SMS API for Madagascar: bulk SMS to +261 numbers

Madagascar, an island nation off the southeast coast of Africa, has Antananarivo as its capital and an economy centered on agriculture and textiles. Developers integrate SMS into systems like mobile banking apps, delivery services, and healthcare platforms. Messages are triggered by events such as money transfers, order confirmations, and vaccination reminders. SMS is chosen because it works on basic phones, reaches remote areas, and is trusted by users.

Madagascar

Calling code +261

Per SMS segment
$0.01977
Messages for $100
5,058
Local language
French
Encoding
GSM-7 or Unicode

What a bulk SMS send to Madagascar costs

Every message is priced at $0.01977 per segment to Madagascar. 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$0.01977$0.03954
1,000$19.77$39.54
10,000$197.70$395.40
100,000$1,977.00$3,954.00

Number format in Madagascar

Mobile numbers in Madagascar have 9 digits after +261. Locally they are written with a leading 0 (032 12 345 67); in the API that 0 is dropped, so the same number goes in the to field as +261 32 12 345 67.

Alphabet and segments

Texts in 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

Madagascar keeps UTC+3 all year with no clock change, so 09:00 in Antananarivo 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 Madagascar with one request

The answer comes back at once with the message id, the country the number was matched to (MG) 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": "+261321234567", "text": "Your Northwind code is 482913. It expires in 10 minutes."}'

What developers send to Madagascar

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

Money alerts

Mobile banking apps notify users in Antananarivo when they receive funds from family abroad.

Order confirmations

Delivery services in Toamasina send SMS updates when orders are processed and shipped.

Health reminders

Clinics in Mahajanga send texts reminding patients about upcoming vaccination appointments.

Event notifications

Community events in Antsirabe send SMS alerts with details about dates and locations.

SMS to Madagascar: questions

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

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

Each message segment to Madagascar costs $0.01977. A plain text of up to 160 characters is one segment, so 1,000 one-segment messages cost $19.77 and 10,000 cost $197.70. Failed messages are refunded to the balance.

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

$100 covers about 5,058 one-segment messages to Madagascar at $0.01977 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 Madagascar numbers for the API?

Send them in international format with the plus sign: +261 32 12 345 67 becomes "+261321234567" 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 for Madagascar?

Malagasy is the primary language, but French is also widely used, especially in formal and business contexts.

Are there seasonal peaks in SMS traffic in Madagascar?

Yes, SMS traffic increases during the rainy season when businesses and organizations send alerts about weather conditions.

Start sending to Madagascar

Create an account, top up from $40 and send to Madagascar at $0.01977 per segment, from the console or with one API call.

SMS API Madagascar: Bulk SMS to +261 From $0.01977 | BulkSMSAPI