BlueBubbles vs Linq

BlueBubbles supports 45 of the 77 features compared here, and Linq supports 63.

Feature comparison

Feature	BlueBubbles	Linq
iMessage messaging
iMessage	SupportedRuns on your own Mac (or macOS VM) signed in to iMessage	Supported
Group chats	SupportedSend and receive by chat GUID	SupportedPro plan. Up to 31 recipients. No read or delivery receipts in groups.
Group management	SupportedCreate groups, add and remove members; Private API (SIP disabled)	SupportedAdd and remove participants and leave a group, iMessage groups only, 3-member minimum.
Group name and photo	SupportedRename and set group photo (macOS 11+); Private API (SIP disabled)	SupportedSet display_name and group_chat_icon on group chats.
Mentions	SupportedMention parts in multipart messages; Private API (SIP disabled)	SupportedGroup chats only. Notifies iMessage recipients even in a muted chat.
Tapbacks	SupportedReceiving works without it; sending needs the Private API (SIP disabled)	SupportedSix classic tapbacks or any emoji, send and receive via reaction webhooks.
Threaded replies	SupportedReply by message GUID and part; Private API (SIP disabled), macOS 11+	Supportedreply_to with optional part_index. iMessage only.
Typing indicators	SupportedSend and receive; Private API (SIP disabled)	SupportedSend and receive, in direct and group chats. iMessage only.
Read receipts	SupportedReceive delivered and read receipts; marking chats read needs the Private API	SupportedMark chats read and receive message.read. One-to-one chats only.
Edit and unsend	SupportedPrivate API (SIP disabled), macOS 13+	PartialEdit text up to 5 times within 15 minutes. Delete does not unsend from the recipient's device.
Message effects	SupportedBubble and screen effects via effectId; Private API (SIP disabled)	Supported11 screen and 4 bubble effects.
Animated text effects	Not listed	Supportedtext_decorations animations: big, small, shake, nod, explode, ripple, bloom, jitter.
Stickers	BetaReceiving works today; sending and placing is Pro for the unreleased 2.x server	SupportedPeel emoji or images onto messages, send stickers, or place them inline in text.
Formatted text	BetaBold, italic, underline, strikethrough in unreleased code; macOS 15+, Private API	SupportedBold, italic, underline and strikethrough ranges, plus animated text. iMessage only.
Attachments	Supported	SupportedUp to 10MB by URL, 100MB with pre-upload.
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)	Supportedlink parts render as rich previews on iMessage and RCS.
Voice messages	SupportedisAudioMessage flag sends a waveform voice message	SupportedDedicated voice memo endpoint renders the native iMessage voice bubble.
Contact cards	Not listed	SupportedSend .vcf files as media parts.
Polls	BetaBlueBubbles Pro for the unreleased 2.x server, macOS 26+; not in a public release	SupportedCreate, add options, vote and read tallies, with poll webhooks. Not as a chat's first message.
Chat backgrounds	Beta	SupportedColor, animated or photo backgrounds, in direct and group chats.
Location sharing	PartialReads Find My device and friend locations; no in-chat location sharing documented	SupportedRequest, read and stop Find My shares. Live location is a $79/mo add-on on Pro.
iMessage apps	PartialReceives Digital Touch and handwriting previews; sending app bubbles not documented	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	SupportedShare your iCloud contact card with a chat; Private API (SIP disabled), macOS 11+	SupportedContact card API sets name and photo, shared per chat via Name and Photo Sharing.
FaceTime calls	SupportedStart, answer and leave calls via FaceTime links; Private API. Pricing page moves it to 2.x Pro	Not supportedDocs say the API does not place or answer calls.
Delivery status	SupportedWebhooks for message updates (delivered, read) and message errors	Supportedsent, delivered, read and failed webhooks. Groups report sent only.
iMessage availability check	SupportediMessage and FaceTime availability by address; Private API (SIP disabled)	Supportedcheck_imessage and check_rcs endpoints.
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	Supported
Dedicated numbers	Not supportedNot offered; uses your own Apple ID	SupportedPaid lines are dedicated. Provisioned by Linq, no self-serve number API.
Shared numbers	Not supported	SupportedFree Hobby tier uses a Shared Line, inbound-first, 20 contacts.
