Dial vs Zernio
Compare Dial and Zernio side by side: iMessage features, channels, developer tools, pricing and compliance, checked on each provider's own site.
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
Zernio
One API for iMessage, SMS, WhatsApp, social DMs and calls
- Starting price
- $200/month per iMessage sender
- Free plan
- First 2 connected accounts free; free iMessage sandbox on a shared line
Dial supports 44 of the 77 features compared here, and Zernio supports 57.
Where Dial is ahead
Where Zernio is ahead
- Group management
- Group name and photo
- Edit and unsend
- Message effects
- Stickers
- Formatted text
- Rich link previews
- Location sharing
and 8 more in the table below.
Feature comparison
| Feature | ||
|---|---|---|
| iMessage messaging | ||
| iMessage | ||
| Group chats | ||
| Group management | ||
| Group name and photo | Not listedGroup names are read live from the line; no way to set a name or photo is documented. | |
| Mentions | Not listed | Not listed |
| Tapbacks | ||
| Threaded replies | ||
| Typing indicators | ||
| Read receipts | ||
| Edit and unsend | Not listed | |
| Message effects | Not listed | |
| Animated text effects | Not listed | Not listed |
| Stickers | Not listed | |
| Formatted text | Not listed | |
| Attachments | ||
| Live Photos | Not listed | Not listed |
| Rich link previews | Not listed | |
| Voice messages | ||
| Contact cards | ||
| Polls | Not listed | |
| Chat backgrounds | Not listed | Not listed |
| Location sharing | Not listed | |
| iMessage apps | Not listed | Not listed |
| Live app cards | Not listed | Not listed |
| Sender name and photo | ||
| FaceTime calls | Not listed | Not listedInbound FaceTime attempts show in the thread as call-typed messages. No calling documented. |
| Delivery status | ||
| iMessage availability check | Not listed | |
| Focus and Notify Anyway | Not listed | Not listed |
| Numbers and delivery | ||
| Managed lines | ||
| Dedicated numbers | ||
| Shared numbers | Not listed | |
| Bring your own number | Not listed | |
| Line pooling | Not listedDocs suggest splitting recipients across several iMessage numbers by hand; no automatic pooling found. | Not listedOne sender per profile; docs suggest spreading contacts across senders by hand. |
| SMS fallback | ||
| RCS fallback | ||
| Outbound-first messaging | ||
| Calls on the iMessage number | ||
| Other channels | ||
| SMS | ||
| RCS | ||
| Telegram | Not supportedNot offered | |
| Slack | Not supportedNot offered as a channel. A Zapier app can forward messages to Slack. | |
Not supportedNot offered | Not supportedNot offered as a channel. iMessage senders can use an email handle. | |
| Phone calls | ||
| Apple Messages for Business | Not listedDocs say iMessage numbers send over Apple Messages for Business, but no business chat product is documented. | Not supportedNot offered |
| Unified channel API | ||
| Developer tools | ||
| REST API | ||
| TypeScript SDK | ||
| Python SDK | ||
| Other SDKs | ||
| CLI | ||
| Webhooks | ||
| Signed webhooks | ||
| MCP server | ||
| Open source | ||
| Self-hosting | Not listedSelf-Hosted mode only means calls are driven by your own agent server; the platform itself is hosted. | Not supportedHosted cloud service only |
| Local testing | Not listed | Not listedThe free sandbox still needs your own phone or Apple ID. |
| Custom channel providers | Not listed | Not listed |
| Event replay | ||
| OpenTelemetry | Not listed | Not listed |
| No-code integrations | ||
| CRM integrations | Not listed | |
| Built for AI agents | ||
| Agent framework | ||
| Agent framework integrations | ||
| Streaming replies | Not listed | |
| Agent group chats | Not listed | Not listed |
| Human handoff | ||
| Audit logs | Not listed | |
| Message history API | ||
| Plans and compliance | ||
| Free plan | ||
| Public pricing | ||
| No per-message fees | ||
| Uptime SLA | Not listedSite states 99.97% uptime; no contractual SLA found. | |
| Isolated infrastructure | Not listed | Not listed |
| SOC 2 Type II | ||
| GDPR |
Checked on each provider's own site and docs on 2026-10-25. “Not listed” means the provider does not mention it.
Pricing
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
SourceZernio
An iMessage sender costs $200 a month plus Zernio's per-account fee, with a free sandbox; SMS, calls and outbound messages past 10,000 a month are metered.
Pricing model: flat per sender, plus per connected account and usage meters
SourceWhich should you choose?
Choose Dial if you need polls, iMessage availability check and uptime SLA.
Choose Zernio if you need group management, group name and photo, edit and unsend and message effects.
Frequently asked questions
Dial supports 44 of the 77 features compared here, and Zernio supports 57. Dial adds polls, iMessage availability check and uptime SLA. Zernio adds group management, group name and photo, edit and unsend, message effects and stickers.
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. Zernio: An iMessage sender costs $200 a month plus Zernio's per-account fee, with a free sandbox; SMS, calls and outbound messages past 10,000 a month are metered.
Zernio does not list polls on its site or in its docs.
Zernio does not list iMessage availability check on its site or in its docs.
Zernio does not list uptime SLA on its site or in its docs.