BlueBubbles vs Twilio
Compare BlueBubbles and Twilio 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)
Twilio
Global CPaaS for SMS, RCS, WhatsApp and voice
- Starting price
- $0.0083 per US SMS segment
- Free plan
- 30-day free trial, no card, with 100 SMS and 75 voice minutes
BlueBubbles supports 45 of the 77 features compared here, and Twilio supports 37.
Where BlueBubbles is ahead
- iMessage
- Group chats
- Group management
- Group name and photo
- Mentions
- Tapbacks
- Threaded replies
- Typing indicators
and 23 more in the table below.
Where Twilio is ahead
- Dedicated numbers
- Shared numbers
- Line pooling
- Phone calls
- Apple Messages for Business
- TypeScript SDK
and 15 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 | |
| Mentions | Not supported | |
| Tapbacks | Not supported | |
| Threaded replies | Not supported | |
| Typing indicators | Not supported | |
| Read receipts | Not supported | |
| Edit and unsend | Not supported | |
| Message effects | Not supported | |
| Animated text effects | Not listed | Not supported |
| Stickers | Not supported | |
| Formatted text | Not supported | |
| Attachments | Not supported | |
| Live Photos | Not supported | |
| Rich link previews | Not supported | |
| Voice messages | Not supported | |
| Contact cards | Not listed | Not supported |
| Polls | Not supported | |
| Chat backgrounds | Not supported | |
| Location sharing | Not supported | |
| iMessage apps | Not supported | |
| Live app cards | Not listed | Not supported |
| Sender name and photo | Not supported | |
| FaceTime calls | Not supported | |
| Delivery status | Not supported | |
| iMessage availability check | Not supported | |
| Focus and Notify Anyway | Not supported | |
| Numbers and delivery | ||
| Managed lines | Not supportedNo iMessage support | |
| 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 | Not supportedNo iMessage support; RCS falls back to SMS or MMS |
| RCS fallback | Not listed | Not supportedNo iMessage support |
| Outbound-first messaging | ||
| Calls on the iMessage number | Not supportedNo iMessage support | |
| Other channels | ||
| SMS | ||
| RCS | ||
Not supportedNot offered | ||
| Telegram | Not supported | Not supportedNot offered |
| Slack | Not supported | Not supported |
Not supported | ||
| Phone calls | Not supportedNot offered; FaceTime only | |
| Apple Messages for Business | Not supportedNot offered | |
| Unified channel API | ||
| Developer tools | ||
| REST API | ||
| TypeScript SDK | ||
| Python SDK | ||
| Other SDKs | ||
| CLI | Not listed | |
| Webhooks | ||
| Signed webhooks | ||
| MCP server | ||
| Open source | ||
| Self-hosting | Not listed | |
| 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 | |
| Agent group chats | 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 | Not listed | |
| 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
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
SourceTwilio
Pay as you go per message segment, plus carrier fees and monthly number rental, with volume discounts.
Pricing model: per message
SourceWhich should you choose?
Choose BlueBubbles if you need iMessage, group chats, group management and group name and photo.
Choose Twilio if you need dedicated numbers, shared numbers, line pooling and WhatsApp.
Frequently asked questions
BlueBubbles supports 45 of the 77 features compared here, and Twilio supports 37. BlueBubbles adds iMessage, group chats, group management, group name and photo and mentions. Twilio adds dedicated numbers, shared numbers, line pooling, WhatsApp and email.
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. Twilio: Pay as you go per message segment, plus carrier fees and monthly number rental, with volume discounts.
Twilio does not support iMessage.
Twilio does not support group chats.
Twilio does not support group management.