Photon vs Beam

Photon supports 75 of the 77 features compared here, and Beam supports 36.

Feature comparison

Feature	Photon	Beam
iMessage messaging
iMessage	SupportedManaged cloud lines, or your own Mac with the local provider	SupportedSent from Apple devices on dedicated business lines.
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	SupportedSend or remove six tapbacks by API; inbound reactions show in the inbox.
Threaded replies	Supported	Not listed
Typing indicators	Supported	SupportedSend by API on existing iMessage conversations.
Read receipts	SupportedMark chats read and receive read events; group receipts are best-effort	PartialSends read receipts; Beam does not report recipient-read status for outbound texts.
Edit and unsend	SupportedEdit within 15 minutes and unsend within 2 minutes (Apple limits)	Not supportedDocs: cancelling never unsends; there is no edit endpoint.
Message effects	SupportedAll bubble and screen effects, including invisible ink	Supported13 screen and bubble effects on blue bubbles, ignored on texts.
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 listedKnowledge base says bold and italics are supported, but the API takes plain text.
Attachments	SupportedFiles up to 100 MiB by default, including Live Photos	SupportedUp to 10 files on iMessage (images, video, PDF) and 3 on MMS, by public URL.
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 listedDocs mention setting a contact card, but no API or setup steps are documented.
FaceTime calls	Not listed	PartialFaceTime Audio only; routing is confirmed per line with the Beam team.
Delivery status	SupportedSent, delivered, read and send-error fields per message	Supportedqueued, sent, delivered, failed, cancelled and no_channel.
iMessage availability check	SupportedCheck if a number or email can get iMessage, SMS or RCS before sending	SupportedSingle-number lookup plus list screening of up to 25,000 numbers.
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	SupportedBeam assigns dedicated lines; you do not manage hardware.
Dedicated numbers	Supported$250 per line per month on Business	SupportedLines are assigned by an operator after payment; area codes are preferences.
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 supportedFAQ: sends only from Beam-assigned business numbers, not a personal Apple ID.
Line pooling	SupportedBusiness: auto-scale adds lines and a routing endpoint balances users	SupportedA pool of lines with each lead pinned to one number for life.
SMS fallback	SupportedOn every plan per pricing; carrier rules apply to fallback traffic	SupportedAutomatic text fallback; fallback after a failed iMessage is a workspace setting.
RCS fallback	Supported	SupportedAndroid recipients get RCS where phone and carrier support it, else SMS.
Outbound-first messaging	SupportedBusiness plan, up to 50 new contacts per line per day	SupportedPaced by warm-up caps and business hours; replies in active threads are not capped.
Calls on the iMessage number	SupportedPlace and receive SIP calls from the line people already text	SupportedInbound call routing and voice agents on Beam lines.
Other channels
SMS	BetaStandalone SMS and MMS numbers with 10DLC in the 2.0 beta; SMS fallback on iMessage lines today	SupportedSMS and MMS lines, subject to carrier A2P rules.
RCS	PartialSent on the iMessage line when the recipient cannot get iMessage	SupportedSent from Android devices when the recipient's phone and carrier support it.
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	SupportedBeam Email: verified domains, mailboxes, a shared inbox and an email API.
Phone calls	SupportedSIP calls on iMessage lines; the 2.0 beta adds calls on SMS numbers	SupportedInbound calls routed to your team or a voice agent; homepage offers SIP trunking on request.
Apple Messages for Business	BetaListed as available in the 2.0 beta	Not supportedBeam says it is not Apple Messages for Business.
Unified channel API	SupportedOne Spectrum SDK across channels, and one REST model in the 2.0 beta	PartialiMessage, RCS and SMS share one send endpoint; email has its own endpoints.
Developer tools
REST API	SupportedREST API for projects and lines; sending over REST in the 2.0 beta	SupportedWorkspace-key REST API with an OpenAPI 3.1 contract.
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	Supportedmessage.received, sent, failed, opt-out, booking and handoff events.
Signed webhooks	SupportedHMAC-SHA256, plus Standard Webhooks signatures	SupportedBeam-Signature header, HMAC-SHA256 over timestamp and raw body.
MCP server	SupportedHosted MCP server, plus an MCP server for the docs	SupportedStreamable HTTP with scoped bearer tokens, plus a stdio bridge. OAuth-only clients not supported.
Open source	SupportedMIT: spectrum-ts, imessage-kit and most SDKs	Not listed
Self-hosting	SupportedRun the open-source core on your own Mac and number, no Spectrum Cloud	Not listed
Local testing	SupportedTerminal chat UI provider, no phone or number needed	PartialThe Playground rehearses the built-in assistant without sending; not for your own agent.
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	PartialWebhooks are sent once with no retries; docs say to reconcile with history listing.
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	SupportedGoHighLevel inbox channel and Custom Webhook workflow sends.
CRM integrations	Not listed	SupportedGoHighLevel contacts, calendars and inbox; other CRMs through the API and events.
Built for AI agents
Agent framework	SupportedSpectrum is a multi-channel agent framework with streaming replies	PartialBuilt-in assistant (your OpenRouter key) that qualifies, books and hands off; no code framework.
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	SupportedTakeover per thread, thread assignment and assistant.handoff events.
Audit logs	BetaAPI logs and traces in the 2.0 beta dashboard	SupportedSettings records MCP tool calls; client views and price actions are audited.
Message history API	SupportedList and get messages per chat	SupportedFull conversation history per contact and message listing by API.
Plans and compliance
Free plan	SupportedUp to 10 users on shared lines	PartialFree preview workspace with demo data; nothing sends until a paid plan is active.
Public pricing	Supported	Not supportedBeam's site says it does not list prices; plans are shown in the app.
No per-message fees	SupportedNo per-message fees for iMessage, WhatsApp or Telegram; SMS, voice and email are metered in the 2.0 beta	SupportedOne monthly price per number; Beam adds no per-message platform fee.
Uptime SLA	SupportedContractual SLA on the Enterprise plan	Not supportedTerms: provided as available, with no guarantee of uninterrupted availability.
Isolated infrastructure	SupportedEach line runs in an isolated, dedicated environment	PartialIsolated client workspaces with their own keys, numbers and team; lines are dedicated.
SOC 2 Type II	SupportedStated on photon.codes	Not listed
GDPR	SupportedPrivacy policy covers GDPR rights and SCC transfers	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

Which should you choose?

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

Choose Beam if you need FaceTime calls and CRM integrations.

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