Photon vs AgentMessage

Photon supports 75 of the 77 features compared here, and AgentMessage supports 19.

Feature comparison

Feature	Photon	AgentMessage
iMessage messaging
iMessage	SupportedManaged cloud lines, or your own Mac with the local provider	SupportedAdd-on at $150 per line a month. Not covered in the API reference.
Group chats	SupportedOn the Business plan (dedicated lines)	Not listed
Group management	SupportedCreate groups and add, remove or leave members; Business plan (dedicated lines)	Not listed
Group name and photo	SupportedRename groups and set group photos; Business plan (dedicated lines)	Not listed
Mentions	SupportedSend @mentions in multipart messages and read mention ranges on inbound	Not listed
Tapbacks	SupportedSix native tapbacks plus emoji reactions, send and receive	Not listed
Threaded replies	Supported	Not listed
Typing indicators	Supported	Not listed
Read receipts	SupportedMark chats read and receive read events; group receipts are best-effort	Not listed
Edit and unsend	SupportedEdit within 15 minutes and unsend within 2 minutes (Apple limits)	Not listed
Message effects	SupportedAll bubble and screen effects, including invisible ink	Not listed
Animated text effects	SupportedPer-range effects such as bloom, shake, explode and jitter	Not listed
Stickers	SupportedPlace image stickers on any bubble with position, scale and rotation; sticker events inbound	Not listed
Formatted text	SupportedMarkdown rendered as native bold, italic, underline and strikethrough	Not listed
Attachments	SupportedFiles up to 100 MiB by default, including Live Photos	Not listed
Live Photos	SupportedHEIC still plus MOV companion uploaded as one Live Photo	Not listed
Rich link previews	Supportedrichlink() asks Messages to render its own preview	Not listed
Voice messages	Supported	Not listed
Contact cards	SupportedvCard or structured contacts, plus the bot's own native contact card	Not listed
Polls	SupportedCreate, vote, add options and receive poll events; all managed plans	Not listed
Chat backgrounds	Supported	Not listed
Location sharing	SupportedFind My requests and live location; Business plan	Not listed
iMessage apps	SupportedCustom and live app cards; iMessage mini apps on the Business plan	Not listed
Live app cards	SupportedEdit an app card in place and render live UI without a new bubble	Not listed
Sender name and photo	SupportedShares the agent's name and photo automatically; Business plan	Not listed
FaceTime calls	Not listed	Not listed
Delivery status	SupportedSent, delivered, read and send-error fields per message	SupportedStatus moves from queued to delivered, failed or undelivered as carrier receipts arrive.
iMessage availability check	SupportedCheck if a number or email can get iMessage, SMS or RCS before sending	Not listed
Focus and Notify Anyway	SupportedCheck if a recipient has Focus on, then trigger Notify Anyway	Not listed
Numbers and delivery
Managed lines	SupportedSpectrum Cloud runs the Mac fleet; no Mac needed	SupportediMessage lines are provisioned by AgentMessage, typically same day, no EIN needed.
Dedicated numbers	Supported$250 per line per month on Business	SupportedLocal, toll-free and short code numbers; $0.94 per number a month.
Shared numbers	SupportedFree and Pro route each user through a managed shared pool	Not listed
Bring your own number	SupportedYour own Apple ID when self-hosting on a Mac, and your own number for WhatsApp Business	SupportedThe FAQ says phone number port-ins are supported.
Line pooling	SupportedBusiness: auto-scale adds lines and a routing endpoint balances users	Not listed
SMS fallback	SupportedOn every plan per pricing; carrier rules apply to fallback traffic	SupportedFalls back to SMS when iMessage is unavailable for the recipient.
RCS fallback	Supported	Not supportedRCS not offered
Outbound-first messaging	SupportedBusiness plan, up to 50 new contacts per line per day	PartialSMS needs an approved 10DLC campaign and consent; iMessage lines only reply to people who texted first.
Calls on the iMessage number	SupportedPlace and receive SIP calls from the line people already text	Not supportedVoice not offered
Other channels
SMS	BetaStandalone SMS and MMS numbers with 10DLC in the 2.0 beta; SMS fallback on iMessage lines today	SupportedSMS and MMS ($0.02 per MMS).
RCS	PartialSent on the iMessage line when the recipient cannot get iMessage	Not supportedNot offered
