Photon vs Crypton.sh Blue Relay

Photon supports 75 of the 77 features compared here, and Crypton.sh Blue Relay supports 20.

Feature comparison

Feature	Photon	Crypton.sh Blue Relay
iMessage messaging
iMessage	SupportedManaged cloud lines, or your own Mac with the local provider	Supported
Group chats	SupportedOn the Business plan (dedicated lines)	SupportedReply plan answers groups that message you; Full two-way and Fleet can start new groups.
Group management	SupportedCreate groups and add, remove or leave members; Business plan (dedicated lines)	SupportedCreate with up to 32 participants, add or remove members, and leave. Starting groups needs Full or Fleet.
Group name and photo	SupportedRename groups and set group photos; Business plan (dedicated lines)	PartialSet a title at creation and rename groups by API; no group photo option 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	Not listed
Threaded replies	Supported	Not listed
Typing indicators	Supported	Not listed
Read receipts	SupportedMark chats read and receive read events; group receipts are best-effort	SupportedListed on the product page; the API reference only shows marking a conversation read.
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	SupportedPhotos and files, including attachment-only messages; up to 10 per API message.
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 listed
FaceTime calls	Not listed	Not listed
Delivery status	SupportedSent, delivered, read and send-error fields per message	PartialPoll a message's queue status by API; no delivered or read events documented.
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	SupportedCrypton runs a hosted iPhone and Apple ID per line in its EU and UK fleet; setup takes 3 to 5 business days.
Dedicated numbers	Supported$250 per line per month on Business	SupportedCzech, German and UK numbers, subject to device stock.
Shared numbers	SupportedFree and Pro route each user through a managed shared pool	Not supportedEvery plan is a dedicated line, not a shared sender pool.
Bring your own number	SupportedYour own Apple ID when self-hosting on a Mac, and your own number for WhatsApp Business	Not supportedCrypton hosts the iPhone and Apple ID; your own iPhone or Apple ID cannot be used.
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 listedThe line receives SMS, but Crypton says messages sent through it go out as iMessage.
RCS fallback	Supported	Not supportedNo RCS channel offered.
Outbound-first messaging	SupportedBusiness plan, up to 50 new contacts per line per day	PartialFull two-way and Fleet only; the Reply plan can only answer people who text first.
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	SupportedSeparate Crypton SMS numbers use the same API; Blue Relay lines also receive SMS.
RCS	PartialSent on the iMessage line when the recipient cannot get iMessage	Not supportedNot offered
WhatsApp	SupportedWhatsApp Business, one-to-one, on the Business plan	Not supported
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	PartialEmail aliases with an inbox API on the same account; no sending endpoint documented.
Phone calls	SupportedSIP calls on iMessage lines; the 2.0 beta adds calls on SMS numbers	Not listedCrypton Mobile eSIMs include voice, but no calling API was found.
Apple Messages for Business	BetaListed as available in the 2.0 beta	Not supportedCrypton says Blue Relay is not Apple Messages for Business.
Unified channel API	SupportedOne Spectrum SDK across channels, and one REST model in the 2.0 beta	SupportedOne conversations API covers SMS numbers and iMessage lines.
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	Not listedThe homepage mentions SDK libraries, but none are named or linked.
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	Not listedThe homepage advertises webhooks for received messages; none are documented for Blue Relay lines.
Signed webhooks	SupportedHMAC-SHA256, plus Standard Webhooks signatures	Not listed
MCP server	SupportedHosted MCP server, plus an MCP server for the docs	Not listed
Open source	SupportedMIT: spectrum-ts, imessage-kit and most SDKs	Not supportedBlue Relay is closed; public GitLab repos cover the Android app and SMS BYOD platform.
Self-hosting	SupportedRun the open-source core on your own Mac and number, no Spectrum Cloud	Not supportedCrypton hosts every Blue Relay iPhone; its self-host option covers the Android SMS BYOD platform 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	PartialAn incremental poll endpoint (after_id, since) lets you re-sync missed messages; no webhook replay.
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	Not listed
CRM integrations	Not listed	Not listed
Built for AI agents
Agent framework	SupportedSpectrum is a multi-channel agent framework with streaming replies	Not supportedCrypton says there is no built-in AI toggle; you bring your own automation.
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	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	SupportedList conversations and read a conversation with its messages by API.
Plans and compliance
Free plan	SupportedUp to 10 users on shared lines	Not supportedPaid plans only; a €29 setup fee applies to monthly and 3-month terms.
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	Supported
Uptime SLA	SupportedContractual SLA on the Enterprise plan	Not supportedTerms say Crypton does not guarantee continued availability of Blue Relay.
Isolated infrastructure	SupportedEach line runs in an isolated, dedicated environment	SupportedA dedicated hosted iPhone is provisioned for every line.
SOC 2 Type II	SupportedStated on photon.codes	Not listed
GDPR	SupportedPrivacy policy covers GDPR rights and SCC transfers	SupportedUK GDPR privacy policy and ICO registration; lines are hosted in the EU and UK.

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 mentions, tapbacks, threaded replies and typing indicators.

Choose Crypton.sh Blue Relay if its pricing fits better: it does not support anything here that Photon lacks.

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