SMS API for Afghanistan: bulk SMS to +93 numbers

Afghanistan, a landlocked country with Kabul as its capital, has an economy centered on agriculture and mining amid challenging infrastructure. NGOs, mobile money platforms, and healthcare providers rely on SMS to reach citizens across rugged provinces like Kandahar and Herat. Messages confirm cash transfers, share clinic visit reminders, or alert farmers to weather risks for crops. With low smartphone penetration and frequent power outages, SMS is the only channel that delivers reliably to basic handsets nationwide.

Afghanistan

Calling code +93

Per SMS segment
$0.03117
Messages for $100
3,208
Local language
Dari and Pashto
Encoding
Unicode (UCS-2)

What a bulk SMS send to Afghanistan costs

Every message is priced at $0.03117 per segment to Afghanistan. Texts over 160 GSM-7 or 70 Unicode characters are split into segments, so a two-segment text costs twice as much.
Messages1 segment2 segments
1$0.03117$0.06234
1,000$31.17$62.34
10,000$311.70$623.40
100,000$3,117.00$6,234.00

Number format in Afghanistan

Mobile numbers in Afghanistan have 9 digits after +93. Locally they are written with a leading 0 (070 123 4567); in the API that 0 is dropped, so the same number goes in the to field as +93 70 123 4567.

Alphabet and segments

Text in Arabic script is always Unicode, so a message to Afghanistan written in Dari carries 70 characters in one segment and 67 in each part of a longer one. Codes and alerts written in English or plain Latin letters fit 160 characters, which halves the cost of a long notice.

Time zone and timing

Afghanistan keeps UTC+4:30 all year with no clock change, so 09:00 in Kabul is always 04:30 UTC. send_at takes UTC or any ISO 8601 offset, and the console scheduler converts from your own time zone.

Send to Afghanistan with one request

The answer comes back at once with the message id, the country the number was matched to (AF) and the price. A delivered or failed event follows on your webhook, and a failed message is refunded.

For a list, send the same text to up to 10,000 numbers with POST /v1/batches, or a personal text per number in messages.

curl https://bulksmsapi.cc/v1/messages \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BULKSMSAPI_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"to": "+93701234567", "text": "Your Northwind code is 482913. It expires in 10 minutes."}'

What developers send to Afghanistan

Common integrations that call the SMS API for recipients in Afghanistan.

Cash pickup

Money transfer services text codes to recipients in Jalalabad when funds arrive from relatives abroad.

Vaccine reminders

Health clinics in Mazar-i-Sharif notify parents by SMS when polio drops are available at local mosques.

Wheat prices

Agriculture cooperatives broadcast daily rates to farmers in Balkh province before market trips.

Drought alerts

UN agencies warn villages in Helmand via SMS when river levels drop critically low for irrigation.

SMS to Afghanistan: questions

More answers on accounts, payments and the API are in the FAQ.

How much does it cost to send bulk SMS to Afghanistan?

Each message segment to Afghanistan costs $0.03117. A plain text of up to 160 characters is one segment, so 1,000 one-segment messages cost $31.17 and 10,000 cost $311.70. Failed messages are refunded to the balance.

How many SMS to Afghanistan does a $100 top-up send?

$100 covers about 3,208 one-segment messages to Afghanistan at $0.03117 each. The first top-up adds a bonus on top, which raises that number. The balance is shared by every country, so the same top-up also pays for messages anywhere else on the list.

How do I write Afghanistan numbers for the API?

Send them in international format with the plus sign: +93 70 123 4567 becomes "+93701234567" in the to field. The API also accepts spaces, dashes and a 00 prefix and cleans them, and numbers that cannot be read are listed in set_aside instead of being charged.

Should messages use Pashto, Dari, or both?

Dari reaches most urban centers and the north, while Pashto is essential in the south and east. NGOs often maintain separate lists by region and language.

How reliable is SMS delivery in remote areas?

Signal coverage exists in most districts, but delays occur in mountainous regions like Badakhshan. Retry logic helps when sending to these zones.

Start sending to Afghanistan

Create an account, top up from $40 and send to Afghanistan at $0.03117 per segment, from the console or with one API call.

SMS API Afghanistan: Bulk SMS to +93 From $0.03117 | BulkSMSAPI