What is the difference between Chert and iBlueText?

Chert supports 47 of the 77 features compared here, and iBlueText supports 43. Chert adds group chats, group management, group name and photo, edit and unsend and Live Photos. iBlueText adds threaded replies, iMessage availability check, bring your own number, RCS fallback and RCS.

How much do Chert and iBlueText cost?

Chert: A free 24-hour trial includes 10 messages and 10 FaceTime minutes on a shared line; Shared is $25 a month and a dedicated line is $250 a month, but paid checkout is paused. iBlueText: Hosted lines cost $99 a month each plus a one-time setup fee from $249, self-hosted Bridge plans run from $29 a month for 1 line to $999 for 100 lines, and lookups cost $0.005 each.

Does iBlueText support group chats?

iBlueText does not list group chats on its site or in its docs.

Does iBlueText support group management?

iBlueText does not list group management on its site or in its docs.

Does iBlueText support group name and photo?

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

Chert vs iBlueText

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

Chert

iMessage and FaceTime numbers for AI agents

Starting price: $25/month (Shared)
Free plan: 24-hour trial: 10 messages and 10 FaceTime minutes on a shared line

Visit Chert Read more

iBlueText

Hosted or self-hosted iMessage lines with iPhone lookup

Starting price: $29/month (self-hosted, 1 line); $99/month per hosted line
Free plan: No-card trial: 100 lookups, 10 verifications and 10 iMessages; self-hosted 3-day trial

Visit iBlueText Read more

Chert supports 47 of the 77 features compared here, and iBlueText supports 43.

Where Chert is ahead

and 7 more in the table below.

Where iBlueText is ahead

and 3 more in the table below.

