Comparison
SMSKit vs Africa's Talking
For a business in Kenya. Africa's Talking is an SMS platform with its own routes. SMSKit sends from an Android phone and a Kenyan SIM you own. Which one fits depends on your volume, your reach and who looks after the phone.
Short version: SMSKit fits low-to-moderate volume from your own Kenyan number. Africa's Talking fits high volume, branded sender IDs and reach across Africa. Both send SMS from code.
A local SIM on a Kenyan network
This is what the SMSKit setup looks like in Kenya:
- An Android phone that stays on, charged and in signal.
- A SIM on a Kenyan network: Safaricom, Airtel Kenya or Telkom.
- An SMS bundle or plan on that SIM that can carry the volume you plan to send.
- The SMSKit app on the phone, paired to your SMSKit account.
Your messages then leave the SIM under your carrier's normal terms. Recipients see your own number. Your carrier's charges and limits still apply.
Safaricom sells SMS bundles by the day, the week and the month. You buy them by dialling *188#, and they are not available while roaming. Unused SMS lapse when the bundle ends. See Safaricom's bundle terms.
Cost example
Example: 3,000 single-part OTP texts a month to Safaricom numbers. Up to 160 characters is one message on Africa's Talking. Special characters cut that to 70.
| Item | Africa's Talking | SMSKit with a Safaricom SIM |
|---|---|---|
| Messages | 3,000 x KES 0.8 = KES 2,400 a month | A Safaricom monthly bundle of 3,500 SMS for KES 200, valid 30 days |
| Platform or phone | No phone to buy or run | $5 (USD) a month for one phone, with no SMSKit per-message fee |
| One-off | KES 8,700 to set up your own Safaricom sender ID, if you want one | None. Recipients see your SIM's number |
Prices checked October 2026. Sources: Africa's Talking pricing (Bulk SMS, Kenya: KES 0.8 per message to Safaricom on the first tier, and the sender ID set-up fee) and Safaricom SMS bundle terms (last updated 9 August 2023). The two sides use different currencies, so the totals are not added together. Prices change without notice, so check them before you plan.
Africa's Talking lowers the per-message price as monthly spend grows. For Safaricom numbers, the Africa's Talking page lists KES 0.8 up to KES 19,999, KES 0.7 from KES 20,000, KES 0.6 from KES 100,000 and KES 0.4 from KES 400,000. Airtel Kenya and other Kenyan telcos have their own rates on the same page.
With SMSKit, your monthly sends have to fit the bundle you buy; the example uses the 3,500 SMS bundle. The phone's hourly limit applies too. The default is 200 messages an hour. If you pick one of Safaricom's unlimited bundles instead, its fair usage policy caps it at 1,000 SMS a day and 7,000 a week. Outside a bundle, Safaricom's terms give KES 1.10 per SMS.
Safaricom's bundle terms do not say whether a consumer bundle may be used to send business messages. Ask your carrier before you rely on one.
OTP delivery
SMSKit sends the code from your own SIM, so the person sees your number. OTPs can use priority routing, so they go ahead of bulk messages in the queue. How fast the text arrives depends on the carrier network and the phone's signal.
Africa's Talking sends through its own routes. You can set up your own sender ID for a one-off fee per network, and it returns delivery reports. See the Africa's Talking pricing page for the fees.
Two-way replies
SMSKit receives replies on your phone. They come to your webhook as sms:received events on every plan (the Free plan allows one webhook). The inbox is on the Standard plan.
Africa's Talking receives replies on a short code. Its pricing page lists a dedicated short code at a KES 10,000 deposit and KES 15,000 a month per telco. A shared short code, with keywords, is KES 5,000 to set up plus VAT and KES 2,000 a month plus VAT. Check the pricing page for what applies to you.
When Africa's Talking is the better choice
Pick Africa's Talking if you need:
- High volume that one SIM's limits cannot carry.
- A branded alphanumeric sender ID instead of a phone number.
- Shortcodes.
- USSD, airtime or voice.
- Reach across many African countries.
- No phone to look after.
Pick SMSKit if you send low-to-moderate volume of your own OTPs, alerts and two-way conversations from a Kenyan number, and you are happy to keep a phone running. See also the Twilio comparison.
Explore SMSKit
Read the documentation or use your existing account. Public app downloads are currently unavailable.