SMS API for Zambia: bulk SMS to +260 numbers

Zambia, a landlocked country in Southern Africa, has Lusaka as its capital and an economy centered around mining and agriculture. Developers in Zambia create systems for mobile banking, healthcare, and education to send text messages. These messages alert users of account balances, appointment reminders, and exam results. SMS is preferred because it works on all mobile phones, including basic models, and reaches users in remote areas.

Zambia

Calling code +260

Per SMS segment
$0.02777
Messages for $100
3,601
Local language
English
Encoding
GSM-7

What a bulk SMS send to Zambia costs

Every message is priced at $0.02777 per segment to Zambia. 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$0.02777$0.05554
1,000$27.77$55.54
10,000$277.70$555.40
100,000$2,777.00$5,554.00

Number format in Zambia

Mobile numbers in Zambia have 9 digits after +260. Locally they are written with a leading 0 (095 5123456); in the API that 0 is dropped, so the same number goes in the to field as +260 95 5123456.

Alphabet and segments

English text stays inside the GSM-7 alphabet, so one segment to Zambia 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

Zambia keeps UTC+2 all year with no clock change, so 09:00 in Lusaka is always 07:00 UTC. send_at takes UTC or any ISO 8601 offset, and the console scheduler converts from your own time zone.

Send to Zambia with one request

The answer comes back at once with the message id, the country the number was matched to (ZM) 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": "+260955123456", "text": "Your Northwind code is 482913. It expires in 10 minutes."}'

What developers send to Zambia

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

Account balances

Mobile banking apps in Lusaka send SMS alerts to users with their current account balances.

Appointment reminders

Clinics in Ndola notify patients of upcoming appointments via SMS, reducing missed visits.

Exam results

Schools in Kitwe send SMS alerts to students with their exam results, ensuring timely access.

Delivery updates

E-commerce platforms in Livingstone notify customers via SMS when their orders are dispatched.

SMS to Zambia: questions

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

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

Each message segment to Zambia costs $0.02777. A plain text of up to 160 characters is one segment, so 1,000 one-segment messages cost $27.77 and 10,000 cost $277.70. Failed messages are refunded to the balance.

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

$100 covers about 3,601 one-segment messages to Zambia at $0.02777 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 Zambia numbers for the API?

Send them in international format with the plus sign: +260 95 5123456 becomes "+260955123456" 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 Zambia?

English is widely used for SMS in Zambia, but messages can include local languages like Bemba or Nyanja for broader reach.

How does SMS work for rural areas in Zambia?

SMS is effective in rural areas as it works on basic phones and does not require internet access.

Start sending to Zambia

Create an account, top up from $40 and send to Zambia at $0.02777 per segment, from the console or with one API call.

SMS API Zambia: Bulk SMS to +260 From $0.02777 | BulkSMSAPI