Photon vs AgentPhone

Photon supports 75 of the 77 features compared here, and AgentPhone supports 44.

Feature comparison

Feature	Photon	AgentPhone
iMessage messaging
iMessage	SupportedManaged cloud lines, or your own Mac with the local provider	SupportediMessage lines are a separate number type (type=imessage).
Group chats	SupportedOn the Business plan (dedicated lines)	SupportediMessage groups arrive as one conversation with roster and sender; reply to the group id.
Group management	SupportedCreate groups and add, remove or leave members; Business plan (dedicated lines)	PartialStart a new group by listing recipients and rename it; adding or removing members is not documented.
Group name and photo	SupportedRename groups and set group photos; Business plan (dedicated lines)	PartialGroup name can be set by API; the group icon is only readable.
Mentions	SupportedSend @mentions in multipart messages and read mention ranges on inbound	Not listed
Tapbacks	SupportedSix native tapbacks plus emoji reactions, send and receive	SupportedSix classic tapbacks, custom emoji on newer lines; inbound reactions via agent.reaction.
Threaded replies	Supported	Supportedreply_to_message_id; also on WhatsApp.
Typing indicators	Supported	SupportedSend only, best-effort, auto-expires after a few seconds.
Read receipts	SupportedMark chats read and receive read events; group receipts are best-effort	Not listedThe pricing page mentions read receipts; no API or webhook for them is documented.
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	Supported12 screen and bubble effects via send_style.
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	SupportedImages, video and files by URL; several images arrive as a carousel on iMessage.
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	SupportedvCard files can be sent as media (listed as a supported MMS type).
Polls	SupportedCreate, vote, add options and receive poll events; all managed plans	Not listed
Chat backgrounds	Supported	SupportedSet or remove a background image per iMessage conversation.
Location sharing	SupportedFind My requests and live location; Business plan	Not listedThe API has location endpoints returning coordinates per number, but their use is not described.
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	PartialContact card sets a display name and avatar on the iMessage number; $250/month line only.
FaceTime calls	Not listed	Not listed
Delivery status	SupportedSent, delivered, read and send-error fields per message	PartialMessages carry a status and failure reason; no delivery or read webhooks are documented.
iMessage availability check	SupportedCheck if a number or email can get iMessage, SMS or RCS before sending	SupportedLive check of iMessage, SMS and RCS reachability for a number before sending.
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 ordered through the API and run by AgentPhone.
Dedicated numbers	Supported$250 per line per month on Business	SupportedUS and Canada numbers at $3/month; dedicated iMessage lines at $250/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	Not listed
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/MMS when iMessage is not available.
RCS fallback	Supported	SupportediMessage-capable numbers deliver over RCS or SMS to non-Apple recipients.
Outbound-first messaging	SupportedBusiness plan, up to 50 new contacts per line per day	PartialOutbound iMessage lines: 50 new contacts a day per line; inbound-only lines do not start chats; SMS needs 10DLC.
Calls on the iMessage number	SupportedPlace and receive SIP calls from the line people already text	Not listed
Other channels
SMS	BetaStandalone SMS and MMS numbers with 10DLC in the 2.0 beta; SMS fallback on iMessage lines today	SupportedSMS and MMS; inbound works at once, outbound needs 10DLC.
RCS	PartialSent on the iMessage line when the recipient cannot get iMessage	BetaRCS Business Messaging is beta and concierge-onboarded: branded sender, quick-reply chips.
WhatsApp	SupportedWhatsApp Business, one-to-one, on the Business plan	BetaBeta, enabled per account. Connect your own WhatsApp Business Account; Meta bills you.
Telegram	Supported	Not supportedNot offered
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	SupportedInbound and outbound calls in webhook mode or hosted AI mode; also browser web calls.
Apple Messages for Business	BetaListed as available in the 2.0 beta	Not supportedNot offered
Unified channel API	SupportedOne Spectrum SDK across channels, and one REST model in the 2.0 beta	SupportedOne send endpoint for SMS, MMS, iMessage, RCS and WhatsApp; one agent.message webhook incl. voice.
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	Supportednpm install agentphone
Python SDK	Betaphotonhq-api on PyPI, for the 2.0 beta API	Supportedpip install agentphone
Other SDKs	SupportedGo client for Advanced iMessage; Rust and Go clients for the 2.0 API	Not listedDocs list only TypeScript and Python; an agentphone-go repo holds only a placeholder README.
CLI	Supported@photon-ai/cli manages projects, lines, users and billing	Not listedNo own CLI found; numbers can be provisioned through the Stripe Projects CLI.
Webhooks	Supported	SupportedProject default webhook with per-agent overrides.
Signed webhooks	SupportedHMAC-SHA256, plus Standard Webhooks signatures	SupportedHMAC-SHA256 over timestamp and body, with a timestamp header for replay protection.
MCP server	SupportedHosted MCP server, plus an MCP server for the docs	SupportedHosted MCP server (mcp.agentphone.ai) and npm package agentphone-mcp.
Open source	SupportedMIT: spectrum-ts, imessage-kit and most SDKs	Not supportedClosed platform. The MCP server and framework integrations are MIT-licensed on GitHub.
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	PartialBrowser web calls test a voice agent without a phone number; no message simulator found.
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	PartialFailed webhooks retry 5 times over about 20 hours; deliveries can be listed but not replayed.
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	PartialAgentPhone block in Sim's no-code workflow builder; no Zapier, Make, n8n or GoHighLevel found.
CRM integrations	Not listed	Not listed
Built for AI agents
Agent framework	SupportedSpectrum is a multi-channel agent framework with streaming replies	SupportedHosted voice mode runs calls from a system prompt; conversation state rides along in webhooks.
Agent framework integrations	SupportedVercel Chat SDK, Mastra, LangChain, Convex and others	SupportedVercel Chat SDK adapter, LangChain, CrewAI and OpenAI Agents SDK tools, Google ADK guide.
Streaming replies	SupportedAI output streams into one iMessage bubble, edited in place	PartialVoice only: NDJSON streamed webhook replies start speech on the first chunk.
Agent group chats	BetaAgents find other agents and add them to a group chat (2.0 beta)	PartialAgents can create and take part in iMessage groups; agent-to-agent groups are not described.
Human handoff	BetaA person can reply in a conversation from the 2.0 beta Inbox	PartialVoice only: cold transfer of a call to a transferNumber, by the AI or your webhook.
Audit logs	BetaAPI logs and traces in the 2.0 beta dashboard	Not listed
Message history API	SupportedList and get messages per chat	SupportedConversations with paginated messages and custom metadata; call transcripts.
Plans and compliance
Free plan	SupportedUp to 10 users on shared lines	Partial$5 starting credit, no card. Outbound calls need a top-up first.
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 lines and WhatsApp have no per-message charge; SMS is $0.02 a segment, MMS $0.03.
Uptime SLA	SupportedContractual SLA on the Enterprise plan	Not supportedTerms promise no uptime; SLAs only if set in an order or separate agreement.
Isolated infrastructure	SupportedEach line runs in an isolated, dedicated environment	Not listedSub-accounts isolate agents, numbers and data per client; no dedicated infrastructure offer found.
SOC 2 Type II	SupportedStated on photon.codes	PartialSOC 2 Type I report as of July 30, 2026; Type II examination in progress.
GDPR	SupportedPrivacy policy covers GDPR rights and SCC transfers	SupportedPrivacy policy sets out GDPR legal bases for processing.

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 mentions, read receipts, edit and unsend and animated text effects.

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

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