What is the difference between Cadence and Linq?

Cadence supports 17 of the 77 features compared here, and Linq supports 63. Cadence adds local testing. Linq adds iMessage, group chats, group management, group name and photo and mentions.

How much do Cadence and Linq cost?

Cadence: Building and testing are free (sandbox plus real RCS to your own test devices); going live costs $250 a month per brand with one agent, $100 a month per extra agent, then 10 cents per RCS conversation and 5.5 cents per SMS, with registration fees waived and carrier fees passed through. Linq: Hobby is free with up to 20 contacts through the CLI, Pro starts at $260 a month with a 7-day free trial, and Enterprise is custom.

Does Linq support local testing?

Linq does not list local testing on its site or in its docs.

Cadence vs Linq: Features, Pricing and Differences

Feature comparison

Feature	Cadence	Linq
iMessage messaging
iMessage	Not supportedNo iMessage support	Supported
Group chats	Not supported	SupportedPro plan. Up to 31 recipients. No read or delivery receipts in groups.
Group management	Not supported	SupportedAdd and remove participants and leave a group, iMessage groups only, 3-member minimum.
Group name and photo	Not supported	SupportedSet display_name and group_chat_icon on group chats.
Mentions	Not supported	SupportedGroup chats only. Notifies iMessage recipients even in a muted chat.
Tapbacks	Not supported	SupportedSix classic tapbacks or any emoji, send and receive via reaction webhooks.
Threaded replies	Not supported	Supportedreply_to with optional part_index. iMessage only.
Typing indicators	Not supported	SupportedSend and receive, in direct and group chats. iMessage only.
Read receipts	Not supported	SupportedMark chats read and receive message.read. One-to-one chats only.
Edit and unsend	Not supported	PartialEdit text up to 5 times within 15 minutes. Delete does not unsend from the recipient's device.
Message effects	Not supported	Supported11 screen and 4 bubble effects.
Animated text effects	Not supported	Supportedtext_decorations animations: big, small, shake, nod, explode, ripple, bloom, jitter.
Stickers	Not supported	SupportedPeel emoji or images onto messages, send stickers, or place them inline in text.
Formatted text	Not supported	SupportedBold, italic, underline and strikethrough ranges, plus animated text. iMessage only.
Attachments	Not supported	SupportedUp to 10MB by URL, 100MB with pre-upload.
Live Photos	Not supported	Not listed
Rich link previews	Not supported	Supportedlink parts render as rich previews on iMessage and RCS.
Voice messages	Not supported	SupportedDedicated voice memo endpoint renders the native iMessage voice bubble.
Contact cards	Not supported	SupportedSend .vcf files as media parts.
Polls	Not supported	SupportedCreate, add options, vote and read tallies, with poll webhooks. Not as a chat's first message.
Chat backgrounds	Not supported	SupportedColor, animated or photo backgrounds, in direct and group chats.
Location sharing	Not supported	SupportedRequest, read and stop Find My shares. Live location is a $79/mo add-on on Pro.
iMessage apps	Not supported	SupportedPro plan. Cards from your own Messages extension, or Linq-hosted cards (Experiences).
Live app cards	Not supported	SupportedUpdate App Card replaces a delivered iMessage app or Experience card in place.
Sender name and photo	Not supported	SupportedContact card API sets name and photo, shared per chat via Name and Photo Sharing.
FaceTime calls	Not supported	Not supportedDocs say the API does not place or answer calls.
Delivery status	Not supported	Supportedsent, delivered, read and failed webhooks. Groups report sent only.
iMessage availability check	Not supported	Supportedcheck_imessage and check_rcs endpoints.
Focus and Notify Anyway	Not supported	Not listed
Numbers and delivery
Managed lines	Not supportedNo iMessage support	Supported
Dedicated numbers	PartialOptional per-brand SMS number by API (about $1.15 a month); RCS sends from a branded agent	SupportedPaid lines are dedicated. Provisioned by Linq, no self-serve number API.
Shared numbers	SupportedBrands without their own number send SMS from a shared Cadence number	SupportedFree Hobby tier uses a Shared Line, inbound-first, 20 contacts.
