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SMS gateway for New Zealand: send text messages from your own New Zealand number

Published and updated

Put a SIM from New Zealand in an Android phone, install textbee, and every API call sends a real SMS from that +64 number. Recipients see a local number they can reply to. textbee is $9.99 a month for up to 5,000 messages, and the SIM keeps its own carrier plan.

How it works with a local SIM

  1. Put a New Zealand 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 New Zealand, cloud providers and a local SIM against textbee plans
Provider1K messages5K messages25K messages
Twilio$106.15$105.00 messages, $1.15 number$526.15$525.00 messages, $1.15 number$2,626.15$2,625.00 messages, $1.15 number
Skinny $8 weekly plan, 250 MB and unlimited texts to NZ and AU$18.20NZD 8 per 7 days$18.20NZD 8 per 7 days$18.20NZD 8 per 7 days
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 23, 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.

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": ["+64211234567"], "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 New Zealand numbers

The API takes E.164, which for New Zealand looks like +64211234567, 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

Does textbee work in New Zealand?

Yes. Any Android phone with a New Zealand SIM that can send text messages runs the textbee app. Your code sends through the REST API, and the texts go out over the SIM in your own phone.

What number do recipients see?

The New Zealand mobile number of the SIM, and they can text back to it. Inbound text messages come back through a webhook or GET /gateway/messages. A phone cannot present an alphanumeric sender name, so recipients see a local +64 number.

What does it cost to send text messages in New Zealand?

The textbee plan is flat: Free for 300 messages a month, Pro $9.99 for up to 5,000, Scale $29.99 for up to 25,000. The SIM is the other line item, with Skinny listing an $8 weekly plan with 250 MB and unlimited texts to NZ and AU at NZD 8 per 7 days. Twilio charges $0.105 a message to New Zealand.

How many text messages can one phone send?

Roughly 10 to 15 text messages a minute. Carriers can filter bulk patterns on a consumer SIM, so a steady drip does better than a burst. Run more phones on the same account when you need more than one device can push.

Sources

  1. Skinny $8 weekly plan, 250 MB and unlimited texts to NZ and AU, checked on September 23, 2026
  2. Twilio SMS pricing, New Zealand, checked on September 23, 2026

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