What is the difference between BlueBubbles and Dial?

BlueBubbles supports 45 of the 77 features compared here, and Dial supports 44. BlueBubbles adds group management, group name and photo, mentions, edit and unsend and message effects. Dial adds contact cards, managed lines, dedicated numbers, SMS fallback and RCS fallback.

How much do BlueBubbles and Dial cost?

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. Dial: Pay-as-you-go starts with $5 of free credit. A standard number is $3 a month plus metered SMS and calls, an iMessage number is $250 a month with free messages, and Enterprise is custom.

Does Dial support group management?

Dial does not support group management.

Does Dial support group name and photo?

Dial does not list group name and photo on its site or in its docs.

Does Dial support mentions?

Dial does not list mentions on its site or in its docs.

BlueBubbles vs Dial

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

BlueBubbles

Free, open-source iMessage bridge you host on a Mac

Starting price: Free
Free plan: Free and open source (Apache-2.0)

Visit BlueBubbles Read more

Dial

Phone numbers with calls, SMS and iMessage for AI agents

Starting price: $3/month per standard number; $250/month per iMessage number
Free plan: $5 free credit, no credit card required

Visit Dial Read more

BlueBubbles supports 45 of the 77 features compared here, and Dial supports 44.

Where BlueBubbles is ahead

and 10 more in the table below.

Where Dial is ahead

and 9 more in the table below.

