iBlueText vs Zernio

iBlueText supports 43 of the 77 features compared here, and Zernio supports 57.

Feature comparison

Feature	iBlueText	Zernio
iMessage messaging
iMessage	SupportedHosted lines on iBlueText's Macs and iPhones, or self-hosted on your own Macs	Supported
Group chats	Not listedNot mentioned in the API docs	SupportedGroups on ordered senders: reply, create, rename, photo, members. Not on the sandbox line.
Group management	Not listed	SupportedStart a group from a sender and add or remove participants; applied asynchronously.
Group name and photo	Not listed	SupportedRename a group or change its photo, one change per call.
Mentions	Not listed	Not listed
Tapbacks	SupportedSend six tapbacks to inbound messages and receive reaction.received. Not on SIP-on rented Macs.	SupportedSix Apple tapbacks plus custom emoji (iOS 18+). Inbound reactions arrive by webhook.
Threaded replies	Supportedreply_to quotes an inbound message; falls back to a normal message if Apple refuses	SupportedreplyTo on sends; inbound messages carry the reply thread id.
Typing indicators	PartialSend only, in existing iMessage threads; no inbound typing events documented	PartialSend only, 1:1 chats, about 15 seconds, after a recent two-way exchange.
Read receipts	PartialReceive only: message.read and read_at when the recipient has read receipts on	PartialMark a chat read inside an active two-way chat. Webhook docs list message.read for other platforms only.
Edit and unsend	Not listed	SupportedEdit text within 15 minutes; unsend within 2 minutes removes the bubble for the recipient.
Message effects	Supported8 screen and 4 bubble effects on /send	Supported13 screen and bubble effects, such as slam, invisibleInk, confetti and fireworks.
Animated text effects	Not listed	Not listed
Stickers	Not listed	PartialInbound stickers are typed as sticker. Sending stickers is not documented.
Formatted text	Not listed	SupportedInline *bold*, _italic_, __underline__ and ~strikethrough~ markup renders as rich text.
Attachments	SupportedPhotos, video, voice memos, vCards and PDFs, up to 5 files of 5 MB each	SupportedUp to 10 per message, each a public https URL of at most 256 characters.
Live Photos	Not listed	Not listed
Rich link previews	SupportedGoHighLevel page cites real link previews; no API option documented	SupportedOn by default; linkPreview: false sends links as plain text.
Voice messages	SupportedVoice memos sent and received as attachments	SupportedvoiceNote: true on an audio file. Inbound voice messages come with a transcript.
Contact cards	Supported.vcf files sent as attachments	PartialcontactCard shares the sender's own card only.
Polls	Not listed	Not listed
Chat backgrounds	Not listed	Not listed
Location sharing	Not listed	PartialStatic location pins only. Inbound shared locations arrive without coordinates.
iMessage apps	Not listed	Not listed
Live app cards	Not listed	Not listed
Sender name and photo	PartialHosted lines can get a business sender name at setup; no API or photo option documented	PartialSets the name and photo on the sender's contact card, which recipients see when they save it.
FaceTime calls	PartialFaceTime audio placed from the self-hosted Bridge app, with call webhooks; no call API	Not listedInbound FaceTime attempts show in the thread as call-typed messages. No calling documented.
Delivery status	Supportedqueued, sent, delivered, read and failed; plain SMS has no delivery receipt	Supportedmessage.delivered and message.failed webhooks; sends deferred for pacing show as queued.
iMessage availability check	SupportedLookup API at $0.005 a number, 400 free per line a day; also detects FaceTime	Not listed
Focus and Notify Anyway	Not listed	Not listed
Numbers and delivery
Managed lines	SupportedHosted plan: iBlueText runs the Mac, iPhone, Apple Account and US number	SupportedZernio orders numbers on its delivery provider's Apple-registered infrastructure.
Dedicated numbers	SupportedEach hosted line is its own US number on a dedicated, warmed Apple ID	SupportedUS or UK numbers, some active instantly; email-handle senders through the API.
Shared numbers	PartialOnly the 10 free trial messages, which are sent from iBlueText's fleet	SupportedFree shared sandbox line for testing: contact writes first, 5 contacts, 50 messages a day.
Bring your own number	SupportedSelf-hosted uses your own iPhones and numbers; hosted lines can use your own Apple Account	PartialiMessage cannot run on a number you own. A sender held with the provider can be registered.
Line pooling	SupportedCampaigns spread new contacts across your lines and keep existing contacts on their line	Not listedOne sender per profile; docs suggest spreading contacts across senders by hand.
SMS fallback	Supported	SupportedSMS or RCS from the same number when the contact is not on iMessage.
RCS fallback	PartialFalls back to green; the carrier decides RCS or SMS and iBlueText reports which	SupportedSMS or RCS from the same number; the provider picks per contact.
Outbound-first messaging	SupportedCapped at 50 new iMessage and 50 new SMS contacts a day per line, 15 in the first 5 days	SupportedOne new chat per 15 minutes per sender, warm-up from 2 to 50 a day, no links in openers.
