onlinesim
Onlinesim is a self-serve, API-enabled virtual phone number service founded in 2013 that lets individuals, digital marketers, and developers receive SMS verification codes across 110+ countries without a personal phone number.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersNot specified, Russia
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What onlinesim does
Onlinesim (OnlineSIM), founded in 2013 and headquartered in the Russian Federation, operates a self-serve virtual phone number platform that enables users to receive SMS messages for account verification and one-time registration without exposing a personal phone number. The service is built on proprietary hardware (SIM-card racks) and in-house software that route inbound SMS from real mobile operator numbers in 110+ countries to a web and API interface, with a database of 20+ million available numbers and coverage of 1000+ receiving services (social networks, messengers, e-commerce platforms, email providers). Three product tiers are offered: free public numbers for limited trial use, short-term rentals (10 minutes to 1 hour) for single-service activation, and long-term rentals for ongoing use with unlimited SMS reception.
onlinesim firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- onlinesim
- Legal name
- OnlineSIM
- Website
- https://onlinesim.io
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Short description
- Onlinesim is a self-serve, API-enabled virtual phone number service founded in 2013 that lets individuals, digital marketers, and developers receive SMS verification codes across 110+ countries without a personal phone number.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where onlinesim is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Not specified
- HQ country
- Russia
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
onlinesim business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- One-time SMS Number Rental: Short-term rental of virtual numbers (15 minutes to 1 hour) for single-use SMS verification. Customer pays per activation, ideal for one-time registrations.
- Long-term Number Rental: Extended rental of virtual numbers with unlimited SMS reception. Rental can be extended anytime, suitable for ongoing verification needs.
- Free Numbers: Free public virtual numbers updated daily for limited use cases. Revenue generated from users who convert to paid services.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | 15-minute one-time number rental |
| Subscription | Monthly | Long-term number rental |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free public numbers |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels4 records
onlinesim product offering
Product offeringCore offering
OnlineSim rents virtual mobile numbers that let users receive SMS verification codes for online account registration without using a physical SIM card or personal phone number. It offers temporary, long-term, and free public number services, with country-specific number selection and OpenAPI access for programmatic SMS reception.
Product overview
Onlinesim provides a virtual phone number service that enables users to receive SMS messages online without a physical SIM card. The core offering consists of three service tiers: Temporary Virtual Numbers for short-term one-time SMS reception (10 minutes to 1 hour), Long-term Number Rental for ongoing use with unlimited SMS from any service, and Free Virtual Numbers for no-cost testing purposes. The service covers 108+ countries and connects to real mobile operators to ensure high delivery rates and privacy protection. Users can select numbers from specific countries and services (social networks, messengers, e-commerce platforms) to receive verification codes for account registrations and authentications.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Temporary virtual numbers
- Long-term number rental
- Free public virtual numbers
Quantifiable outcome
- Numbers issued exclusively to one person, eliminating possibility of others gaining access to accounts
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use onlinesim
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
onlinesim technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
onlinesim partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators6 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
onlinesim competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- SMS-Activate: Closest direct competitor: offers temporary virtual numbers for SMS verification across many countries, with usage-based and rental pricing. Same product category, same target users (privacy-conscious individuals, SMM specialists, developers), same freemium-plus-paid model.
- 5sim: Direct peer providing temporary phone numbers for one-time SMS verification and longer-term rentals across a similar multi-country footprint. Targets the same developer and multi-account user base with an API and self-serve platform.
- SMSPVA: Direct peer offering disposable virtual numbers for SMS verification, with similar country coverage and pay-per-activation pricing. Overlaps directly on OnlineSim's core use cases (social sign-up, messenger verification, marketplace accounts).
- Grizzly SMS: Direct peer in the SMS-activation space providing one-time and rental numbers for verification across many countries. Competes for the same SMM/marketer and privacy-conscious segments with similar pricing tiers.
- Tiger SMS: Direct peer offering temporary and long-term virtual numbers for SMS reception across a global country footprint. Same freemium trial model, same developer/SMM customer base, and same API access pattern.
- SMS-man: Direct peer in disposable virtual numbers for SMS verification, with comparable country coverage and pricing structure. Targets privacy, anonymity, and multi-account use cases that directly overlap OnlineSim's value proposition.
Broad incumbents
- Twilio: Broad incumbent in cloud communications offering programmable SMS, voice, and verification APIs (Verify API). Operates at a much larger scale and serves enterprise compliance-grade use cases, but overlaps with OnlineSim's developer/API segment for SMS-related workflows.
- Plivo: Broad incumbent cloud-communications platform offering SMS APIs and phone-number provisioning globally. Comparable only at the API/integration layer and does not focus on disposable verification numbers, but competes for the same developer mindshare.
- Sinch: Broad incumbent messaging and communications platform offering SMS, RCS, and verification APIs at global scale. Adjacent rather than direct—operates in the same SMS/communications layer but targets enterprise customers with compliance-grade offerings.
- Telnyx: Broad incumbent communications platform providing programmable SMS, voice, and number provisioning via APIs. Comparable at the API/programmable-telecom layer; not focused on disposable verification but competes for the same developer integrations.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
onlinesim social profiles
Digital presenceonlinesim financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
onlinesim leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
onlinesim funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
onlinesim M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about onlinesim
What does onlinesim do?
OnlineSim rents virtual mobile numbers that let users receive SMS verification codes for online account registration without using a physical SIM card or personal phone number. It offers temporary, long-term, and free public number services, with country-specific number selection and OpenAPI access for programmatic SMS reception.
Is onlinesim a public or private company?
onlinesim is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was onlinesim founded?
onlinesim was founded in 2013.
Where is onlinesim based?
onlinesim is headquartered in Not specified, Russia, in the Europe region.
How does onlinesim make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. One-time SMS Number Rental is the primary driver. The others are long-term Number Rental and free Numbers.
Who are onlinesim's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are SMS-Activate, 5sim, SMSPVA, Grizzly SMS, Tiger SMS and SMS-man. Broad incumbents are Twilio, Plivo, Sinch and Telnyx.
Does onlinesim have an API?
Yes. onlinesim exposes a public API. Developer documentation is at onlinesim.io/openapi_docs/Onlinesim-API-UN/info.