SMS API for Bhutan: bulk SMS to +975 numbers

Bhutan is a landlocked country in the Eastern Himalayas, with Thimphu as its capital, known for its focus on Gross National Happiness and hydropower exports. Banks, government agencies, and educational institutions use SMS for communication. Messages are triggered by events like payment confirmations, exam schedules, or public service announcements. SMS is chosen because it reaches all mobile users, including those in remote mountainous areas.

Bhutan

Calling code +975

Per SMS segment
$0.02807
Messages for $100
3,562
Local language
Dzongkha and English
Encoding
Unicode (UCS-2)

What a bulk SMS send to Bhutan costs

Every message is priced at $0.02807 per segment to Bhutan. 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$0.02807$0.05614
1,000$28.07$56.14
10,000$280.70$561.40
100,000$2,807.00$5,614.00

Number format in Bhutan

Mobile numbers in Bhutan have 8 digits after +975 and no trunk prefix, so the local form 17 12 34 56 becomes +975 17 12 34 56 in the to field.

Alphabet and segments

Text in Tibetan (Dzongkha) is always Unicode, so a message to Bhutan written in Dzongkha 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

Bhutan keeps UTC+6 all year with no clock change, so 09:00 in Thimphu is always 03:00 UTC. send_at takes UTC or any ISO 8601 offset, and the console scheduler converts from your own time zone.

Send to Bhutan with one request

The answer comes back at once with the message id, the country the number was matched to (BT) 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": "+97517123456", "text": "Your Northwind code is 482913. It expires in 10 minutes."}'

What developers send to Bhutan

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

Payment confirmations

Banks in Thimphu send SMS confirmations for successful transactions, such as utility bill payments.

Exam reminders

Schools in Paro send SMS reminders for exam dates and locations to students.

Service updates

Government agencies notify residents in Punakha about public service schedules or changes via SMS.

Appointment confirmations

Clinics in Bumthang send SMS confirmations for medical appointments, reducing no-shows.

SMS to Bhutan: questions

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

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

Each message segment to Bhutan costs $0.02807. A plain text of up to 160 characters is one segment, so 1,000 one-segment messages cost $28.07 and 10,000 cost $280.70. Failed messages are refunded to the balance.

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

$100 covers about 3,562 one-segment messages to Bhutan at $0.02807 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 Bhutan numbers for the API?

Send them in international format with the plus sign: +975 17 12 34 56 becomes "+97517123456" 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.

What language should SMS messages use in Bhutan?

Dzongkha is the official language, but English is widely understood and often used for SMS communication.

How does SMS perform in Bhutan's remote areas?

SMS is highly effective in remote areas, ensuring reliable communication for residents in mountainous regions.

Start sending to Bhutan

Create an account, top up from $40 and send to Bhutan at $0.02807 per segment, from the console or with one API call.

SMS API Bhutan: Bulk SMS to +975 From $0.02807 | BulkSMSAPI