Short answer: To send SMS online from a real mobile number, you need a number that lives in an online account rather than on a SIM card. With an eSIM Signal virtual number you get a UK (+44), Australian (+61) or Brazilian (+55) mobile number, send texts from your account on a computer or any phone, and receive replies free and without limit. Sending is charged per message, there is no contract, and the numbers are for SMS only, not calls.
Why "send SMS online" usually disappoints
Search for a way to send a text from your computer and you will mostly find two kinds of tools:
- Anonymous "free SMS" senders that send from a random or hidden number. The person you write to cannot reply, many networks filter these messages as spam, and you have no idea whether the text arrived.
- Bulk SMS platforms built for marketing, with sender IDs, campaigns and contracts. They are far more than one person needs.
What most people actually want sits in the middle: a real number of their own that they can text from on a laptop, and that people can text back.
How sending SMS from a virtual number works
An eSIM Signal number is a genuine mobile number. Messages to and from it go through your account instead of a phone:
- Create a free eSIM Signal account and top up your credits by card.
- Buy a number in the UK, Australia or Brazil. You can take any available number, or pick a specific one for a small one-off fee.
- Open the number in your account and write your message to any mobile number.
- Replies arrive in the same account within seconds, and incoming SMS are free.
Because the number is yours, the person you text sees the same number every time and can reply to it like any other text.
Get a number to send and receive SMSGet a number
What it is good for
Texting from your laptop while you work
If you spend the day at a desk, replying from the keyboard is quicker than reaching for a phone. Arrange a viewing, confirm an appointment or answer a buyer without switching devices.
Keeping your personal number out of it
Landlords, tradespeople, marketplace buyers and one-off contacts do not need your personal mobile number. Text them from a separate number and keep your own for friends and family.
Staying reachable in the UK, Australia or Brazil from abroad
If you moved away but still deal with people back home, a local number means they text a familiar, local number, and you reply from wherever you are, over Wi-Fi or a travel eSIM.
Get a UK mobile number for SMSGet a number
Testing an app or a website
Developers and small businesses can check how their own text messages look on a real number in another country, and reply to test two-way flows.
What it costs, in plain terms
- Receiving SMS is free and unlimited.
- Sending SMS is charged per message, from your credits. The price per message depends on the country you send to, and it is shown on each number's page.
- The number itself is a plan of 1, 3 or 12 months in the UK, or 3 months in Australia and Brazil, renewing until you switch renewal off.
There is no contract and no cancellation fee. Switch renewal off and the number ends on its paid-until date.
Tip: keep a little extra in your credits if you text regularly. A renewal that your credits cannot cover is taken from a saved card if you have one; otherwise the number pauses until you pay.
Good habits for texting from an online number
- Say who you are in the first message. People are rightly wary of texts from unfamiliar numbers.
- Keep messages short. Very long texts are sent in several parts, so a short message is cheaper and easier to read.
- Do not send marketing to people who have not asked for it. Unsolicited marketing texts are restricted in many countries, and they are not what a personal number is for.
- Never send codes or passwords by text to anyone who asks for them.
What it will not do
- No calls. Our numbers are SMS only. If someone tries to ring the number, it will not connect.
- No group messaging or picture messages. It is for plain text SMS.
- Not every service accepts virtual numbers. For verification codes, a few banks and messaging apps refuse them; for ordinary texts between people, this does not matter.
If you are also travelling, remember that a number and a data plan are different things. A number lets you text; a data eSIM gets your phone online so you can open your account anywhere. If you are not sure your phone takes eSIMs, check our supported devices first.
Get an Australian mobile number for SMSGet a number
Get a Brazilian mobile number for SMSGet a number
Frequently asked questions
Can I send SMS online from my own number?
Yes, if the number is a virtual number in your account. With eSIM Signal you send texts from your UK, Australian or Brazilian number in your account, and replies come back to it.
Can people reply to texts I send online?
Yes. Your eSIM Signal number is a real mobile number, so people reply as they would to any text, and their replies are free for you to receive.
Do I need a phone to send SMS online?
No. You can send and read texts from your eSIM Signal account on a computer, tablet or any phone with internet.
How much does it cost to send an SMS?
Each outgoing SMS has a small price per message that depends on the country you send to; it is shown on the number's page. Receiving SMS is free.
Can I make calls from the same number?
No. eSIM Signal numbers are SMS only and do not make or receive calls.