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

Published and updated

Put a SIM from the Netherlands in an Android phone, install textbee, and every API call sends a real SMS from that +31 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
$571.50
cheapest cloud provider listed
Sender
Local +31
a number recipients can reply to

How it works with a local SIM

  1. Put a Netherlands 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 Netherlands, cloud providers and a local SIM against textbee plans
Provider1K messages5K messages25K messages
Twilio$114.30$114.30 messages$571.50$571.50 messages$2,857.50$2,857.50 messages
Simyo Sim Only bundle, 400 shared minutes and SMS, 24-month termAbove the plan400 SMS a month for EUR 6 per monthAbove the plan400 SMS a month for EUR 6 per monthAbove the plan400 SMS a month for EUR 6 per month
Simyo Sim Only bundle, unlimited minutes and SMS, 24-month term$7.86EUR 7 per month$7.86EUR 7 per month$7.86EUR 7 per month
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 October 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.

Simyo prices are for the 24-month term; the 12-month and monthly terms cost more. Minutes and SMS are valid for one calendar month and unused bundle does not carry over. Past the 400 bundle, Simyo charges EUR 0.31 per SMS, so 1,000 texts on that bundle add EUR 186.

Twilio SMS price in Netherlands

Twilio lists $0.1143 per outbound SMS segment to the Netherlands and $0.0075 per inbound message, checked on October 4, 2026. A message longer than one segment is billed as more than one.

At 5,000 messages a month, Twilio costs $571.50 for messages; textbee Pro is $14.99 flat.

At 25,000 messages a month, Twilio costs $2,857.50 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

$114.30

$114.30 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 October 4, 2026.

Sender ID and OTP delivery

No official page read describes registration of alphanumeric sender names in the Netherlands. The ACM requires every marketing message to show who the sender is, for example by naming your company, and not an alias.

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": ["+31612345678"], "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 Netherlands numbers

The API takes E.164, which for the Netherlands looks like +31612345678, 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 Dutch regulator ACM says to send electronic marketing messages only to recipients who gave prior consent, not through a pre-ticked box or general terms, to name your company as the sender rather than an alias, and to give every message a fast and free way to unsubscribe. acm.nl, checked on October 4, 2026
  • Article 11.7(4) of the Telecommunications Act lets a seller text its own customers about its own similar products without new consent, if each customer could object for free when the number was collected and can object again in every message. wetten.overheid.nl, checked on October 4, 2026

Frequently asked questions

Does textbee work in the Netherlands?

Yes. Any Android phone with a Dutch SIM that can send SMS runs the textbee app. The REST API sends from your own backend, and no carrier account has to be opened first.

What number do recipients see?

The Dutch mobile number of the SIM, which they can reply to. Replies reach your code by webhook or GET /gateway/messages. No official page read describes registration of alphanumeric sender names in the Netherlands, and the ACM requires every marketing message to show who the sender is, for example by naming your company.

What does it cost to send SMS in the Netherlands?

textbee is one flat plan a month: Free for 300 messages, Pro $14.99 for up to 5,000, Scale $29.99 for up to 25,000. On a 24-month term, Simyo Sim Only lists 400 shared minutes and SMS at EUR 6 a month, or unlimited minutes and SMS at EUR 7 a month. Twilio charges $0.1143 a message to the Netherlands, plus $0.0075 for each reply it receives.

Which Simyo bundle suits a textbee phone?

The unlimited bundle, for anything past a few hundred texts. The 400 bundle shares its allowance between calls and SMS, and each SMS past it costs EUR 0.31, so 1,000 texts and no calls in a month cost EUR 186 more than the bundle. The unlimited bundle is EUR 1 more a month on the same term. Either bundle resets each calendar month.

How many messages can one phone send?

About 10 to 15 a minute. Consumer SIMs can be filtered when the sending pattern looks like bulk, so pace larger runs. Add devices to the account when one phone is not fast enough.

Do I need consent before texting customers in the Netherlands?

For marketing, yes. The ACM says to get prior consent, not through a pre-ticked box, name your company as the sender, and give every message a fast and free way to unsubscribe. Article 11.7(4) of the Telecommunications Act lets you text your own customers about your own similar products without new consent, if they could object when you collected the number.

Sources

  1. SMS rules the Netherlands, acm.nl, checked on October 4, 2026
  2. SMS rules the Netherlands, wetten.overheid.nl, checked on October 4, 2026
  3. Simyo Sim Only bundle, 400 shared minutes and SMS, 24-month term, checked on October 4, 2026
  4. Twilio SMS pricing, Netherlands, checked on October 4, 2026

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