Purchase an SMS number

Learn how to purchase a new long or short SMS number to use with your SMS campaigns.

Overview

When you're sending a marketing SMS campaign, you must use a number that's local to the country where you're sending your campaigns – this is to let your contacts reply and opt-out easily. You can purchase new numbers in-app.

Purchase an SMS number

To purchase a new SMS number:

1. Go to Settings > Account > SMS settings.
2. Select Purchase new number.
3. Select the countries you plan to send SMS messages to.
   

   • For marketing SMS, you must purchase an inbound number for each of these to allow replies and opt-outs. You can do this in-app with UK, US, and AUS, but for other countries, we’ll need to process the order for you.
   • For transactional SMS, you might not need to purchase a number in all cases. After you select your countries, we will tell you whether you have to or not.

4. At this point, your options vary depending on whether you chose the UK, US, AUS, or other countries. To continue, select the option that applies to you:
   
   • I’m purchasing numbers for the UK
   • I’m purchasing numbers for the US and AUS
   • I’m purchasing numbers for other countries

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Purchasing numbers for the UK

These steps continue from Purchase an SMS number. To purchase numbers for the UK:

1. Choose the type of number you want to purchase.
   

   To learn more about shared short codes and virtual mobile numbers, check out the article Getting started with SMS.

2. If you choose a Virtual mobile number:
   
   1. Select Next.
   2. Choose how many long numbers your want to purchase.
      

      You can buy a maximum of five in one transaction.

   3. Select Add to invoice.
3. If you choose a Shared short code, or Free text shared short code:
   
   1. Select Next.
   2. Enter your keyword.
      

      To learn about short codes, check out Shared short code and keywords.

   3. Select Add to invoice.

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Purchasing numbers for the US and AUS

These steps continue from Purchase an SMS number. To purchase numbers for the US and AUS:

1. Choose how many numbers you want to purchase.
   

   You can buy a maximum of five in one transaction.

2. Select Next.
3. Select Add to invoice.

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Purchasing numbers for other countries

1. Select each country you’d like to send SMS to.
2. Select Next.
3. We’ll be in touch shortly to help you with buying a number for these countries.

See also

• Understand SMS pay-as-you-go and spend limit
• Set country rules for your SMS opt-out messages