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

Published and updated

An Android phone holding a France SIM sends the messages, so the API call goes out over that SIM and recipients see the +33 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 France 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 France, cloud providers and a local SIM against textbee plans
Provider1K messages5K messages25K messages
Twilio$80.95$79.80 messages, $1.15 number$400.15$399.00 messages, $1.15 number$1,996.15$1,995.00 messages, $1.15 number
Free Mobile Forfait 2 euros, unlimited SMS and MMS in metropolitan France$2.32EUR 2 per month$2.32EUR 2 per month$2.32EUR 2 per month
Bouygues Telecom B&YOU 20Go 4G, unlimited calls and SMS from metropolitan France$10.45EUR 8.99 per month$10.45EUR 8.99 per month$10.45EUR 8.99 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 France

  • Article L34-5 of the Postal and Electronic Communications Code bans direct marketing by an automated electronic communication system to a person who has not given prior consent, and defines consent as a free, specific and informed expression of will. legifrance.gouv.fr, checked on September 4, 2026
  • The CNIL states that advertising by SMS is only allowed where the person consented before being contacted, and that every message must let the recipient identify the organisation behind it and refuse further messages by a simple means. cnil.fr, checked on September 4, 2026
  • Unwanted SMS in France are reported to the 33700 platform, which passes the reports to the telecom operators every day. 33700.fr, checked on September 4, 2026

Sender ID and OTP delivery

No official page read describes registration of alphanumeric sender names in France. The CNIL requires each marketing message to let the recipient identify the organisation that sent it, so name your business in the message text.

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": ["+33612345678"], "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 France numbers

The API takes E.164, which for France looks like +33612345678, 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 marketing SMS in France?

Yes. Article L34-5 of the Postal and Electronic Communications Code bans direct marketing by an automated electronic system to a person who has not given prior consent, defined as a free, specific and informed expression of will. The CNIL adds that every message must let the recipient identify the sending organisation and refuse further messages by a simple means.

Where do French recipients report unwanted SMS?

To the 33700 platform. Reports made there are sent to the telecom operators every day. Keep your messages consented and clearly identified so they are not reported.

What does a French SIM with unlimited SMS cost?

The Free Mobile Forfait at EUR 2 per month has no commitment and includes unlimited SMS and MMS in metropolitan France plus 2 hours of calls. The Bouygues Telecom B&YOU 20Go 4G plan is EUR 8.99 per month with unlimited calls and SMS from metropolitan France.

Sources

  1. SMS rules France, legifrance.gouv.fr, checked on September 4, 2026
  2. SMS rules France, cnil.fr, checked on September 4, 2026
  3. SMS rules France, 33700.fr, checked on September 4, 2026
  4. Free Mobile Forfait 2 euros, unlimited SMS and MMS in metropolitan France, checked on September 4, 2026
  5. Bouygues Telecom B&YOU 20Go 4G, unlimited calls and SMS from metropolitan France, checked on September 4, 2026
  6. Twilio SMS pricing, France, checked on September 4, 2026

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