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

Published and updated

An Android phone holding a Canada SIM sends the messages, so the API call goes out over that SIM and recipients see the +1 number that sent it. 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 Canada 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 Canada, cloud providers and a local SIM against textbee plans
Provider1K messages5K messages25K messages
Twilio$17.85$8.30 messages, $1.15 number, $8.40 carrier fees$84.65$41.50 messages, $1.15 number, $42.00 carrier fees$418.65$207.50 messages, $1.15 number, $210.00 carrier fees
chatr 1 GB plan, unlimited Canada-wide talk and unlimited Canada, US and international text$15.22CAD 21.00 per month$15.22CAD 21.00 per month$15.22CAD 21.00 per month
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

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.

Rules for application to person SMS in Canada

  • The anti-spam law prohibits sending a commercial electronic message to an electronic address unless the recipient has consented, expressly or by implication, and the message meets the content requirements. laws-lois.justice.gc.ca, checked on September 4, 2026
  • A commercial electronic message must identify the sender and anyone on whose behalf it is sent, give contact information for one of them, and set out an unsubscribe mechanism. laws-lois.justice.gc.ca, 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": ["+15062345678"], "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 Canada numbers

The API takes E.164, which for Canada looks like +15062345678, 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

Do I need consent before texting customers in Canada?

Yes. The anti-spam law bars sending a commercial electronic message unless the recipient has consented to receive it, and the consent may be express or implied. Keep a record of how each number consented before you send from your own SIM.

What must a commercial text include under Canadian law?

Three things: information that identifies the sender and anyone the message is sent on behalf of, contact information for one of them, and an unsubscribe mechanism. A text from your own number still needs all three when it is commercial.

Does a transactional message need an unsubscribe mechanism?

The content requirements apply to commercial electronic messages. If a message only confirms an order, delivers a passcode or answers a request, it is not promoting a product, so it does not carry the commercial requirements. Anything that promotes a product or service does.

Sources

  1. SMS rules Canada, laws-lois.justice.gc.ca, checked on September 4, 2026
  2. chatr 1 GB plan, unlimited Canada-wide talk and unlimited Canada, US and international text, checked on September 4, 2026
  3. Twilio SMS pricing, Canada, checked on September 4, 2026

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