Bring your own number	Not listed	Not listed
Line pooling	Not listed	SupportedManaged load balancing (Pro): send without from and Linq picks and fails over lines.
SMS fallback	Not supportedNo iMessage support; RCS falls back to SMS automatically	Supported
RCS fallback	Not supportedNo iMessage support	SupportedOrder is iMessage, then RCS, then SMS.
Outbound-first messaging	SupportedAgent-initiated conversations; opt-in provenance is required on every open	SupportedFree Hobby tier is inbound-first. Docs recommend inbound-first flows to avoid flagging.
Calls on the iMessage number	Not supportedNo iMessage support	PartialAPI forwards inbound calls on the line; outbound needs caller-ID masking via another provider.
Other channels
SMS	PartialOnly as the fallback leg of an RCS conversation; media goes as a link, not MMS	Supported
RCS	SupportedGoogle RBM agents with rich cards, quick-reply chips, media, typing and read receipts	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 supported	PartialAPI does not place or answer calls; it forwards inbound calls. Calling lives in the Linq Blue app.
Apple Messages for Business	Not supported	Not listedAI context page mentions it, but no product page or docs were found.
Unified channel API	SupportedOne conversation API covers RCS and its SMS fallback, with the same reply events	PartialiMessage, RCS and SMS share one API. WhatsApp is a separate API with its own keys and SDKs.
Developer tools
REST API	SupportedREST API with an OpenAPI spec served from the API host	Supported
TypeScript SDK	Supported@cadencercs/sdk, zero dependencies, Node, Deno, Bun, Workers and browsers	Supported@linqapp/sdk
Python SDK	Not listed	Supportedlinq-python
Other SDKs	Not listed	SupportedOfficial Go SDK.
CLI	Not listed	Supported@linqapp/cli: signup, sending, and a local webhook listener.
Webhooks	Supportedreply, fellback, help, optout and completed events; also an SSE stream	Supported
Signed webhooks	SupportedHMAC-SHA256 Cadence-Signature over timestamp and raw body, 300-second tolerance	SupportedHMAC-SHA256, Standard Webhooks format, with replay protection.
MCP server	Supportednpx @cadencercs/mcp (20 tools) or hosted at api.cadencercs.com/mcp with OAuth sign-in	Supported@linqapp/sdk-mcp with docs search and code execution tools.
Open source	Not supportedHosted service; the SDK and MCP npm packages are MIT-licensed	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	SupportedSandbox keys simulate RCS delivery and SMS fallback; simulate-inbound injects replies	Not listedThe CLI streams webhooks locally, but tests still use a real phone.
Custom channel providers	Not listed	Not listed
Event replay	PartialWebhooks retry for about nine hours; a deliveries log keeps raw payloads; messages can be polled	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	Not listed	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	SupportedConversation primitive with server-run flows, typed chip replies and 24-hour sessions	PartialNo own framework. Maintains a Vercel Chat SDK adapter and OpenClaw and Hermes plugins.
Agent framework integrations	Not listedSite calls the MCP tools usable from any agent framework; no named framework integrations	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	SupportedMessages per conversation with channel and delivered text; structured answers for flows	Supported
Plans and compliance
Free plan	SupportedFree sandbox plus real RCS to your own accepted test devices, no time limit	SupportedHobby: $0, up to 20 contacts, through the CLI.
Public pricing	Supported$250 a month per brand to go live; usage rates published	SupportedPro from $260/mo. Enterprise is custom.
No per-message fees	Not supportedRCS 10 cents per 24-hour conversation, SMS 5.5 cents per message, plus carrier fees	Supported
Uptime SLA	Not supportedTerms say the platform is provided as is, with no delivery guarantee	SupportedContractual SLAs on the Enterprise plan; marketing cites 99.95%
Isolated infrastructure	Not listed	SupportedDedicated lines across 4 data centers on paid plans; Hobby uses a shared line
SOC 2 Type II	Not listed	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.

