SMS gateway for Italy: send SMS from your own Italy number
Published and updated
An Android phone holding a Italy SIM sends the messages, so the API call goes out over that SIM and recipients see the +39 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
- Put a Italy SIM in an Android phone that stays on and on power, and install the textbee app on it.
- Register the device from the dashboard, which pairs the phone with your API key.
- Call
POST /gateway/send-smswith 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
| Provider | 1K messages | 5K messages | 25K messages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Twilio | $93.85$92.70 messages, $1.15 number | $464.65$463.50 messages, $1.15 number | $2,318.65$2,317.50 messages, $1.15 number |
| ho. Mobile 100 Giga offer, unlimited minutes and 200 SMS | Above the plan200 SMS a month for EUR 5.95 per month | Above the plan200 SMS a month for EUR 5.95 per month | Above the plan200 SMS a month for EUR 5.95 per month |
| iliad TOP 230, unlimited SMS under fair use conditions | $11.61EUR 9.99 per month | $11.61EUR 9.99 per month | $11.61EUR 9.99 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 Italy
- The Italian data protection authority requires prior, free and informed consent before promotional SMS are sent to a mobile number, and the consent must be specific about the type of messages. garanteprivacy.it, checked on September 4, 2026
- AGCOM allows only providers authorised to offer business messaging to register an alphanumeric sender name, and states that such a name may not be associated with a SIM. agcom.it, checked on September 4, 2026
Sender ID and OTP delivery
Messages sent from a phone show the number of the SIM. The AGCOM rules on alphanumeric sender names cover authorised business messaging providers, require the sending business to hold a certified email address registered in INI-PEC, and state that such a name may not be associated with a SIM.
Quickstart
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": ["+393123456789"], "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 Italy numbers
The API takes E.164, which for Italy looks like +393123456789, 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 before sending promotional SMS in Italy?
Yes. The Garante general measure on promotional SMS states that Italian law subjects promotional and direct sales messages to the prior, free and informed consent of the recipient, and that the consent must be specific about the type of messages that will be sent.
Can I show a company name instead of a phone number as the sender in Italy?
Not from a SIM. The AGCOM rules allow alphanumeric sender names only through authorised business messaging providers that register the name, with the sending business identified by a certified email address. AGCOM states that such a name may not be associated with a SIM, so messages sent from a phone show the SIM number.
What does an Italian SIM with SMS cost?
ho. Mobile lists a 100 GB offer with unlimited minutes and 200 SMS for EUR 5.95 per month. The iliad TOP 230 plan costs EUR 9.99 per month with unlimited SMS under fair use conditions, plus a EUR 9.99 SIM activation fee.
Sources
- SMS rules Italy, garanteprivacy.it, checked on September 4, 2026
- SMS rules Italy, agcom.it, checked on September 4, 2026
- ho. Mobile 100 Giga offer, unlimited minutes and 200 SMS, checked on September 4, 2026
- iliad TOP 230, unlimited SMS under fair use conditions, checked on September 4, 2026
- Twilio SMS pricing, Italy, checked on September 4, 2026