Key Takeaways
- Open-source SMS gateway pricing is: $0 license (maybe) + your hosting + your time + operator airtime. The last two dominate.
- Hosted Android gateways charge a plan/allowance on devices and send volume. Airtime is still yours.
- Do not describe OSS as “unlimited SMS.” OEM ceilings and carrier fair-use still apply.
- Free on our catalog is 300 SMS lifetime, not an OSS license. Developer is 25,000 SMS per year.
- Unused “credits” are not prepaid packs you cash out — we do not sell those.
Free software is not free SMS
Search for “android sms gateway open source pricing model” mixes GitHub licenses with carrier tariffs. They are not the same invoice. OSS can zero the software line. It cannot zero Telkomsel, MTN, or Globe.
This product’s meter is devices plus send volume. You bring the phone and operator credit. Starter / Professional / Business uncap platform send volume; device caps remain; carrier fair-use remains. Do not retitle this guide Unlimited SMS.
license · hosting/ops · airtime
Three ledgers
- Software (OSS license vs our plan fee).
- Ops (servers for OSS; phones for both).
- Operator (always you).
“If the spreadsheet only has a GitHub star count, you are not pricing a gateway. You are pricing a feeling.”
Cost comparison
| OSS APK / SMSC | This product | CPaaS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Software | License $0–? | Devices + volume plan | Per message + numbers |
| Airtime | You | You | Bundled in vendor rate |
| Hardware | Phones and/or VPS | Phones you host | None |
| On-call | You | You (radio) + plan support | Vendor network |
This product’s meter
Canonical numbers live in pricing: Free 300 SMS lifetime / 300 contacts / 1 device; Developer 25,000 SMS per year / 1 device; Starter 2 devices; Professional 5; Business 15. Pause-on-exhaust for Free and Developer — no silent $0.0x overage theatre.
Refunds, if any, are platform plan fees — not operator pulsa. No credit-pack rollover story.
Hub: OSS cluster. Product: how the gateway works.
Traps
- Calling OSS “no per-message fee” without saying devices/allowance/airtime.
- Comparing our plan to CPaaS without the operator column.
- Assuming unused SMS rolls over like a gift card we sold.
- White-label “sell SMS” dreams. Contracted branding ≠ reseller packs.
OSI licenses explain software freedom, not GSM tariffs.
Next steps
Price a month of real OTP: pulsa + phones + either OSS hours or a plan. Then choose. Setup: pairing.
Related product pages
Jump to the live product docs for this topic—not another long-form article.
- device and SMS volume pricingPlans and allowances
- Android SMS gateway product guideDefinition, product, and how to buy
- SMS API documentationLive endpoint reference
- download the Android gateway appGet the APK
