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

Published and updated

Put a SIM from Kenya in an Android phone, install textbee, and every API call sends a real SMS from that +254 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
$1,567.00
cheapest cloud provider listed
Sender
Local +254
a number recipients can reply to

How it works with a local SIM

  1. Put a Kenya 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 Kenya, cloud providers and a local SIM against textbee plans
Provider1K messages5K messages25K messages
Twilio$313.40$313.40 messages$1,567.00$1,567.00 messages$7,835.00$7,835.00 messages
Safaricom Monthly SMS bundle, 3500 SMS$1.54KES 200 per 30 daysAbove the plan3,500 SMS a month for KES 200 per 30 daysAbove the plan3,500 SMS a month for KES 200 per 30 days
Safaricom All In One 1000, 100 SMS with data and minutesAbove the plan100 SMS a month for KES 1,000 per 30 daysAbove the plan100 SMS a month for KES 1,000 per 30 daysAbove the plan100 SMS a month for KES 1,000 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 Kenya

Twilio lists $0.3134 per outbound SMS segment to Kenya, 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 $1,567.00 for messages; textbee Pro is $14.99 flat.

At 25,000 messages a month, Twilio costs $7,835.00 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

$313.40

$313.40 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": ["+254712123456"], "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 Kenya numbers

The API takes E.164, which for Kenya looks like +254712123456, 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

  • The Kenya Information and Communications (Registration of SIM cards) Regulations 2015 require the operator or its agent to register every subscriber, to have the person appear in person, and to record full names and an identity card, passport or alien card number; anyone else selling a SIM card commits an offence. ca.go.ke, checked on September 4, 2026
  • A SIM whose holder fails to register within ninety days is suspended and deactivated, and giving false information during registration is an offence. ca.go.ke, checked on September 4, 2026

Frequently asked questions

Does textbee work in Kenya?

Yes. Any Android phone with a Kenyan SIM that can send SMS runs the textbee app. Registering the SIM is an in person step, because the Registration of SIM cards Regulations 2015 require the buyer to appear before the operator or its agent with an identity document.

What number do recipients see?

The Kenyan mobile number of the SIM, and a reply comes back to that number. Replies reach your code by webhook or GET /gateway/messages. A phone cannot send an alphanumeric sender name, so the number is what recipients see.

What does it cost to send SMS in Kenya?

The textbee plan is flat: Free for 300 messages a month, Pro $14.99 for up to 5,000, Scale $29.99 for up to 25,000. Safaricom lists a monthly SMS bundle of 3500 SMS at KES 200, while the All In One 1000 bundle at KES 1,000 for 30 days includes only 100 SMS. Twilio charges $0.3134 a message to Kenya.

How many messages can one phone send?

About 10 to 15 a minute from one device. Consumer SIMs can be filtered when traffic looks like a bulk send, so pace it out. Adding devices to the account raises the total throughput.

What happens to an unregistered Kenyan SIM?

It stops working. Where the holder fails to register within ninety days, the Registration of SIM cards Regulations 2015 say the SIM card is suspended and deactivated, and giving false information during registration is an offence. Keep the SIM in the phone properly registered.

Sources

  1. SMS rules Kenya, ca.go.ke, checked on September 4, 2026
  2. SMS rules Kenya, ca.go.ke, checked on September 4, 2026
  3. Safaricom Monthly SMS bundle, 3500 SMS, checked on September 4, 2026
  4. Safaricom All In One 1000, 100 SMS with data and minutes, checked on September 4, 2026
  5. Twilio SMS pricing, Kenya, checked on September 4, 2026

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