textbee vs Campfire SMS

The same direction, different plumbing

textbee's AI agent notifications page (published September 5, 2026) describes the same moment Campfire SMS is built for: "Agents run for minutes or hours and then need a human: a result to read, an approval to give, a question to answer." Its answer is to send that text from an Android phone holding your SIM. Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, and other MCP clients connect through the official @textbee/mcp server, and the agent can read replies received after its question.

Campfire SMS handles the same exchange as a hosted service. Your agent sends through the connector you installed, the text reaches your phone, and your reply goes back to the agent. You don't need a dedicated Android phone, a SIM, or a gateway app.

Choose textbee if…

• You want texts to come from your own number. textbee sends from the SIM in your phone, so recipients see your number.
• You want open source. textbee is MIT licensed and self-hostable, so you can audit and run the whole stack.
• You have a spare Android phone and are happy to keep it powered on with the textbee app running.
• Your agent texts other people. Task owners, customers, or a team, at a flat monthly price with no per-message fee.
• You want to skip number registration. textbee says there is no number to rent and no 10DLC brand or campaign registration, because it uses your own SIM. Consent rules still apply.
• You use n8n or Zapier. textbee documents an n8n setup with an HTTP Request node to send and a Webhook node to receive.

textbee's own honest-limits note is worth reading: one phone sends roughly 10 to 15 messages a minute, and carriers can filter bulk patterns on consumer SIMs.

Choose Campfire SMS if…

• You want the agent you already run (Codex, Claude Code, Grok Bot, OpenCode, or Grok Build) to text you when it needs an answer or has a result.
• You want to reply from your normal SMS inbox, on an iPhone or an Android phone, with no app to install.
• You don't want to rent a number, host a webhook, or keep a gateway device running.
• You don't have, or don't want to dedicate, an Android phone and SIM to sending. Campfire SMS works with an iPhone or an Android phone because you only receive and reply.

Setup is three steps: sign up at campfiresms.com, verify your phone (40 free texts, no card), and run the one-time install command from your account. Then send a test text and reply. See the setup guide for each agent.

What Campfire SMS does not do

Campfire SMS is not open source or self-hosted, and texts don't come from your personal number.

• Local agents need a live session. Codex, Claude Code, OpenCode, Grok Build, and other local agents need the computer awake and online and the session running. Campfire SMS does not wake a stopped local session. Grok Bot is the exception: an active webhook routine can start it in the cloud when you text.
• Replies don't grant new permissions. A text can steer the task, but the agent keeps the permissions it already had. Native approvals stay in the agent's own interface.
• SMS isn't end-to-end encrypted. Don't text secrets, and keep sensitive detail on the computer.

Try a text and a reply

Campfire SMS starts with 40 free messages after phone verification. No card required. The monthly plan is $8 for 500 messages, and one-time packs are available. See current pricing and message counting. Your agent's own costs are separate.

Start with a harmless exchange: ask your agent to text you a short status, reply with a question, and check that it reads your exact reply and answers.

textbee details checked October 9, 2026 against its AI agent notifications page, homepage, and pricing page. Prices and plans are as of October 2026 and can change; check the linked pages before you decide. Product names belong to their owners. Campfire SMS is independent of these companies.

Common questions