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SMS gateway for Australia: send text messages from your own Australia number

Published and updated

Put a SIM from Australia in an Android phone, install textbee, and every API call sends a real SMS from that +61 number. Recipients see a local number they can reply to. textbee is $14.99 a month for up to 5,000 messages, and the SIM keeps its own carrier plan.

textbee, 5K SMS
$14.99
a month, plus your SIM plan
Twilio, 5K SMS
$257.50
cheapest cloud provider listed
Sender
Local +61
a number recipients can reply to

How it works with a local SIM

  1. Put a Australia SIM in an Android phone that stays on and on power, and install the textbee app on it.
  2. Register the device from the dashboard, which pairs the phone with your API key.
  3. Call POST /gateway/send-sms with the recipient in E.164 form. The phone sends it over the SIM and reports the result back.

What it costs at 1K, 5K and 25K messages

Monthly spend sending to Australia, cloud providers and a local SIM against textbee plans
Provider1K messages5K messages25K messages
Twilio$51.50$51.50 messages$257.50$257.50 messages$1,287.50$1,287.50 messages
Boost Mobile 28 day expiry 8GB, unlimited calls and text to standard numbers$20.17AUD 28 per 28 days$20.17AUD 28 per 28 days$20.17AUD 28 per 28 days
amaysim 28 day SIM plan 15GB, unlimited standard national talk and text$21.61AUD 30 per 28 days$21.61AUD 30 per 28 days$21.61AUD 30 per 28 days
textbee$14.99Pro plan, up to 5,000 messages included$14.99Pro plan, up to 5,000 messages included$29.99Scale plan, up to 25,000 messages included

textbee plans include the messages shown. There is no per message fee, number rental or carrier surcharge.

Provider prices checked on September 4, 2026

The textbee plan is the platform fee and the SIM plan is what the carrier charges for the messages, so a local setup costs the plan price plus the SIM.

Twilio SMS price in Australia

Twilio lists $0.0515 per outbound SMS segment to Australia and $0.0075 per inbound message, checked on September 4, 2026. A message longer than one segment is billed as more than one.

At 5,000 messages a month, Twilio costs $257.50 for messages; textbee Pro is $14.99 flat.

At 25,000 messages a month, Twilio costs $1,287.50 for messages; textbee Scale is $29.99 flat.

textbee

$14.99

Pro plan, up to 5,000 messages included

Free plan covers up to 300 messages a month

Twilio

$51.50

$51.50 messages

Provider rates vary by country and time. Check each provider's site for current pricing. textbee uses your Android phone; you pay your carrier, not per-message fees to textbee. Provider prices checked on September 4, 2026.

Sender ID and OTP delivery

Messages sent from a phone carry the mobile number of the SIM. Alphanumeric sender names fall under the SMS Sender ID Register Industry Standard 2025, where an unregistered name is over stamped as Unverified by participating providers.

Quickstart

send.sh
curl -X POST https://api.textbee.dev/api/v1/gateway/send-sms \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"recipients": ["+61491570156"], "message": "Your textbee code is 482913. It expires in 10 minutes."}'

On a dual SIM phone, pass simSubscriptionId to pick the SIM the message goes out on, as the send reference describes.

Format and check Australia numbers

The API takes E.164, which for Australia looks like +61491570156, so strip any local trunk prefix before you send.

Result

Enter a phone number above.

Use E.164 format (e.g. +15551234567) for textbee.dev API recipients.

Count segments

A message over one segment is sent as more than one SMS, so it draws more than once on the SIM plan.

Result

  • Characters: 54
  • Encoding: GSM-7
  • Segments: 1 SMS
  • 1 segment = 1 SMS

GSM-7: 160 chars per segment (153 for multi-part). Unicode/emoji: 70 chars per segment (67 for multi-part). Carriers may charge per segment.

Honest limits

One phone sends roughly 10 to 15 messages a minute, so a large blast takes time to drain. Carriers can filter bulk patterns on consumer SIMs. Marketing messages still need consent from the recipient under the local rules.

Local rules to know

  • The Spam Act 2003 bans sending a commercial electronic message with an Australian link unless the account holder consented, requires the message to identify who authorised it with accurate contact details, and requires a working unsubscribe facility. legislation.gov.au, checked on September 4, 2026
  • The SMS Sender ID Register Industry Standard 2025 has participating providers over stamp an unregistered alphanumeric sender name as Unverified, and from 1 July 2026 a provider that does not take part may not send, transit or terminate messages carrying such a name. legislation.gov.au, checked on September 4, 2026

Frequently asked questions

Is there a text message API for Australia?

Yes. A text message API is an SMS API under another name, since SMS is what a text message is. textbee gives you a REST endpoint to send, a webhook or GET /gateway/messages to receive, and the text goes out over the Australian SIM in your own Android phone, so recipients see a local +61 mobile number.

Does textbee work in Australia?

Yes. Any Android phone with an Australian SIM that can send SMS runs the textbee app. Buy the SIM first, because the prepaid identity checks Determination requires a carriage service provider to collect the customer details and verify the customer identity before it activates a prepaid mobile service.

What number do recipients see?

The mobile number of the SIM, and they can reply to it. Inbound messages come back through a webhook or GET /gateway/messages. Alphanumeric sender names fall under the SMS Sender ID Register Industry Standard 2025, where an unregistered name is over stamped as Unverified by participating providers, so a phone sending from its own number never touches that register.

What does it cost to send SMS in Australia?

The textbee plan is flat: Free for 300 messages a month, Pro $14.99 for up to 5,000, Scale $29.99 for up to 25,000. The SIM is the other line item, with Boost Mobile listing 8GB and unlimited calls and text at AUD 28 per 28 days and amaysim listing 15GB at AUD 30 per 28 days. Twilio charges $0.0515 a message to Australia.

How many messages can one phone send?

Roughly 10 to 15 messages a minute. Carriers can filter bulk patterns on a consumer SIM, so a steady drip does better than a burst. Run more phones on the same account when you need more than one device can push.

Do I need consent before texting customers in Australia?

Yes. The Spam Act 2003 bans sending a commercial electronic message with an Australian link unless the account holder consented. The message must also identify who authorised it with accurate contact details and carry a working unsubscribe facility.

Sources

  1. SMS rules Australia, legislation.gov.au, checked on September 4, 2026
  2. SMS rules Australia, legislation.gov.au, checked on September 4, 2026
  3. Sending from a local SIM Australia, legislation.gov.au, checked on September 4, 2026
  4. Boost Mobile 28 day expiry 8GB, unlimited calls and text to standard numbers, checked on September 4, 2026
  5. amaysim 28 day SIM plan 15GB, unlimited standard national talk and text, checked on September 4, 2026
  6. Twilio SMS pricing, Australia, checked on September 4, 2026

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