Principal entity
Register the sending business with an operator DLT platform and retain the assigned entity details used during onboarding.
SMS Gateway
SMS Gateway & API
for Indian Businesses
Business SMS service for OTPs, transactional alerts and promotional campaigns, from ₹0.12 per SMS, with DLT-registered Sender IDs, delivery reports and no extra DLT support fee.
What Is an SMS Gateway?
An SMS gateway is the service that takes a message from your application or dashboard and delivers it to mobile networks. In India, every commercial SMS must also go out under a DLT-registered header (Sender ID) and a registered content template, so a business SMS gateway has to handle DLT as well as delivery.
Messagify's SMS gateway sends transactional, service, promotional and OTP messages through authorized connectivity infrastructure with DLT-registered Sender IDs and templates. Message status is tracked through delivery reports (DLR), so your team can see accepted, delivered and failed sends for individual notifications and bulk campaigns.
Use it from the dashboard for campaigns, or from your own software through the SMS API. SMS also works as the fallback channel for RCS Business Messaging and alongside the WhatsApp Business API.
Key Features
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OTP Delivery
Priority routing for time-sensitive one-time passwords and authentication messages.
🧾
Transactional SMS
Order confirmations, account alerts and service messages using the applicable registered category and template.
📣
Promotional SMS
Campaign messaging designed around applicable consent, preference, template and sending-window requirements.
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Real-Time DLR
Live delivery reports for every message, visible in your dashboard.
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Sender ID & Template Registration
We help register your DLT Sender IDs and message templates as part of onboarding, at no extra charge.
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Unicode Support
Send in Hindi and other Indian regional languages, not just English.
SMS Pricing in India
SMS is billed per message segment, based on category (transactional or promotional) and volume. Messagify doesn't charge for DLT registration support; only the operator's own entity fee applies, paid on the operator's DLT portal.
See full pricing →SMS
Transactional, DLT routed
₹0.12
from, per SMS
SMS
Promotional, DLT routed
₹0.12
from, per SMS
A standard SMS segment holds 160 GSM characters or 70 Unicode characters, so a long Hindi message can be billed as several parts. Compare costs in RCS vs SMS cost in India.
DLT-Ready SMS Onboarding
Indian commercial messaging uses the telecom DLT framework. The principal entity, header, content template and consent requirements depend on the message purpose and current telecom rules; they are not interchangeable labels.
Sender ID / header
Register the header customers will see and associate it with the appropriate communication purpose.
Content templates
Register message wording and variables carefully so live messages match the approved template structure.
Consent and preferences
Use the applicable consent and preference process for the message category and maintain records relevant to your campaign.
DLT and telecom requirements can change. Treat this as product onboarding information, not legal advice, and verify the current requirements with your operator or regulatory adviser. For a practical overview, read the DLT registration guide for business SMS and the step-by-step guide to DLT header registration on Jio, Airtel, Vi and BSNL.
Sender IDs and SMS Templates
Your Sender ID (header) and templates decide what customers see and whether a message is allowed through. Getting them right first avoids most delivery failures.
Header format
Headers are six characters and now end in a suffix that shows the message type: -T transactional, -S service, -P promotional and -G government.
Template variables
Each template marks its fixed text and its variable parts. A live message must match the registered structure, or the operator can reject it.
One purpose per template
Register separate templates for OTPs, alerts and offers instead of one generic template, so each runs under the correct category.
Links and numbers
Register the links and call-back numbers your messages contain, and keep them stable, rather than inserting arbitrary URLs into a variable.
Integrating the SMS API
The SMS API lets your application send OTPs, alerts and notifications automatically. A reliable integration follows the same pattern whatever you build:
Authenticate
Keep API credentials on the server, limit who can access them and separate test and production configuration.
Send registered content
Pass the recipient, registered sender details, approved template information and variables required by your configured route.
Process callbacks
Receive delivery-status callbacks idempotently and map provider status values into your application's message state.
Handle failure
Log rejected or failed messages, avoid blind retries and surface actionable reasons to operations teams.
The SMS API base URL is listed in the API documentation; its endpoint-by-endpoint reference is not yet published, so request guided integration access rather than relying on a sample endpoint. For one API across channels, see Communication APIs.
Choosing the Right SMS Route
OTP and authentication
Time-sensitive verification messages where delivery state and expiry handling must be part of the application flow.
Transactional and service updates
Order, booking, payment and account notifications sent under the correctly registered purpose and content template.
Promotional campaigns
Offers and acquisition campaigns sent only under the applicable consent, preference and time restrictions.
Unicode messages
Hindi and other regional-language content is supported, but Unicode encoding changes SMS segment length and can affect billed message parts.
Business SMS Use Cases
Banking and fintech
OTPs, transaction alerts and payment reminders for banks, NBFCs and fintechs.
Retail and e-commerce
Order confirmations, delivery updates and festive offers for retail brands.
Healthcare
Appointment reminders and report-ready alerts for clinics and diagnostic labs.
Education and public services
Fee reminders and notices for schools and institutes, and citizen alerts for government departments.
Frequently Asked Questions
An SMS gateway delivers messages from your application or dashboard to mobile networks. In India, a business SMS gateway also has to send each commercial message under a DLT-registered header and content template.
Messagify's published starting rate is ₹0.12 per SMS for transactional and ₹0.12 for promotional messages. SMS is billed per segment of 160 GSM or 70 Unicode characters, and final pricing depends on category and volume.
Commercial SMS senders in India are required to register their Sender ID and message templates on the Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) platform. We help customers complete this registration as part of onboarding, and route messages through authorized connectivity infrastructure with DLT-registered Sender IDs.
No. Messagify doesn't charge for DLT registration support. The only DLT cost is the operator's own Principal Entity fee, which you pay on the operator's DLT portal.
Yes. Your application can send SMS through the Messagify SMS API and receive delivery-status callbacks. The base URL is on the developers page; the full endpoint reference is shared during guided integration until it is published.
They serve different purposes and use different DLT classifications, templates, consent or preference rules, and sending restrictions. The correct configuration depends on the message content and current telecom requirements; promotional traffic must not be disguised as transactional traffic.
Yes. Our SMS gateway supports Unicode encoding for Hindi and other Indian regional languages, alongside standard English SMS.
Related Guides
Related Channels
Ready to Send at Scale?
Talk to our team about DLT onboarding and get your SMS routes live.