How to migrate from BulkSMS to Infobip

BulkSMS is a self-serve bulk messaging platform focused on SMS and RCS, run from Cape Town, South Africa. Infobip is a global omnichannel communications platform that spans ten channels from SMS to email. On the messaging.dev Score, BulkSMS rates 43/100 and Infobip 96/100 — this guide treats that gap as data and walks through what you gain, what you lose, and how to re-point your sending code.

What actually changes

Channels you gain. BulkSMS supports SMS and RCS. Infobip keeps both and adds MMS, WhatsApp, Viber, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, Apple Messages for Business, voice, and email. You lose no channel in this direction — every channel BulkSMS offers exists on Infobip too.

Compliance. Both providers are GDPR-aligned. Infobip additionally carries ISO 27001, SOC 2, and HIPAA, none of which are listed for BulkSMS. You gain certifications; you lose none.

Data residency. BulkSMS offers EU servers only, with no region choice. Infobip offers both EU and US servers plus explicit data-residency choice, so you can pin where traffic and data live.

Pricing model. This is the biggest operational shift. BulkSMS is pay-as-you-go prepaid credits with no monthly, setup, or contract fees. Infobip is primarily quote/contract-based (contact sales), with some pay-as-you-go options. Neither publishes a headline per-SMS price.

Tooling and onboarding. Both are self-onboarding and both include free developer credit (BulkSMS: 5 free test SMS on signup; Infobip: unspecified trial credit). BulkSMS lists no official SDKs and rates its docs as medium quality, with no sandbox. Infobip ships SDKs for Java, C#, Python, PHP, Go, and Node.js, rates its docs high, and provides a sandbox test environment. See how to start with Infobip for the full quickstart.

How the request format differs

BulkSMS:

curl -X POST https://api.bulksms.com/v1/messages \
  -u 'API_TOKEN_ID:API_TOKEN_SECRET' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"to": "+27000000000", "body": "Hello, World!"}'

Infobip:

curl -X POST 'https://xxxxxx.api.infobip.com/sms/2/text/advanced' \
  -H 'Authorization: App YOUR_API_KEY' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -H 'Accept: application/json' \
  -d '{"messages":[{"from":"InfoSMS","destinations":[{"to":"15551234567"}],"text":"Hello from Infobip"}]}'

Endpoint. BulkSMS uses a fixed host, https://api.bulksms.com/v1/messages. Infobip uses an account-specific base URL, https://{base_url}.api.infobip.com/sms/2/text/advanced, where the subdomain is issued to your account — read it from the dashboard rather than copying xxxxxx.

Authentication. BulkSMS uses HTTP Basic auth (-u with an API token ID and secret, or your username/password). Infobip uses an API key sent as Authorization: App {api_key}. Move the secret out of the -u flag and into an Authorization header.

Payload mapping. BulkSMS sends a single flat object: to (recipient) and body (message text), with no sender in the example. Infobip wraps everything in a messages array; each entry has from (sender ID), a destinations array whose objects hold to, and text for the body. So to → destinations[].to, body → text, and you add a from. The nested array lets one call carry multiple messages and multiple recipients.

Migration checklist

1. Create an Infobip account, generate an API key, and note your personalized base URL.
2. Map the request fields: to → messages[].destinations[].to, body → messages[].text, and add messages[].from.
3. Re-point sending code to the new endpoint and swap Basic auth for the Authorization: App header.
4. Re-test in Infobip’s sandbox before sending live traffic.
5. Update delivery callbacks/webhooks to Infobip’s report format.
6. Run both providers in parallel and compare delivery.
7. Cut over once parallel results match.

Watch out for

• Pricing shifts to quote/contract. You move from BulkSMS’s transparent self-serve prepaid credits to Infobip’s primarily quote/contract model; budget for a sales conversation.
• Account-specific base URL. Don’t hardcode xxxxxx — the subdomain is unique to your account.
• Country coverage. BulkSMS lists 213 countries versus Infobip’s 190; verify your key destinations are covered.
• Trial credit is unspecified. Infobip’s free credit amount isn’t published, unlike BulkSMS’s explicit 5 test SMS.

For a full side-by-side, see BulkSMS vs Infobip.