imsg (gnufood) vs Linq

imsg (gnufood) supports 15 of the 77 features compared here, and Linq supports 63.

Feature comparison

Feature	imsg (gnufood)	Linq
iMessage messaging
iMessage	PartialThrough a paired iPhone over Bluetooth MAP, text only; docs say iOS reports every message as SMS_GSM	Supported
Group chats	Not listed	SupportedPro plan. Up to 31 recipients. No read or delivery receipts in groups.
Group management	Not listed	SupportedAdd and remove participants and leave a group, iMessage groups only, 3-member minimum.
Group name and photo	Not listed	SupportedSet display_name and group_chat_icon on group chats.
Mentions	Not listed	SupportedGroup chats only. Notifies iMessage recipients even in a muted chat.
Tapbacks	Not listed	SupportedSix classic tapbacks or any emoji, send and receive via reaction webhooks.
Threaded replies	Not listed	Supportedreply_to with optional part_index. iMessage only.
Typing indicators	Not listed	SupportedSend and receive, in direct and group chats. iMessage only.
Read receipts	Not listedCan mark messages read on the iPhone; read receipts are not documented	SupportedMark chats read and receive message.read. One-to-one chats only.
Edit and unsend	Not listed	PartialEdit text up to 5 times within 15 minutes. Delete does not unsend from the recipient's device.
Message effects	Not listed	Supported11 screen and 4 bubble effects.
Animated text effects	Not listed	Supportedtext_decorations animations: big, small, shake, nod, explode, ripple, bloom, jitter.
Stickers	Not listed	SupportedPeel emoji or images onto messages, send stickers, or place them inline in text.
Formatted text	Not listed	SupportedBold, italic, underline and strikethrough ranges, plus animated text. iMessage only.
Attachments	Not supportedText only; the IPC docs say MMS attachments are not brokered yet	SupportedUp to 10MB by URL, 100MB with pre-upload.
Live Photos	Not listed	Not listed
Rich link previews	Not listed	Supportedlink parts render as rich previews on iMessage and RCS.
Voice messages	Not listed	SupportedDedicated voice memo endpoint renders the native iMessage voice bubble.
Contact cards	Not listed	SupportedSend .vcf files as media parts.
Polls	Not listed	SupportedCreate, add options, vote and read tallies, with poll webhooks. Not as a chat's first message.
Chat backgrounds	Not listed	SupportedColor, animated or photo backgrounds, in direct and group chats.
Location sharing	Not listed	SupportedRequest, read and stop Find My shares. Live location is a $79/mo add-on on Pro.
iMessage apps	Not listed	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	Not listed	SupportedContact card API sets name and photo, shared per chat via Name and Photo Sharing.
FaceTime calls	Not listed	Not supportedDocs say the API does not place or answer calls.
Delivery status	PartialTracks whether the iPhone accepted the message and filed it in Sent; no recipient receipts documented	Supportedsent, delivered, read and failed webhooks. Groups report sent only.
iMessage availability check	Not listed	Supportedcheck_imessage and check_rcs endpoints.
Focus and Notify Anyway	Not listed	Not listed
Numbers and delivery
Managed lines	Not supportedUses your own iPhone paired to a Linux machine	Supported
Dedicated numbers	Not supportedNot offered; uses the paired iPhone's number	SupportedPaid lines are dedicated. Provisioned by Linq, no self-serve number API.
Shared numbers	Not supportedNot offered	SupportedFree Hobby tier uses a Shared Line, inbound-first, 20 contacts.
Bring your own number	SupportedUses the number of the iPhone paired over Bluetooth	Not listed
Line pooling	Not listed	SupportedManaged load balancing (Pro): send without from and Linq picks and fails over lines.
SMS fallback	Not listed	Supported
RCS fallback	Not listed	SupportedOrder is iMessage, then RCS, then SMS.
Outbound-first messaging	Supportedimsg send <number> <message> sends to any phone number	SupportedFree Hobby tier is inbound-first. Docs recommend inbound-first flows to avoid flagging.
Calls on the iMessage number	Not supportedNot offered; HFP call control is only on the research list	PartialAPI forwards inbound calls on the line; outbound needs caller-ID masking via another provider.
Other channels
SMS	SupportedReads and sends texts through the paired iPhone; the CLI help calls sending SMS	Supported
RCS	Not listed	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; PBAP reads call history 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	Not supportedSingle channel: messages relayed by the paired iPhone	PartialiMessage, RCS and SMS share one API. WhatsApp is a separate API with its own keys and SDKs.
Developer tools
REST API	Not supportedNo HTTP API; the CLI talks to the daemon over a Unix socket with JSON frames	Supported
TypeScript SDK	Not listed	Supported@linqapp/sdk
Python SDK	Not supportedNot yet; a PyO3 Python SDK is planned on the roadmap	Supportedlinq-python
Other SDKs	PartialRust crates on crates.io; a stable Rust API, C FFI and Go SDK are planned	SupportedOfficial Go SDK.
CLI	SupportedInstall script, cargo install or release binaries	Supported@linqapp/cli: signup, sending, and a local webhook listener.
Webhooks	Not supportedNo HTTP webhooks; the daemon streams MAP events over its Unix socket	Supported
Signed webhooks	Not supportedNo webhooks	SupportedHMAC-SHA256, Standard Webhooks format, with replay protection.
MCP server	Not listed	Supported@linqapp/sdk-mcp with docs search and code execution tools.
Open source	SupportedMIT	PartialSDKs, CLI and adapters are Apache-2.0 or MIT on GitHub. The messaging platform is closed.
Self-hosting	SupportedRuns on your own Linux machine with BlueZ	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	Supportedimsg sync backfills all messages since the last sync, with per-folder cursors	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	Not listed	PartialNo own framework. Maintains a Vercel Chat SDK adapter and OpenClaw and Hermes plugins.
Agent framework integrations	Not listed	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 supportedNot yet; an auditable log of message decryption access is planned (DATA-05)	SupportedDashboard Activity page plus account-change webhooks with actor and origin.
Message history API	SupportedLists folders and threads live, or from an encrypted local store synced from the phone	Supported
Plans and compliance
Free plan	SupportedFree, MIT-licensed software	SupportedHobby: $0, up to 20 contacts, through the CLI.
Public pricing	SupportedFree; no paid tiers found	SupportedPro from $260/mo. Enterprise is custom.
No per-message fees	SupportedFree software	Supported
Uptime SLA	Not supportedMIT license, provided without warranty	SupportedContractual SLAs on the Enterprise plan; marketing cites 99.95%
Isolated infrastructure	SupportedRuns on your own machine and phone	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 it	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 imsg (gnufood) if you need bring your own number and self-hosting.

Choose Linq if you need group chats, group management, group name and photo and mentions.

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