SMS API for Zimbabwe: bulk SMS to +263 numbers

Zimbabwe, a landlocked country in Southern Africa, has Harare as its capital and an economy driven by agriculture and mining. Developers in Zimbabwe build systems for mobile banking, healthcare, and education to send text messages. These messages notify users of payment confirmations, appointment reminders, and exam schedules. SMS is chosen because it reaches all mobile users, including those in rural areas and visitors with international numbers.

Zimbabwe

Calling code +263

Per SMS segment
$0.01667
Messages for $100
5,998
Local language
English
Encoding
GSM-7

What a bulk SMS send to Zimbabwe costs

Every message is priced at $0.01667 per segment to Zimbabwe. 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 Zimbabwe

Mobile numbers in Zimbabwe have 9 digits after +263. Locally they are written with a leading 0 (071 234 5678); in the API that 0 is dropped, so the same number goes in the to field as +263 71 234 5678.

Alphabet and segments

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

Zimbabwe keeps UTC+2 all year with no clock change, so 09:00 in Harare 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 Zimbabwe with one request

The answer comes back at once with the message id, the country the number was matched to (ZW) 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": "+263712345678", "text": "Your Northwind code is 482913. It expires in 10 minutes."}'

What developers send to Zimbabwe

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

Payment confirmations

Mobile banking apps in Harare send SMS receipts to users after successful transactions.

Appointment reminders

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

Exam schedules

Schools in Mutare send SMS alerts to students with exam dates and room assignments.

Delivery updates

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

SMS to Zimbabwe: questions

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

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

Each message segment to Zimbabwe 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 Zimbabwe does a $100 top-up send?

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

Send them in international format with the plus sign: +263 71 234 5678 becomes "+263712345678" 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 Zimbabwe?

English is widely used for SMS in Zimbabwe, but messages can include Shona or Ndebele for broader reach.

How does SMS work for rural areas in Zimbabwe?

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

Start sending to Zimbabwe

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

SMS API Zimbabwe: Bulk SMS to +263 From $0.01667 | BulkSMSAPI