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

Published and updated

Put a SIM from Singapore in an Android phone, install textbee, and every API call sends a real SMS from that +65 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 Singapore 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 Singapore, cloud providers and a local SIM against textbee plans
Provider1K messages5K messages25K messages
Twilio$60.25$59.10 messages, $1.15 number$296.65$295.50 messages, $1.15 number$1,478.65$1,477.50 messages, $1.15 number
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

No carrier plan page for Singapore could be read on September 23, 2026, so the table shows provider rates and textbee plans only, and your own SIM plan is on top of the textbee plan.

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": ["+6581234567"], "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 Singapore numbers

The API takes E.164, which for Singapore looks like +6581234567, 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 Singapore?

Yes. Any Android phone with a Singapore SIM that can send SMS runs the textbee app. You send from your own code through the REST API, with no carrier account to open first.

What number do recipients see?

The Singapore mobile number of the SIM, which recipients can reply to. Replies reach your code through a webhook or GET /gateway/messages. A phone has no way to present an alphanumeric sender name, so the number is what appears on the handset.

What does it cost to send SMS in Singapore?

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. On top of that you pay your own carrier for the SIM in the phone. Twilio charges $0.0591 a message to Singapore, billed per message on a number rented from them.

How many messages can one phone send?

Roughly 10 to 15 messages a minute per device. Consumer SIMs can be filtered when the pattern looks like bulk, so pace a large list rather than sending it in one burst. Connect more phones to the account when you need more throughput.

Sources

  1. Twilio SMS pricing, Singapore, checked on September 23, 2026

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