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

Published and updated

Put a SIM from Nigeria in an Android phone, install textbee, and every API call sends a real SMS from that +234 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
$1,934.00
cheapest cloud provider listed
Sender
Local +234
a number recipients can reply to

How it works with a local SIM

  1. Put a Nigeria 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 Nigeria, cloud providers and a local SIM against textbee plans
Provider1K messages5K messages25K messages
Twilio$386.80$386.80 messages$1,934.00$1,934.00 messages$9,670.00$9,670.00 messages
MTN Nigeria XtraTalk 1500, 10 local SMSAbove the plan10 SMS a month for NGN 1,500 per 30 daysAbove the plan10 SMS a month for NGN 1,500 per 30 daysAbove the plan10 SMS a month for NGN 1,500 per 30 days
MTN Nigeria XtraTalk 500, 5 local SMSAbove the plan20 SMS a month for NGN 500 per 7 daysAbove the plan20 SMS a month for NGN 500 per 7 daysAbove the plan20 SMS a month for NGN 500 per 7 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 Nigeria

Twilio lists $0.3868 per outbound SMS segment to Nigeria and $0.3868 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 $1,934.00 for messages; textbee Pro is $14.99 flat.

At 25,000 messages a month, Twilio costs $9,670.00 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

$386.80

$386.80 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": ["+2348021234567"], "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 Nigeria numbers

The API takes E.164, which for Nigeria looks like +2348021234567, 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 NCC directed every mobile operator to run a Do Not Disturb service on short code 2442; a subscriber who texts STOP to 2442 should receive no unsolicited SMS, and texting a category digit switches on partial Do Not Disturb. consumer.ncc.gov.ng, checked on September 4, 2026
  • The Consumer Code of Practice Regulations 2007 oblige operators to let subscribers decide which promotional messages they receive, which the NCC implements through the 2442 code. consumer.ncc.gov.ng, checked on September 4, 2026

Frequently asked questions

Does textbee work in Nigeria?

Yes. Any Android phone with a Nigerian SIM that can send SMS runs the textbee app. The NCC states that submitting your National Identification Number to your network provider links your mobile number to that NIN, so the SIM in the phone has to be registered to a real identity.

What number do recipients see?

The Nigerian mobile number of the SIM, which they can reply to directly. Replies reach your code through a webhook or GET /gateway/messages. A phone cannot present an alphanumeric sender name, so the number is what shows.

What does it cost to send SMS in Nigeria?

textbee bills 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. Bundled SMS on the SIM is thin, since the MTN XtraValue page lists XtraTalk 1500 at NGN 1,500 for 30 days with 10 local SMS and XtraTalk 500 at NGN 500 for 7 days with 5 local SMS, so most messages fall to the tariff rate. Twilio charges $0.3868 a message to Nigeria.

How many messages can one phone send?

Roughly 10 to 15 messages a minute per device. Carriers can filter bulk patterns on consumer SIMs, so keep the sending paced. Run more Android phones on the same account for higher volume.

How do Nigerian recipients opt out?

Through Do Not Disturb on short code 2442. The NCC directed every mobile operator to run the service, a subscriber who texts STOP to 2442 should receive no unsolicited SMS, and texting a category digit switches on partial Do Not Disturb. Marketing still needs consent before the first message.

Sources

  1. SMS rules Nigeria, consumer.ncc.gov.ng, checked on September 4, 2026
  2. SMS rules Nigeria, consumer.ncc.gov.ng, checked on September 4, 2026
  3. SMS rules Nigeria, ncc.gov.ng, checked on September 4, 2026
  4. MTN Nigeria XtraTalk 1500, 10 local SMS, checked on September 4, 2026
  5. Twilio SMS pricing, Nigeria, checked on September 4, 2026

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