Why Tambua. Beem Africa offers SMS, USSD, airtime, mobile payments and an OTP API. Tambua focuses on OTP with ordered fallback and public pricing.
Why teams choose Tambua over Beem Africa
- No Sender ID, shortcode or phone number to buy: you share Tambua's, so you can send on day one
- You want a focused OTP product with fallback across SMS, WhatsApp and voice
- You want M-PESA verification and public rates
Pricing: Tambua vs Beem Africa
| Topic | Tambua | Beem Africa |
|---|---|---|
| How you are charged | KES 0.50 per SMS OTP in Kenya, with no separate verification fee | Per-message pricing by destination. |
| Failed attempts | Free | See Beem Africa's pricing page |
| Sender ID and numbers | Shared Tambua sender included, nothing to buy | Beem Africa typically requires you to register or lease your own Sender ID, shortcode or number. |
| Fallback to another channel | A setting, not an add-on fee | See Beem Africa's pricing page |
See Tambua's full per-country rates, or check Beem Africa's own pricing for your destination before you compare.
Tambua at a glance
| Topic | Tambua |
|---|---|
| Focus | OTP generation, delivery and verification API for Africa |
| Channels | SMS, WhatsApp, voice, email, M-PESA, Reverse OTP (Telegram, USSD and shortcode are coming soon) |
| Sender ID and numbers | Shared Tambua sender ID and numbers included. Nothing to buy, lease or register |
| Channel fallback | Ordered journey of up to three channels per app, on failure or after a timer; one code across attempts |
| Failed attempts | Not billed; only carrier-accepted attempts are charged |
| Pricing | Public per-country rates on the pricing page |
| Free testing | Test keys return the code in the API response, no messages sent |
| Webhooks | Signed webhooks for sent, delivered, verified and fallback events |
What Beem Africa publishes
| Topic | Beem Africa |
|---|---|
| Products | Its homepage lists an OTP API, SMS, USSD, airtime and mobile payments source |
| Reach claim | It states 25 countries and 60+ networks; the country list was not on the page we read source |
| Sender ID | Beem Africa typically requires you to register or lease your own Sender ID, shortcode or number. |
Frequently asked questions
Why choose Tambua over Beem Africa for OTP?
You want a focused OTP product with fallback across SMS, WhatsApp and voice. You want M-PESA verification and public rates. Tambua is built only for sending and verifying one-time codes across Africa, so you integrate in two calls and start free with test keys.
Do I need to buy a Sender ID or phone number with Tambua?
No. Tambua sends from its own shared sender ID and numbers, so there is nothing to buy, lease or register. Beem Africa typically requires you to register or lease your own Sender ID, shortcode or number, which adds cost and waiting time before your first message.
How do I switch from Beem Africa to Tambua?
Create a free test key, call send to deliver a code and verify to check it. Most teams replace their existing send and check logic in an afternoon, then swap to a live key.