SMSTunnel vs httpSMS

Two ways to send texts from your own Android phone

Checked November 2026 on the official websites. See the sources.

The short version

httpSMS and SMSTunnel work the same way at heart: an app on your own Android phone sends the texts your software asks for, from the phone's SIM and number, on flat plans with no per-message fees. Both start free, and both can encrypt texts end to end.

httpSMS is open source and you can run it on your own server. It also sends pictures (MMS), schedules texts, sends from CSV or Excel files, and pushes received texts and status changes to your webhooks.

SMSTunnel's app is on Google Play and runs from Android 7.0. It comes with ready-made plugins and modules (WordPress, WooCommerce, Magento, PrestaShop, OpenCart, Odoo, n8n, Home Assistant and more) and a separate allowance for sign-in codes.

Side by side

SMSTunnel and httpSMS compared
Topic SMSTunnel httpSMS
The app On Google Play, for Android 7.0 or newer An APK from GitHub, not on Google Play, for Android 9 or newer
Price A free plan, and paid plans from $9 a month Free, then from $10 to $350 a month
Free plan 25 texts a day (500 a month) and 50 sign-in codes a day, on all your phones 200 texts a month, sent and received together
Paid plans Standard: 2,000 texts a day, 30,000 a month. Professional: no daily cap. Only the texts you send count Pro, $10 a month: 5,000 texts. 10K, $20: 10,000. Larger plans up to 200,000
Per-text fees No per-message fees from SMSTunnel. Your mobile plan's SMS charges or allowance apply None: flat plans, and the texts go out from your SIM
Phones and SIMs All your own phones on every plan, and the SIM on dual-SIM phones Several phones, each with its own key, and dual SIM
Your clients' phones On Enterprise, your app links each client's own phone with a QR code and sends from it Phone keys put several phones in one account; each key is made by hand in the dashboard
Numbers per request One number per text, up to 1600 characters One per text, or up to 1,000 from a CSV or Excel file
Scheduled texts Not available Up to 20 days ahead, and quiet hours for each phone
Sending pace Up to 30 send requests a minute through the API 10 texts a minute per phone, up to 29 if you raise it
Received texts They reach your phone. Optional sync to your dashboard and the API Webhooks to your own server
Status of a text Pending, sent or failed, as your phone reports it, through the API Webhooks when a text is sent, delivered, failed or expired
Pictures (MMS) No, texts only Yes, with attachments
Sign-in codes Your software makes the code, SMSTunnel sends it, with a separate daily allowance Count like any other text
Encryption Optional end-to-end encryption between your own software and your phone Optional end-to-end encryption with a key you set on the phone, for sent and received texts
Integrations More than 40 ready-made: WordPress, WooCommerce, Shopify, n8n, Home Assistant and more Zapier through its webhook action, a Discord app, Go and JavaScript libraries
Open source The app and service are not; the plugins, modules and SDKs are public Yes, AGPL-3.0: run it on your own server with Docker

SMSTunnel's current prices are on its pricing page. httpSMS's plans count sent and received texts together; SMSTunnel's count only the texts you send.

When to choose httpSMS instead

  • You want open source you can read, change and run on your own server. You set up Firebase and email for it, and build the app yourself.
  • You need pictures (MMS) as well as texts.
  • You want texts scheduled ahead, up to 20 days, or quiet hours for each phone.
  • One upload of a CSV or Excel file should send texts to many people, up to 1,000.
  • Your server should get webhooks for received texts, delivery reports and a phone that went offline.
  • You want the texts your phone receives encrypted end to end as well.

