optional TCPA litigator, state DNC and landline-SMS checks. If you need other countries, reassigned-number checks or SIM swap, Twilio Lookup is the better fit; nothing stops you using both.

Is CheckThatPhone cheaper than Twilio Lookup?

For carrier and line type at volume, yes: 10,000 lookups cost $30 on our 10K plan, against $80 for 10,000 Line Type Intelligence requests at the $0.008 on Twilio's pricing page. Twilio's format validation is free, so if format checks are all you need, Twilio costs less.

What changes in the integration?

Twilio Lookup v2 is a GET to /v2/PhoneNumbers/{PhoneNumber} with a Fields parameter and HTTP Basic auth. CheckThatPhone is a POST to https://api.checkthatphone.com/v1/lookup with a JSON body and a bearer API key, and returns flat fields such as dipCarrier and nanpType, with booleans as strings ("true" / "false"). Official SDKs: npm install checkthatphone and pip install checkthatphone.

Does CheckThatPhone detect reassigned numbers like Twilio?

No. Twilio's Reassigned Number package (US only) is built for that. Our deactivationDate shows a recent carrier deactivation, but it is not a reassignment signal.

Sources

Twilio pages, all checked on October 3, 2026:

CheckThatPhone figures come from our pricing page and API documentation.

All comparisons: CheckThatPhone compared
Another option: CheckThatPhone vs Numverify
Eight vendors side by side: Phone validation API pricing in 2026