Feature comparison

Feature	BlueBubbles	Dial
iMessage messaging
iMessage	SupportedRuns on your own Mac (or macOS VM) signed in to iMessage	SupportedNeeds an iMessage number, provisioned through the API. Pay-as-you-go accounts only.
Group chats	SupportedSend and receive by chat GUID	SupportedSend to and read iMessage groups the number was added to. Polls work in groups; replies and reactions do not.
Group management	SupportedCreate groups, add and remove members; Private API (SIP disabled)	Not supportedDocs say Dial cannot create a group, join one or accept an invite link.
Group name and photo	SupportedRename and set group photo (macOS 11+); Private API (SIP disabled)	Not listedGroup names are read live from the line; no way to set a name or photo is documented.
Mentions	SupportedMention parts in multipart messages; Private API (SIP disabled)	Not listed
Tapbacks	SupportedReceiving works without it; sending needs the Private API (SIP disabled)	SupportedSix tapback names or any single emoji. Sent only on inbound messages; received on message.received.
Threaded replies	SupportedReply by message GUID and part; Private API (SIP disabled), macOS 11+	SupportedNative threaded replies to inbound iMessage or RCS messages, one-to-one only.
Typing indicators	SupportedSend and receive; Private API (SIP disabled)	PartialSend only, one-to-one and in groups. No inbound typing events are documented.
Read receipts	SupportedReceive delivered and read receipts; marking chats read needs the Private API	PartialReports when recipients read your iMessages. No way to mark inbound messages read.
Edit and unsend	SupportedPrivate API (SIP disabled), macOS 13+	Not listed
Message effects	SupportedBubble and screen effects via effectId; Private API (SIP disabled)	Not listed
Animated text effects	Not listed	Not listed
Stickers	BetaReceiving works today; sending and placing is Pro for the unreleased 2.x server	Not listed
Formatted text	BetaBold, italic, underline, strikethrough in unreleased code; macOS 15+, Private API	Not listed
Attachments	Supported	SupportedOne attachment per iMessage, 5 MB. Images, audio, video, PDF, vCard and iCalendar. No HEIC.
Live Photos	PartialReceived Live Photos can be downloaded; sending is not documented	Not listed
Rich link previews	SupportedSending rich links needs the Private API (SIP disabled)	Not listed
Voice messages	SupportedisAudioMessage flag sends a waveform voice message	SupportedA single audio file on an iMessage number is sent as a native voice message.
Contact cards	Not listed	SupportedSend .vcf files as media. Inbound cards arrive as text/vcard media (since October 2026).
Polls	BetaBlueBubbles Pro for the unreleased 2.x server, macOS 26+; not in a public release	Supported2 to 10 options, one-to-one or in iMessage groups. Votes arrive as events with a live tally.
Chat backgrounds	Beta	Not listed
Location sharing	PartialReads Find My device and friend locations; no in-chat location sharing documented	Not listed
iMessage apps	PartialReceives Digital Touch and handwriting previews; sending app bubbles not documented	Not listed
Live app cards	Not listed	Not listed
Sender name and photo	SupportedShare your iCloud contact card with a chat; Private API (SIP disabled), macOS 11+	SupportedSet the first name, last name and photo shown beside the number's iMessages.
FaceTime calls	SupportedStart, answer and leave calls via FaceTime links; Private API. Pricing page moves it to 2.x Pro	Not listed
Delivery status	SupportedWebhooks for message updates (delivered, read) and message errors	PartialiMessage sends report no delivery receipts; delivery is inferred once a read arrives.
iMessage availability check	SupportediMessage and FaceTime availability by address; Private API (SIP disabled)	SupportedLookup endpoint checks whether any number can receive iMessage or WhatsApp.
Focus and Notify Anyway	SupportedRead a contact's Focus status and notify for silenced messages; Private API, macOS 12+	Not listed
Numbers and delivery
Managed lines	Not supportedYou run your own Mac or macOS VM	SupportediMessage numbers are provisioned through the API, with asynchronous setup. No Mac or device needed.
Dedicated numbers	Not supportedNot offered; uses your own Apple ID	SupportedEach number belongs to your account. Docs say only US numbers can be provisioned now.
Shared numbers	Not supported	Not listed
Bring your own number	SupportedYour own Apple ID; a phone number can be linked to it	Not listed
Line pooling	Not listed	Not listedDocs suggest splitting recipients across several iMessage numbers by hand; no automatic pooling found.
SMS fallback	Not listedNot documented; FAQ says SMS is unsupported, the fit quiz says forwarded texts work	SupportediMessage numbers fall back to RCS or SMS automatically, at no message charge.
RCS fallback	Not listed	Supported
