SMS API for Uganda: bulk SMS to +256 numbers

Uganda is a landlocked country in East Africa with Kampala as its capital and an economy based on agriculture, services, and tourism. Mobile money platforms, schools, and healthcare providers use SMS to communicate with users. Messages are triggered by events like mobile money transactions, school fee reminders, or clinic appointment confirmations. SMS is preferred because it works on basic phones, reaches rural areas, and is trusted by users.

Uganda

Calling code +256

Per SMS segment
$0.01327
Messages for $100
7,535
Local language
English
Encoding
GSM-7

What a bulk SMS send to Uganda costs

Every message is priced at $0.01327 per segment to Uganda. 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$0.01327$0.02654
1,000$13.27$26.54
10,000$132.70$265.40
100,000$1,327.00$2,654.00

Number format in Uganda

Mobile numbers in Uganda have 9 digits after +256. Locally they are written with a leading 0 (0712 345678); in the API that 0 is dropped, so the same number goes in the to field as +256 712 345678.

Alphabet and segments

English text stays inside the GSM-7 alphabet, so one segment to Uganda holds 160 characters and each part of a longer text 153. Watch for curly quotes and emoji copied from other tools: one of them moves the whole text to Unicode at 70 characters per segment, and POST /v1/estimates shows the encoding before you send.

Time zone and timing

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

The answer comes back at once with the message id, the country the number was matched to (UG) 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": "+256712345678", "text": "Your Northwind code is 482913. It expires in 10 minutes."}'

What developers send to Uganda

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

Mobile money

Mobile money platforms in Kampala send SMS confirmations to users for deposits, withdrawals, and transfers.

Fee reminders

Schools in Jinja send SMS notifications to parents about upcoming tuition fee due dates and payment options.

Appointment confirmations

Clinics in Mbarara send SMS reminders to patients about their scheduled appointments and clinic details.

SMS to Uganda: questions

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

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

Each message segment to Uganda costs $0.01327. A plain text of up to 160 characters is one segment, so 1,000 one-segment messages cost $13.27 and 10,000 cost $132.70. Failed messages are refunded to the balance.

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

$100 covers about 7,535 one-segment messages to Uganda at $0.01327 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 Uganda numbers for the API?

Send them in international format with the plus sign: +256 712 345678 becomes "+256712345678" 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 in Uganda use?

English is widely understood and used in official communications, making it the best choice for SMS. Luganda can also be used for messages targeting local residents.

How does SMS reach rural areas in Uganda?

SMS is effective in rural areas because it works on basic phones and does not require internet access. It is a reliable way to communicate with residents in these regions.

Start sending to Uganda

Create an account, top up from $40 and send to Uganda at $0.01327 per segment, from the console or with one API call.

SMS API Uganda: Bulk SMS to +256 From $0.01327 | BulkSMSAPI