How to migrate from TextBolt to Infobip

TextBolt is an email-to-SMS gateway that lets US and Canadian businesses send text messages over SMTP by addressing an email to a phone-number address. Infobip is a global omnichannel communications platform covering SMS, WhatsApp, voice, email, and more across 190 countries. On the messaging.dev Score, TextBolt rates 17/100 and Infobip 96/100; this guide covers what changes technically when you move between them.

What you gain and lose

Channels. TextBolt supports SMS only. Infobip supports SMS plus MMS, RCS, WhatsApp, Viber, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, Apple Messages for Business, voice, and email. You keep SMS and add nine channels — no channel is lost in this direction.

Compliance. TextBolt lists no GDPR, ISO 27001, SOC 2, or HIPAA certifications. Infobip lists all four.

Data residency. Both run US servers. Infobip additionally offers EU servers and lets you choose a data-residency region (with APAC, Latin America, Middle East, and Africa presence). TextBolt is US-only with no region choice.

Pricing. TextBolt publishes fixed subscription plans (Basic $29 through custom Enterprise) with a known per-segment rate ($0.030–$0.058). Infobip is primarily quote/contract-based with some pay-as-you-go, and SMS pricing is not publicly listed — budget for a sales conversation.

Developer experience. Infobip provides free trial credit, six official SDKs (Java, C#, Python, PHP, Go, Node.js), a sandbox test environment, and docs rated high quality. TextBolt offers no free credit, no SDKs, no sandbox, and docs rated low. Both support self-service onboarding.

How the request format differs

TextBolt (SMTP):

curl --ssl-reqd --url 'smtps://smtp.gmail.com:465' \
  --user '[email protected]:GMAIL_APP_PASSWORD' \
  --mail-from '[email protected]' \
  --mail-rcpt '[email protected]' \
  -T <(printf 'Subject: \r\n\r\nYour appointment is confirmed for tomorrow at 3 PM.\r\n')

Infobip (REST):

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. TextBolt has no REST API; you send an email over SMTP (smtps://smtp.gmail.com:465) to {number}@sendemailtotext.com. Infobip is an HTTPS REST call to https://{base_url}.api.infobip.com/sms/2/text/advanced, where {base_url} is your account’s assigned subdomain.

Authentication. TextBolt uses no API keys — you authenticate as the SMTP sender, from an email address registered and verified with your account (business/A2P 10DLC verification required). Infobip uses an API key passed in the Authorization: App YOUR_API_KEY header.

Payload mapping. The recipient moves from the SMTP envelope (--mail-rcpt '[email protected]') to the JSON field destinations[].to ("15551234567" — the same E.164-without-plus digits, minus the @sendemailtotext.com suffix). The sender moves from --mail-from (your verified email) to from (an alphanumeric sender ID or number, e.g. "InfoSMS"). The message body moves from the email body to the text field. Infobip wraps everything in a messages array, so one call can carry several messages.

Migration checklist

1. Create an Infobip account, generate an API key from the dashboard, and note your assigned {base_url}.
2. Map the fields: recipient → destinations[].to, sender → from, body → text.
3. Re-point your sending code from the SMTP gateway to the REST endpoint, swapping SMTP auth for the Authorization: App header. Optionally adopt one of the official SDKs.
4. Re-test in Infobip’s sandbox (it has one) before sending live traffic.
5. Move delivery tracking from TextBolt’s email/callback status to Infobip’s delivery-report webhooks; register your callback URL.
6. Run both paths in parallel, routing a slice of traffic through Infobip to confirm delivery and reporting.
7. Cut over once verified, then retire the TextBolt SMTP path.

See the full How to start with Infobip guide and the Infobip vs TextBolt comparison for more.

Watch out for

• Pricing is not published. Unlike TextBolt’s fixed plans and known per-segment rate, Infobip SMS pricing requires a sales quote, so you lose an at-a-glance price.
• Different auth model. There are no verified-email semantics; a leaked API key can send on your account, so store keys as secrets and rotate them.
• Sender IDs. TextBolt sends from your verified email identity; Infobip uses alphanumeric sender IDs or numbers subject to local carrier rules, and US A2P 10DLC registration still applies.
• Larger surface area. REST payloads, SDKs, and nine additional channels add capability but also more to configure than a single SMTP send.