Outbound-first messaging	SupportedCreate DMs; new group chats need the Private API	SupportedCold outbound allowed. Each iMessage number can start up to 50 new conversations a day.
Calls on the iMessage number	PartialFaceTime only, via links on the same Apple ID (Private API); no phone calls	SupportediMessage numbers also place and receive AI voice calls, or forward inbound calls.
Other channels
SMS	PartialOnly via Text Message Forwarding from an iPhone; FAQ still says SMS is not supported	SupportedTwo-way SMS; MMS to US and Canada. Subscription accounts can text US numbers only.
RCS	PartialOnly via Text Message Forwarding from an iPhone on the same Apple ID	PartialOnly as automatic fallback from iMessage numbers; not a channel you can pick.
WhatsApp	Not supportedNot offered	BetaBeta, enabled per account. Runs on an iMessage number, one attachment per message.
Telegram	Not supported	Not supportedNot offered
Slack	Not supported	Not supportedNot offered as a channel. A Zapier app can forward messages to Slack.
Email	Not supported	Not supportedNot offered
Phone calls	Not supportedNot offered; FaceTime only	SupportedInbound and outbound AI voice calls with transcripts.
Apple Messages for Business	Not supportedNot offered	Not listedDocs say iMessage numbers send over Apple Messages for Business, but no business chat product is documented.
Unified channel API	PartialForwarded SMS and RCS land in the same chat API as iMessage; no other channels	SupportedOne messages endpoint and event format for SMS, iMessage and WhatsApp, plus calls.
Developer tools
REST API	SupportedServer password passed as a query parameter	Supported
TypeScript SDK	Not supportedNo official SDK; docs list only a community Java wrapper	Supported@getdial/sdk
Python SDK	Not supported	Supporteddial-sdk
Other SDKs	PartialCommunity Java wrapper (blueify) listed in the docs; not official	Not supportedSDK overview lists only Node and Python clients, plus agent framework packages.
CLI	Not listed	Supporteddial CLI, installed with a shell script or npx. Needs Node 22 or later.
Webhooks	SupportedNew messages, updates, errors, group changes, typing and more (server 1.0+)	Supported
Signed webhooks	Not supportedWebhooks are plain JSON POSTs with no signature header	SupportedHMAC-SHA256 over timestamp and body, X-Dial-Signature header.
MCP server	PartialCommunity MCP server listed by BlueBubbles; not maintained by the team	SupportedRemote server with OAuth at getdial.ai/mcp, or local stdio through the CLI.
Open source	SupportedApache-2.0 (server, clients and Private API helper)	PartialThe Chat SDK adapter is MIT on GitHub. The platform is closed.
Self-hosting	SupportedSelf-hosted only	Not listedSelf-Hosted mode only means calls are driven by your own agent server; the platform itself is hosted.
Local testing	Not listed	Not listed
Custom channel providers	Not listed	Not listed
Event replay	PartialCatch up by querying messages after a timestamp; 1.9.9 webhooks are not retried	PartialWebhooks retry up to 6 attempts. The live stream replays only about 2 minutes of missed events.
OpenTelemetry	Not listed	Not listed
No-code integrations	PartialOfficial n8n node, manual install, last updated 2022	SupportedZapier app with message and call triggers, and send, call and provision actions.
CRM integrations	Not listed	Not listed
Built for AI agents
Agent framework	Not listed	PartialHosted AI voice agent runs calls from a prompt. Messaging is send and receive only.
Agent framework integrations	Not listedOnly community projects are listed, such as a ChatGPT agent and Clawdbot	SupportedLangChain, Vercel AI SDK, CrewAI, AutoGen, Microsoft Agent Framework and a Vercel Chat SDK adapter.
Streaming replies	Not listed	Not listed
Agent group chats	Not listed	Not listed
Human handoff	Not listed	PartialThe voice agent can transfer a call to a person. No handoff for messaging.
Audit logs	Not listed	Not listed
Message history API	SupportedQuery messages and chats straight from the Mac's Messages database	SupportedList and search messages, up to the 100 most recent per request.
Plans and compliance
Free plan	SupportedFree, open-source software	Supported$5 of free credit, no card. Free accounts are capped at 5-minute calls and 2 concurrent calls.
Public pricing	SupportedPro: $3/month, $30/year or $55 lifetime	Supported
No per-message fees	SupportedFree; optional flat Pro subscription	PartialMessages from a $250/month iMessage number are free. SMS on standard numbers is billed per message.
Uptime SLA	Not supportedApache-2.0 software provided without warranty; uptime depends on your Mac	PartialUptime SLA listed for Enterprise only.
Isolated infrastructure	SupportedRuns entirely on your own Mac	Not listed
SOC 2 Type II	Not listedSelf-hosted; compliance is up to whoever runs the Mac	PartialSite says SOC 2 certified. Report type and a report are not published.
GDPR	Not listed	SupportedDPA covers GDPR and UK GDPR, with Standard Contractual Clauses.