Feature

Cadence

Linq

iMessage messaging

iMessage

Not supportedNo iMessage support

Group chats

Not supported

Pro plan. Up to 31 recipients. No read or delivery receipts in groups.

Group management

Not supported

Add and remove participants and leave a group, iMessage groups only, 3-member minimum.

Group name and photo

Not supported

Set display_name and group_chat_icon on group chats.

Mentions

Not supported

Group chats only. Notifies iMessage recipients even in a muted chat.

Tapbacks

Not supported

Six classic tapbacks or any emoji, send and receive via reaction webhooks.

Threaded replies

Not supported

reply_to with optional part_index. iMessage only.

Typing indicators

Not supported

Send and receive, in direct and group chats. iMessage only.

Read receipts

Not supported

Mark chats read and receive message.read. One-to-one chats only.

Edit and unsend

Not supported

PartialEdit text up to 5 times within 15 minutes. Delete does not unsend from the recipient's device.

Message effects

Not supported

11 screen and 4 bubble effects.

Animated text effects

Not supported

text_decorations animations: big, small, shake, nod, explode, ripple, bloom, jitter.

Stickers

Not supported

Peel emoji or images onto messages, send stickers, or place them inline in text.

Formatted text

Not supported

Bold, italic, underline and strikethrough ranges, plus animated text. iMessage only.

Attachments

Not supported

Up to 10MB by URL, 100MB with pre-upload.

Live Photos

Not supported

Not listed

Rich link previews

Not supported

link parts render as rich previews on iMessage and RCS.

Voice messages

Not supported

Dedicated voice memo endpoint renders the native iMessage voice bubble.

Contact cards

Not supported

Send .vcf files as media parts.

Polls

Not supported

Create, add options, vote and read tallies, with poll webhooks. Not as a chat's first message.

Chat backgrounds

Not supported

Color, animated or photo backgrounds, in direct and group chats.

Location sharing

Not supported

Request, read and stop Find My shares. Live location is a $79/mo add-on on Pro.

iMessage apps

Not supported

Pro plan. Cards from your own Messages extension, or Linq-hosted cards (Experiences).

Live app cards

Not supported

Update App Card replaces a delivered iMessage app or Experience card in place.

Sender name and photo

Not supported

Contact card API sets name and photo, shared per chat via Name and Photo Sharing.

FaceTime calls

Not supported

Not supportedDocs say the API does not place or answer calls.

Delivery status

Not supported

sent, delivered, read and failed webhooks. Groups report sent only.

iMessage availability check

Not supported

check_imessage and check_rcs endpoints.

Focus and Notify Anyway

Not supported

Not listed

Numbers and delivery

Managed lines

Not supportedNo iMessage support

Dedicated numbers

PartialOptional per-brand SMS number by API (about $1.15 a month); RCS sends from a branded agent

Paid lines are dedicated. Provisioned by Linq, no self-serve number API.

Shared numbers

Brands without their own number send SMS from a shared Cadence number

Free Hobby tier uses a Shared Line, inbound-first, 20 contacts.

Bring your own number

Not listed

Line pooling

Not listed

Managed load balancing (Pro): send without from and Linq picks and fails over lines.

SMS fallback

Not supportedNo iMessage support; RCS falls back to SMS automatically

RCS fallback

Not supportedNo iMessage support

Order is iMessage, then RCS, then SMS.

Outbound-first messaging

Agent-initiated conversations; opt-in provenance is required on every open

Free Hobby tier is inbound-first. Docs recommend inbound-first flows to avoid flagging.

Calls on the iMessage number

Not supportedNo iMessage support

PartialAPI forwards inbound calls on the line; outbound needs caller-ID masking via another provider.

