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

Published and updated

Put a SIM from Germany in an Android phone, install textbee, and every API call sends a real SMS from that +49 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
$560.00
cheapest cloud provider listed
Sender
Local +49
a number recipients can reply to

How it works with a local SIM

  1. Put a Germany 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 Germany, cloud providers and a local SIM against textbee plans
Provider1K messages5K messages25K messages
Twilio$112.00$112.00 messages$560.00$560.00 messages$2,800.00$2,800.00 messages
ALDI TALK Kombi-Paket S, flat unlimited calls and SMS$10.45EUR 8.99 per 4 weeks$10.45EUR 8.99 per 4 weeks$10.45EUR 8.99 per 4 weeks
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 Germany

Twilio lists $0.112 per outbound SMS segment to Germany 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 $560.00 for messages; textbee Pro is $14.99 flat.

At 25,000 messages a month, Twilio costs $2,800.00 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

$112.00

$112.00 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.

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": ["+4915123456789"], "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 Germany numbers

The API takes E.164, which for Germany looks like +4915123456789, 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

  • Section 7 of the German Unfair Competition Act treats advertising by electronic message without the prior express consent of the addressee as an unreasonable nuisance, and also catches messages that give no valid address the recipient can use to stop them. gesetze-im-internet.de, checked on September 4, 2026
  • The Bundesnetzagentur tells consumers they may only be contacted for advertising with their prior consent and takes complaints about unwanted SMS, though it states it cannot issue fine notices for SMS spam. bundesnetzagentur.de, checked on September 4, 2026

Frequently asked questions

Does textbee work in Germany?

Yes. Any Android phone with a German SIM that can send SMS runs the textbee app. Section 172 of the Telecommunications Act requires a prepaid provider to verify the subscriber name and date of birth against an identity card, passport or another listed document before the SIM is switched on, so allow time for that step.

What number do recipients see?

The German mobile number of the SIM, and replies come back to it. Your code reads them from a webhook or GET /gateway/messages. A phone has no way to present an alphanumeric sender name, so recipients always see a real number they can answer.

What does it cost to send SMS in Germany?

textbee charges one flat plan: Free for 300 messages a month, Pro $14.99 for up to 5,000, Scale $29.99 for up to 25,000. ALDI TALK lists Kombi-Paket S at EUR 8.99 per 4 weeks with a flat rate for unlimited calls and SMS. Twilio charges $0.112 a message to Germany.

How many messages can one phone send?

Roughly 10 to 15 a minute, which is around 600 to 900 an hour. A consumer SIM can be filtered when the pattern looks like bulk, so pace the sends. Connect more Android devices to the same account for higher volume.

Do I need consent before sending marketing SMS in Germany?

Yes. Section 7 of the Unfair Competition Act treats advertising by electronic message without the prior express consent of the addressee as an unreasonable nuisance, and the message must give a valid address for stopping further messages. The Bundesnetzagentur tells consumers they may only be contacted for advertising with their prior consent.

Sources

  1. SMS rules Germany, gesetze-im-internet.de, checked on September 4, 2026
  2. SMS rules Germany, bundesnetzagentur.de, checked on September 4, 2026
  3. Sending from a local SIM Germany, gesetze-im-internet.de, checked on September 4, 2026
  4. ALDI TALK Kombi-Paket S, flat unlimited calls and SMS, checked on September 4, 2026
  5. Twilio SMS pricing, Germany, checked on September 4, 2026

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