How to start sending messages with Vonage

Step 1 — Create your account

1. Sign up. Head to www.vonage.com/communications-apis/ and create an account. Onboarding is self-service, so you can start immediately. New accounts include €2 free trial credit to test with.
2. Grab your keys. Open the dashboard and copy your credentials. Vonage uses API Key + API Secret for the SMS API, or JWT auth for the Messages API.
3. (Optional) Use the sandbox. Vonage offers a test environment, so you can validate your integration before sending live traffic.

Step 2 — Send your first SMS

The fastest path is a single API call. Drop in your credentials and a destination number, then run this from your terminal:

curl -X POST 'https://rest.nexmo.com/sms/json' \
  -d 'api_key=YOUR_API_KEY' \
  -d 'api_secret=YOUR_API_SECRET' \
  -d 'from=Vonage' \
  -d 'to=15551234567' \
  -d 'text=Hello from Vonage'

The request hits https://rest.nexmo.com/sms/json (legacy SMS API) or https://api.nexmo.com/v1/messages (Messages API). A 2xx response means Vonagehas accepted your message for delivery — you should see it arrive within seconds.

Step 3 — Go native with an SDK

Once the raw call works, switch to an official SDK for retries, typing and error handling.Vonage ships SDKs for Node.js, Python, PHP, Java, C#, Ruby, Kotlin, and Node.js is a great place to start.Full reference lives in the Vonage documentation.

What's next

• Add more channels. Vonage also supports WhatsApp, RCS, Viber, Voice — reuse the same account and credentials.
• Mind compliance. Vonage is GDPR, ISO 27001, SOC 2, HIPAA aligned, with EU and US data residency options.
• Compare before you commit. See how Vonage stacks up on the provider table or in a head-to-head comparison.