Calls on the iMessage number	PartialFaceTime audio from the line's Apple ID via the self-hosted Bridge app; no phone calls	PartialOrdered numbers include call forwarding. Placing calls from the iMessage number is not documented.
Other channels
SMS	SupportedSMS and MMS from the line's number; self-hosted can add Android phones or your own Twilio	Supported
RCS	PartialGreen messages go as RCS or SMS as the carrier decides; RCS cannot be selected	Supported
WhatsApp	SupportedYour own number paired by QR code ($19/mo add-on) or a hosted number from $49/mo	Supported
Telegram	Not supportedNot offered	Supported
Slack	Not supported	Supported
Email	Not supported	Not supportedNot offered as a channel. iMessage senders can use an email handle.
Phone calls	Not supportedNot offered; calls are FaceTime audio only	SupportedInbound and outbound PSTN calls, SIP trunks, browser softphone, recording and transcription.
Apple Messages for Business	Not supportedNot offered	Not supportedNot offered
Unified channel API	PartialiMessage and SMS share /send; WhatsApp has its own endpoint; inbound shares one webhook	SupportedSame inbox send call and webhooks for iMessage, SMS, WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack and social DMs.
Developer tools
REST API	SupportedOpenAPI 3.1 spec published	Supported
TypeScript SDK	Not listedNone found; docs say no SDK is needed	Supported@zernio/node
Python SDK	Not listed	Supportedzernio-sdk
Other SDKs	Not listed	SupportedGo, Ruby, Java, PHP, .NET and Rust.
CLI	Not listed	SupportedZernio CLI, including iMessage inbox sends and reactions.
Webhooks	SupportedReplies, opt-outs and opt-in status events, per account or per line	Supported
Signed webhooks	SupportedX-IBT-Signature: HMAC-SHA256 of the raw body	SupportedHMAC-SHA256 of the raw body in X-Zernio-Signature, keyed by your secret.
MCP server	Supportedibluetext-mcp on npm, 30 tools	SupportedHosted at mcp.zernio.com/mcp, with OAuth sign-in or an API key.
Open source	Not supportedBridge is licensed per line and cannot be resold; only the npm MCP package is MIT	PartialSDKs, CLI, n8n node and Chat SDK adapter are MIT or Apache-2.0. The platform is closed.
Self-hosting	SupportediBlueText Bridge runs on your own Macs from $29/mo; messages stay on your hardware	Not supportedHosted cloud service only
Local testing	Not listed	Not listedThe free sandbox still needs your own phone or Apple ID.
Custom channel providers	PartialSelf-hosted Bridge can route SMS through your own Twilio account	Not listed
Event replay	PartialWebhooks retried 3 times over about 12 minutes; conversations API has a since filter	Supported7 attempts over about 51 hours, then dead-letter; any past event can be redelivered.
OpenTelemetry	Not listed	Not listed
No-code integrations	SupportedNative GoHighLevel and Wix apps; Zapier, Make and n8n through webhooks	Partialn8n, Make and Zapier guides cover posting; Make's API call module reaches any endpoint.
CRM integrations	SupportedNative GoHighLevel only; HubSpot and Salesforce through the API and webhooks	SupportedHubSpot: inbox contacts and messages sync to HubSpot timelines.
Built for AI agents
Agent framework	Not listed	PartialWorkflow engine with AI and handoff nodes; the workflow docs do not list iMessage.
Agent framework integrations	Not listed	PartialVercel Chat SDK adapter (iMessage not listed) and an OpenClaw skill.
Streaming replies	Not listed	PartialChat SDK adapter streams by editing on Telegram only.
Agent group chats	Not listed	Not listed
Human handoff	SupportedPause or resume the built-in AI per conversation; it steps back 24 hours after a manual reply	PartialDashboard inbox and workflow handoff nodes; no iMessage-specific handoff documented.
Audit logs	PartialPortal API log lists every API call for 30 days	SupportedAppend-only log of team-management actions; Enterprise adds broader audit logs.
Message history API	SupportedConversations API returns two-way transcripts	Supported
Plans and compliance
Free plan	PartialOne-time allowance: 100 lookups, 10 verifications and 10 iMessages, no card	SupportedFirst 2 connected accounts free; free iMessage sandbox (5 contacts, 50 messages a day).
Public pricing	Supported	Supported$200 per iMessage sender per month, plus the connected-account fee.
No per-message fees	SupportedFlat per line; lookups and verifications cost $0.005 each	PartialiMessage pages say no per-message fee; an outbound meter of $1 per 10,000 after 10,000 starts Oct 2026.
Uptime SLA	Not supportedTerms provide the service as is, with no guarantee of availability	Not listedSite states 99.97% uptime; no contractual SLA found.
Isolated infrastructure	PartialSelf-hosted runs on your own Macs; hosted runs many lines per Mac	Not listed
SOC 2 Type II	Not listed	SupportedSOC 2 Type II report in the trust portal, by access request.
GDPR	Not listedPrivacy policy mentions GDPR rights where applicable; no DPA found	SupportedGDPR documentation in the trust portal; public DPA.

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 iBlueText if you need FaceTime calls, iMessage availability check, line pooling and self-hosting.

Choose Zernio if you need group chats, group management, group name and photo and edit and unsend.

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