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SMS gateway for Brazil: send SMS from your own Brazil number

Published and updated

An Android phone holding a Brazil SIM sends the messages, so the API call goes out over that SIM and recipients see the +55 number that sent it. Any Android phone with a Brazil SIM that can send SMS runs the textbee app. ANATEL describes a prepaid registration where the holder gives a CPF number, date of birth and postcode for the carrier to verify, then submits a selfie and a photo of an official ID; without it the line is not activated. The SIM keeps its own carrier plan, and textbee is $9.99 a month at 5,000 messages on top of it.

How it works with a local SIM

  1. Put a Brazil 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 Brazil, cloud providers and a local SIM against textbee plans
Provider1K messages5K messages25K messages
Twilio$61.05$59.90 messages, $1.15 number$300.65$299.50 messages, $1.15 number$1,498.65$1,497.50 messages, $1.15 number
textbee$9.99Pro plan, up to 5,000 messages included$9.99Pro 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

No carrier plan page for Brazil could be read on September 4, 2026, so the table shows provider rates and textbee plans only, and your own SIM plan is on top of the textbee plan.

Rules for application to person SMS in Brazil

  • ANATEL states that a provider may not send advertising messages without the prior, free and express consent of the consumer, and that the consumer may cancel receipt at any time, under article 3 of Resolution 632/2014. gov.br, checked on September 4, 2026
  • The Brazilian data protection law, Lei 13.709/2018, allows personal data to be processed on the basis of consent, defines consent as a free, informed and unambiguous statement for a specific purpose, and lets the data subject revoke it at any time by a free and easy procedure. planalto.gov.br, checked on September 4, 2026

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": ["+5511961234567"], "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 Brazil numbers

The API takes E.164, which for Brazil looks like +5511961234567, 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.

Frequently asked questions

Is consent required for advertising SMS in Brazil?

ANATEL states on its consumer rights page that a provider may not send advertising messages without the prior, free and express consent of the consumer, who may cancel at any time, under article 3 of Resolution 632/2014. Separately the data protection law requires a lawful basis such as consent for handling personal data like phone numbers.

What is needed to activate a Brazilian prepaid SIM?

The ANATEL prepaid registration page describes the digital ID process: the holder gives a CPF number, date of birth and postcode, which the carrier verifies, then submits a selfie and a photo of a valid ID such as a driving licence or identity card. Without finishing the registration, the line is not activated.

How does the Brazilian data protection law define consent?

Lei 13.709/2018 defines consent as a free, informed and unambiguous statement by which the data subject agrees to processing for a specific purpose. Article 7 lists consent as one of the lawful bases, and the data subject can revoke it at any time by a free and easy procedure.

Sources

  1. SMS rules Brazil, gov.br, checked on September 4, 2026
  2. SMS rules Brazil, planalto.gov.br, checked on September 4, 2026
  3. Sending from a local SIM Brazil, gov.br, checked on September 4, 2026
  4. Twilio SMS pricing, Brazil, checked on September 4, 2026

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