Photon vs Bird

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

Feature comparison

Feature	Photon	Bird
iMessage messaging
iMessage	SupportedManaged cloud lines, or your own Mac with the local provider	Not supportedNo iMessage support
Group chats	SupportedOn the Business plan (dedicated lines)	Not supported
Group management	SupportedCreate groups and add, remove or leave members; Business plan (dedicated lines)	Not supported
Group name and photo	SupportedRename groups and set group photos; Business plan (dedicated lines)	Not supported
Mentions	SupportedSend @mentions in multipart messages and read mention ranges on inbound	Not supported
Tapbacks	SupportedSix native tapbacks plus emoji reactions, send and receive	Not supported
Threaded replies	Supported	Not supported
Typing indicators	Supported	Not supported
Read receipts	SupportedMark chats read and receive read events; group receipts are best-effort	Not supported
Edit and unsend	SupportedEdit within 15 minutes and unsend within 2 minutes (Apple limits)	Not supported
Message effects	SupportedAll bubble and screen effects, including invisible ink	Not supported
Animated text effects	SupportedPer-range effects such as bloom, shake, explode and jitter	Not supported
Stickers	SupportedPlace image stickers on any bubble with position, scale and rotation; sticker events inbound	Not supported
Formatted text	SupportedMarkdown rendered as native bold, italic, underline and strikethrough	Not supported
Attachments	SupportedFiles up to 100 MiB by default, including Live Photos	Not supported
Live Photos	SupportedHEIC still plus MOV companion uploaded as one Live Photo	Not supported
Rich link previews	Supportedrichlink() asks Messages to render its own preview	Not supported
Voice messages	Supported	Not supported
Contact cards	SupportedvCard or structured contacts, plus the bot's own native contact card	Not supported
Polls	SupportedCreate, vote, add options and receive poll events; all managed plans	Not supported
Chat backgrounds	Supported	Not supported
Location sharing	SupportedFind My requests and live location; Business plan	Not supported
iMessage apps	SupportedCustom and live app cards; iMessage mini apps on the Business plan	Not supported
Live app cards	SupportedEdit an app card in place and render live UI without a new bubble	Not supported
Sender name and photo	SupportedShares the agent's name and photo automatically; Business plan	Not supported
FaceTime calls	Not listed	Not supported
Delivery status	SupportedSent, delivered, read and send-error fields per message	Not supported
iMessage availability check	SupportedCheck if a number or email can get iMessage, SMS or RCS before sending	Not supported
Focus and Notify Anyway	SupportedCheck if a recipient has Focus on, then trigger Notify Anyway	Not supported
Numbers and delivery
Managed lines	SupportedSpectrum Cloud runs the Mac fleet; no Mac needed	Not supportedNo iMessage support
Dedicated numbers	Supported$250 per line per month on Business	SupportedLocal, mobile, toll-free and short code numbers by country
Shared numbers	SupportedFree and Pro route each user through a managed shared pool	SupportedBird-managed shared short codes; built-in SMS templates pick the sender
Bring your own number	SupportedYour own Apple ID when self-hosting on a Mac, and your own number for WhatsApp Business	PartialWhatsApp coexistence and verified voice caller IDs only; no hosted SMS found
Line pooling	SupportedBusiness: auto-scale adds lines and a routing endpoint balances users	Not supportedNo sender pool; the sender is set per send
SMS fallback	SupportedOn every plan per pricing; carrier rules apply to fallback traffic	Not supportedNo iMessage support; RCS and push can fall back to SMS
RCS fallback	Supported	Not supportedNo iMessage support
Outbound-first messaging	SupportedBusiness plan, up to 50 new contacts per line per day	SupportedBusiness-initiated SMS; WhatsApp needs approved templates
Calls on the iMessage number	SupportedPlace and receive SIP calls from the line people already text	Not supportedNo iMessage support
Other channels
SMS	BetaStandalone SMS and MMS numbers with 10DLC in the 2.0 beta; SMS fallback on iMessage lines today	PartialSMS only in the API; outbound MMS not supported yet (media_urls reserved)
RCS	PartialSent on the iMessage line when the recipient cannot get iMessage	BetaPrivate beta with limited access
WhatsApp	SupportedWhatsApp Business, one-to-one, on the Business plan	Supported
