Photon vs Claw Messenger

Photon supports 75 of the 77 features compared here, and Claw Messenger supports 32.

Feature comparison

Feature	Photon	Claw Messenger
iMessage messaging
iMessage	SupportedManaged cloud lines, or your own Mac with the local provider	SupportedOnly phone numbers registered to the account can reach the agent
Group chats	SupportedOn the Business plan (dedicated lines)	PartialGrowth plan and up; every participant must be a registered number
Group management	SupportedCreate groups and add, remove or leave members; Business plan (dedicated lines)	PartialCreate a group by sending to several numbers; no add or remove member calls
Group name and photo	SupportedRename groups and set group photos; Business plan (dedicated lines)	Not listedDocs only describe receiving group rename events
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 and receive, including custom emoji reactions
Threaded replies	Supported	SupportedreplyTo on send; inbound messages carry replyTo
Typing indicators	Supported	Supported
Read receipts	SupportedMark chats read and receive read events; group receipts are best-effort	SupportedMark as read on send; read status events on receive
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	Not listed
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	SupportedGeneric media attachments from HTTPS URLs
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 supportedFAQ: native voice-note bubbles are not verified; audio goes as a plain file
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 listed
FaceTime calls	Not listed	Not supportedFAQ: no voice calls; text and media only
Delivery status	SupportedSent, delivered, read and send-error fields per message	Supportedaccepted, delivered, read and failed status events
iMessage availability check	SupportedCheck if a number or email can get iMessage, SMS or RCS before sending	Not listedRouting picks the channel automatically; no reachability check is documented
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	SupportedProvider runs the line; agents run on Linux, Docker, Windows or cloud
Dedicated numbers	Supported$250 per line per month on Business	SupportedAgency tier ($199/month per subtenant); self-serve uses shared numbers
Shared numbers	SupportedFree and Pro route each user through a managed shared pool	SupportedSelf-serve plans send from a shared number that may change between messages
Bring your own number	SupportedYour own Apple ID when self-hosting on a Mac, and your own number for WhatsApp Business	Not listedFAQ says numbers come from a pool; bringing your own is not mentioned
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	SupportediMessage with automatic RCS and SMS fallback
RCS fallback	Supported	Supported
Outbound-first messaging	SupportedBusiness plan, up to 50 new contacts per line per day	SupportedSelf-serve plans start up to 20 new conversations per rolling 24 hours
Calls on the iMessage number	SupportedPlace and receive SIP calls from the line people already text	Not supportedFAQ: voice calls are not supported
Other channels
SMS	BetaStandalone SMS and MMS numbers with 10DLC in the 2.0 beta; SMS fallback on iMessage lines today	Supportedservice: SMS on send
RCS	PartialSent on the iMessage line when the recipient cannot get iMessage	Supportedservice: RCS on send
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 supportedFAQ: voice calls are not supported
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 call routes across iMessage, RCS and SMS
Developer tools
REST API	SupportedREST API for projects and lines; sending over REST in the 2.0 beta	SupportedREST for sends and number routes; WebSocket is the main event channel
TypeScript SDK	Supportedspectrum-ts, plus low-level iMessage and WhatsApp SDKs	PartialOnly framework packages on npm (OpenClaw plugin, n8n node, MCP); no general SDK
Python SDK	Betaphotonhq-api on PyPI, for the 2.0 beta API	PartialOnly LangChain and CrewAI tool packages on PyPI; no general SDK
Other SDKs	SupportedGo client for Advanced iMessage; Rust and Go clients for the 2.0 API	Not supportedProvider lists its SDK story as REST and WebSocket from any language
CLI	Supported@photon-ai/cli manages projects, lines, users and billing	Not listed
Webhooks	Supported	PartialDocs: self-serve inbound is WebSocket only; webhooks are for approved managed setups
Signed webhooks	SupportedHMAC-SHA256, plus Standard Webhooks signatures	SupportedHMAC-signed
MCP server	SupportedHosted MCP server, plus an MCP server for the docs	Supported@emotion-machine/claw-messenger-mcp, five tools
Open source	SupportedMIT: spectrum-ts, imessage-kit and most SDKs	Not supportedCore service is not published; only MIT starter repos and plugins
Self-hosting	SupportedRun the open-source core on your own Mac and number, no Spectrum Cloud	Not supportedProvider lists itself as hosted
Local testing	SupportedTerminal chat UI provider, no phone or number needed	Not listedSetup test sends a real message to a phone you control
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	SupportedInbound messages are stored and redelivered on reconnect; sync replays since a time
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	Partialn8n node for self-hosted n8n, send only; no Zapier or Make
CRM integrations	Not listed	Not supportedProvider: no native HubSpot, Salesforce or GoHighLevel connector
Built for AI agents
Agent framework	SupportedSpectrum is a multi-channel agent framework with streaming replies	PartialPlugins for OpenClaw, Hermes, LangChain and CrewAI; no framework of its own
Agent framework integrations	SupportedVercel Chat SDK, Mastra, LangChain, Convex and others	SupportedOwn packages for LangChain, CrewAI, OpenClaw, Hermes and n8n
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	Partialsync replays saved inbound messages since a timestamp; no history API
Plans and compliance
Free plan	SupportedUp to 10 users on shared lines	Not supportedNo free tier; 7-day trial with a card
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	PartialFlat plans with hard monthly message caps; Agency charges $0.005 per extra message
Uptime SLA	SupportedContractual SLA on the Enterprise plan	Not supportedTerms: high availability is a goal, uptime is not guaranteed
Isolated infrastructure	SupportedEach line runs in an isolated, dedicated environment	SupportedAgency subtenants get their own line, key and routing
SOC 2 Type II	SupportedStated on photon.codes	Not supportedProvider: no public certifications yet
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 name and photo, mentions, edit and unsend and message effects.

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

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