Blue Replies vs Linq

Blue Replies supports 36 of the 77 features compared here, and Linq supports 63.

Feature comparison

Feature	Blue Replies	Linq
iMessage messaging
iMessage	Supported	Supported
Group chats	SupportedCreate, send to and receive from groups; changelog says up to 25 participants.	SupportedPro plan. Up to 31 recipients. No read or delivery receipts in groups.
Group management	SupportedAdd and remove members, and leave (best effort).	SupportedAdd and remove participants and leave a group, iMessage groups only, 3-member minimum.
Group name and photo	SupportedRename and set the group photo; only the line that created the group.	SupportedSet display_name and group_chat_icon on group chats.
Mentions	Not listed	SupportedGroup chats only. Notifies iMessage recipients even in a muted chat.
Tapbacks	SupportedAdd or remove the six classic tapbacks; message.reaction webhook for inbound.	SupportedSix classic tapbacks or any emoji, send and receive via reaction webhooks.
Threaded replies	SupportedreplyTo renders as a quoted-reply thread in Messages.	Supportedreply_to with optional part_index. iMessage only.
Typing indicators	SupportedSend typing; message.typing webhook when the recipient types.	SupportedSend and receive, in direct and group chats. iMessage only.
Read receipts	SupportedSend read receipts and receive message.read events.	SupportedMark chats read and receive message.read. One-to-one chats only.
Edit and unsend	SupportedEdit up to 5 times within 15 minutes; unsend within 2 minutes.	PartialEdit text up to 5 times within 15 minutes. Delete does not unsend from the recipient's device.
Message effects	Supported12 bubble and screen effects.	Supported11 screen and 4 bubble effects.
Animated text effects	Not listed	Supportedtext_decorations animations: big, small, shake, nod, explode, ripple, bloom, jitter.
Stickers	Not listed	SupportedPeel emoji or images onto messages, send stickers, or place them inline in text.
Formatted text	Not listedOnly a bold subject line above the body is documented.	SupportedBold, italic, underline and strikethrough ranges, plus animated text. iMessage only.
Attachments	SupportedUp to 10 per message, by public URL or presigned upload.	SupportedUp to 10MB by URL, 100MB with pre-upload.
Live Photos	Not listed	Not listed
Rich link previews	SupportedFeatures page says URLs expand with title, image and description.	Supportedlink parts render as rich previews on iMessage and RCS.
Voice messages	SupportedisVoiceNote sends one audio file as a native voice memo.	SupportedDedicated voice memo endpoint renders the native iMessage voice bubble.
Contact cards	SupportedFeatures page lists contact cards; no vCard field is documented in the API.	SupportedSend .vcf files as media parts.
Polls	Not listed	SupportedCreate, add options, vote and read tallies, with poll webhooks. Not as a chat's first message.
Chat backgrounds	Not listed	SupportedColor, animated or photo backgrounds, in direct and group chats.
Location sharing	Not listedThe homepage shows a location pin in a send example; the API docs do not cover it.	SupportedRequest, read and stop Find My shares. Live location is a $79/mo add-on on Pro.
iMessage apps	Not listed	SupportedPro plan. Cards from your own Messages extension, or Linq-hosted cards (Experiences).
Live app cards	Not listed	SupportedUpdate App Card replaces a delivered iMessage app or Experience card in place.
Sender name and photo	Not listed	SupportedContact card API sets name and photo, shared per chat via Name and Photo Sharing.
FaceTime calls	SupportedOutbound FaceTime audio and video to Apple users. Inbound auto-answer is production tier only.	Not supportedDocs say the API does not place or answer calls.
Delivery status	Supportedsent, delivered, read and failed events, plus per-message callback URLs.	Supportedsent, delivered, read and failed webhooks. Groups report sent only.
iMessage availability check	SupportedUp to 100 numbers per call; results are cached and read back.	Supportedcheck_imessage and check_rcs endpoints.
Focus and Notify Anyway	Not listed	Not listed
Numbers and delivery
Managed lines	SupportedEach line runs in an isolated macOS VM that Blue Replies provisions.	Supported
Dedicated numbers	SupportedProduction accounts get a dedicated line.	SupportedPaid lines are dedicated. Provisioned by Linq, no self-serve number API.
Shared numbers	SupportedSandbox uses a shared line, limited to your phone and 5 verified contacts.	SupportedFree Hobby tier uses a Shared Line, inbound-first, 20 contacts.
Bring your own number	Not listed	Not listed
Line pooling	SupportedArea-code, round-robin, least-loaded, random or sticky routing across lines.	SupportedManaged load balancing (Pro): send without from and Linq picks and fails over lines.
SMS fallback	SupportedallowSmsFallback retries over native SMS; needs SMS fallback enabled on the account.	Supported
RCS fallback	Not listedThe pricing page mentions RCS; the API docs do not.	SupportedOrder is iMessage, then RCS, then SMS.
