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

Published and updated

Put a SIM from Pakistan in an Android phone, install textbee, and every API call sends a real SMS from that +92 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
$2,367.00
cheapest cloud provider listed
Sender
Local +92
a number recipients can reply to

How it works with a local SIM

  1. Put a Pakistan 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 Pakistan, cloud providers and a local SIM against textbee plans
Provider1K messages5K messages25K messages
Twilio$473.40$473.40 messages$2,367.00$2,367.00 messages$11,835.00$11,835.00 messages
Jazz Weekly WhatsApp Bundle, 1500 SMS$0.48PKR 34 including tax per 7 days$0.48PKR 34 including tax per 7 daysAbove the plan6,000 SMS a month for PKR 34 including tax 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 Pakistan

Twilio lists $0.4734 per outbound SMS segment to Pakistan, 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 $2,367.00 for messages; textbee Pro is $14.99 flat.

At 25,000 messages a month, Twilio costs $11,835.00 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

$473.40

$473.40 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": ["+923012345678"], "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 Pakistan numbers

The API takes E.164, which for Pakistan looks like +923012345678, 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 PTA Protection from Spam, Unsolicited, Fraudulent and Obnoxious Communication Regulations 2009 require every telecom operator to run standard operating procedures against spam and unsolicited calls and SMS. pta.gov.pk, checked on September 4, 2026
  • Since 23 December 2022 SIMs in Pakistan are issued through the Multi Finger Biometric Verification System run with NADRA, an upgrade of the single finger system in place since 2014. pta.gov.pk, checked on September 4, 2026

Frequently asked questions

Does textbee work in Pakistan?

Yes. Any Android phone with a Pakistani SIM that can send SMS runs the textbee app. Buying the SIM is an in person step, because since 23 December 2022 the industry issues SIMs through the Multi Finger Biometric Verification System and each SIM transaction is logged to a Unique Sale ID that identifies the buyer.

What number do recipients see?

The Pakistani mobile number of the SIM, which they can reply to. Replies land in your code through a 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 Pakistan?

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. Jazz lists a Weekly WhatsApp Bundle with 1500 SMS at PKR 34 including tax for 7 days. Twilio charges $0.4734 a message to Pakistan.

How many messages can one phone send?

Around 10 to 15 a minute per device. Consumer SIMs can be filtered when the traffic looks like a bulk blast, so pace the sends. Add more Android phones to the account to send more at once.

Are there rules against unsolicited SMS in Pakistan?

Yes. The PTA Protection from Spam, Unsolicited, Fraudulent and Obnoxious Communication Regulations 2009 require every telecom operator to run standard operating procedures against spam and unsolicited calls and SMS. Marketing still needs the consent of the person you are texting.

Sources

  1. SMS rules Pakistan, pta.gov.pk, checked on September 4, 2026
  2. SMS rules Pakistan, pta.gov.pk, checked on September 4, 2026
  3. Jazz Weekly WhatsApp Bundle, 1500 SMS, checked on September 4, 2026
  4. Twilio SMS pricing, Pakistan, checked on September 4, 2026

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