Photon vs BlueBubbles

Photon supports 75 of the 77 features compared here, and BlueBubbles supports 45.

Feature comparison

Feature	Photon	BlueBubbles
iMessage messaging
iMessage	SupportedManaged cloud lines, or your own Mac with the local provider	SupportedRuns on your own Mac (or macOS VM) signed in to iMessage
Group chats	SupportedOn the Business plan (dedicated lines)	SupportedSend and receive by chat GUID
Group management	SupportedCreate groups and add, remove or leave members; Business plan (dedicated lines)	SupportedCreate groups, add and remove members; Private API (SIP disabled)
Group name and photo	SupportedRename groups and set group photos; Business plan (dedicated lines)	SupportedRename and set group photo (macOS 11+); Private API (SIP disabled)
Mentions	SupportedSend @mentions in multipart messages and read mention ranges on inbound	SupportedMention parts in multipart messages; Private API (SIP disabled)
Tapbacks	SupportedSix native tapbacks plus emoji reactions, send and receive	SupportedReceiving works without it; sending needs the Private API (SIP disabled)
Threaded replies	Supported	SupportedReply by message GUID and part; Private API (SIP disabled), macOS 11+
Typing indicators	Supported	SupportedSend and receive; Private API (SIP disabled)
Read receipts	SupportedMark chats read and receive read events; group receipts are best-effort	SupportedReceive delivered and read receipts; marking chats read needs the Private API
Edit and unsend	SupportedEdit within 15 minutes and unsend within 2 minutes (Apple limits)	SupportedPrivate API (SIP disabled), macOS 13+
Message effects	SupportedAll bubble and screen effects, including invisible ink	SupportedBubble and screen effects via effectId; Private API (SIP disabled)
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	BetaReceiving works today; sending and placing is Pro for the unreleased 2.x server
Formatted text	SupportedMarkdown rendered as native bold, italic, underline and strikethrough	BetaBold, italic, underline, strikethrough in unreleased code; macOS 15+, Private API
Attachments	SupportedFiles up to 100 MiB by default, including Live Photos	Supported
Live Photos	SupportedHEIC still plus MOV companion uploaded as one Live Photo	PartialReceived Live Photos can be downloaded; sending is not documented
Rich link previews	Supportedrichlink() asks Messages to render its own preview	SupportedSending rich links needs the Private API (SIP disabled)
Voice messages	Supported	SupportedisAudioMessage flag sends a waveform voice message
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	BetaBlueBubbles Pro for the unreleased 2.x server, macOS 26+; not in a public release
Chat backgrounds	Supported	Beta
Location sharing	SupportedFind My requests and live location; Business plan	PartialReads Find My device and friend locations; no in-chat location sharing documented
iMessage apps	SupportedCustom and live app cards; iMessage mini apps on the Business plan	PartialReceives Digital Touch and handwriting previews; sending app bubbles not documented
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	SupportedShare your iCloud contact card with a chat; Private API (SIP disabled), macOS 11+
FaceTime calls	Not listed	SupportedStart, answer and leave calls via FaceTime links; Private API. Pricing page moves it to 2.x Pro
Delivery status	SupportedSent, delivered, read and send-error fields per message	SupportedWebhooks for message updates (delivered, read) and message errors
iMessage availability check	SupportedCheck if a number or email can get iMessage, SMS or RCS before sending	SupportediMessage and FaceTime availability by address; Private API (SIP disabled)
Focus and Notify Anyway	SupportedCheck if a recipient has Focus on, then trigger Notify Anyway	SupportedRead a contact's Focus status and notify for silenced messages; Private API, macOS 12+
Numbers and delivery
Managed lines	SupportedSpectrum Cloud runs the Mac fleet; no Mac needed	Not supportedYou run your own Mac or macOS VM
Dedicated numbers	Supported$250 per line per month on Business	Not supportedNot offered; uses your own Apple ID
Shared numbers	SupportedFree and Pro route each user through a managed shared pool	Not supported