Feature comparison

Feature	Chert	iBlueText
iMessage messaging
iMessage	Supported	SupportedHosted lines on iBlueText's Macs and iPhones, or self-hosted on your own Macs
Group chats	Supported2 to 31 recipients; first group message must be text only.	Not listedNot mentioned in the API docs
Group management	SupportedCreate, add or remove participants, and leave a group.	Not listed
Group name and photo	SupportedSet a group's display name and icon.	Not listed
Mentions	Not listed	Not listed
Tapbacks	SupportedSix standard tapbacks; inbound tapbacks show in message history.	SupportedSend six tapbacks to inbound messages and receive reaction.received. Not on SIP-on rented Macs.
Threaded replies	Not listedHomepage mentions reply context; no reply-to field in the API docs.	Supportedreply_to quotes an inbound message; falls back to a normal message if Apple refuses
Typing indicators	SupportedBest effort; group typing is not supported on every line.	PartialSend only, in existing iMessage threads; no inbound typing events documented
Read receipts	SupportedMark chats read; messages carry read_at when known.	PartialReceive only: message.read and read_at when the recipient has read receipts on
Edit and unsend	PartialEdit within 15 minutes; no unsend endpoint documented.	Not listed
Message effects	SupportedApple send effects, validated against an allowed list.	Supported8 screen and 4 bubble effects on /send
Animated text effects	Not listed	Not listed
Stickers	Not listed	Not listed
Formatted text	Not listed	Not listed
Attachments	SupportedUpload then send; several images can go out as one grouped message.	SupportedPhotos, video, voice memos, vCards and PDFs, up to 5 files of 5 MB each
Live Photos	Supportedlive_photo pairs an uploaded HEIC with its MOV.	Not listed
Rich link previews	Supportedrich_link parts render as preview bubbles; falls back to a plain URL.	SupportedGoHighLevel page cites real link previews; no API option documented
Voice messages	SupportedNative voice notes on enabled lines; inbound memos arrive as attachments, no transcript.	SupportedVoice memos sent and received as attachments
Contact cards	SupportedBuilds a vCard bubble in DMs and groups.	Supported.vcf files sent as attachments
Polls	SupportedEnabled lines only; read votes by polling, no vote webhooks yet.	Not listed
Chat backgrounds	Not listed	Not listed
Location sharing	PartialOne-time location pin on enabled lines; not Live Location or Find My.	Not listed
iMessage apps	Not listed	Not listed
Live app cards	Not listed	Not listed
Sender name and photo	SupportedNative name-and-photo sharing on enabled lines (share_native).	PartialHosted lines can get a business sender name at setup; no API or photo option documented
FaceTime calls	SupportedInbound audio and video, outbound audio only, bridged to your LiveKit agent.	PartialFaceTime audio placed from the self-hosted Bridge app, with call webhooks; no call API
Delivery status	SupportedPer-message status with delivered_at, and the channel used (iMessage or SMS).	Supportedqueued, sent, delivered, read and failed; plain SMS has no delivery receipt
iMessage availability check	Not listed	SupportedLookup API at $0.005 a number, 400 free per line a day; also detects FaceTime
Focus and Notify Anyway	Not listed	Not listed
Numbers and delivery
Managed lines	SupportedChert-managed sender lines assigned to your tenant.	SupportedHosted plan: iBlueText runs the Mac, iPhone, Apple Account and US number
Dedicated numbers	Supported$250/mo per line, arranged on a call; no self-serve checkout yet.	SupportedEach hosted line is its own US number on a dedicated, warmed Apple ID
Shared numbers	SupportedFree 24-hour trial and $25/mo Shared plan on a shared line.	PartialOnly the 10 free trial messages, which are sent from iBlueText's fleet
Bring your own number	Not listed	SupportedSelf-hosted uses your own iPhones and numbers; hosted lines can use your own Apple Account
Line pooling	SupportedPicks and pins a sender line per recipient from your assigned lines.	SupportedCampaigns spread new contacts across your lines and keep existing contacts on their line
SMS fallback	PartialLines enabled for SMS retry only; plain-text 1:1 messages, not groups or media.	Supported
RCS fallback	Not listedHomepage says SMS or RCS fallback; API docs only describe SMS retry.	PartialFalls back to green; the carrier decides RCS or SMS and iBlueText reports which
Outbound-first messaging	SupportedFirst send to a new recipient creates a lead and pins a line.	SupportedCapped at 50 new iMessage and 50 new SMS contacts a day per line, 15 in the first 5 days