Telegram	Supported	PartialVerify one-time passcodes only, through Telegram Gateway
Slack	Supported@spectrum-ts/slack provider on npm and GitHub	Not listed
Email	BetaYour own domain with DKIM, SPF and inbound MX in the 2.0 beta	SupportedIncludes the SparkPost email platform
Phone calls	SupportedSIP calls on iMessage lines; the 2.0 beta adds calls on SMS numbers	SupportedVoice over SIP trunks, with call sequences
Apple Messages for Business	BetaListed as available in the 2.0 beta	Supported
Unified channel API	SupportedOne Spectrum SDK across channels, and one REST model in the 2.0 beta	PartialOne REST API and SDK, but each channel has its own send endpoint and payload
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	Supported@messagebird/sdk on npm
Python SDK	Betaphotonhq-api on PyPI, for the 2.0 beta API	Supportedmessagebird-sdk on PyPI
Other SDKs	SupportedGo client for Advanced iMessage; Rust and Go clients for the 2.0 API	SupportedGo and PHP; Swift and Kotlin clients for Realtime only
CLI	Supported@photon-ai/cli manages projects, lines, users and billing	Supportedbird CLI with JSON output, also runs the MCP server locally
Webhooks	Supported	Supported
Signed webhooks	SupportedHMAC-SHA256, plus Standard Webhooks signatures	SupportedStandard Webhooks, HMAC-SHA256
MCP server	SupportedHosted MCP server, plus an MCP server for the docs	SupportedHosted at mcp.bird.com with OAuth, or local over stdio
Open source	SupportedMIT: spectrum-ts, imessage-kit and most SDKs	Not supportedClosed platform; SDKs, n8n node and agent skills are MIT-licensed
Self-hosting	SupportedRun the open-source core on your own Mac and number, no Spectrum Cloud	PartialOnly the PowerMTA email software is licensed for your own servers
Local testing	SupportedTerminal chat UI provider, no phone or number needed	PartialSimulated SMS destinations and an email sandbox, no handset needed; SMS tests are billed
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	SupportedReplay API for failed deliveries from a 3-day attempt log; 8 retries over about 27.5 hours
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	SupportedZapier app and verified n8n node; Make listed as coming soon
CRM integrations	Not listed	SupportedAttio app; HubSpot and Salesforce connectors on the Engagement Platform
Built for AI agents
Agent framework	SupportedSpectrum is a multi-channel agent framework with streaming replies	PartialAI Employees builder on the Engagement Platform (app.bird.com) only
Agent framework integrations	SupportedVercel Chat SDK, Mastra, LangChain, Convex and others	PartialRoutes inbound messages to Claude Managed Agents and Grok Bot; no Vercel AI SDK, LangChain or Mastra
Streaming replies	SupportedAI output streams into one iMessage bubble, edited in place	Not listedNo edit or streaming API for SMS, WhatsApp or Apple Messages found; Realtime pub/sub serves your own app
Agent group chats	BetaAgents find other agents and add them to a group chat (2.0 beta)	PartialWhatsApp groups API: create groups, share invite links, send and receive group messages
Human handoff	BetaA person can reply in a conversation from the 2.0 beta Inbox	SupportedFree shared Inbox; Apple Messages and WhatsApp guides cover AI to human handoff
Audit logs	BetaAPI logs and traces in the 2.0 beta dashboard	SupportedConfiguration and security changes, not message activity
Message history API	SupportedList and get messages per chat	SupportedList endpoints for SMS, WhatsApp, email and Apple Messages conversations
Plans and compliance
Free plan	SupportedUp to 10 users on shared lines	SupportedFree email tier of 1,000 emails a month and free shared Inbox; SMS and WhatsApp are paid
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	Not supportedBilled per message or segment from a prepaid balance
Uptime SLA	SupportedContractual SLA on the Enterprise plan	Not supportedNo public SLA; terms exclude downtime liability unless an Order Form says otherwise
Isolated infrastructure	SupportedEach line runs in an isolated, dedicated environment	PartialDedicated email IPs and IP pools only
SOC 2 Type II	SupportedStated on photon.codes	PartialTrust Center lists a SOC 2 Type I report (Sept 30, 2026); site pages say Type 2
GDPR	SupportedPrivacy policy covers GDPR rights and SCC transfers	SupportedDPA and subprocessor list published

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 iMessage, group chats, group management and group name and photo.

Choose Bird if you need CRM integrations.

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