Why Tambua. Clickatell is a long-standing messaging company with SMS, WhatsApp and USSD products and strong South African roots. Tambua is a specialised OTP API.
Why teams choose Tambua over Clickatell
- No Sender ID, shortcode or phone number to buy: you share Tambua's, so you can send on day one
- You want a purpose-built OTP API with verification built in
- You want M-PESA verification and ordered channel fallback
Pricing: Tambua vs Clickatell
| Topic | Tambua | Clickatell |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Clickatell's pricing page |
| Sender ID and numbers | Shared Tambua sender included, nothing to buy | Clickatell typically requires you to register or lease your own sender ID, number or shortcode. |
| Fallback to another channel | A setting, not an add-on fee | See Clickatell's pricing page |
See Tambua's full per-country rates, or check Clickatell'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 Clickatell publishes
| Topic | Clickatell |
|---|---|
| Channels | SMS, WhatsApp, Apple Messages, web chat and USSD (quick codes) source |
| Customers shown | Its homepage shows South African customer logos source |
| Sender ID | Clickatell typically requires you to register or lease your own sender ID, number or shortcode. |
Frequently asked questions
Why choose Tambua over Clickatell for OTP?
You want a purpose-built OTP API with verification built in. You want M-PESA verification and ordered channel fallback. 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. Clickatell typically requires you to register or lease your own sender ID, number or shortcode, which adds cost and waiting time before your first message.
How do I switch from Clickatell 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.