Calls on the iMessage number	PartialHomepage offers one number for iMessage and FaceTime; docs say identities are not unified yet.	PartialFaceTime audio from the line's Apple ID via the self-hosted Bridge app; no phone calls
Other channels
SMS	PartialOnly as an automatic retry after a failed iMessage, on enabled lines.	SupportedSMS and MMS from the line's number; self-hosted can add Android phones or your own Twilio
RCS	Not listedMentioned only as a fallback on the homepage.	PartialGreen messages go as RCS or SMS as the carrier decides; RCS cannot be selected
WhatsApp	Not supportedNot offered	SupportedYour own number paired by QR code ($19/mo add-on) or a hosted number from $49/mo
Telegram	Not supported	Not supportedNot offered
Slack	Not listed	Not supported
Email	Not supportedNot offered	Not supported
Phone calls	Not supportedNot offered; calls are FaceTime only.	Not supportedNot offered; calls are FaceTime audio only
Apple Messages for Business	Not supportedNot offered	Not supportedNot offered
Unified channel API	PartialiMessage and SMS retry share one API; FaceTime uses a separate API.	PartialiMessage and SMS share /send; WhatsApp has its own endpoint; inbound shares one webhook
Developer tools
REST API	Supported	SupportedOpenAPI 3.1 spec published
TypeScript SDK	Beta@trychert/sdk 0.2.0 on npm (MIT); the homepage still says SDK packages are not published.	Not listedNone found; docs say no SDK is needed
Python SDK	BetaSource preview on GitHub; not released on PyPI.	Not listed
Other SDKs	BetaRust, C#/.NET, C++ and Go clients are source previews on GitHub.	Not listed
CLI	BetaFaceTime CLI on npm's beta tag; the SDK adds a chert-sdk CLI for sends.	Not listed
Webhooks	SupportedMultiple subscriptions with event filters; message.received for inbound.	SupportedReplies, opt-outs and opt-in status events, per account or per line
Signed webhooks	SupportedHMAC-SHA256 per-subscription secret over timestamp and raw body.	SupportedX-IBT-Signature: HMAC-SHA256 of the raw body
MCP server	Not listed	Supportedibluetext-mcp on npm, 30 tools
Open source	PartialSDKs are MIT and a FaceTime link connector is Apache-2.0; the service is closed.	Not supportedBridge is licensed per line and cannot be resold; only the npm MCP package is MIT
Self-hosting	Not listedOnly the open-source FaceTime link connector runs on your own machine.	SupportediBlueText Bridge runs on your own Macs from $29/mo; messages stay on your hardware
Local testing	Not listedSSE stream and dev inbox avoid a public webhook, but a real phone is still needed.	Not listed
Custom channel providers	Not listed	PartialSelf-hosted Bridge can route SMS through your own Twilio account
Event replay	SupportedDurable event log with replay by event ID, polling and SSE.	PartialWebhooks retried 3 times over about 12 minutes; conversations API has a since filter
OpenTelemetry	Not listed	Not listed
No-code integrations	Not listed	SupportedNative GoHighLevel and Wix apps; Zapier, Make and n8n through webhooks
CRM integrations	SupportedSalesforce managed package and HubSpot app.	SupportedNative GoHighLevel only; HubSpot and Salesforce through the API and webhooks
Built for AI agents
Agent framework	PartialChert-managed FaceTime assistants and a LiveKit voice-agent starter; messaging is send and receive.	Not listed
Agent framework integrations	PartialFaceTime calls connect to LiveKit agents; no messaging framework integrations.	Not listed
Streaming replies	Not listed	Not listed
Agent group chats	Not listed	Not listed
Human handoff	SupportedSlack reply triage with approve-to-send drafts, plus a console reply pane.	SupportedPause or resume the built-in AI per conversation; it steps back 24 hours after a manual reply
Audit logs	Not listed	PartialPortal API log lists every API call for 30 days
Message history API	PartialLast 200 messages per chat; no pagination yet.	SupportedConversations API returns two-way transcripts
Plans and compliance
Free plan	Partial24-hour trial with 10 messages and 10 FaceTime minutes on a shared line.	PartialOne-time allowance: 100 lookups, 10 verifications and 10 iMessages, no card
Public pricing	Supported	Supported
No per-message fees	SupportedFlat monthly prices; paid plans have usage limits that are not spelled out.	SupportedFlat per line; lookups and verifications cost $0.005 each
Uptime SLA	Not listed	Not supportedTerms provide the service as is, with no guarantee of availability
Isolated infrastructure	SupportedDedicated $250/mo line for your project; lower plans use shared lines	PartialSelf-hosted runs on your own Macs; hosted runs many lines per Mac
SOC 2 Type II	Not listed	Not listed
GDPR	SupportedPrivacy policy sets out GDPR legal bases and rights.	Not listedPrivacy policy mentions GDPR rights where applicable; no DPA found