Bring your own number	SupportedYour own Apple ID; a phone number can be linked to it	Not listed
Line pooling	Not listed	SupportedManaged load balancing (Pro): send without from and Linq picks and fails over lines.
SMS fallback	Not listedNot documented; FAQ says SMS is unsupported, the fit quiz says forwarded texts work	Supported
RCS fallback	Not listed	SupportedOrder is iMessage, then RCS, then SMS.
Outbound-first messaging	SupportedCreate DMs; new group chats need the Private API	SupportedFree Hobby tier is inbound-first. Docs recommend inbound-first flows to avoid flagging.
Calls on the iMessage number	PartialFaceTime only, via links on the same Apple ID (Private API); no phone calls	PartialAPI forwards inbound calls on the line; outbound needs caller-ID masking via another provider.
Other channels
SMS	PartialOnly via Text Message Forwarding from an iPhone; FAQ still says SMS is not supported	Supported
RCS	PartialOnly via Text Message Forwarding from an iPhone on the same Apple ID	Supported
WhatsApp	Not supportedNot offered	BetaSeparate WhatsApp API in beta. Access by request, no SLA.
Telegram	Not supported	Not supportedNot offered
Slack	Not supported	Not supported
Email	Not supported	Not supportedNot offered. iMessage can be sent to Apple ID email handles.
Phone calls	Not supportedNot offered; FaceTime only	PartialAPI does not place or answer calls; it forwards inbound calls. Calling lives in the Linq Blue app.
Apple Messages for Business	Not supportedNot offered	Not listedAI context page mentions it, but no product page or docs were found.
Unified channel API	PartialForwarded SMS and RCS land in the same chat API as iMessage; no other channels	PartialiMessage, RCS and SMS share one API. WhatsApp is a separate API with its own keys and SDKs.
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@linqapp/sdk
Python SDK	Not supported	Supportedlinq-python
Other SDKs	PartialCommunity Java wrapper (blueify) listed in the docs; not official	SupportedOfficial Go SDK.
CLI	Not listed	Supported@linqapp/cli: signup, sending, and a local webhook listener.
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, Standard Webhooks format, with replay protection.
MCP server	PartialCommunity MCP server listed by BlueBubbles; not maintained by the team	Supported@linqapp/sdk-mcp with docs search and code execution tools.
Open source	SupportedApache-2.0 (server, clients and Private API helper)	PartialSDKs, CLI and adapters are Apache-2.0 or MIT on GitHub. The messaging platform is closed.
Self-hosting	SupportedSelf-hosted 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	PartialCatch up by querying messages after a timestamp; 1.9.9 webhooks are not retried	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	PartialOfficial n8n node, manual install, last updated 2022	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 listed	PartialNo own framework. Maintains a Vercel Chat SDK adapter and OpenClaw and Hermes plugins.
Agent framework integrations	Not listedOnly community projects are listed, such as a ChatGPT agent and Clawdbot	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 listed	SupportedDashboard Activity page plus account-change webhooks with actor and origin.
Message history API	SupportedQuery messages and chats straight from the Mac's Messages database	Supported
Plans and compliance
Free plan	SupportedFree, open-source software	SupportedHobby: $0, up to 20 contacts, through the CLI.
Public pricing	SupportedPro: $3/month, $30/year or $55 lifetime	SupportedPro from $260/mo. Enterprise is custom.
No per-message fees	SupportedFree; optional flat Pro subscription	Supported
Uptime SLA	Not supportedApache-2.0 software provided without warranty; uptime depends on your Mac	SupportedContractual SLAs on the Enterprise plan; marketing cites 99.95%
Isolated infrastructure	SupportedRuns entirely on your own Mac	SupportedDedicated lines across 4 data centers on paid plans; Hobby uses a shared line
SOC 2 Type II	Not listedSelf-hosted; compliance is up to whoever runs the Mac	SupportedType I and Type II, reports for 2022, 2024, 2025 and 2026.
GDPR	Not listed	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 BlueBubbles if you need Live Photos, FaceTime calls, Focus and Notify Anyway and bring your own number.

Choose Linq if you need animated text effects, contact cards, live app cards and managed lines.

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