Other channels

SMS

PartialOnly as the fallback leg of an RCS conversation; media goes as a link, not MMS

RCS

Google RBM agents with rich cards, quick-reply chips, media, typing and read receipts

Not supportedNot offered

BetaSeparate WhatsApp API in beta. Access by request, no SLA.

Not supported

Not supportedNot offered

Slack

Not supported

Not supportedNot offered. iMessage can be sent to Apple ID email handles.

Phone calls

Not supported

PartialAPI does not place or answer calls; it forwards inbound calls. Calling lives in the Linq Blue app.

Apple Messages for Business

Not supported

Not listedAI context page mentions it, but no product page or docs were found.

Unified channel API

One conversation API covers RCS and its SMS fallback, with the same reply events

PartialiMessage, RCS and SMS share one API. WhatsApp is a separate API with its own keys and SDKs.

Developer tools

REST API

REST API with an OpenAPI spec served from the API host

TypeScript SDK

@cadencercs/sdk, zero dependencies, Node, Deno, Bun, Workers and browsers

@linqapp/sdk

Python SDK

Not listed

linq-python

Other SDKs

Not listed

Official Go SDK.

CLI

Not listed

@linqapp/cli: signup, sending, and a local webhook listener.

Webhooks

reply, fellback, help, optout and completed events; also an SSE stream

Signed webhooks

HMAC-SHA256 Cadence-Signature over timestamp and raw body, 300-second tolerance

HMAC-SHA256, Standard Webhooks format, with replay protection.

MCP server

npx @cadencercs/mcp (20 tools) or hosted at api.cadencercs.com/mcp with OAuth sign-in

@linqapp/sdk-mcp with docs search and code execution tools.

Open source

Not supportedHosted service; the SDK and MCP npm packages are MIT-licensed

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

Sandbox keys simulate RCS delivery and SMS fallback; simulate-inbound injects replies

Not listedThe CLI streams webhooks locally, but tests still use a real phone.

Custom channel providers

Not listed

Event replay

PartialWebhooks retry for about nine hours; a deliveries log keeps raw payloads; messages can be polled

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

Not listed

Linq Blue works as a GoHighLevel messaging provider. No n8n, Make or Zapier found for the API.

CRM integrations

Not listed

Via Linq Blue: GoHighLevel, HubSpot and Salesforce.

Built for AI agents

Agent framework

Conversation primitive with server-run flows, typed chip replies and 24-hour sessions

PartialNo own framework. Maintains a Vercel Chat SDK adapter and OpenClaw and Hermes plugins.

Agent framework integrations

Not listedSite calls the MCP tools usable from any agent framework; no named framework integrations

Linq-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

Human handoff

Not listed

Audit logs

Not listed

Dashboard Activity page plus account-change webhooks with actor and origin.

Message history API

Messages per conversation with channel and delivered text; structured answers for flows

Plans and compliance

Free plan

Free sandbox plus real RCS to your own accepted test devices, no time limit

Hobby: $0, up to 20 contacts, through the CLI.

Public pricing

$250 a month per brand to go live; usage rates published

Pro from $260/mo. Enterprise is custom.

No per-message fees

Not supportedRCS 10 cents per 24-hour conversation, SMS 5.5 cents per message, plus carrier fees

Uptime SLA

Not supportedTerms say the platform is provided as is, with no delivery guarantee

Contractual SLAs on the Enterprise plan; marketing cites 99.95%

Isolated infrastructure

Not listed

Dedicated lines across 4 data centers on paid plans; Hobby uses a shared line

SOC 2 Type II

Not listed

Type I and Type II, reports for 2022, 2024, 2025 and 2026.

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.

Cadence vs Linq

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

Cadence

Linq

Where Cadence is ahead

Where Linq is ahead

Feature comparison

Pricing

Cadence

Linq

Which should you choose?

Frequently asked questions

More Cadence comparisons

More Linq comparisons