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Product Overview

Two Way SMS takes advantage of a short code(five digit number) that can be used to both send and receive messages from users. A short code can either be dedicated, meaning that it solely belongs to you or shared, which means that it is used by multiple users and differentiated by a keyword.

Standard Rated short code

With this type of short code, an SMS is charged at the normal rate to send a message, but is free to receive a message for both senders and receivers.

Toll Free short code

An end user interacts with this short code free of charge. The owner of this code bears the cost of all SMS that are sent and received on this code.

Use cases

Conduct a Survey

Using mobile as a delivery tool for surveys ensures a wider, more targeted reach to your customers who provide valuable feedback. Short codes provide a great platform to collect live customer insights without hustle.

SMS Marketing

Current and potential users can use short codes to enquire and get information about a new product or feature that you are advertising. This will help you forecast demand for you product or raise awareness.

Customer Support

Giving your users multiple channels to get support enhances their experience. Using keywords and short codes, your users can reach out to you with questions and you can get back to them with the relevant help.

All you need to build - SMS

# import package import africastalking
#initialize SDK username = "YOUR_USERNAME"
# Initialize a service e.g. SMS sms = africastalking.SMS
# Use the service synchronously response = sms.send("Hello There!", ["+2547XXXXXXXX"])
print(response)

AT Developers

Start your first SMS campaign

We have provided extensive resources to help you quickly build, integrate and test your applications.


 

See sample code

Pricing

Kenya

Dedicated Short Code

Telco Deposit Set Up Monthly Maintenance per Telco
Safaricom, Airtel, Equitel and Telkom KES 10,000 Free KES 15,000
*prices are 16% VAT exclusive Raising a Toll Free Short Code attracts an extra charge of KES 5,000 (VAT exclusive)

Shared Short Code (Keyword)

Set Up Monthly Maintenance
KES 5,000 + 16% VAT KES 2,000 + 16% VAT

Outgoing SMS costs (Toll-free codes)

Telco Basic Plan
KES 0 - 19,999		 Plus Plan
KES 20,000 - 99,999		 Premium Plan
KES 100,000 - 399,999		 Max Plan
KES 400,000+
Safaricom KES 0.8 KES 0.7 KES 0.6 KES 0.4
Airtel Kenya (Local Traffic) KES 0.8 KES 0.8 KES 0.7 KES 0.6
Other Kenyan Telcos KES 0.8 KES 0.8 KES 0.7 KES 0.6

Incoming Messages

Telco Incoming Message Cost
MTN UGX 65.00
Airtel UGX 65.00

Dedicated Short Code

1. Paid to UCC

Shortcode Application Entry Fee Annual Fee
USD 295 USD 1,000 USD 2,360

2. Paid to Networks

Network Set Up Monthly Maintenance Fee
MTN UGX 450,000 UGX 250,000
Airtel UGX 450,000 UGX 250,000

3. Paid to Africa's Talking

Set Up Monthly Maintenance
UGX 1,000,000 Free

Toll Free Shortcode SMS Cost
Reverse Billing UGX 65

Shared Short Code (Keyword)

Set Up Monthly Maintenance
Free UGX 200,000

Toll Free Shortcode SMS Cost
Reverse Billing UGX 65

Incoming Messages

Telco Basic Plan
TZS 0 - 499,999		 Plus Plan
TZS 500,000 - 2,499,999		 Max Plan
TZS 2,500,000+
Vodacom TZS 100 TZS 80 Contact Sales
Airtel TZS 100 TZS 80 Contact Sales
Zantel TZS 100 TZS 80 Contact Sales
Halotel TZS 100 TZS 80 Contact Sales
TTCL TZS 100 TZS 80 Contact Sales
Tigo TZS 100 TZS 80 Contact Sales

Dedicated Short Code

Application

Item Cost Paid to
Short code $ 2000 TCRA
Application Fee $ 50 TCRA
Administration Fee TZS 1,600,000 Africa’s Talking

Yearly Recurring

Item Cost Paid to
Short code $ 3000 TCRA
Application Fee $ 50 TCRA
Maintainance Fee TZS 3,000,000 Airtel
Administration Fee TZS 1,600,000 Africa’s Talking
Please note: Integration fees do not apply for renewals as the shortcode is already integrated at this stage.