Feature

Chert

iBlueText

iMessage messaging

iMessage

Hosted lines on iBlueText's Macs and iPhones, or self-hosted on your own Macs

Group chats

2 to 31 recipients; first group message must be text only.

Not listedNot mentioned in the API docs

Group management

Create, add or remove participants, and leave a group.

Not listed

Group name and photo

Set a group's display name and icon.

Not listed

Mentions

Not listed

Tapbacks

Six standard tapbacks; inbound tapbacks show in message history.

Send six tapbacks to inbound messages and receive reaction.received. Not on SIP-on rented Macs.

Threaded replies

Not listedHomepage mentions reply context; no reply-to field in the API docs.

reply_to quotes an inbound message; falls back to a normal message if Apple refuses

Typing indicators

Best effort; group typing is not supported on every line.

PartialSend only, in existing iMessage threads; no inbound typing events documented

Read receipts

Mark chats read; messages carry read_at when known.

PartialReceive only: message.read and read_at when the recipient has read receipts on

Edit and unsend

PartialEdit within 15 minutes; no unsend endpoint documented.

Not listed

Message effects

Apple send effects, validated against an allowed list.

8 screen and 4 bubble effects on /send

Animated text effects

Not listed

Stickers

Not listed

Formatted text

Not listed

Attachments

Upload then send; several images can go out as one grouped message.

Photos, video, voice memos, vCards and PDFs, up to 5 files of 5 MB each

Live Photos

live_photo pairs an uploaded HEIC with its MOV.

Not listed

Rich link previews

rich_link parts render as preview bubbles; falls back to a plain URL.

GoHighLevel page cites real link previews; no API option documented

Voice messages

Native voice notes on enabled lines; inbound memos arrive as attachments, no transcript.

Voice memos sent and received as attachments

Contact cards

Builds a vCard bubble in DMs and groups.

.vcf files sent as attachments

Polls

Enabled lines only; read votes by polling, no vote webhooks yet.

Not listed

Chat backgrounds

Not listed

Location sharing

PartialOne-time location pin on enabled lines; not Live Location or Find My.

Not listed

iMessage apps

Not listed

Live app cards

Not listed

Sender name and photo

Native name-and-photo sharing on enabled lines (share_native).

PartialHosted lines can get a business sender name at setup; no API or photo option documented

FaceTime calls

Inbound audio and video, outbound audio only, bridged to your LiveKit agent.

PartialFaceTime audio placed from the self-hosted Bridge app, with call webhooks; no call API

Delivery status

Per-message status with delivered_at, and the channel used (iMessage or SMS).

queued, sent, delivered, read and failed; plain SMS has no delivery receipt

iMessage availability check

Not listed

Lookup API at $0.005 a number, 400 free per line a day; also detects FaceTime

Focus and Notify Anyway

Not listed

Numbers and delivery

Managed lines

Chert-managed sender lines assigned to your tenant.

Hosted plan: iBlueText runs the Mac, iPhone, Apple Account and US number

Dedicated numbers

$250/mo per line, arranged on a call; no self-serve checkout yet.

Each hosted line is its own US number on a dedicated, warmed Apple ID

Shared numbers

Free 24-hour trial and $25/mo Shared plan on a shared line.

PartialOnly the 10 free trial messages, which are sent from iBlueText's fleet

Bring your own number

Not listed

Self-hosted uses your own iPhones and numbers; hosted lines can use your own Apple Account

Line pooling

Picks and pins a sender line per recipient from your assigned lines.

Campaigns spread new contacts across your lines and keep existing contacts on their line

SMS fallback

PartialLines enabled for SMS retry only; plain-text 1:1 messages, not groups or media.

RCS fallback

Not listedHomepage says SMS or RCS fallback; API docs only describe SMS retry.

PartialFalls back to green; the carrier decides RCS or SMS and iBlueText reports which

Outbound-first messaging

First send to a new recipient creates a lead and pins a line.

Capped at 50 new iMessage and 50 new SMS contacts a day per line, 15 in the first 5 days

Calls on the iMessage number

PartialHomepage offers one number for iMessage and FaceTime; docs say identities are not unified yet.

PartialFaceTime audio from the line's Apple ID via the self-hosted Bridge app; no phone calls

Other channels

SMS

PartialOnly as an automatic retry after a failed iMessage, on enabled lines.

SMS and MMS from the line's number; self-hosted can add Android phones or your own Twilio

RCS

Not listedMentioned only as a fallback on the homepage.

PartialGreen messages go as RCS or SMS as the carrier decides; RCS cannot be selected

Not supportedNot offered

Your own number paired by QR code ($19/mo add-on) or a hosted number from $49/mo

Not supported

Not supportedNot offered

Slack

Not listed

Not supported

Not supportedNot offered

Not supported

Phone calls

Not supportedNot offered; calls are FaceTime only.

Not supportedNot offered; calls are FaceTime audio only

Apple Messages for Business

Not supportedNot offered

Unified channel API

PartialiMessage and SMS retry share one API; FaceTime uses a separate API.

