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German SMS, WhatsApp, and text-to-speech API provider
seven (formerly sms77) is a Kiel-based communication API provider offering SMS, WhatsApp, text-to-speech, voice calls, and number lookup services. Established in 2003, the company serves thousands of DACH-region businesses with German-hosted messaging infrastructure and several hundred million SMS sent.
Headquarters
Kiel, Germany
Founded
2003
Pricing
EU Data Hosting
Yes
Employees
1-10
Pay-as-you-go
Billing: pay-as-you-go
A hairdresser in Munich sends appointment reminders via SMS. A logistics startup in Hamburg triggers delivery notifications through an API call. A hospital in Vienna reads out urgent alerts via automated text-to-speech phone calls. These are three very different use cases, but they share a common requirement: reliable, simple, German-hosted messaging infrastructure that works without a computer science degree to set up.
seven (formerly sms77) has served exactly this market segment since 2003 — years before the iPhone existed, before WhatsApp was conceived, before "cloud communications" became a venture capital category. Operated by seven communications GmbH & Co. KG from Kiel in northern Germany, the company has sent several hundred million SMS messages over its two-decade history, serving thousands of customers across the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland).
The product philosophy is deliberately minimalist. seven provides SMS sending and receiving, WhatsApp messaging, voice calls, text-to-speech, number lookup, and Email-to-SMS. There is no attempt to build a sprawling communications platform like Twilio. Instead, seven focuses on doing a handful of messaging functions reliably, affordably, and with the compliance simplicity that comes from operating entirely on German infrastructure under German telecommunications law.
The company is small — fewer than 10 employees — and bootstrapped. This translates into both an advantage (no investor pressure to chase growth at the expense of service quality) and a limitation (smaller support team, less frequent feature releases, and limited English-language resources).
The core product is a REST API for sending and receiving SMS globally. Messages are sent via HTTP requests with straightforward parameters — recipient number, message text, optional sender ID, and optional delivery time for scheduled sends. The API supports Unicode (UCS2) for non-Latin characters, though this reduces the per-SMS character limit from 160 to 70. Delivery reports confirm message status, and inbound SMS can be received through virtual phone numbers. The simplicity of the API is its strength — integration takes minutes rather than days, and the documentation, while primarily in German, covers all endpoints clearly.
seven's Voice API automates phone calls that read a defined text aloud. This capability fills a niche that most SMS-only providers ignore. Hospitals can use it for urgent patient notifications. Service companies can reach customers who do not check text messages regularly. The text-to-speech engine supports multiple languages, and pricing starts at EUR 0.015 per minute — substantially cheaper than manual outbound calling.
Voice calls can be triggered through the same REST API used for SMS, keeping the integration footprint minimal. The feature is not a replacement for interactive voice response (IVR) systems; it is a one-way notification tool. But for that specific purpose — reaching someone by phone with an automated message — it works effectively.
For businesses that lack technical resources for API integration, seven offers Email-to-SMS. Send an email to a specific address format, and the content is delivered as an SMS to the recipient. This enables SMS notifications from any system capable of sending email — CRM tools, monitoring systems, legacy applications — without writing a single line of code. It is a pragmatic solution for the small businesses and non-technical teams that make up a significant portion of seven's customer base.
The HLR (Home Location Register) lookup service validates whether a phone number is active and identifies the carrier network. CNAM lookup queries the caller ID name associated with a number worldwide. These tools serve two purposes: cleaning contact lists before expensive SMS campaigns (avoiding charges for invalid numbers) and verifying phone numbers during user registration flows. Per-lookup pricing keeps costs proportional to usage.
seven supports RCS (Rich Communication Services), the next-generation messaging standard that enables rich media, read receipts, and interactive buttons through the native phone messaging app. RCS billing supports per-message, per-media, and 24-hour conversation session models. Adoption remains limited compared to SMS, but the capability positions seven for the gradual transition away from traditional SMS in European markets.
seven's pricing model is refreshingly simple. Top up a credit balance, and pay per message or per minute. There are no monthly fees, no subscription tiers, no feature gating. Every account gets full access to all APIs, Email-to-SMS, webhooks, and analytics.