Integration (1st Year one off payment)

Mobile Operator Cost
Vodacom, Tigo Free
Airtel $ 2000

Toll Free Shortcode Cost
Reverse Billing TZS 150

Shared Short Code (Keyword)

Item Cost
Set up TZS 198,500
Monthly Maintenance TZS 79,400

Toll Free Shortcode Cost
Reverse Billing TZS 150

Dedicated Shortcode

Service Cost
RURA Application Fee RWF 25,000
RURA Shortcode fee See short code categories and their pricing
Africa’s Talking Set up fee RWF 173,000 per Telco
MTN Set up fee(One off) RWF 100,000
Airtel Set up fee(One off) RWF 150,000
Monthly Maintenance Fee RWF 43,300 per Telco

Shared Shortcode (Keyword)

Telco Set up fee Monthly maintenance
MTN Free RWF 13000
Airtel Free RWF 35000

Price Per SMS

Price Per SMS

Item MTN Tigo & Airtel
Incoming SMS RWF 7 RWF 5
Outgoing SMS See Bulk SMS Pricing See Bulk SMS Pricing

Shared Short Code (Keyword)

Set Up Monthly Maintenance
Free NGN 10,000 + 7.5% VAT

Dedicated Short Code

Connection Fees Pricing
NCC Application Fee NGN 11,500
Code Acquisition NGN 100,000
Integration Fee NGN 100,000
Monthly Maintenance NGN 70,000 + 7.5% VAT
Connection Fee to MTN (All Sectors) NGN 500,0000
Connection Fee to 9mobile (Financial Institutions) NGN 770,000
* A Compulsory deposit of NGN 510,000 is required to cater for MO and MT. Minimum session cost of 100,000 sessions on Airtel and MTN for MO/MT Billing Minimum session cost of 500,000 sessions on 9mobile for MO/MT Billing Minimum session cost of 250,000 sessions on Glo for MO/MT Billing

Cost of SMS

Type Cost
Incoming NGN 2.90
Outgoing NGN 2.90

1. Paid to ZICTA

Shortcode format Application Fee Annual Fee
4 Digit Code (Used for Two Way SMS only) ZMW 16,000 ZMW 24,000
3 Digit Code (Used for Two Way SMS and USSD) ZMW 16,000 ZMW 40,000

Dedicated Short Code

2. Paid to Africa's Talking

Set Up Monthly Maintenance
ZMW 700 ZMW 1,500

Shared Short Code

3. Paid to Africa's Talking

Set Up Monthly Maintenance
ZMW 700 ZMW 500

Price per SMS

Item Cost
Incoming SMS ZMW 0.4

Dedicated Short Code

Telco Set Up Monthly Maintenance
Airtel Malawi MWK 300,000 MWK 185,000
TNM MWK 300,000 MWK 185,000

Shared Short Code (Keyword)

Set Up Monthly Maintenance
Free MWK 31,250

Incoming SMS

Item Cost
SMS Cost MWK 15

Outgoing Messages

Telco Basic
ETB 0 - 5,300		 Plus
ETB 5,301 - 27,600		 Premium
ETB 27,601 - 111,000		 Max
ETB 111,000+
Ethio Telecom ETB 0.15 ETB 0.10 ETB 0.05 ETB 0.04
* Messages will be sent out using the Short Code

Incoming Messages

Telco Basic
ETB 0 - 5,300		 Plus
ETB 5,301 - 27,600		 Premium
ETB 27,601 - 111,000		 Max
ETB 111,000+
Ethio Telecom ETB 0.20 ETB 0.20 ETB 0.15 ETB 0.10

