Bland vs BlueBubbles
Compare Bland and BlueBubbles side by side: iMessage features, channels, developer tools, pricing and compliance, checked on each provider's own site.
Bland
Voice AI platform with SMS, RCS and branded iMessage agents
- Starting price
- Custom (iMessage is Enterprise only); SMS from $29.99/month on the Agent Phone Plan
- Free plan
- Start plan: free, with credits and an inbound number, for voice
BlueBubbles
Free, open-source iMessage bridge you host on a Mac
- Starting price
- Free
- Free plan
- Free and open source (Apache-2.0)
Bland supports 46 of the 77 features compared here, and BlueBubbles supports 45.
Where Bland is ahead
- Animated text effects
- Managed lines
- Dedicated numbers
- Shared numbers
- Line pooling
- SMS fallback
- Phone calls
and 13 more in the table below.
Where BlueBubbles is ahead
- Group chats
- Group management
- Group name and photo
- Mentions
- Threaded replies
- Edit and unsend
- Message effects
- Formatted text
and 12 more in the table below.
Feature comparison
| Feature | ||
|---|---|---|
| iMessage messaging | ||
| iMessage | ||
| Group chats | Not listed | |
| Group management | Not listed | |
| Group name and photo | Not listed | |
| Mentions | Not listed | |
| Tapbacks | ||
| Threaded replies | Not listed | |
| Typing indicators | ||
| Read receipts | ||
| Edit and unsend | Not listedAPI deletes stored messages from a conversation; unsend on the device is not mentioned | |
| Message effects | Not listed | |
| Animated text effects | Not listed | |
| Stickers | ||
| Formatted text | Not listed | |
| Attachments | ||
| Live Photos | Not listed | |
| Rich link previews | Not listed | |
| Voice messages | ||
| Contact cards | Not listed | Not listed |
| Polls | Not listed | |
| Chat backgrounds | Not listed | |
| Location sharing | Not listed | |
| iMessage apps | Not listed | |
| Live app cards | Not listed | Not listed |
| Sender name and photo | ||
| FaceTime calls | Not listed | |
| Delivery status | ||
| iMessage availability check | Not listed | |
| Focus and Notify Anyway | Not listed | |
| Numbers and delivery | ||
| Managed lines | ||
| Dedicated numbers | Not supportedNot offered; uses your own Apple ID | |
| Shared numbers | Not supported | |
| Bring your own number | ||
| Line pooling | Not listed | |
| SMS fallback | Not listedNot documented; FAQ says SMS is unsupported, the fit quiz says forwarded texts work | |
| RCS fallback | Not listedDocs say Bland picks the richest channel; an iMessage to RCS order is not stated | Not listed |
| Outbound-first messaging | ||
| Calls on the iMessage number | Not listed | |
| Other channels | ||
| SMS | ||
| RCS | ||
Not supportedNot offered | ||
| Telegram | Not supportedNot offered | Not supported |
| Slack | Not supportedNot a messaging channel; Slack is listed only as a tool integration | Not supported |
Not supportedNot offered as a messaging channel | Not supported | |
| Phone calls | Not supportedNot offered; FaceTime only | |
| Apple Messages for Business | Not listedProduct page says Bland handles Apple Business Messaging registration; docs describe numbers | Not supportedNot offered |
| Unified channel API | ||
| Developer tools | ||
| REST API | ||
| TypeScript SDK | ||
| Python SDK | Not listed | |
| Other SDKs | Not listed | |
| CLI | Not listed | |
| Webhooks | ||
| Signed webhooks | ||
| MCP server | ||
| Open source | Not supportedClosed platform | |
| Self-hosting | ||
| Local testing | Not listed | |
| Custom channel providers | Not listed | |
| Event replay | ||
| OpenTelemetry | Not listed | Not listed |
| No-code integrations | ||
| CRM integrations | Not listed | |
| Built for AI agents | ||
| Agent framework | Not listed | |
| Agent framework integrations | Not listedOnly community projects are listed, such as a ChatGPT agent and Clawdbot | |
| Streaming replies | Not listed | Not listed |
| Agent group chats | Not listed | Not listed |
| Human handoff | Not listed | |
| Audit logs | Not listed | |
| Message history API | ||
| Plans and compliance | ||
| Free plan | ||
| Public pricing | ||
| No per-message fees | ||
| Uptime SLA | ||
| Isolated infrastructure | ||
| SOC 2 Type II | Not listedSelf-hosted; compliance is up to whoever runs the Mac | |
| 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
Bland
Voice plans are Start (free, $0.14 a minute), Build ($299 a month) and Scale ($499 a month); SMS is $0.02 per message; the Agent Phone Plan is $29.99 a month for one number; iMessage, RCS and WhatsApp need a custom Enterprise contract.
Pricing model: per-minute voice, per-message SMS, custom Enterprise contracts
SourceBlueBubbles
The software is free and open source; an optional BlueBubbles Pro subscription for the upcoming 2.x server costs $3/month, $30/year or $55 once.
Pricing model: free self-hosted software, optional Pro subscription
SourceWhich should you choose?
Choose Bland if you need animated text effects, managed lines, dedicated numbers and shared numbers.
Choose BlueBubbles if you need group chats, group management, group name and photo and mentions.
Frequently asked questions
Bland supports 46 of the 77 features compared here, and BlueBubbles supports 45. Bland adds animated text effects, managed lines, dedicated numbers, shared numbers and line pooling. BlueBubbles adds group chats, group management, group name and photo, mentions and threaded replies.
Bland: Voice plans are Start (free, $0.14 a minute), Build ($299 a month) and Scale ($499 a month); SMS is $0.02 per message; the Agent Phone Plan is $29.99 a month for one number; iMessage, RCS and WhatsApp need a custom Enterprise contract. BlueBubbles: The software is free and open source; an optional BlueBubbles Pro subscription for the upcoming 2.x server costs $3/month, $30/year or $55 once.
BlueBubbles does not list animated text effects on its site or in its docs.
BlueBubbles does not support managed lines.
BlueBubbles does not support dedicated numbers.