Bird vs MessageBlue
Compare Bird and MessageBlue side by side: iMessage features, channels, developer tools, pricing and compliance, checked on each provider's own site.
Bird
Email, SMS, WhatsApp and Apple Messages APIs
- Starting price
- $0.0035 per US outbound SMS segment plus carrier fees
- Free plan
- Free email tier of 1,000 emails a month; free shared Inbox
MessageBlue
iMessage API for agents, with bring-your-own-number
- Starting price
- $100/month per line
- Free plan
- $0 with your own number and Mac, all features, limited seats
Bird supports 36 of the 77 features compared here, and MessageBlue supports 38.
Where Bird is ahead
and 5 more in the table below.
Where MessageBlue is ahead
and 7 more in the table below.
Feature comparison
| Feature | ||
|---|---|---|
| iMessage messaging | ||
| iMessage | Not supportedNo iMessage support | |
| Group chats | Not supported | |
| Group management | Not supported | |
| Group name and photo | Not supported | Not listed |
| Mentions | Not supported | Not listed |
| Tapbacks | Not supported | |
| Threaded replies | Not supported | Not listed |
| Typing indicators | Not supported | |
| Read receipts | Not supported | |
| Edit and unsend | Not supported | Not listed |
| Message effects | Not supported | Not listed |
| Animated text effects | Not supported | Not listed |
| Stickers | Not supported | Not listed |
| Formatted text | Not supported | Not listed |
| Attachments | Not supported | |
| Live Photos | Not supported | Not listed |
| Rich link previews | Not supported | Not listed |
| Voice messages | Not supported | |
| Contact cards | Not supported | Not listed |
| Polls | Not supported | Not listed |
| Chat backgrounds | Not supported | Not listed |
| Location sharing | Not supported | Not listed |
| iMessage apps | Not supported | Not listed |
| Live app cards | Not supported | Not listed |
| Sender name and photo | Not supported | Not listed |
| FaceTime calls | Not supported | Not listedInbox video call button is marked coming soon; voice calls need the team to enable. |
| Delivery status | Not supported | |
| iMessage availability check | Not supported | |
| Focus and Notify Anyway | Not supported | Not listed |
| Numbers and delivery | ||
| Managed lines | Not supportedNo iMessage support | |
| Dedicated numbers | ||
| Shared numbers | Not listed | |
| Bring your own number | ||
| Line pooling | ||
| SMS fallback | Not supportedNo iMessage support; RCS and push can fall back to SMS | |
| RCS fallback | Not supportedNo iMessage support | Not listedMarketing pages say SMS or RCS fallback; docs only describe SMS. |
| Outbound-first messaging | ||
| Calls on the iMessage number | Not supportedNo iMessage support | Not listedInbox voice call button says to contact the team; number used is not stated. |
| Other channels | ||
| SMS | ||
| RCS | Not listedMentioned only as a fallback on marketing pages. | |
Not supportedNot offered | ||
| Telegram | Not supported | |
| Slack | Not listed | Not supported |
Not supported | ||
| Phone calls | Not listedInbox voice call button says to contact the team; call type and number not stated. | |
| Apple Messages for Business | Not supportedNot offered | |
| Unified channel API | ||
| Developer tools | ||
| REST API | ||
| TypeScript SDK | ||
| Python SDK | ||
| Other SDKs | ||
| CLI | Not listedThe API page mentions a CLI, but none is documented. | |
| Webhooks | ||
| Signed webhooks | ||
| MCP server | ||
| Open source | Not listed | |
| Self-hosting | ||
| Local testing | ||
| Custom channel providers | Not listed | Not listed |
| Event replay | ||
| OpenTelemetry | Not listed | Not listed |
| No-code integrations | ||
| CRM integrations | ||
| Built for AI agents | ||
| Agent framework | ||
| Agent framework integrations | Not listedSite says it works with LangChain and the Vercel AI SDK via webhooks; no official integration. | |
| Streaming replies | Not listedNo edit or streaming API for SMS, WhatsApp or Apple Messages found; Realtime pub/sub serves your own app | Not listed |
| Agent group chats | Not listed | |
| Human handoff | ||
| Audit logs | ||
| Message history API | ||
| Plans and compliance | ||
| Free plan | ||
| Public pricing | ||
| No per-message fees | ||
| Uptime SLA | ||
| Isolated infrastructure | ||
| SOC 2 Type II | ||
| GDPR | Not listed |
Checked on each provider's own site and docs on 2026-10-25. “Not listed” means the provider does not mention it.
Pricing
Bird
Pay as you go from a shared prepaid balance, priced per message or segment by channel and destination, with optional monthly plans that fund the balance.
Pricing model: per message, prepaid balance
SourceMessageBlue
Free when you bring your own number on your own Mac; a dedicated line is $100 a month on Startups & SMB, and Business and Enterprise are contact sales.
Pricing model: flat per line
SourceWhich should you choose?
Choose Bird if you need shared numbers, RCS, WhatsApp and Telegram.
Choose MessageBlue if you need iMessage, group chats, group management and tapbacks.
Frequently asked questions
Bird supports 36 of the 77 features compared here, and MessageBlue supports 38. Bird adds shared numbers, RCS, WhatsApp, Telegram and email. MessageBlue adds iMessage, group chats, group management, tapbacks and typing indicators.
Bird: Pay as you go from a shared prepaid balance, priced per message or segment by channel and destination, with optional monthly plans that fund the balance. MessageBlue: Free when you bring your own number on your own Mac; a dedicated line is $100 a month on Startups & SMB, and Business and Enterprise are contact sales.
MessageBlue does not list shared numbers on its site or in its docs.
MessageBlue does not list RCS on its site or in its docs.
MessageBlue does not support WhatsApp.