SMS API for Canada: bulk SMS to +1 numbers

Canada, a vast North American country with its capital in Ottawa, is known for its diverse economy and tech industry. Software products sending SMS include ride-hailing apps, healthcare providers, and universities. Messages are triggered by events like ride confirmations, appointment reminders, and exam schedules. SMS is chosen because it reaches all mobile users, including those in remote areas and international visitors.

Canada

Calling code +1

Per SMS segment
$0.00527
Messages for $100
18,975
Local language
English and French
Encoding
GSM-7 or Unicode

What a bulk SMS send to Canada costs

Every message is priced at $0.00527 per segment to Canada. 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$0.00527$0.01054
1,000$5.27$10.54
10,000$52.70$105.40
100,000$527.00$1,054.00

Number format in Canada

Canada uses the North American Numbering Plan: +1, a three-digit area code and a seven-digit number, such as +1 506 234 5678. The API reads the area code (506 here) to price the number as Canada rather than the United States, so keep the full eleven digits in your list.

Alphabet and segments

Texts in English and French fit 160 GSM-7 characters per segment until they use â, ê, î, ô, û, ç, ë and ï: those letters are outside GSM-7 and turn the message into Unicode at 70 characters per segment (67 per part). For short alerts, write them without those letters to keep one segment; for longer texts, the console names each letter that changed the encoding.

Time zone and timing

Canada spans several time zones, from UTC-8 in Vancouver to UTC-3:30 in St Johns (January offsets). A send_at of 14:00 UTC lands at 09:00 in Toronto in January; for a nationwide reminder, split the list by region and give each batch its own send_at.

Send to Canada with one request

The answer comes back at once with the message id, the country the number was matched to (CA) 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": "+15062345678", "text": "Your Northwind code is 482913. It expires in 10 minutes."}'

What developers send to Canada

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

Ride updates

Passengers in Toronto receive SMS notifications about their ride status and driver details.

Healthcare reminders

Patients in Vancouver get texts reminding them of upcoming doctor appointments and lab tests.

Exam alerts

Students in Montreal are notified by SMS about exam dates and room assignments.

Flight notifications

Travelers in Calgary receive SMS updates about flight delays and gate changes.

SMS to Canada: questions

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

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

Each message segment to Canada costs $0.00527. A plain text of up to 160 characters is one segment, so 1,000 one-segment messages cost $5.27 and 10,000 cost $52.70. Failed messages are refunded to the balance.

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

$100 covers about 18,975 one-segment messages to Canada at $0.00527 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 Canada numbers for the API?

Send them in international format with the plus sign: +1 506 234 5678 becomes "+15062345678" 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 be in?

English is the primary language for SMS in Canada, though French is also used in Quebec and bilingual regions.

How do I reach visitors and expatriates?

Visitors and expatriates can be reached via SMS on local SIM cards or roaming plans, ensuring timely communication.

Start sending to Canada

Create an account, top up from $40 and send to Canada at $0.00527 per segment, from the console or with one API call.

SMS API Canada: Bulk SMS to +1 From $0.00527 | BulkSMSAPI