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SMS gateway for the United Kingdom: send text messages from your own UK number

Published and updated

Put a SIM from the United Kingdom in an Android phone, install textbee, and every API call sends a real SMS from that +44 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
$280.00
cheapest cloud provider listed
Sender
Local +44
a number recipients can reply to

How it works with a local SIM

  1. Put a United Kingdom 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 the United Kingdom, cloud providers and a local SIM against textbee plans
Provider1K messages5K messages25K messages
Twilio$56.00$56.00 messages$280.00$280.00 messages$1,400.00$1,400.00 messages
Lyca Mobile UK UK Plan Super Extra, unlimited UK calls and texts$10.15GBP 7.50 per 30 days$10.15GBP 7.50 per 30 days$10.15GBP 7.50 per 30 days
Vodafone UK Pay as you go Plus bundle, unlimited minutes and texts$13.53GBP 10 per 30 days$13.53GBP 10 per 30 days$13.53GBP 10 per 30 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 United Kingdom

Twilio lists $0.056 per outbound SMS segment to the United Kingdom 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 $280.00 for messages; textbee Pro is $14.99 flat.

At 25,000 messages a month, Twilio costs $1,400.00 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

$56.00

$56.00 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": ["+447700900123"], "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 United Kingdom numbers

The API takes E.164, which for the United Kingdom looks like +447700900123, 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

  • Regulation 22 of PECR bans unsolicited direct marketing by electronic mail, which covers SMS, to an individual subscriber unless that person has already told the sender they consent, with a limited soft opt in for existing customers. legislation.gov.uk, checked on September 4, 2026
  • Regulation 23 bans direct marketing by electronic mail where the identity of the sender is disguised or concealed, or where no valid address is given for opt out requests. legislation.gov.uk, checked on September 4, 2026

Frequently asked questions

Is there a text message API for the United Kingdom?

Yes. A text message API and an SMS API are the same product, since SMS is the technical name for a text. textbee gives you a REST endpoint to send, a webhook or GET /gateway/messages to receive, and the text goes out over the UK SIM in your own Android phone, so recipients see a local +44 mobile number.

Does textbee work in the United Kingdom?

Yes. Any Android phone with a UK SIM that can send SMS runs the textbee app, driven by the REST API from your own backend. A pay as you go SIM is enough to start.

What number do recipients see?

The UK mobile number of the SIM, which they can reply to directly. Replies arrive at your code by webhook or through GET /gateway/messages. A phone cannot present an alphanumeric sender name, so the number is always what appears.

What does it cost to send SMS in the United Kingdom?

textbee is a flat monthly plan: Free for 300 messages, Pro $14.99 for up to 5,000, Scale $29.99 for up to 25,000. The SIM costs separately, with the Lyca Mobile UK Plan Super Extra at GBP 7.50 per 30 days with unlimited UK calls and texts and the Vodafone Pay as you go Plus bundle at GBP 10 per 30 days. Twilio charges $0.056 a message to the United Kingdom.

How many messages can one phone send?

About 10 to 15 a minute per device. Carriers can filter bulk patterns on consumer SIMs, so keep the pace human and the content varied. Add devices to the account for more throughput.

Do I need consent before texting customers in the United Kingdom?

Yes for marketing. Regulation 22 of PECR bans unsolicited direct marketing by electronic mail, which covers SMS, to an individual subscriber unless that person has told you they consent, with a limited soft opt in for existing customers. Regulation 23 also bars concealing who the sender is or leaving out a valid address for opt out requests.

Sources

  1. SMS rules the United Kingdom, legislation.gov.uk, checked on September 4, 2026
  2. SMS rules the United Kingdom, legislation.gov.uk, checked on September 4, 2026
  3. SMS rules the United Kingdom, ico.org.uk, checked on September 4, 2026
  4. Lyca Mobile UK UK Plan Super Extra, unlimited UK calls and texts, checked on September 4, 2026
  5. Vodafone UK Pay as you go Plus bundle, unlimited minutes and texts, checked on September 4, 2026
  6. Twilio SMS pricing, United Kingdom, checked on September 4, 2026

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