Feature

BlueBubbles

Dial

iMessage messaging

iMessage

Runs on your own Mac (or macOS VM) signed in to iMessage

Needs an iMessage number, provisioned through the API. Pay-as-you-go accounts only.

Group chats

Send and receive by chat GUID

Send to and read iMessage groups the number was added to. Polls work in groups; replies and reactions do not.

Group management

Create groups, add and remove members; Private API (SIP disabled)

Not supportedDocs say Dial cannot create a group, join one or accept an invite link.

Group name and photo

Rename and set group photo (macOS 11+); Private API (SIP disabled)

Not listedGroup names are read live from the line; no way to set a name or photo is documented.

Mentions

Mention parts in multipart messages; Private API (SIP disabled)

Not listed

Tapbacks

Receiving works without it; sending needs the Private API (SIP disabled)

Six tapback names or any single emoji. Sent only on inbound messages; received on message.received.

Threaded replies

Reply by message GUID and part; Private API (SIP disabled), macOS 11+

Native threaded replies to inbound iMessage or RCS messages, one-to-one only.

Typing indicators

Send and receive; Private API (SIP disabled)

PartialSend only, one-to-one and in groups. No inbound typing events are documented.

Read receipts

Receive delivered and read receipts; marking chats read needs the Private API

PartialReports when recipients read your iMessages. No way to mark inbound messages read.

Edit and unsend

Private API (SIP disabled), macOS 13+

Not listed

Message effects

Bubble and screen effects via effectId; Private API (SIP disabled)

Not listed

Animated text effects

Not listed

Stickers

BetaReceiving works today; sending and placing is Pro for the unreleased 2.x server

Not listed

Formatted text

BetaBold, italic, underline, strikethrough in unreleased code; macOS 15+, Private API

Not listed

Attachments

One attachment per iMessage, 5 MB. Images, audio, video, PDF, vCard and iCalendar. No HEIC.

Live Photos

PartialReceived Live Photos can be downloaded; sending is not documented

Not listed

Rich link previews

Sending rich links needs the Private API (SIP disabled)

Not listed

Voice messages

isAudioMessage flag sends a waveform voice message

A single audio file on an iMessage number is sent as a native voice message.

Contact cards

Not listed

Send .vcf files as media. Inbound cards arrive as text/vcard media (since October 2026).

Polls

BetaBlueBubbles Pro for the unreleased 2.x server, macOS 26+; not in a public release

2 to 10 options, one-to-one or in iMessage groups. Votes arrive as events with a live tally.

Chat backgrounds

Beta

Not listed

Location sharing

PartialReads Find My device and friend locations; no in-chat location sharing documented

Not listed

iMessage apps

PartialReceives Digital Touch and handwriting previews; sending app bubbles not documented

Not listed

Live app cards

Not listed

Sender name and photo

Share your iCloud contact card with a chat; Private API (SIP disabled), macOS 11+

Set the first name, last name and photo shown beside the number's iMessages.

FaceTime calls

Start, answer and leave calls via FaceTime links; Private API. Pricing page moves it to 2.x Pro

Not listed

Delivery status

Webhooks for message updates (delivered, read) and message errors

PartialiMessage sends report no delivery receipts; delivery is inferred once a read arrives.

iMessage availability check

iMessage and FaceTime availability by address; Private API (SIP disabled)

Lookup endpoint checks whether any number can receive iMessage or WhatsApp.

Focus and Notify Anyway

Read a contact's Focus status and notify for silenced messages; Private API, macOS 12+

Not listed

Numbers and delivery

Managed lines

Not supportedYou run your own Mac or macOS VM

iMessage numbers are provisioned through the API, with asynchronous setup. No Mac or device needed.

Dedicated numbers

Not supportedNot offered; uses your own Apple ID

Each number belongs to your account. Docs say only US numbers can be provisioned now.

Shared numbers

Not supported

Not listed

Bring your own number

Your own Apple ID; a phone number can be linked to it

Not listed

Line pooling

Not listed

Not listedDocs suggest splitting recipients across several iMessage numbers by hand; no automatic pooling found.

SMS fallback

Not listedNot documented; FAQ says SMS is unsupported, the fit quiz says forwarded texts work

iMessage numbers fall back to RCS or SMS automatically, at no message charge.

RCS fallback

Not listed

Outbound-first messaging

Create DMs; new group chats need the Private API

Cold outbound allowed. Each iMessage number can start up to 50 new conversations a day.

Calls on the iMessage number

PartialFaceTime only, via links on the same Apple ID (Private API); no phone calls

iMessage numbers also place and receive AI voice calls, or forward inbound calls.

Other channels

SMS

PartialOnly via Text Message Forwarding from an iPhone; FAQ still says SMS is not supported

Two-way SMS; MMS to US and Canada. Subscription accounts can text US numbers only.

RCS

PartialOnly via Text Message Forwarding from an iPhone on the same Apple ID

PartialOnly as automatic fallback from iMessage numbers; not a channel you can pick.

Not supportedNot offered

BetaBeta, enabled per account. Runs on an iMessage number, one attachment per message.

