SMS API for Eritrea: bulk SMS to +291 numbers

Eritrea, in the Horn of Africa, has Asmara as its capital and an economy based on agriculture, mining, and fisheries. Software products sending SMS include mobile banking apps, logistics platforms, and government services. Messages are triggered by events like payment confirmations, delivery updates, and public announcements. Developers choose SMS because it works on basic phones and reaches users in remote areas like the Dahlak Archipelago.

Eritrea

Calling code +291

Per SMS segment
$0.01667
Messages for $100
5,998
Local language
Tigrinya, Arabic and English
Encoding
Unicode (UCS-2)

What a bulk SMS send to Eritrea costs

Every message is priced at $0.01667 per segment to Eritrea. 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$0.01667$0.03334
1,000$16.67$33.34
10,000$166.70$333.40
100,000$1,667.00$3,334.00

Number format in Eritrea

Mobile numbers in Eritrea have 7 digits after +291. Locally they are written with a leading 0 (07 123 456); in the API that 0 is dropped, so the same number goes in the to field as +291 7 123 456.

Alphabet and segments

Text in Ge'ez and Arabic is always Unicode, so a message to Eritrea written in Tigrinya 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

Eritrea keeps UTC+3 all year with no clock change, so 09:00 in Asmara is always 06:00 UTC. send_at takes UTC or any ISO 8601 offset, and the console scheduler converts from your own time zone.

Send to Eritrea with one request

The answer comes back at once with the message id, the country the number was matched to (ER) 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": "+2917123456", "text": "Your Northwind code is 482913. It expires in 10 minutes."}'

What developers send to Eritrea

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

Payment alerts

Mobile banking apps in Asmara send SMS notifications confirming successful transactions and account balance updates.

Delivery updates

Logistics platforms in Massawa notify customers by SMS when their parcels are out for delivery and provide tracking details.

Public announcements

Government services in Asmara send SMS notifications about public health campaigns or community events.

Fishery updates

Fisheries in the Dahlak Archipelago send SMS alerts to fishermen about weather conditions and market prices.

SMS to Eritrea: questions

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

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

Each message segment to Eritrea costs $0.01667. A plain text of up to 160 characters is one segment, so 1,000 one-segment messages cost $16.67 and 10,000 cost $166.70. Failed messages are refunded to the balance.

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

$100 covers about 5,998 one-segment messages to Eritrea at $0.01667 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 Eritrea numbers for the API?

Send them in international format with the plus sign: +291 7 123 456 becomes "+2917123456" 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 SMS be in Tigrinya or Arabic?

Use Tigrinya for general audiences, as it is widely spoken. Arabic works for specific regions or communities.

How to reach users in remote areas?

SMS is ideal for remote regions like the Dahlak Archipelago, as it works on basic phones and does not require internet access.

Start sending to Eritrea

Create an account, top up from $40 and send to Eritrea at $0.01667 per segment, from the console or with one API call.

SMS API Eritrea: Bulk SMS to +291 From $0.01667 | BulkSMSAPI