Dedicated Short Code

Set Up Fee Monthly Maintenance
ETB 1,440 ETB 1,000

Shared Short Code (Keyword)

Category Set Up Fee Subscription Fee Monthly Maintenance Current Available Code
Bronze Free 1,440 ETB Free 8065 (Bulk) and 8165 (Premium)

Untitled

Telco Basic Plan
ETB 0 - 5,300		 Plus Plan
ETB 5,301 - 27,600		 Premium Plan
ETB 27,601 - 111,000		 Max Plan
ETB 111,000+
Ethio Telecom ETB 3.50 ETB 3.40 ETB 3.20 ETB 3.00
* Messages will be sent out using the Short Code

Dedicated Short Code

Set Up Fees

Entity Cost
Regulator USD 400
Orange (Telco) USD 1,000
Moov (Telco) USD 1,000
MTN (Telco) USD 1,000
Administration fee USD 200

Annual Fees

Entity Cost
ARCE (Regulator) USD 2,000
Orange (Telco) USD 1,000
Moov (Telco) USD 1,000
MTN (Telco) USD 1,000
Administration fee USD 650

Entity Cost
MO SMS USD 0.028
MT SMS USD 0.025

Item Cost
Incoming SMS ZAR 0.70
Outgoing SMS ZAR 0.24

Single Bind

Item Cost
Set Up ZAR 4,200
Monthly Maintenance ZAR 1,200

Dedicated Short Code (Toll Free)

Price Per SMS (Paid by the Business)

Item MTN AirtelTigo Vodafone
Incoming SMS GHS 0.053 GHS 0.053 GHS 0.053

Application Fees - NCA

Service Duration Cost
Application Fee One-off GHS 1,500
Annual 4-digit Short Code Fee Annual GHS 500
Annual 3-digit Short Code Fee Annual GHS 2100

Telco Costs

Telco Set Up Cost Monthly Maintenance
MTN GHS 4,000 GHS 4,000
AirtelTigo GHS 4,000 GHS 4,000
Vodafone GHS 4,000 GHS 4,000

Shared Short Code (Toll Free)

Price Per SMS (Paid by the Business)

Item MTN AirtelTigo Vodafone
Incoming SMS GHS 0.053 GHS 0.053 GHS 0.053

Application Fees - Africa’s Talking

Service Duration Cost
Application Fee One-off GHS 1,500

Telco Costs

Telco Set Up Cost Monthly Maintenance
MTN GHS 0 GHS 1,000
AirtelTigo GHS 0 GHS 1,000
Vodafone GHS 0 GHS 1,000

Shared Short Code (Standard Rated)

Price Per SMS (Paid by the End User)

Item MTN AirtelTigo Vodafone
Incoming SMS GHS 0.53 GHS 0.53 GHS 0.53

Shared Shortcode

Standard Rated

Setup Monthly Maintenance
GHS 3,000 GHS 1,000
GHC 1,800 GHC 250

Dedicated Short Code

Set Up Fees

Entity Cost
Regulator USD 300
Orange (Telco) USD 700
Free (Telco) USD 700
Expresso (Telco) USD 700
Administration fee USD 200

Annual Fees

Entity Cost
Regulator USD 1,000
Orange (Telco) USD 1,000
Free (Telco) USD 1,000
Expresso (Telco) USD 1,000
Administration fee USD 650

MO and MT Cost

Entity Cost
MO SMS USD 0.028
MT SMS USD 0.015

Dedicated Short Code

Set Up Fees

Entity Cost
Regulator USD 300
Sahelcom (Telco) USD 300
Zamani (Telco) USD 300
Airtel (Telco) USD 300
Moov (Telco) USD 300
Administration fee USD 200

Annual Fees

Entity Cost
Regulator USD 2,000
Sahelcom (Telco) USD 1,200
Zamani (Telco) USD 1,200
Airtel (Telco) USD 1,200
Moov (Telco) USD 1,200
Administration fee USD 650