Not supported

Not supportedNot offered

Slack

Not supported

Not supportedNot offered as a channel. A Zapier app can forward messages to Slack.

Not supported

Not supportedNot offered

Phone calls

Not supportedNot offered; FaceTime only

Inbound and outbound AI voice calls with transcripts.

Apple Messages for Business

Not supportedNot offered

Not listedDocs say iMessage numbers send over Apple Messages for Business, but no business chat product is documented.

Unified channel API

PartialForwarded SMS and RCS land in the same chat API as iMessage; no other channels

One messages endpoint and event format for SMS, iMessage and WhatsApp, plus calls.

Developer tools

REST API

Server password passed as a query parameter

TypeScript SDK

Not supportedNo official SDK; docs list only a community Java wrapper

@getdial/sdk

Python SDK

Not supported

dial-sdk

Other SDKs

PartialCommunity Java wrapper (blueify) listed in the docs; not official

Not supportedSDK overview lists only Node and Python clients, plus agent framework packages.

CLI

Not listed

dial CLI, installed with a shell script or npx. Needs Node 22 or later.

Webhooks

New messages, updates, errors, group changes, typing and more (server 1.0+)

Signed webhooks

Not supportedWebhooks are plain JSON POSTs with no signature header

HMAC-SHA256 over timestamp and body, X-Dial-Signature header.

MCP server

PartialCommunity MCP server listed by BlueBubbles; not maintained by the team

Remote server with OAuth at getdial.ai/mcp, or local stdio through the CLI.

Open source

Apache-2.0 (server, clients and Private API helper)

PartialThe Chat SDK adapter is MIT on GitHub. The platform is closed.

Self-hosting

Self-hosted only

Not listedSelf-Hosted mode only means calls are driven by your own agent server; the platform itself is hosted.

Local testing

Not listed

Custom channel providers

Not listed

Event replay

PartialCatch up by querying messages after a timestamp; 1.9.9 webhooks are not retried

PartialWebhooks retry up to 6 attempts. The live stream replays only about 2 minutes of missed events.

OpenTelemetry

Not listed

No-code integrations

PartialOfficial n8n node, manual install, last updated 2022

Zapier app with message and call triggers, and send, call and provision actions.

CRM integrations

Not listed

Built for AI agents

Agent framework

Not listed

PartialHosted AI voice agent runs calls from a prompt. Messaging is send and receive only.

Agent framework integrations

Not listedOnly community projects are listed, such as a ChatGPT agent and Clawdbot

LangChain, Vercel AI SDK, CrewAI, AutoGen, Microsoft Agent Framework and a Vercel Chat SDK adapter.

Streaming replies

Not listed

Agent group chats

Not listed

Human handoff

Not listed

PartialThe voice agent can transfer a call to a person. No handoff for messaging.

Audit logs

Not listed

Message history API

Query messages and chats straight from the Mac's Messages database

List and search messages, up to the 100 most recent per request.

Plans and compliance

Free plan

Free, open-source software

$5 of free credit, no card. Free accounts are capped at 5-minute calls and 2 concurrent calls.

Public pricing

Pro: $3/month, $30/year or $55 lifetime

No per-message fees

Free; optional flat Pro subscription

PartialMessages from a $250/month iMessage number are free. SMS on standard numbers is billed per message.

Uptime SLA

Not supportedApache-2.0 software provided without warranty; uptime depends on your Mac

PartialUptime SLA listed for Enterprise only.

Isolated infrastructure

Runs entirely on your own Mac

Not listed

SOC 2 Type II

Not listedSelf-hosted; compliance is up to whoever runs the Mac

PartialSite says SOC 2 certified. Report type and a report are not published.

GDPR

Not listed

DPA 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

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.

Pricing model: free self-hosted software, optional Pro subscription

Source

Dial

Pay-as-you-go starts with $5 of free credit. A standard number is $3 a month plus metered SMS and calls, an iMessage number is $250 a month with free messages, and Enterprise is custom.

Pricing model: per number plus metered usage; iMessage messages free on an iMessage number

Source