AgentLine vs Linq

Compare AgentLine and Linq side by side: iMessage features, channels, developer tools, pricing and compliance, checked on each provider's own site.

AgentLine

Open-source phone numbers, calls and SMS for AI agents
Starting price
$20/month (Individual: 1 number, 100 minutes, 400 SMS)
Free plan
No free hosted tier listed; MIT-licensed server is free to self-host

Linq

iMessage, RCS and SMS API with flat monthly pricing
Starting price
$260/month (Pro)
Free plan
Hobby: $0, up to 20 contacts, used through the CLI

AgentLine supports 25 of the 77 features compared here, and Linq supports 63.

Feature comparison

FeatureAgentLineLinq
iMessage messaging
iMessage
Not supportedNo iMessage support
Supported
Group chats
Not supported
SupportedPro plan. Up to 31 recipients. No read or delivery receipts in groups.
Group management
Not supported
SupportedAdd and remove participants and leave a group, iMessage groups only, 3-member minimum.
Group name and photo
Not supported
SupportedSet display_name and group_chat_icon on group chats.
Mentions
Not supported
SupportedGroup chats only. Notifies iMessage recipients even in a muted chat.
Tapbacks
Not supported
SupportedSix classic tapbacks or any emoji, send and receive via reaction webhooks.
Threaded replies
Not supported
Supportedreply_to with optional part_index. iMessage only.
Typing indicators
Not supported
SupportedSend and receive, in direct and group chats. iMessage only.
Read receipts
Not supported
SupportedMark chats read and receive message.read. One-to-one chats only.
Edit and unsend
Not supported
PartialEdit text up to 5 times within 15 minutes. Delete does not unsend from the recipient's device.
Message effects
Not supported
Supported11 screen and 4 bubble effects.
Animated text effects
Not supported
Supportedtext_decorations animations: big, small, shake, nod, explode, ripple, bloom, jitter.
Stickers
Not supported
SupportedPeel emoji or images onto messages, send stickers, or place them inline in text.
Formatted text
Not supported
SupportedBold, italic, underline and strikethrough ranges, plus animated text. iMessage only.
Attachments
Not supported
SupportedUp to 10MB by URL, 100MB with pre-upload.
Live Photos
Not supported
Not listed
Rich link previews
Not supported
Supportedlink parts render as rich previews on iMessage and RCS.
Voice messages
Not supported
SupportedDedicated voice memo endpoint renders the native iMessage voice bubble.
Contact cards
Not supported
SupportedSend .vcf files as media parts.
Polls
Not supported
SupportedCreate, add options, vote and read tallies, with poll webhooks. Not as a chat's first message.
Chat backgrounds
Not supported
SupportedColor, animated or photo backgrounds, in direct and group chats.
Location sharing
Not supported
SupportedRequest, read and stop Find My shares. Live location is a $79/mo add-on on Pro.
iMessage apps
Not supported
SupportedPro plan. Cards from your own Messages extension, or Linq-hosted cards (Experiences).
Live app cards
Not supported
SupportedUpdate App Card replaces a delivered iMessage app or Experience card in place.
Sender name and photo
Not supported
SupportedContact card API sets name and photo, shared per chat via Name and Photo Sharing.
FaceTime calls
Not supported
Not supportedDocs say the API does not place or answer calls.
Delivery status
Not supported
Supportedsent, delivered, read and failed webhooks. Groups report sent only.
iMessage availability check
Not supported
Supportedcheck_imessage and check_rcs endpoints.
Focus and Notify Anyway
Not supported
Not listed
Numbers and delivery
Managed lines
Not supportedNo iMessage support
Supported
Dedicated numbers
SupportedOne US or Canada number per agent; extra numbers $3/month.
SupportedPaid lines are dedicated. Provisioned by Linq, no self-serve number API.
Shared numbers
Not listed
SupportedFree Hobby tier uses a Shared Line, inbound-first, 20 contacts.
Bring your own number
PartialSelf-hosted: attach numbers from your own carrier account. Hosted FAQ says only AgentLine numbers work.
Not listed
Line pooling
Not listed
SupportedManaged load balancing (Pro): send without from and Linq picks and fails over lines.
SMS fallback
Not supportedNo iMessage support
Supported
RCS fallback
Not supported
SupportedOrder is iMessage, then RCS, then SMS.
Outbound-first messaging
SupportedAgents can text and call any US or Canada number first.
SupportedFree Hobby tier is inbound-first. Docs recommend inbound-first flows to avoid flagging.
Calls on the iMessage number
Not supportedNo iMessage support
PartialAPI forwards inbound calls on the line; outbound needs caller-ID masking via another provider.
Other channels
SMS
SupportedSMS and MMS (media_url) on the same number as calls.
Supported
RCS
Not supportedNot offered
Supported
WhatsApp
Not supported
BetaSeparate WhatsApp API in beta. Access by request, no SLA.
Telegram
Not supported
Not supportedNot offered
Slack
Not supported
Not supported
Email
Not supported
Not supportedNot offered. iMessage can be sent to Apple ID email handles.
Phone calls
SupportedOutbound and inbound PSTN calls run by a hosted voice agent, with transcripts.
PartialAPI does not place or answer calls; it forwards inbound calls. Calling lives in the Linq Blue app.