Outbound-first messaging	SupportedNew outbound conversations ramp from 2 to 50 a day per line.	SupportedFree Hobby tier is inbound-first. Docs recommend inbound-first flows to avoid flagging.
Calls on the iMessage number	SupportedFaceTime calls go out from your lines; the callback number defaults to the calling line.	PartialAPI forwards inbound calls on the line; outbound needs caller-ID masking via another provider.
Other channels
SMS	PartialNative SMS only as fallback when an iMessage send fails.	Supported
RCS	Not listedThe pricing page mentions RCS; the API docs do not.	Supported
WhatsApp	Not supportedNot offered	BetaSeparate WhatsApp API in beta. Access by request, no SLA.
Telegram	Not supported	Not supportedNot offered
Slack	Not supportedNot offered as a channel; Slack appears only in an integrations list.	Not supported
Email	Not supportedNot offered	Not supportedNot offered. iMessage can be sent to Apple ID email handles.
Phone calls	Not listedThe pricing page lists Voice; the docs cover FaceTime calls only.	PartialAPI does not place or answer calls; it forwards inbound calls. Calling lives in the Linq Blue app.
Apple Messages for Business	Not listed	Not listedAI context page mentions it, but no product page or docs were found.
Unified channel API	SupportediMessage and SMS fallback go through the same messages endpoint.	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 listedDocs name npm package blueapi, but that npm name belongs to an unrelated 2018 package.	Supported@linqapp/sdk
Python SDK	Not supportedSDK page says no official Python SDK exists yet; a Jan 2026 changelog entry mentions one.	Supportedlinq-python
Other SDKs	Not supportedSDK page says no official Ruby, Go, PHP or Elixir SDK exists yet.	SupportedOfficial Go SDK.
CLI	Not listed	Supported@linqapp/cli: signup, sending, and a local webhook listener.
Webhooks	Supported29 event types across messages, calls, lines, groups and workflows.	Supported
Signed webhooks	SupportedHMAC-SHA256 in x-bluereplies-signature.	SupportedHMAC-SHA256, Standard Webhooks format, with replay protection.
MCP server	Not listedDocs mention an MCP server with a search_docs tool, but no endpoint is documented.	Supported@linqapp/sdk-mcp with docs search and code execution tools.
Open source	Not listed	PartialSDKs, CLI and adapters are Apache-2.0 or MIT on GitHub. The messaging platform is closed.
Self-hosting	Not listed	Not supportedLinq describes itself as fully managed, in contrast to self-hosted options.
Local testing	Not listedThe sandbox sends real iMessages to your own activated phone.	Not listedThe CLI streams webhooks locally, but tests still use a real phone.
Custom channel providers	Not listed	Not listed
Event replay	SupportedRetries up to 24 hours, then replay any delivery from the dashboard or by API.	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	SupportedSite says customers connect through Zapier or GoHighLevel; no setup docs found.	SupportedLinq Blue works as a GoHighLevel messaging provider. No n8n, Make or Zapier found for the API.
CRM integrations	SupportedSite lists HubSpot and Salesforce; no setup docs found.	SupportedVia Linq Blue: GoHighLevel, HubSpot and Salesforce.
Built for AI agents
Agent framework	Not listedThe Enterprise plan lists in-house workflow builders and AI agents; not documented.	PartialNo own framework. Maintains a Vercel Chat SDK adapter and OpenClaw and Hermes plugins.
Agent framework integrations	Not listed	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	Not listed	Not listed
Audit logs	Not listedThe public OpenAPI spec lists a portal audit-log endpoint, but it is not documented.	SupportedDashboard Activity page plus account-change webhooks with actor and origin.
Message history API	SupportedList conversations and messages, with filters and full-text search.	Supported
Plans and compliance
Free plan	SupportedSandbox is free with no expiry: your own phone plus up to 5 verified contacts.	SupportedHobby: $0, up to 20 contacts, through the CLI.
Public pricing	Not supportedPricing FAQ says production prices are quoted per customer.	SupportedPro from $260/mo. Enterprise is custom.
No per-message fees	Not supportedPricing page says production typically costs under $0.01 per delivered message.	Supported
Uptime SLA	Partial99.9% uptime SLA, listed on the Enterprise plan.	SupportedContractual SLAs on the Enterprise plan; marketing cites 99.95%
Isolated infrastructure	SupportedEach line runs in an isolated macOS VM.	SupportedDedicated lines across 4 data centers on paid plans; Hobby uses a shared line
SOC 2 Type II	Not listedTrust page cites SOC 2 Type II hosting providers, not a report of its own.	SupportedType I and Type II, reports for 2022, 2024, 2025 and 2026.
GDPR	Not listedAbout page says GDPR-ready; no DPA or GDPR page 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

Which should you choose?

Choose Blue Replies if you need FaceTime calls.

Choose Linq if you need mentions, animated text effects, stickers and formatted text.

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