Moving from Bird (formerly MessageBird) to SMS Mobile App
Bird runs SMS, email and WhatsApp on a funded balance. SMS Mobile App is SMS from your own SIM, to Pakistani numbers, on a plan.
What stays behind
Your balance, rented numbers, inbox and other channels stay behind, and so does API access. Use up or withdraw the balance under Bird's own terms before you stop.
Steps
- Put your list in a CSV file. Use whatever already holds the numbers, then follow Prepare a CSV recipient file.
- Check the numbers against what we accept. Only ordinary Pakistani mobile numbers in the
030–036ranges go through. Everything else is refused with the reason, and there is no override. - Install the app on the phone that will send. It is a signed APK, not a Google Play app: Install the Android app, and compare the SHA-256 before you open the file.
- Sign in and register that phone. Sign in with Google, register the phone, then grant its Android permissions.
- Create a small job first. Create a job from the CSV with a few numbers of your own, read the review screen, then release it.
- Watch what happens, then send the rest. Monitor the job. A SIM starts at 150 messages a day and at most 30 an hour, so plan a long list across days (limits).
What SMS Mobile App will not do
- Pakistani mobile numbers only. Foreign numbers, landlines and short codes are refused.
- Each SIM has daily and hourly caps. A SIM starts at 150 messages a day and can rise to 400 as delivery reports come back. Its hourly cap is a fifth of that, and a job waits at least 30 seconds between sends. The Free plan stops at 100 messages a month.
- No HTTP API. Other software cannot send through it, so OTP codes and automated sends from your own system are not available.
- Your SIM and carrier decide the rest. Whether a message arrives depends on them, and their SMS rate is yours to pay on top of any plan.
The facts, with their dates
Last checked 7 November 2026. Check Bird (formerly MessageBird)'s own page
What Bird (formerly MessageBird) charges
| Plan or rate | Price | Country | Their note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SMS long code outbound | $0.0035 a message | United States | Per segment; carrier and registration fees separate | Their page, 7 November 2026 |
| SMS long code inbound | $0.001 a message | United States | Per segment | Their page, 7 November 2026 |
| Local number | $0.5 a month | United States | Rental; usage priced separately | Their page, 7 November 2026 |
Side by side
| What you might need | Bird (formerly MessageBird) | SMS Mobile App |
|---|---|---|
| Sends from your own SIM | No (their page) | Yes |
| An Android phone is the sender | Not stated on the pages we checked | Yes |
| Web dashboard | Not stated on the pages we checked | Yes |
| HTTP API for your own software | Yes (their page) | No |
| Receives replies | Yes (their page) | No |
| Several phones on one account | Not stated on the pages we checked | Yes |
| Dual-SIM rotation | Not stated on the pages we checked | Yes |
| Send-rate control | Not stated on the pages we checked | Yes |
| Scheduled sending | Not stated on the pages we checked | Partly |
| Delivery reports | Not stated on the pages we checked | Yes |
| Spreadsheet recipient import | Not stated on the pages we checked | Yes |
| Message templates | Not stated on the pages we checked | Yes |
| Open source | Not stated on the pages we checked | No |
| Free tier | Partly. Free tiers exist on some products; SMS is pay as you go (their page) | Yes |
| No per-message platform fee | No (their page) | Yes |
The comparison page sets out who each one suits better.