Apple Messages for Business
Not supportedNot offered
Not listedAI context page mentions it, but no product page or docs were found.
Unified channel API
PartialCalls and SMS share one API, agent and number, through separate endpoints.
PartialiMessage, RCS and SMS share one API. WhatsApp is a separate API with its own keys and SDKs.
Developer tools
REST API
Supported
Supported
TypeScript SDK
Not supportedDocs say the Node SDK is not on npm yet; Node examples call REST with fetch.
Supported@linqapp/sdk
Python SDK
Supportedagentline-ai on PyPI, generated from the OpenAPI spec.
Supportedlinq-python
Other SDKs
Not listed
SupportedOfficial Go SDK.
CLI
PartialOnly the relay connector script, with install, detect and inbox commands.
Supported@linqapp/cli: signup, sending, and a local webhook listener.
Webhooks
SupportedOne signed webhook per agent, plus account and API-key webhooks.
Supported
Signed webhooks
SupportedHMAC-SHA256 of the raw body in X-Webhook-Signature (header name configurable).
SupportedHMAC-SHA256, Standard Webhooks format, with replay protection.
MCP server
SupportedHosted MCP server with 21+ tools; OAuth connector for Claude, mcp-remote for others.
Supported@linqapp/sdk-mcp with docs search and code execution tools.
Open source
SupportedMIT-licensed server (FastAPI) on GitHub.
PartialSDKs, CLI and adapters are Apache-2.0 or MIT on GitHub. The messaging platform is closed.
Self-hosting
SupportedDocker Compose with Postgres and Redis; bring your own carrier, speech and LLM keys.
Not supportedLinq describes itself as fully managed, in contrast to self-hosted options.
Local testing
Not listed
Not listedThe CLI streams webhooks locally, but tests still use a real phone.
Custom channel providers
SupportedSelf-hosted: pluggable carriers (SignalWire, Twilio, Plivo, Telnyx or your own class) and voice runtimes.
Not listed
Event replay
SupportedRelay keeps events until ACK and replays them on reconnect; fallback event mailbox.
PartialRetries for 30 minutes; after that, re-fetch chats or ask Linq for a manual replay.
OpenTelemetry
Not listed
PartialW3C trace IDs on every response and webhook for OTel backends. No export of Linq spans by default.
No-code integrations
PartialBlog guide for Make, n8n and Zapier using generic HTTP modules; no native app.
SupportedLinq Blue works as a GoHighLevel messaging provider. No n8n, Make or Zapier found for the API.
CRM integrations
Not listed
SupportedVia Linq Blue: GoHighLevel, HubSpot and Salesforce.
Built for AI agents
Agent framework
SupportedHosted voice agent runs each call from your prompt; the relay feeds it live context.
PartialNo own framework. Maintains a Vercel Chat SDK adapter and OpenClaw and Hermes plugins.
Agent framework integrations
SupportedLangChain toolkit (langchain-agentline); relay connectors for Hermes, OpenClaw, Claude Code, Codex.
SupportedLinq-maintained Vercel Chat SDK adapter, plus OpenClaw and Hermes Agent plugins.
Streaming replies
Not listed
Not supportedDocs say the Chat SDK adapter buffers streams into one final message.
Agent group chats
Not listed
Not listed
Human handoff
PartialVoice only: the AI receptionist can transfer the caller to the owner's phone.
Not listed
Audit logs
Not listed
SupportedDashboard Activity page plus account-change webhooks with actor and origin.
Message history API
SupportedMessage list, conversations, call list and transcripts. Hosted content is kept 90 days.
Supported
Plans and compliance
Free plan
PartialNo free hosted tier listed; the MIT server is free to self-host (you pay carrier and AI vendors).
SupportedHobby: $0, up to 20 contacts, through the CLI.
Public pricing
Supported
SupportedPro from $260/mo. Enterprise is custom.
No per-message fees
PartialPlans include SMS and minutes; beyond them $0.02 per SMS and $0.12 per minute.
Supported
Uptime SLA
Not supportedTerms say they do not promise a particular uptime percentage.
SupportedContractual SLAs on the Enterprise plan; marketing cites 99.95%
Isolated infrastructure
PartialOnly by self-hosting on your own servers and carrier accounts.
SupportedDedicated lines across 4 data centers on paid plans; Hobby uses a shared line
SOC 2 Type II
Not listed
SupportedType I and Type II, reports for 2022, 2024, 2025 and 2026.
GDPR
Not listed
SupportedDPA covers GDPR and UK GDPR, with Standard Contractual Clauses.

Checked on each provider's own site and docs on 2026-10-25. “Not listed” means the provider does not mention it.

Pricing

AgentLine

Hosted plans are $20, $50 or $200 a month with included numbers, minutes and SMS, then $3 per extra number a month, $0.12 a minute and $0.02 per SMS; self-hosting is free software.

Pricing model: monthly plan with allowances, then per number, per minute and per message

Source

Linq

Hobby is free with up to 20 contacts through the CLI, Pro starts at $260 a month with a 7-day free trial, and Enterprise is custom.

Pricing model: flat monthly, no per-message fees

Source

Which should you choose?

Choose AgentLine if you need bring your own number, self-hosting, custom channel providers and human handoff.

Choose Linq if you need iMessage, group chats, group management and group name and photo.

Frequently asked questions