SMS API for Qatar: bulk SMS to +974 numbers

Qatar is a small, wealthy country on the Arabian Peninsula, with Doha as its capital and a focus on oil, gas, and finance. Software products like banking apps, ride-hailing services, and airlines send text messages to their users. Messages are triggered by events such as flight updates, ride confirmations, and account alerts. SMS is chosen because it reaches all mobile phones, including those of expatriates and visitors, and is read quickly.

Qatar

Calling code +974

Per SMS segment
$0.00907
Messages for $100
11,025
Local language
Arabic and English
Encoding
Unicode (UCS-2)

What a bulk SMS send to Qatar costs

Every message is priced at $0.00907 per segment to Qatar. 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$0.00907$0.01814
1,000$9.07$18.14
10,000$90.70$181.40
100,000$907.00$1,814.00

Number format in Qatar

Mobile numbers in Qatar have 8 digits after +974 and no trunk prefix, so the local form 3312 3456 becomes +974 3312 3456 in the to field.

Alphabet and segments

Text in Arabic is always Unicode, so a message to Qatar written in Arabic 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

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

The answer comes back at once with the message id, the country the number was matched to (QA) 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": "+97433123456", "text": "Your Northwind code is 482913. It expires in 10 minutes."}'

What developers send to Qatar

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

Flight updates

Airlines in Doha send SMS notifications about flight delays or gate changes to passengers traveling through Hamad International Airport.

Ride confirmations

Ride-hailing apps in Al Rayyan send SMS to confirm driver details and estimated arrival times for users.

Event reminders

Cultural venues in Doha send SMS reminders about upcoming events or ticket bookings for exhibitions.

SMS to Qatar: questions

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

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

Each message segment to Qatar costs $0.00907. A plain text of up to 160 characters is one segment, so 1,000 one-segment messages cost $9.07 and 10,000 cost $90.70. Failed messages are refunded to the balance.

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

$100 covers about 11,025 one-segment messages to Qatar at $0.00907 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 Qatar numbers for the API?

Send them in international format with the plus sign: +974 3312 3456 becomes "+97433123456" 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 I send SMS in Arabic or English?

Both languages are widely used. Arabic is preferred for local residents, while English is effective for expatriates and visitors.

How can I reach visitors effectively?

SMS works well for visitors as it does not require an app install and is accessible on roaming phones.

Start sending to Qatar

Create an account, top up from $40 and send to Qatar at $0.00907 per segment, from the console or with one API call.

SMS API Qatar: Bulk SMS to +974 From $0.00907 | BulkSMSAPI