Photon vs AgentNumber
Compare Photon and AgentNumber side by side: iMessage features, channels, developer tools, pricing and compliance, checked on each provider's own site.
Photon
Open-source agent framework with managed iMessage
- Starting price
- $25/month (Pro)
- Free plan
- Free: shared iMessage lines, up to 10 users (2.0 beta: 25 shared iMessage assignments and $100 credit)
AgentNumber
US phone numbers with SMS and AI voice for agents
- Starting price
- $5 per number (one-time)
- Free plan
- None listed
Photon supports 75 of the 77 features compared here, and AgentNumber supports 12.
Where Photon is ahead
- iMessage
- Group chats
- Group management
- Group name and photo
- Mentions
- Tapbacks
- Threaded replies
- Typing indicators
and 55 more in the table below.
Where AgentNumber is ahead
Nothing on this list that Photon lacks.
Feature comparison
| Feature | ||
|---|---|---|
| iMessage messaging | ||
| iMessage | Not supportedNo iMessage support | |
| Group chats | Not supported | |
| Group management | Not supported | |
| Group name and photo | Not supported | |
| Mentions | Not supported | |
| Tapbacks | Not supported | |
| Threaded replies | Not supported | |
| Typing indicators | Not supported | |
| Read receipts | Not supported | |
| Edit and unsend | Not supported | |
| Message effects | Not supported | |
| Animated text effects | Not supported | |
| Stickers | Not supported | |
| Formatted text | Not supported | |
| Attachments | Not supported | |
| Live Photos | Not supported | |
| Rich link previews | Not supported | |
| Voice messages | Not supported | |
| Contact cards | Not supported | |
| Polls | Not supported | |
| Chat backgrounds | Not supported | |
| Location sharing | Not supported | |
| iMessage apps | Not supported | |
| Live app cards | Not supported | |
| Sender name and photo | Not supported | |
| FaceTime calls | Not listed | Not supported |
| Delivery status | Not supported | |
| iMessage availability check | Not supported | |
| Focus and Notify Anyway | Not supported | |
| Numbers and delivery | ||
| Managed lines | Not supportedNo iMessage support | |
| Dedicated numbers | ||
| Shared numbers | Not listed | |
| Bring your own number | Not listed | |
| Line pooling | Not listed | |
| SMS fallback | Not supportedNo iMessage support | |
| RCS fallback | Not supported | |
| Outbound-first messaging | ||
| Calls on the iMessage number | Not supportedNo iMessage support | |
| Other channels | ||
| SMS | ||
| RCS | Not supportedNot offered | |
Not supported | ||
| Telegram | Not supported | |
| Slack | Not supported | |
Not supported | ||
| Phone calls | ||
| Apple Messages for Business | Not supportedNot offered | |
| Unified channel API | ||
| Developer tools | ||
| REST API | ||
| TypeScript SDK | Not listed | |
| Python SDK | Not listed | |
| Other SDKs | Not listed | |
| CLI | Not listed | |
| Webhooks | ||
| Signed webhooks | ||
| MCP server | Not listed | |
| Open source | Not listedNo public repository found. | |
| Self-hosting | Not supportedHosted cloud service only | |
| Local testing | Not listed | |
| Custom channel providers | Not listed | |
| Event replay | Not listed | |
| OpenTelemetry | Not listed | |
| No-code integrations | Not listed | |
| CRM integrations | Not listed | Not listed |
| Built for AI agents | ||
| Agent framework | ||
| Agent framework integrations | Not listedHomepage demo shows an OpenClaw agent; no official integration documented. | |
| Streaming replies | ||
| Agent group chats | Not listed | |
| Human handoff | Not listed | |
| Audit logs | Not listed | |
| Message history API | ||
| Plans and compliance | ||
| Free plan | Not listedNo free plan or trial mentioned. | |
| Public pricing | ||
| No per-message fees | ||
| Uptime SLA | Not listed | |
| Isolated infrastructure | Not listed | |
| SOC 2 Type II | Not listed | |
| GDPR | Not listed |
Checked on each provider's own site and docs on 2026-10-25. “Not listed” means the provider does not mention it.
Pricing
Photon
Free plan, Pro at $25/month, Business at $250 per dedicated line per month, and custom Enterprise; the 2.0 beta adds metered SMS, voice and email.
Pricing model: plan tiers plus flat fee per dedicated line
SourceAgentNumber
Pay as you go: the homepage lists $5 per number, $0.02 per SMS and $0.05 per voice minute; the API docs describe $10 credit packs and $0.03 a minute inbound.
Pricing model: per number, per message and per minute
SourceWhich should you choose?
Choose Photon if you need iMessage, group chats, group management and group name and photo.
Choose AgentNumber if its pricing fits better: it does not support anything here that Photon lacks.
Frequently asked questions
Photon supports 75 of the 77 features compared here, and AgentNumber supports 12. Photon adds iMessage, group chats, group management, group name and photo and mentions.
Photon: Free plan, Pro at $25/month, Business at $250 per dedicated line per month, and custom Enterprise; the 2.0 beta adds metered SMS, voice and email. AgentNumber: Pay as you go: the homepage lists $5 per number, $0.02 per SMS and $0.05 per voice minute; the API docs describe $10 credit packs and $0.03 a minute inbound.
AgentNumber does not support iMessage.
AgentNumber does not support group chats.
AgentNumber does not support group management.