Entity Cost
MO SMS USD 0.028
MT SMS USD 0.022

Dedicated Short Code

Set Up Fees

Entity Cost
Regulator USD 400
Orange (Telco) USD 1,000
Moov (Telco) USD 1,000
Telecel (Telco) USD 1,000
Administration fee USD 200

Annual Fees

Entity Cost
Regulator USD 2,000
Orange (Telco) USD 1,000
Moov (Telco) USD 1,000
Telecel (Telco) USD 1,000
Administration fee USD 650

MO and MT Cost

Entity Cost
MO SMS USD 0.028
MT SMS USD 0.035

Dedicated Short Code

Set Up Fees

Entity Cost
Regulator USD 400
Celtis (Telco) USD 1,000
Moov (Telco) USD 1,000
MTN (Telco) USD 1,000
Administration fee USD 200

Annual Fees

Entity Cost
Regulator USD 2,000
Celtis (Telco) USD 1,000
Moov (Telco) USD 1,000
MTN (Telco) USD 1,000
Administration fee USD 650

MO and MT Cost

Entity Cost
MO SMS USD 0.028
MT SMS USD 0.025

Dedicated Short Code

Setup Fees

Entity Cost
ARCE(Regulator) USD 400
Orange (Telco) USD 1,000
Moov (Telco) USD 1,000
Telecel (Telco) USD 1,000
Administration fee USD 200

Annual Fees

Entity Cost
ARCE (Regulator) USD 2,000
Orange (Telco) USD 1,200
Moov (Telco) USD 1,200
Telecel (Telco) USD 1,200
Administration fee USD 650

MO and MT Cost

Entity Cost
MO SMS USD 0.028
MT SMS USD 0.025

Dedicated Short Code

Set Up Fees

Entity Cost
Regulator USD 400
Togocom (Telco) USD 600
Moov (Telco) USD 600
Administration fee USD 200

Annual Fees

Entity Cost
Regulator USD 2,000
Togocom (Telco) USD 1,200
Moov (Telco) USD 1,200
Administration fee USD 650

MO and MT Cost

Entity Cost
MO SMS USD 0.028
MT SMS USD 0.025

Dedicated Short Code (Standard Rated)

Price Per SMS

Item MTC Telecom Namibia
Outgoing SMS NAD 0.25 NAD 0.25

Telco Costs

Telco Set Up Cost Monthly Maintenance
MTC NAD 4,500 NAD 2,300
Telcom Namibia NAD 4,500 NAD 2,300

Dedicated Short Code (Standard Rated)

Price Per SMS

Item Econet Vodacom
MO SMS LSL 1.35 LSL 1.35
MT SMS LSL 0.27 LSL 0.27

Service Provider Costs

Telco Set Up Cost Monthly Maintenance
Africa's Talking LSL 4,628.75 LSL 4,830

Dedicated Short Code (Standard Rated)

Price Per SMS

Item Eswatini Mobile MTN
Outgoing SMS SZL 0.8 SZL 0.8

Telco Costs

Telco Set Up Cost Monthly Maintenance
Econet SZL 4,500 SZL 3,300
Vodacom SZL 4,500 SZL 3,300

Dedicated Short Code

Setup Fees

Entity Cost
Regulator EGP 0
Orange (Telco) EGP 0
Vodafone (Telco) EGP 0
Etisalat (Telco) EGP 0

Annual Fees

Entity Cost
Regulator EGP 20,000

Monthly Maintenance Fees

Entity Cost
Orange (Telco) EGP 1,400
Vodafone (Telco) EGP 1,400
Etisalat (Telco) EGP 1,400
We (Telco) EGP 1,400
*Minimum commitment of 1-year

MO and MT Cost

Entity Cost
MO SMS EGP 0
MT SMS EGP 0.2

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