PartialiMessage and SMS share /send; WhatsApp has its own endpoint; inbound shares one webhook

Developer tools

REST API

OpenAPI 3.1 spec published

TypeScript SDK

Beta@trychert/sdk 0.2.0 on npm (MIT); the homepage still says SDK packages are not published.

Not listedNone found; docs say no SDK is needed

Python SDK

BetaSource preview on GitHub; not released on PyPI.

Not listed

Other SDKs

BetaRust, C#/.NET, C++ and Go clients are source previews on GitHub.

Not listed

CLI

BetaFaceTime CLI on npm's beta tag; the SDK adds a chert-sdk CLI for sends.

Not listed

Webhooks

Multiple subscriptions with event filters; message.received for inbound.

Replies, opt-outs and opt-in status events, per account or per line

Signed webhooks

HMAC-SHA256 per-subscription secret over timestamp and raw body.

X-IBT-Signature: HMAC-SHA256 of the raw body

MCP server

Not listed

ibluetext-mcp on npm, 30 tools

Open source

PartialSDKs are MIT and a FaceTime link connector is Apache-2.0; the service is closed.

Not supportedBridge is licensed per line and cannot be resold; only the npm MCP package is MIT

Self-hosting

Not listedOnly the open-source FaceTime link connector runs on your own machine.

iBlueText Bridge runs on your own Macs from $29/mo; messages stay on your hardware

Local testing

Not listedSSE stream and dev inbox avoid a public webhook, but a real phone is still needed.

Not listed

Custom channel providers

Not listed

PartialSelf-hosted Bridge can route SMS through your own Twilio account

Event replay

Durable event log with replay by event ID, polling and SSE.

PartialWebhooks retried 3 times over about 12 minutes; conversations API has a since filter

OpenTelemetry

Not listed

No-code integrations

Not listed

Native GoHighLevel and Wix apps; Zapier, Make and n8n through webhooks

CRM integrations

Salesforce managed package and HubSpot app.

Native GoHighLevel only; HubSpot and Salesforce through the API and webhooks

Built for AI agents

Agent framework

PartialChert-managed FaceTime assistants and a LiveKit voice-agent starter; messaging is send and receive.

Not listed

Agent framework integrations

PartialFaceTime calls connect to LiveKit agents; no messaging framework integrations.

Not listed

Streaming replies

Not listed

Agent group chats

Not listed

Human handoff

Slack reply triage with approve-to-send drafts, plus a console reply pane.

Pause or resume the built-in AI per conversation; it steps back 24 hours after a manual reply

Audit logs

Not listed

PartialPortal API log lists every API call for 30 days

Message history API

PartialLast 200 messages per chat; no pagination yet.

Conversations API returns two-way transcripts

Plans and compliance

Free plan

Partial24-hour trial with 10 messages and 10 FaceTime minutes on a shared line.

PartialOne-time allowance: 100 lookups, 10 verifications and 10 iMessages, no card

Public pricing

No per-message fees

Flat monthly prices; paid plans have usage limits that are not spelled out.

Flat per line; lookups and verifications cost $0.005 each

Uptime SLA

Not listed

Not supportedTerms provide the service as is, with no guarantee of availability

Isolated infrastructure

Dedicated $250/mo line for your project; lower plans use shared lines

PartialSelf-hosted runs on your own Macs; hosted runs many lines per Mac

SOC 2 Type II

Not listed

GDPR

Not listedPrivacy policy mentions GDPR rights where applicable; no DPA found

Checked on each provider's own site and docs on 2026-10-25. “Not listed” means the provider does not mention it.

Pricing

Chert

A free 24-hour trial includes 10 messages and 10 FaceTime minutes on a shared line; Shared is $25 a month and a dedicated line is $250 a month, but paid checkout is paused.

Pricing model: flat monthly per line, with usage limits

Source

iBlueText

Hosted lines cost $99 a month each plus a one-time setup fee from $249, self-hosted Bridge plans run from $29 a month for 1 line to $999 for 100 lines, and lookups cost $0.005 each.

Pricing model: flat per line, plus prepaid credits for lookups and verifications

Source