Free SMS Providers
Unfortunately, there isn’t any completely free SMS providers in Australia. Some other countries have much cheaper SMS rates (for example, the USA) so services can offer SMS messages for free subsidised by advertising.
Here in Australia, even the massive providers have to spend quite a lot to send an SM, hence why there’s no providers offering it for free.
Don’t lose hope though, as there are providers who offer free trial and small packages that are very affordable.
Free Trial SMS Providers
Most Australian SMS providers will offer some kind of free trial, though you can often only send to your own number.
MessageMedia provides 25 free SMS messages in a 14 day trial, and it great for a quick one of use case.
Other providers such as BurstSMS also offer free trials.
Free SMS API Gateway
Looking for a free message service API? Most providers that offer trials will also allow access to their API, though some providers will gate this behind making a purchase.
You’ll need to make a purchase if you want to continue sending, because of the cost of messaging in Australia only the first few messages are free.
Receive SMS Free in Australia
To receive SMS message, you’ll need a virtual or dedicated number. No Australian providers offer free dedicated numbers, so you’ll have a purchase one. Prices generally range from between $20.00 AUD and $50.00 AUD per month.
No free trials are offered due to abuse of these numbers, so you’ll need to fork out if you want to receive messages.
Once you have the virtual number, receiving messages is free on most providers, though some do charge between 2 and 10 cents per incoming message.
What sending actually costs
Since there is no genuinely free option beyond a trial, the real question is what the cheapest paid option costs for what you need to send. Rates vary more than you would expect, and the way providers sell them differs: some quote a rate against a minimum top-up, others bundle messages into a monthly plan, and one bills in US dollars.
Enter your volume below and every provider is costed the same way.
What each provider would charge
Enter what you send and see what each provider would charge.
| # | Provider | Plan | Per month | Effective | vs cheapest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | touchSMSfree inbound | Pay as you go | $250.00 | 5.00c | cheapest |
| 2 | Sinch Engage | Pro | $348.00 | 6.96c | +$98.00 |
| 3 | Twiliobilled in USD | Standard | $357.85 | 7.16c | +$107.85 |
| 4 | ClickSendfree inbound | Boost | $360.00 | 7.20c | +$110.00 |
Rates checked 4 September 2026 from each provider's published pricing. Twilio publishes and bills in USD, converted here at 1.3897 AUD (rate from 2026-09-04) so the totals are comparable. Your actual cost moves with the exchange rate and any conversion fee your bank charges. Excludes carrier fees and GST; touchSMS quotes ex GST. Messages over 160 characters count as more than one.
For most low-volume senders the cheapest paid option works out at a few dollars a month, which is often less than the effort of hunting for a free workaround.
Worth knowing before you buy:
- Trials are capped and usually locked to your own number. They are for testing an integration, not for running a campaign.
- Receiving replies needs a dedicated number, from around $15 a month. That is the cost no free option covers.
- Inbound messages are free on some providers and charged on others, which matters more than the outbound rate if you run two-way campaigns.