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; a phone number can be linked to it
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	Not listedNot documented; FAQ says SMS is unsupported, the fit quiz says forwarded texts work
RCS fallback	Supported	Not listed
Outbound-first messaging	SupportedBusiness plan, up to 50 new contacts per line per day	SupportedCreate DMs; new group chats need the Private API
Calls on the iMessage number	SupportedPlace and receive SIP calls from the line people already text	PartialFaceTime only, via links on the same Apple ID (Private API); no phone calls
Other channels
SMS	BetaStandalone SMS and MMS numbers with 10DLC in the 2.0 beta; SMS fallback on iMessage lines today	PartialOnly via Text Message Forwarding from an iPhone; FAQ still says SMS is not supported
RCS	PartialSent on the iMessage line when the recipient cannot get iMessage	PartialOnly via Text Message Forwarding from an iPhone on the same Apple ID
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 supported
Phone calls	SupportedSIP calls on iMessage lines; the 2.0 beta adds calls on SMS numbers	Not supportedNot offered; FaceTime only
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	PartialForwarded SMS and RCS land in the same chat API as iMessage; no other channels
Developer tools
REST API	SupportedREST API for projects and lines; sending over REST in the 2.0 beta	SupportedServer password passed as a query parameter
TypeScript SDK	Supportedspectrum-ts, plus low-level iMessage and WhatsApp SDKs	Not supportedNo official SDK; docs list only a community Java wrapper
Python SDK	Betaphotonhq-api on PyPI, for the 2.0 beta API	Not supported
Other SDKs	SupportedGo client for Advanced iMessage; Rust and Go clients for the 2.0 API	PartialCommunity Java wrapper (blueify) listed in the docs; not official
CLI	Supported@photon-ai/cli manages projects, lines, users and billing	Not listed
Webhooks	Supported	SupportedNew messages, updates, errors, group changes, typing and more (server 1.0+)
Signed webhooks	SupportedHMAC-SHA256, plus Standard Webhooks signatures	Not supportedWebhooks are plain JSON POSTs with no signature header
MCP server	SupportedHosted MCP server, plus an MCP server for the docs	PartialCommunity MCP server listed by BlueBubbles; not maintained by the team
Open source	SupportedMIT: spectrum-ts, imessage-kit and most SDKs	SupportedApache-2.0 (server, clients and Private API helper)
Self-hosting	SupportedRun the open-source core on your own Mac and number, no Spectrum Cloud	SupportedSelf-hosted only
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	PartialCatch up by querying messages after a timestamp; 1.9.9 webhooks are not retried
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	PartialOfficial n8n node, manual install, last updated 2022
CRM integrations	Not listed	Not listed
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	Not listedOnly community projects are listed, such as a ChatGPT agent and Clawdbot
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	Not listed
Audit logs	BetaAPI logs and traces in the 2.0 beta dashboard	Not listed
Message history API	SupportedList and get messages per chat	SupportedQuery messages and chats straight from the Mac's Messages database
Plans and compliance
Free plan	SupportedUp to 10 users on shared lines	SupportedFree, open-source software
Public pricing	Supported	SupportedPro: $3/month, $30/year or $55 lifetime
No per-message fees	SupportedNo per-message fees for iMessage, WhatsApp or Telegram; SMS, voice and email are metered in the 2.0 beta	SupportedFree; optional flat Pro subscription
Uptime SLA	SupportedContractual SLA on the Enterprise plan	Not supportedApache-2.0 software provided without warranty; uptime depends on your Mac
Isolated infrastructure	SupportedEach line runs in an isolated, dedicated environment	SupportedRuns entirely on your own Mac
SOC 2 Type II	SupportedStated on photon.codes	Not listedSelf-hosted; compliance is up to whoever runs the Mac
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 animated text effects, contact cards, live app cards and managed lines.

Choose BlueBubbles if you need FaceTime calls.

Frequently asked questions

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