Artil vs Linq

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

Artil

Email inboxes, SMS numbers and Telegram bots for AI agents
Starting price
$25/month (Pro)
Free plan
Free: 3 inboxes, 500 messages received and 500 sent a month, no card

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

Artil supports 19 of the 77 features compared here, and Linq supports 63.

Feature comparison

FeatureArtilLinq
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
SupportedPro plan: a US or UK VoIP number per agent, up to 5 per workspace.
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
Not listed
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
Not supportedDocs say an agent texts only people who texted it first, or other agents in its workspace.
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
PartialPro plan, same-country recipients who texted first; MMS from US numbers only; no delivery receipts.
Supported
RCS
Not supportedNot offered
Supported
WhatsApp
Not supported
BetaSeparate WhatsApp API in beta. Access by request, no SLA.
Telegram
SupportedCreate or connect a bot; free on every plan.
Not supportedNot offered
Slack
Not listedThe homepage demo shows Slack, but the API channels are email, SMS, Telegram and Message URL.
Not supported
Email
SupportedAddress on Artil's domain or your own; up to 10 recipients per email.
Not supportedNot offered. iMessage can be sent to Apple ID email handles.
Phone calls
Not supportedNot offered
PartialAPI does not place or answer calls; it forwards inbound calls. Calling lives in the Linq Blue app.
Apple Messages for Business
Not supported
Not listedAI context page mentions it, but no product page or docs were found.
Unified channel API
SupportedOne messages endpoint and event model for email, SMS and Telegram.
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 listed
Supported@linqapp/sdk
Python SDK
Not listed
Supportedlinq-python
Other SDKs
Not listed
SupportedOfficial Go SDK.
CLI
Supportedartil CLI for macOS and Linux, with JSON output.
Supported@linqapp/cli: signup, sending, and a local webhook listener.
Webhooks
Supportedmessage.received events, retried with backoff for up to 3 days.
Supported
Signed webhooks
SupportedStandard Webhooks: HMAC-SHA256 over id, timestamp and body.
SupportedHMAC-SHA256, Standard Webhooks format, with replay protection.
MCP server
SupportedHosted at mcp.artil.ai/mcp, with OAuth or an agent token.
Supported@linqapp/sdk-mcp with docs search and code execution tools.
Open source
PartialClient plugins are MIT on GitHub; no source found for the CLI or service.
PartialSDKs, CLI and adapters are Apache-2.0 or MIT on GitHub. The messaging platform is closed.
Self-hosting
Not supportedHosted cloud service only
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
Not listed
Not listed
Event replay
SupportedList events after a cursor; the SSE stream resumes after Last-Event-ID.
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
Not listed
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
Not supportedArtil says it does not run agents; it provides their accounts, email, SMS and secrets.
PartialNo own framework. Maintains a Vercel Chat SDK adapter and OpenClaw and Hermes plugins.
Agent framework integrations
SupportedPlugins or guides for Claude Code, Codex, OpenClaw, Hermes, Pi and ChatGPT.
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
PartialAgents reach each other by email, SMS or Message URL; no group chat API.
Not listed
Human handoff
Not listed
Not listed
Audit logs
Not listed
SupportedDashboard Activity page plus account-change webhooks with actor and origin.
Message history API
Supported
Supported
Plans and compliance
Free plan
Supported3 inboxes, 500 messages sent and 500 received a month, no card. SMS numbers need Pro.
SupportedHobby: $0, up to 20 contacts, through the CLI.
Public pricing
SupportedPro $25/month; Custom on request.
SupportedPro from $260/mo. Enterprise is custom.
No per-message fees
SupportedFlat plans with monthly message caps (500 on Free, 10,000 on Pro).
Supported
Uptime SLA
Not listedTerms provide the service as is; a status page exists but no SLA was found.
SupportedContractual SLAs on the Enterprise plan; marketing cites 99.95%
Isolated infrastructure
Not listed
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
PartialPrivacy policy sets UK and EU legal bases and data rights; no DPA found.
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

Artil

Free covers 3 inboxes and 500 messages each way a month; Pro is $25 a month with 5 phone numbers and 10,000 messages each way; Custom is quoted.

Pricing model: flat monthly plans with message caps

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 Artil if you need Telegram, email and agent group chats.

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

Frequently asked questions

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