GatewayAPI is a Danish SMS gateway with a strong European focus. It is one of the most cost-effective options for agencies serving EU and UK customers, especially when GDPR posture and European data handling matter.
It supports both sender names and phone numbers, which makes it flexible across different countries and sender identity expectations.
Why agencies choose GatewayAPI
GatewayAPI is attractive when the agency wants low-cost SMS delivery in Europe without giving up sender flexibility. It is particularly strong for agencies that care about where data is stored and want a provider that is regionally aligned with European delivery needs.
- Strong European pricing
- Sender names or phone numbers
- EU-focused compliance posture
- Wide country coverage
- Pay-per-use pricing
What you need before starting
- A GatewayAPI account
- An API token from the GatewayAPI dashboard
- A sender identity, either a phone number or a sender name
Choose between a phone number or a business name
GatewayAPI supports both number-based sending and alphanumeric sender names. That gives agencies a useful amount of flexibility depending on what the local market expects.
| Sender option | Best for | Key trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Phone number | Two-way messaging and markets that require a number | Less branded than a sender name |
| Alphanumeric sender name | Brand recognition across supported European markets | Usually one-way only |
Sender names are usually the stronger fit in Europe when replies are not required, but number-based sending is still necessary in some markets.
Country-specific sender ID rules matter
Some European markets are tightening sender ID registration rules, so agencies should treat local sender requirements as part of setup rather than as an afterthought.
- Ireland requires sender ID registration with ComReg for compliant branded traffic
- Finland also requires sender ID registration
- Other European markets are tightening regulation even where branded sender names still work smoothly today
Set up GatewayAPI in the platform
Go to `Campaigns -> SMS Providers`, click `Add SMS Provider`, expand the provider list, choose `gatewayapi`, and continue into the guided setup flow.
| Step | What to do |
|---|---|
| Welcome | Review the EU-focused setup notes and pay-per-use model |
| API Token | Paste the GatewayAPI token and verify it |
| Sender | Choose phone number or sender name and configure it |
| Domain whitelist | Allow the platform short-link domain where required |
| Confirmation | Review the setup and complete it |
Do not miss the domain-whitelisting step
GatewayAPI includes a domain-whitelisting step in the setup flow. This is there to make sure platform-generated short links are treated correctly when they appear inside outbound SMS.
If the short-link domain is not allowed where GatewayAPI expects it, deliverability or link behaviour can suffer unnecessarily.
GatewayAPI and MMS
GatewayAPI does not support MMS in the platform. It should be treated as an SMS-only provider.
- No MMS support in the platform through GatewayAPI
- Use Twilio or TextGrid when image-based SMS matters
Cost expectations
GatewayAPI uses pay-per-use pricing with no subscription requirement, which can make it very attractive for agencies sending mainly to European destinations.
Pricing varies by destination country, but cost transparency is one of the reasons it is often chosen in Europe.
How GatewayAPI interacts with custom-plan credits
GatewayAPI changes the SMS delivery provider, not the customer plan SMS credit model. In normal agency-managed sending, SMS review requests still consume the customer plan SMS credits based on segment usage.
The standard exception still applies when the customer is sending through their own SMS provider setup on their side.
- Segment count still determines the SMS credit cost
- Agency-managed GatewayAPI sending still respects customer plan SMS limits
- MMS-specific extra credit behaviour does not apply here because GatewayAPI is SMS-only in the platform