Give Your OpenClaw Agent a Phone Number in 5 Minutes

Why a phone number?

OpenClaw supports over 50 messaging channels. Most of them are apps that both parties need to have installed. A phone number is different. Anyone with a phone can text it. No app download, no QR code, no invite link.

This matters for agents that interact with people outside your organization: appointment reminders, customer support, delivery updates, or any use case where the other person is not going to install Telegram to talk to your bot.

There are now several ways to connect a phone number to OpenClaw. Each has different capabilities, costs, and complexity.

Option 1: Claw Messenger

Claw Messenger gives your agent a dedicated phone number with iMessage, RCS, and SMS. It is an OpenClaw plugin. (For the full iMessage setup story, see How to Add iMessage to Your OpenClaw Agent on Any VPS.)

Setup

openclaw plugins install @emotion-machine/claw-messenger

Get an API key from the dashboard, add it to your OpenClaw config, restart the gateway. You get a phone number assigned to your agent immediately.

What you get

• Dedicated US phone number
• iMessage (blue bubbles on the other person's phone)
• RCS for Android users
• SMS fallback for everything else
• Works on any VPS, any OS

What it costs

Option 2: ClawdTalk (Telnyx)

ClawdTalk launched in February 2026 from Telnyx. It gives your agent a real phone number with voice calls, SMS, and WhatsApp. One number, three channels.

How it works

When someone calls the number, your agent receives transcribed speech in real time. It responds with text, and Telnyx handles the speech processing. Your agent can use tools mid-call, so it can check your calendar, search the web, or trigger any action it already has access to while you are on the line.

Setup

1. Create an account at clawdtalk.com
2. Add the ClawdTalk skill to your OpenClaw config
3. Get your phone number
4. Start calling

Pricing

Trade-offs

ClawdTalk is primarily a voice product. SMS is included but it is not the focus. There is no iMessage or RCS support. If the person on the other end texts your number, they get SMS. If they have an iPhone, the conversation will be green bubbles. (For iMessage specifically, see BlueBubbles vs Claw Messenger.)

Option 3: Deepgram + Twilio

Deepgram released deepclaw, an open-source integration that connects OpenClaw to phone calls via Deepgram's Voice Agent API and a Twilio number.

Setup

Add one skill file to your OpenClaw config. Tell your agent "I want to call you on the phone" and it walks you through creating a Deepgram account, getting a Twilio number, and configuring the connection. No code to write.

What it does

Voice calls only. Deepgram's API handles speech-to-text (Flux), text-to-speech (Aura-2), and turn-taking in one pipeline. You bring your own Twilio number.

Costs

Twilio number: ~$1/mo. Twilio voice minutes: $0.013-0.022/min. Deepgram API: pay-as-you-go for STT and TTS. Total depends on usage, but a low-volume setup runs about $5-15/mo.

Trade-offs

Voice only. No SMS, no iMessage, no RCS. You manage two vendor accounts (Deepgram + Twilio). If you want text messaging too, you need a separate setup.

Option 4: Twilio directly

You can wire Twilio SMS or voice to OpenClaw yourself. There is no official OpenClaw plugin, but the community has built custom integrations using Twilio webhooks pointed at the OpenClaw gateway.

What this involves

• Create a Twilio account and buy a phone number (~$1/mo)
• Register for A2P 10DLC (required for US business SMS since 2023). This involves submitting a brand registration ($4 one-time) and campaign registration ($15 one-time for low-volume). Approval takes 1-7 business days.
• Write a webhook handler that receives Twilio SMS events and forwards them to your OpenClaw gateway
• Write outbound logic that sends OpenClaw responses back through the Twilio API
• Deploy the webhook handler somewhere publicly accessible

Costs

Twilio number: ~$1/mo. SMS: $0.0079/message. A2P 10DLC registration: ~$19 one-time. Hosting for webhook handler: $0-20/mo depending on your setup.

Trade-offs

This is SMS only. No iMessage, no RCS. The A2P 10DLC registration process is bureaucratic and confusing (Twilio's own docs acknowledge this). You are building and maintaining custom integration code. But you get full control over message routing and no per-message markup beyond Twilio's base rates.

Option 5: ElevenLabs Agents

ElevenLabs Agents can handle phone calls for your OpenClaw agent. You configure your OpenClaw gateway address as a custom LLM endpoint in their platform. ElevenLabs handles speech recognition, synthesis, and turn-taking.

Trade-offs

Voice only. The voice quality is high (ElevenLabs is known for TTS), but there is no text messaging support. Your agent's responses route through ElevenLabs before reaching the caller, adding a dependency on their platform.

Comparison

Which one to pick

If you want text messaging (SMS + iMessage + RCS) and your agent primarily communicates through text, Claw Messenger covers all three protocols with a single plugin.

If you want voice calls and your agent needs to talk on the phone, ClawdTalk is the fastest path. It also includes SMS. Deepgram + Twilio gives more control but only does voice.

If you want full control and low cost, Twilio DIY lets you own the entire pipeline. You will spend a few hours on setup and maintain custom code, but per-message costs are the lowest.

If you want both text and voice on one number, ClawdTalk is currently the only option that does SMS and voice on the same number. Claw Messenger does text only. You could run both if you want iMessage + voice and do not mind two numbers.