When SMSTunnel fits better

  • You want the app from Google Play, or your phone runs Android 7 or 8.
  • Your app has many clients, each with their own phone: on Enterprise, your app shows each client a QR code, the client links their own phone, and your app sends their texts from it.
  • Your site already has a plugin or module: WordPress with WooCommerce, Contact Form 7, Gravity Forms or WPForms, or Magento, PrestaShop, OpenCart, Odoo, n8n, Home Assistant and Laravel.
  • You send sign-in codes: they have their own daily allowance, with packages for Supabase Auth, Auth0, Clerk, Better Auth and Ory.
  • Your phone receives a lot of texts: only the texts you send count toward an SMSTunnel plan, while httpSMS's plans count sent and received texts together.
  • You want the number hidden from the service too: Maximum privacy, on Professional and Enterprise.

How switching works

Your phone and number stay the same. Only the app and the call your software makes change.

  1. 1Install SMSTunnel from Google Play on the phone that sends your texts, and sign in with your SMSTunnel account.
  2. 2In your dashboard, open Apps → Add an app and copy the API key.
  3. 3Change the send call: to stays, content becomes message, and from goes away, because the phone's own number is the sender. With several phones, deviceId picks one.
  4. 4Replace the webhooks: poll GET /api/v1/sms/status/{messageId} for the status of a text, and for replies turn on Sync received texts in the app, then read GET /api/v1/sms/received with a key allowed to read them.
  5. 5If you encrypt texts: SMSTunnel uses your phone's public key instead of a shared key. Your dashboard has ready code for PHP, Node.js, Python and C# (how it works).
Before: httpSMS
curl -X POST https://api.httpsms.com/v1/messages/send \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_HTTPSMS_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"from": "+18005550199", "to": "+18005550100", "content": "Your table is ready."}'
After: SMSTunnel
curl -X POST https://smstunnel.io/api/v1/sms/send \
  -H "X-API-Key: sk_live_..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"to": "+18005550100", "message": "Your table is ready."}'

Every field and answer is in the API reference. If your phone is offline, the text waits and goes out when it is back, for up to 3 days.

Ready-made integrations

Ready-made setups that replace your own code, with the same phone doing the sending.

Home Assistant
Alerts with notify.smstunnel
Uptime Kuma
Monitor alerts, no plugin
Grafana
Alerts from a webhook contact point
n8n
A community node for your workflows
Apprise
One URL for the tools that use Apprise
Webhooks
A secret URL that texts you

More on the integrations page, and any other software can use the REST API.

Questions people ask

Is SMSTunnel open source like httpSMS?

No. httpSMS is open source under the AGPL-3.0 license, and you can run it on your own server with Docker. SMSTunnel's app and service are not open source; its plugins, modules and SDKs are public, and the Custom plan has a self-hosted option.

Do both encrypt texts end to end?

Both can, and in both it is optional. With httpSMS, you set a key in the app and use the same key in your code, for sent and received texts. With SMSTunnel, your software encrypts each text with your phone's public key, SMSTunnel can't read it and erases it once it's sent, and on Professional and Enterprise, Maximum privacy hides the number too.

Which phones do they work on?

Both need an Android phone with a SIM. httpSMS works from Android 9, SMSTunnel from Android 7.0. Neither runs on an iPhone, but the people you text can use any phone.

Can I send pictures?

With httpSMS, yes: it sends and receives MMS with attachments. SMSTunnel sends text messages only.

How many texts does the free plan include?

httpSMS's free plan has 200 texts a month, sent and received together. SMSTunnel's has 25 texts a day and 500 a month as you wrote them, on all your phones, plus 50 sign-in codes a day. Texts your own software sends beyond that, up to a daily cap, end with a short “free by smstunnel.io” line.

Do I pay per text with either of them?

No. Both have flat plans, and the texts go out from your own SIM, so your mobile plan's SMS charges or allowance apply.

Sources

Checked November 2026 on httpSMS's own website and documentation. Prices and features change, and some depend on the country, so check these pages before you decide.

Responsible use

Send only texts people expect from you: sending business texts from a personal SIM can break some carriers' terms, so check your plan.

httpSMS and the other product names on this page are trademarks of their owners. SMSTunnel is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by them.

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