Bulk SMS to South Africa
Send bulk SMS online to South Africa from your browser or the API for $0.00774 per message, with a delivery report for every number, scheduling up to 60 days ahead and automatic refunds for texts that cannot be delivered.
Bulk SMS in South Africa
Who sends bulk SMS to South Africa?
South Africa, located at the southern tip of Africa with its capital in Pretoria, has a diverse economy driven by mining, agriculture, and services. These messages typically include promotional offers, account updates, and travel confirmations. Text messaging is effective in South Africa because it reaches people across urban and rural areas, works on any phone, and is widely accessible.
Retailers
Customers in Johannesburg receive alerts about Black Friday sales and exclusive discounts.
Banks
Account holders in Cape Town get notifications about transaction alerts and account balances.
Tourism operators
Travelers in Durban are informed about safari tour schedules and booking confirmations.
Agricultural suppliers
Farmers in Bloemfontein receive updates on seed availability and weather forecasts.
Sending to South Africa: numbers, alphabet and timing
Number format
How do South Africa mobile numbers look?
A typical mobile number in South Africa has 9 digits after the calling code +27. At home people write it with a leading 0, as in 071 123 4567, and that 0 is dropped in the international form: +27 71 123 4567. Spaces, dots, dashes and brackets in your list are removed automatically.
Alphabet
Which alphabet do messages to South Africa use?
English, Afrikaans, Zulu and other official languages is written with letters that all belong to the GSM-7 alphabet, so a plain message to South Africa carries 160 characters in one SMS and 153 in each part of a longer text. An emoji, or curly quotes pasted from a word processor, turn the whole message into Unicode with 70 characters per SMS, and the composer shows which character caused it.
Time zone
What time do messages arrive in South Africa?
South Africa keeps UTC+2 all year, with no clock change, so 10:00 in Johannesburg is always 08:00 UTC. Late morning and early evening on working days are the usual hours for marketing texts there, while codes and alerts go out the moment they are needed. The scheduler works in your browser's time zone and shows the conversion.
Costs
What does a bulk SMS campaign to South Africa cost?
Every segment to South Africa costs $0.00774. A longer message is charged per segment, and the composer shows the segment count as you write.
| Messages | 1 segment | 2 segments |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | $0.77 | $1.55 |
| 1,000 | $7.74 | $15.48 |
| 5,000 | $38.70 | $77.40 |
| 10,000 | $77.40 | $154.80 |
| 50,000 | $387.00 | $774.00 |
Questions
Bulk SMS to South Africa: questions and answers
How much does bulk SMS to South Africa cost?
Each SMS segment to South Africa costs $0.00774. 1,000 single-segment messages cost $7.74, 10,000 cost $77.40, and a $40 top-up covers about 5,167 messages. Messages that cannot be delivered are refunded to your balance.
How do I format South Africa phone numbers for a bulk SMS list?
A typical mobile number in South Africa has 9 digits after the calling code +27. At home people write it with a leading 0, as in 071 123 4567, and that 0 is dropped in the international form: +27 71 123 4567. Spaces, dots, dashes and brackets in your list are removed automatically.
How many characters fit in one SMS to South Africa?
English, Afrikaans, Zulu and other official languages is written with letters that all belong to the GSM-7 alphabet, so a plain message to South Africa carries 160 characters in one SMS and 153 in each part of a longer text. An emoji, or curly quotes pasted from a word processor, turn the whole message into Unicode with 70 characters per SMS, and the composer shows which character caused it.
When should I schedule bulk SMS to South Africa?
South Africa keeps UTC+2 all year, with no clock change, so 10:00 in Johannesburg is always 08:00 UTC. Late morning and early evening on working days are the usual hours for marketing texts there, while codes and alerts go out the moment they are needed. The scheduler works in your browser's time zone and shows the conversion.
Are there regions with higher SMS engagement?
Urban areas like Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban have high engagement, but rural areas also benefit from SMS due to limited internet access.
What public holidays should be considered?
Public holidays like Heritage Day and Freedom Day are important, as businesses may close and people may be less responsive to messages.
Can one campaign include South Africa and other countries?
Yes. A campaign can mix numbers from any of the 227 destinations. The console reads each calling code, prices every number at its own country's rate and shows the cost per country before you send.
Start sending to South Africa
South Africa is one of 227 destinations on one balance. Top up from $40 and send your first campaign today.
Create account