WhatsApp	SupportedWhatsApp Business, one-to-one, on the Business plan	Not supported
Telegram	Supported	Not supported
Slack	Supported@spectrum-ts/slack provider on npm and GitHub	Not supported
Email	BetaYour own domain with DKIM, SPF and inbound MX in the 2.0 beta	Not supported
Phone calls	SupportedSIP calls on iMessage lines; the 2.0 beta adds calls on SMS numbers	Not supported
Apple Messages for Business	BetaListed as available in the 2.0 beta	Not supported
Unified channel API	SupportedOne Spectrum SDK across channels, and one REST model in the 2.0 beta	SupportedSMS, MMS and iMessage share one endpoint and response shape.
Developer tools
REST API	SupportedREST API for projects and lines; sending over REST in the 2.0 beta	Supported
TypeScript SDK	Supportedspectrum-ts, plus low-level iMessage and WhatsApp SDKs	Not listedThe footer lists SDKs without a link; docs show raw HTTP examples.
Python SDK	Betaphotonhq-api on PyPI, for the 2.0 beta API	Not listed
Other SDKs	SupportedGo client for Advanced iMessage; Rust and Go clients for the 2.0 API	Not listed
CLI	Supported@photon-ai/cli manages projects, lines, users and billing	Not listed
Webhooks	Supported	Supported
Signed webhooks	SupportedHMAC-SHA256, plus Standard Webhooks signatures	SupportedHMAC-signed with per-endpoint secrets (X-AmCore-Signature header).
MCP server	SupportedHosted MCP server, plus an MCP server for the docs	Not listed
Open source	SupportedMIT: spectrum-ts, imessage-kit and most SDKs	Not supportedClosed platform
Self-hosting	SupportedRun the open-source core on your own Mac and number, no Spectrum Cloud	Not supportedHosted cloud service only
Local testing	SupportedTerminal chat UI provider, no phone or number needed	Not listedA sandbox environment is listed; whether it simulates messages is not documented.
Custom channel providers	SupporteddefinePlatform plugs any interface into the same Spectrum API	Not listed
Event replay	SupportedCatch up on events after a disconnect from a durable sequence	SupportedWebhook delivery log with a replay endpoint, automatic retries and a dead-letter queue.
OpenTelemetry	SupportedOpt-in messaging traces in spectrum-ts, and traces in the 2.0 beta dashboard	Not listed
No-code integrations	Supportedn8n community nodes and a Dify plugin	Not listed
CRM integrations	Not listed	Not listed
Built for AI agents
Agent framework	SupportedSpectrum is a multi-channel agent framework with streaming replies	Not listed
Agent framework integrations	SupportedVercel Chat SDK, Mastra, LangChain, Convex and others	Not listed
Streaming replies	SupportedAI output streams into one iMessage bubble, edited in place	Not listed
Agent group chats	BetaAgents find other agents and add them to a group chat (2.0 beta)	Not listed
Human handoff	BetaA person can reply in a conversation from the 2.0 beta Inbox	Not listed
Audit logs	BetaAPI logs and traces in the 2.0 beta dashboard	SupportedAPI-key, plan, retention and erasure events, plus staff access to message content.
Message history API	SupportedList and get messages per chat	SupportedConversations, outbound and inbound message lists by API; content follows your retention window.
Plans and compliance
Free plan	SupportedUp to 10 users on shared lines	Partial$5 starting credit, no platform fee; new signups are paused behind a waitlist.
Public pricing	Supported	Supported
No per-message fees	SupportedNo per-message fees for iMessage, WhatsApp or Telegram; SMS, voice and email are metered in the 2.0 beta	PartialiMessage add-on is a flat $150 per line a month; SMS is billed per segment ($0.0078).
Uptime SLA	SupportedContractual SLA on the Enterprise plan	Not supportedBeta terms say there is no uptime SLA during the beta, even if one appears elsewhere.
Isolated infrastructure	SupportedEach line runs in an isolated, dedicated environment	Not supportedDPA: data is logically separated by tenant; no single-tenant setup unless agreed in writing.
SOC 2 Type II	SupportedStated on photon.codes	Not supportedDPA says AgentMessage has not completed a SOC 2 examination.
GDPR	SupportedPrivacy policy covers GDPR rights and SCC transfers	SupportedDPA covers GDPR, UK GDPR and CCPA/CPRA.

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

Choose AgentMessage if its pricing fits better: it does not support anything here that Photon lacks.

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