SMS to German numbers costs EUR 0.075 per message (up to 160 characters in GSM encoding). Longer messages are split into multiple SMS segments at the same per-segment rate. International rates vary by country. Voice and text-to-speech calls cost EUR 0.015 per started minute.
At EUR 0.075 per SMS, seven is not the cheapest option for high-volume sending. Messente offers European SMS from EUR 0.01, and bulk providers can go lower. But seven's pricing includes no hidden fees, no monthly minimums, and no platform charges — what you see is what you pay. For businesses sending hundreds or low thousands of messages monthly (appointment reminders, notifications, verification codes), the simplicity and predictability of the pricing model outweighs the per-message premium.
The absence of a free tier or trial credits is a barrier for developers evaluating the platform. Even a EUR 1 welcome credit would reduce the friction of initial testing.
seven's compliance position is straightforward and strong. seven communications GmbH & Co. KG is a licensed German telecommunications provider registered with the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur, BNetzA) under registration number DREG 22/137 as defined in §5 TKG (Telecommunications Act). All data processing occurs on German-hosted infrastructure.
GDPR compliance is inherent to the operating model: German company, German servers, German telecommunications regulation. There are no transatlantic data transfers, no US Cloud Act exposure, and no complex Data Processing Agreement negotiations. The designated data protection contact (privacy@seven.io) handles authority inquiries directly.
For businesses in regulated German industries — healthcare, finance, public sector — this domestic hosting and regulatory status provides compliance assurance that international providers cannot easily match. The Bundesnetzagentur oversight adds an additional layer of regulatory accountability specific to telecommunications.
Small and mid-sized DACH businesses needing SMS notifications — appointment reminders, delivery updates, security codes — without enterprise-grade complexity or pricing. The Email-to-SMS gateway makes it accessible even without technical staff.
German healthcare and public sector organisations requiring domestic telecommunications infrastructure with BNetzA regulation and unambiguous GDPR compliance for patient or citizen communications.
Developers building lightweight notification systems who need a simple REST API that integrates in minutes rather than days. The API is minimalist by design, reducing onboarding time for straightforward SMS use cases.
Organisations needing automated voice notifications for time-sensitive alerts where text-to-speech calls complement or replace SMS. The voice capability at EUR 0.015/minute fills a niche that pure SMS providers leave open.
seven is not a Twilio competitor. It does not try to be. Instead, it offers something Twilio cannot: a small, focused, German-hosted messaging service with 20+ years of reliability, simple pay-per-use pricing, and zero compliance ambiguity. The text-to-speech and Email-to-SMS capabilities differentiate it within the messaging provider landscape, while the BNetzA regulation provides telecommunications-grade compliance assurance. The limitations are real — smaller feature set, limited English documentation, no free trial, and higher per-SMS pricing than volume-focused providers. For DACH-region businesses that value simplicity, domestic hosting, and regulatory clarity over platform breadth, seven delivers exactly what it promises.
Yes. seven communications GmbH & Co. KG is a German telecommunications provider regulated by the Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA). All data is processed on German infrastructure under the Telecommunications Act (TKG) and GDPR. There are no transatlantic data transfers or US Cloud Act exposure.
seven is a focused messaging provider (SMS, voice, TTS) with German hosting and simple pay-per-use pricing at EUR 0.075/SMS. Twilio offers a much broader communications platform including video, email, and programmable SIP, with a larger developer ecosystem and global infrastructure. seven is better suited for DACH businesses prioritising domestic hosting, regulatory simplicity, and the text-to-speech capability that Twilio does not offer natively.
SMS to German numbers costs EUR 0.075 per message (up to 160 characters in GSM encoding). International rates vary by destination country. There are no monthly fees, setup costs, or feature charges. All API capabilities are included with every account.
No. seven does not offer a free tier or trial credits. Testing requires purchasing a prepaid credit balance. All features are available immediately upon account creation and credit top-up.
seven's Voice/TTS API automatically calls a phone number and reads a defined text aloud using text-to-speech in multiple languages. Pricing starts at EUR 0.015 per started minute. The service is useful for urgent notifications, appointment reminders, and reaching recipients who may not check SMS messages promptly.