Key Takeaways
- Free on sms-gateway.app is 1 device, 300 SMS lifetime, 300 contacts — not Unlimited SMS.
- Weekly ops on Free is pairing health, airtime, queue depth, and canary SMS — before customer OTP.
- You still bring the Android phone and operator credit; Free only meters the platform allowance.
- Sends pause when Free SMS allowance is exhausted — upgrade or custom; no silent aggregator overage story.
- Isolate any marketing experiments from the single Free device used for OTP proofs.
This checklist is for teams running a free SMS server path on sms-gateway.app Free — one phone, lifetime platform SMS, weekly hygiene. Pricing: devices and SMS volume. Setup: device setup.
You need a working Android phone with a SIM and SMS credit from your mobile operator. Operator message costs are yours—we do not sell carrier SMS balance. Free = 1 device / 300 SMS lifetime / 300 contacts. Starter, Professional, and Business list Unlimited SMS as platform send volume; that is not unmetered carrier SMS.
Devices · 1
SMS lifetime · 300
Contacts · 300
What “free SMS server” means here
Not a pirate modem farm. Free is a metered SaaS tier with your SIM as the radio. Related OTP Free spoke: Free SMS server for OTP.
Weekly ops cannot invent a second Free device or refill lifetime SMS. Treat the allowance like lab inventory.
Free meters: 1 / 300 / 300
Service pricing is based on device count and total SMS sent through the gateway. When Free SMS is exhausted, sends pause until upgrade/custom — plan canaries so you do not burn the lifetime budget on flaky loops.
Weekly ops checklist
- Phone online, charged, OEM battery exceptions intact.
- SIM funded; note prepaid balance owner.
- One staff canary SMS; confirm DLR.
- API key still staging-only if not production.
- Contact list under 300; prune tests.
- Remaining Free SMS count recorded in the runbook.
- No marketing blast on the OTP phone.
Go / no-go signals
| Check | Go | No-go |
|---|---|---|
| Pairing | Last-seen fresh | Offline > SLA |
| Airtime | Balance covers canaries | Unknown prepaid owner |
| Free SMS left | Headroom for week | Near zero with OTP live |
| Spare device | Paid plan + spare | Expecting Free to HA-failover |
When Free is the wrong plan
Customer OTP, second phone, or volume past lifetime Free → paid devices/volume. Server troubleshooting: server troubleshooting.
Next steps
Docs: API documentation. Downloads: APK.
Related product pages
Jump to the live product docs for this topic—not another long-form article.
- SMS API documentationLive endpoint reference
- device and SMS volume pricingPlans and allowances
- Android SMS gateway product guideDefinition, product, and how to buy
- download the Android gateway appGet the APK
