Photon vs autoMessage

Photon supports 75 of the 77 features compared here, and autoMessage supports 37.

Feature comparison

Feature	Photon	autoMessage
iMessage messaging
iMessage	SupportedManaged cloud lines, or your own Mac with the local provider	SupportedSends from your own Apple ID through Messages on your Mac.
Group chats	SupportedOn the Business plan (dedicated lines)	PartialSend into groups that already exist on your Mac; groups cannot be created by API.
Group management	SupportedCreate groups and add, remove or leave members; Business plan (dedicated lines)	Not supportedDocs: creating a new group through the API is not supported.
Group name and photo	SupportedRename groups and set group photos; Business plan (dedicated lines)	Not listedGroup names sync in; setting them is not documented.
Mentions	SupportedSend @mentions in multipart messages and read mention ranges on inbound	Not listed
Tapbacks	SupportedSix native tapbacks plus emoji reactions, send and receive	PartialAll six sync in, including removals; sending tapbacks is not supported.
Threaded replies	Supported	PartialReplies sync in linked to the original; sending replies is not supported.
Typing indicators	Supported	Not listed
Read receipts	SupportedMark chats read and receive read events; group receipts are best-effort	SupportedDelivered and read timestamps sync; mark-as-read can send a receipt (best effort, 1:1).
Edit and unsend	SupportedEdit within 15 minutes and unsend within 2 minutes (Apple limits)	PartialEdits and unsends sync in; you cannot edit or unsend by API.
Message effects	SupportedAll bubble and screen effects, including invisible ink	PartialEffects sync in; sending them is not supported.
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	PartialInbound stickers are flagged; sending them is not supported.
Formatted text	SupportedMarkdown rendered as native bold, italic, underline and strikethrough	Not listed
Attachments	SupportedFiles up to 100 MiB by default, including Live Photos	PartialInbound only, with a fetchable URL; outbound sending is text only.
Live Photos	SupportedHEIC still plus MOV companion uploaded as one Live Photo	Not supportedOutbound sending is text only.
Rich link previews	Supportedrichlink() asks Messages to render its own preview	Not listed
Voice messages	Supported	PartialInbound only, with played state; sending them is not supported.
Contact cards	SupportedvCard or structured contacts, plus the bot's own native contact card	Not supportedOutbound sending is text only.
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	SupportedDraft status (queued, held, sent, failed) plus delivered and read fields per message.
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	PartialRuns on your own Mac; managed Mac hosting only on Enterprise, on request.
Dedicated numbers	Supported$250 per line per month on Business	Not supportedUses your own number and Apple ID; no numbers are provisioned.
Shared numbers	SupportedFree and Pro route each user through a managed shared pool	Not supportedautoMessage says it never provisions, holds or shares Apple IDs.
Bring your own number	SupportedYour own Apple ID when self-hosting on a Mac, and your own number for WhatsApp Business	SupportedYour own Apple ID and number, on your own Mac.
Line pooling	SupportedBusiness: auto-scale adds lines and a routing endpoint balances users	PartialEnterprise spreads sending across several numbers; Solo is one Apple ID.
SMS fallback	SupportedOn every plan per pricing; carrier rules apply to fallback traffic	PartialSends to non-iMessage numbers go as SMS only with Text Message Forwarding from your iPhone.
RCS fallback	Supported	PartialRCS sends work only with Text Message Forwarding from your iPhone.
Outbound-first messaging	SupportedBusiness plan, up to 50 new contacts per line per day	SupportedDefault cap of 50 new conversations per 24 hours, adjustable or removable in Settings.
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	PartialNeeds an iPhone forwarding texts to the Mac (Text Message Forwarding).
RCS	PartialSent on the iMessage line when the recipient cannot get iMessage	Partial
WhatsApp	SupportedWhatsApp Business, one-to-one, on the Business plan	Not supportedNot offered
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 supportedNot offered. iMessage can be sent to Apple ID email handles.
Phone calls	SupportedSIP calls on iMessage lines; the 2.0 beta adds calls on SMS numbers	Not supportedNot offered
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	PartialiMessage, SMS and RCS from your Mac share one API; no other channels.
Developer tools
REST API	SupportedREST API for projects and lines; sending over REST in the 2.0 beta	SupportedREST API with an OpenAPI 3.1 spec.
TypeScript SDK	Supportedspectrum-ts, plus low-level iMessage and WhatsApp SDKs	Not listed
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	SupportedAccount and per-thread webhooks; the spec lists only message.received events.
Signed webhooks	SupportedHMAC-SHA256, plus Standard Webhooks signatures	SupportedHMAC-SHA256 over timestamp and raw body, per-subscription secret.
MCP server	SupportedHosted MCP server, plus an MCP server for the docs	SupportedHosted Streamable HTTP endpoint and an npm stdio package, 13 tools.
Open source	SupportedMIT: spectrum-ts, imessage-kit and most SDKs	PartialThe MCP server is MIT on GitHub; the Mac app and service are closed.
Self-hosting	SupportedRun the open-source core on your own Mac and number, no Spectrum Cloud	Not supportedThe Mac app runs locally, but the API, sync and dashboard are hosted by autoMessage.
Local testing	SupportedTerminal chat UI provider, no phone or number needed	Not listed
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	PartialNo replay; catch up by listing messages with since and cursor filters.
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	SupportedOfficial n8n community node; Zapier and Make connect through the API and webhooks.
CRM integrations	Not listed	SupportedPlan lists HubSpot and GoHighLevel connectors; no setup docs for them were found.
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	PartialThe n8n node can be used as a tool by n8n AI agents; no other framework integrations.
Streaming replies	SupportedAI output streams into one iMessage bubble, edited in place	Not supportedSends are queued drafts and sent messages cannot be edited by API.
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	PartialYou can reply by hand from your iPhone or the dashboard in the same thread; no handoff controls.
Audit logs	BetaAPI logs and traces in the 2.0 beta dashboard	Not listed
Message history API	SupportedList and get messages per chat	SupportedPaginated history per conversation, with search by participant and date.
Plans and compliance
Free plan	SupportedUp to 10 users on shared lines	Partial14-day free trial, no card needed to start.
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	SupportedFlat $59 a month per account.
Uptime SLA	SupportedContractual SLA on the Enterprise plan	PartialEnterprise only: contract-backed SLA with a 99.9% connector uptime target.
Isolated infrastructure	SupportedEach line runs in an isolated, dedicated environment	SupportedRuns on your own Mac and Apple ID; cloud data is isolated per account.
SOC 2 Type II	SupportedStated on photon.codes	Not listed
GDPR	SupportedPrivacy policy covers GDPR rights and SCC transfers	SupportedTerms include a DPA with GDPR controller and processor roles.

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 management, group name and photo, mentions and typing indicators.

Choose autoMessage if you need CRM integrations.

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