Send and Receive SMS Online With Two-Way Chat
Text one customer or thousands from any browser, then answer every reply in one chat screen. Receiving is free and there is no monthly fee.
Trusted by Australian businesses since 2002
Online SMS lets you send and receive SMS messages online, in a web browser instead of a phone. 160.com.au is an Australian bulk SMS provider that has run since 2002 on Australian carrier routes. You send from the free shared number or your own virtual mobile number, and replies arrive in a two-way chat screen.
Start Sending SMS Messages in Three Steps
Step 1: Open a free account
Sign up and get free SMS credits to try it. There is no credit card to enter and nothing to install.
Step 2: Write and send
Paste numbers, pick a contact group or upload a list. Choose the number to send from, type the message and send it.
Step 3: Answer the replies
Replies land in SMS Received (2-Way Chat), one conversation per customer. Have them forwarded to your email or mobile too.
Answer Every Reply From One Chat Screen
One thread per customer.SMS Received (2-Way Chat) lists each contact as a conversation. Your texts sit on one side and their replies on the other, in time order.
See new replies at a glance.An unread badge on the menu shows when something new has arrived. Open the thread, type under it and press Send.
Replies follow you.Each reply can also go to an email address, or to a mobile as a forwarded text. Zapier's New Incoming SMS trigger and our API pass it to your own software, so nothing waits until you log in.
Start Free, Then Use a Virtual Number of Your Own
Free shared number.Every account can send from the free shared 160 number, shown as 2-way SMS in your account. Once you have sent an SMS, customers can reply and the replies come back to you. Nobody can text it first.
Your own virtual mobile number.An Australian virtual number that is yours alone, for $20 a month, cancel any time. Customers save it, text you first and see the same number every time.
Calls too, if you want them.Use one number for calls and SMS. Incoming calls ring in our yabb app at no extra cost. Make outbound calls with call credits, or forward calls to your other phones as an add-on.
Send One Text or Thousands From Your Browser
Any list, any size.Run SMS campaigns to pasted numbers, a saved contact group or an uploaded list. Add the first name so each text reads as personal.
Send now or later.Schedule a text to go out at a set time, or set it to repeat.
Opt-outs handled for you.When a customer replies STOP, 160 takes them off future sends. Use a Sender ID for one-way notices that need no reply.
0423 456 789
0434 567 890
Receive SMS Online Without Giving Out Your Mobile Number
Keep your mobile private.Give out your 160 virtual phone number instead of your own. Receive your SMS in the chat screen, the yabb app or your email.
Receive verification codes.Verification codes sent by SMS to your 160 number land in your account. Some apps do not accept virtual numbers, so check first. To send codes to your own customers, use 160Verify.
Private to you.Free public receive-SMS sites show every message to the whole internet. A 160 number belongs to your account, and only you see what arrives.
Keep Every Customer Conversation in One Place
Clinics and salons
Confirm appointments and take the reschedule replies without a phone call.
Trades and delivery
Text an arrival window and pick up the gate code or access notes in the same thread.
Schools, clubs and property managers
Send a notice to a group and collect the yes or no replies in one screen.
Shops
Put your number on the window or receipt and answer stock and order questions by text.
Support teams
Give customers a number to text instead of a queue, and let any staff login pick it up.
Selling online
Give buyers a private number so your own mobile stays out of the listing.
Choose a Private Number Over a Public One
Free receive-SMS sites and a 160 number both take texts online. Only one keeps them private.
| Free public receive-SMS sites | 160.com.au | |
|---|---|---|
| Who sees your messages | Anyone on the internet | Only you, in your account |
| People can text you first | Shared with strangers | Yes, on your own virtual number |
| Verification codes | Often blocked by apps | Codes sent by SMS arrive privately |
| Reply to customers | No | Yes, in the two-way chat screen |
| Support | None | Sydney team on 1800 671 823 |
Start With 1.9¢ Texts on Your First Package
Choose the credits that suit you. The new customer price applies to your first order, and credits never expire while you send one SMS every 180 days.
- Text any mobile in Australia and overseas
- No hidden fees or contracts
- 100% delivery guarantee
- Full customer and tech support
- Dedicated account manager
- Text any mobile in Australia and overseas
- No hidden fees or contracts
- 100% delivery guarantee
- Full customer and tech support
- Dedicated account manager
- Text any mobile in Australia and overseas
- No hidden fees or contracts
- 100% delivery guarantee
- Full customer and tech support
- Dedicated account manager
- Text any mobile in Australia and overseas
- No hidden fees or contracts
- 100% delivery guarantee
- Full customer and tech support
- Dedicated account manager
- Text any mobile in Australia and overseas
- No hidden fees or contracts
- 100% delivery guarantee
- Full customer and tech support
- Dedicated account manager
Two-way chat works on the free shared number. Your own virtual mobile number is $20 a month on top of your credits, cancel any time. Overseas numbers start at $10 a month.
* These are standard text messages of up to 160 characters. A message over 160 characters uses more SMS credits.
* This offer is only valid for new customers and applies to the new customer's first order. We reserve the right at our sole discretion to refuse this offer. It does not apply to existing customers or to new customer accounts related to existing customers.
* Package prices include GST. The per SMS rate is shown excluding GST. SMS credits are not transferable between accounts. The offer is limited to one account per business or person, and accounts opened to claim the offer more than once will have the additional credits removed.
Sending more each month? See standard pricing and coverage.
Answers Before You Try Our SMS Service
Can I receive SMS online without a mobile phone?
Yes. Replies arrive in your 160.com.au account in the browser. A phone is optional, and you can add our yabb app if you want the same conversations on a handset.
Can I receive SMS online without giving out my personal mobile number?
Yes. Add a virtual mobile number to your account and give that number out instead. Messages sent to it arrive in your chat screen and, if you want, in our yabb app or your email. Your personal mobile stays private.
Can I use an online SMS number to receive verification codes (OTP)?
Yes, for codes sent by SMS. They arrive online in your account, and your personal number stays private. Some apps and banks do not accept virtual numbers, so check first.
Is this the same as a free public number for receiving codes?
No. Public disposable numbers show everyone's incoming messages on a web page for anyone to read, and many services block them. A 160 number is private to your account, and only you see what arrives.
Can I get a free number to receive SMS online?
Every account includes the free shared 160 number, and replies to it cost nothing. For a number that people can text first, add your own virtual number for $20 a month. Free public numbers exist, but anyone can read what arrives on them.
Does it cost anything to receive messages?
No. Receiving replies and incoming messages is free on the shared number and on a virtual mobile number. You pay per message only for what you send. A copy forwarded to your mobile as a text uses one credit.
Can customers reply to my messages?
Yes, when you send from the shared 160 number or your own virtual mobile number. Texts sent under a Sender ID such as your business name cannot be answered, so use a number for anything you want replies to.
Can customers text me first?
Only on a virtual mobile number of your own. On the free shared number, a conversation starts with a message you send.
Can several staff use the chat screen?
Yes. Sub-user accounts sit under your main account, so each person has their own login while conversations and credits stay in one place.
Can I send online SMS overseas?
Yes. International destinations are covered at the rates on the pricing and coverage page. Check the country before you send.
Send Your First Online SMS Today
Open a free account, send a text from your browser and answer the reply in the chat screen. Free trial credits, no credit card and no contract.