SMS / MMS Email-to-Text Gateways

Email-to-SMS and email-to-MMS gateway addresses for major US, Canadian, UK, and AU carriers. Send texts to phones by email for free.

Reference Reference Updated Apr 24, 2026
Reference

Most US / CA carriers accept email delivered to a phone-number-based address at their SMS or MMS gateway. To send, address an email to [email protected] using the gateway for the recipient's carrier (10-digit number, no dashes). MMS gateways accept subject, body, and one media attachment; SMS gateways are plain text only and truncate at 160 characters.

United States carriers

Carrier SMS gateway MMS gateway
AT&T [email protected] [email protected]
Verizon [email protected] [email protected]
T-Mobile [email protected] [email protected]
Sprint (now T-Mobile) [email protected] [email protected]
US Cellular [email protected] [email protected]
Boost Mobile [email protected] [email protected]
Cricket Wireless [email protected] [email protected]
Virgin Mobile USA [email protected] [email protected]
MetroPCS (Metro by T-Mo) [email protected] [email protected]
Google Fi [email protected] [email protected]
Consumer Cellular [email protected] (uses AT&T/T-Mo MMS)
Straight Talk [email protected] (Verizon MVNO)
TracFone Varies — uses underlying carrier
Page Plus [email protected] [email protected]
Republic Wireless [email protected]
Ting [email protected]
Xfinity Mobile [email protected] (Verizon) [email protected]

United Kingdom & Australia (select)

Carrier SMS gateway
UK — O2 [email protected] (reply by email only, account required)
UK — Vodafone UK (no public email-to-SMS gateway since ~2010)
UK — EE / T-Mobile UK (no public gateway — use third-party SMS API)
AU — Telstra (no email-to-SMS; use paid API)
AU — Optus (no email-to-SMS; use paid API)

How to use a gateway

  • Replace number with the full 10-digit phone number (US/CA) or country-code + number. Do not include +, dashes, spaces, or parentheses.
  • Subject and body are concatenated in most SMS gateways. Keep total under 160 chars to avoid truncation / split.
  • MMS gateways accept one attachment (JPG, PNG, GIF, or 3GP); total message must usually be under 300–600 KB depending on carrier.
  • If the recipient replies, the reply lands in the sender's email inbox (From: number@gateway). The return-path can be reused for a conversation.
  • Delivery is best-effort — carriers can filter aggressively, especially with image attachments or from bulk / new senders. Use a verified SMTP sender and keep volume low.
  • For reliable automated messaging at scale, use a transactional SMS API (Twilio, MessageBird, Vonage, Plivo) — these give delivery receipts and carrier-independent routing.

Sample email to send a text

To:      [email protected]
From:    [email protected]
Subject: (leave blank)

Hello from email-to-SMS!  Keep it under 160 characters.

For MMS with a photo, attach a JPG / PNG under ~600 KB and use the MMS gateway address.

Legal / etiquette

  • US: the TCPA prohibits unsolicited automated messages to cell phones without prior express consent. Personal 1-to-1 messaging is fine; bulk / marketing needs opt-in and usable opt-out.
  • US: if using gateways for mass messaging, register a 10DLC brand + campaign (A2P 10DLC rules in effect since 2023).
  • Always honor STOP / UNSUB replies immediately and do not reuse the number.

Last updated: