Photon vs Dial

Photon supports 75 of the 77 features compared here, and Dial supports 44.

Feature comparison

Feature	Photon	Dial
iMessage messaging
iMessage	SupportedManaged cloud lines, or your own Mac with the local provider	SupportedNeeds an iMessage number, provisioned through the API. Pay-as-you-go accounts only.
Group chats	SupportedOn the Business plan (dedicated lines)	SupportedSend to and read iMessage groups the number was added to. Polls work in groups; replies and reactions do not.
Group management	SupportedCreate groups and add, remove or leave members; Business plan (dedicated lines)	Not supportedDocs say Dial cannot create a group, join one or accept an invite link.
Group name and photo	SupportedRename groups and set group photos; Business plan (dedicated lines)	Not listedGroup names are read live from the line; no way to set a name or photo is 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	SupportedSix tapback names or any single emoji. Sent only on inbound messages; received on message.received.
Threaded replies	Supported	SupportedNative threaded replies to inbound iMessage or RCS messages, one-to-one only.
Typing indicators	Supported	PartialSend only, one-to-one and in groups. No inbound typing events are documented.
Read receipts	SupportedMark chats read and receive read events; group receipts are best-effort	PartialReports when recipients read your iMessages. No way to mark inbound messages 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	SupportedOne attachment per iMessage, 5 MB. Images, audio, video, PDF, vCard and iCalendar. No HEIC.
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	SupportedA single audio file on an iMessage number is sent as a native voice message.
Contact cards	SupportedvCard or structured contacts, plus the bot's own native contact card	SupportedSend .vcf files as media. Inbound cards arrive as text/vcard media (since October 2026).
Polls	SupportedCreate, vote, add options and receive poll events; all managed plans	Supported2 to 10 options, one-to-one or in iMessage groups. Votes arrive as events with a live tally.
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	SupportedSet the first name, last name and photo shown beside the number's iMessages.
FaceTime calls	Not listed	Not listed
Delivery status	SupportedSent, delivered, read and send-error fields per message	PartialiMessage sends report no delivery receipts; delivery is inferred once a read arrives.
iMessage availability check	SupportedCheck if a number or email can get iMessage, SMS or RCS before sending	SupportedLookup endpoint checks whether any number can receive iMessage or WhatsApp.
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	SupportediMessage numbers are provisioned through the API, with asynchronous setup. No Mac or device needed.
Dedicated numbers	Supported$250 per line per month on Business	SupportedEach number belongs to your account. Docs say only US numbers can be provisioned now.
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 listed
Line pooling	SupportedBusiness: auto-scale adds lines and a routing endpoint balances users	Not listedDocs suggest splitting recipients across several iMessage numbers by hand; no automatic pooling found.
SMS fallback	SupportedOn every plan per pricing; carrier rules apply to fallback traffic	SupportediMessage numbers fall back to RCS or SMS automatically, at no message charge.
RCS fallback	Supported	Supported
Outbound-first messaging	SupportedBusiness plan, up to 50 new contacts per line per day	SupportedCold outbound allowed. Each iMessage number can start up to 50 new conversations a day.
Calls on the iMessage number	SupportedPlace and receive SIP calls from the line people already text	SupportediMessage numbers also place and receive AI voice calls, or forward inbound calls.
Other channels
SMS	BetaStandalone SMS and MMS numbers with 10DLC in the 2.0 beta; SMS fallback on iMessage lines today	SupportedTwo-way SMS; MMS to US and Canada. Subscription accounts can text US numbers only.
RCS	PartialSent on the iMessage line when the recipient cannot get iMessage	PartialOnly as automatic fallback from iMessage numbers; not a channel you can pick.
WhatsApp	SupportedWhatsApp Business, one-to-one, on the Business plan	BetaBeta, enabled per account. Runs on an iMessage number, one attachment per message.
Telegram	Supported	Not supportedNot offered
Slack	Supported@spectrum-ts/slack provider on npm and GitHub	Not supportedNot offered as a channel. A Zapier app can forward messages to Slack.
Email	BetaYour own domain with DKIM, SPF and inbound MX in the 2.0 beta	Not supportedNot offered
Phone calls	SupportedSIP calls on iMessage lines; the 2.0 beta adds calls on SMS numbers	SupportedInbound and outbound AI voice calls with transcripts.
Apple Messages for Business	BetaListed as available in the 2.0 beta	Not listedDocs say iMessage numbers send over Apple Messages for Business, but no business chat product is documented.
Unified channel API	SupportedOne Spectrum SDK across channels, and one REST model in the 2.0 beta	SupportedOne messages endpoint and event format for SMS, iMessage and WhatsApp, plus calls.
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@getdial/sdk
Python SDK	Betaphotonhq-api on PyPI, for the 2.0 beta API	Supporteddial-sdk
Other SDKs	SupportedGo client for Advanced iMessage; Rust and Go clients for the 2.0 API	Not supportedSDK overview lists only Node and Python clients, plus agent framework packages.
CLI	Supported@photon-ai/cli manages projects, lines, users and billing	Supporteddial CLI, installed with a shell script or npx. Needs Node 22 or later.
Webhooks	Supported	Supported
Signed webhooks	SupportedHMAC-SHA256, plus Standard Webhooks signatures	SupportedHMAC-SHA256 over timestamp and body, X-Dial-Signature header.
MCP server	SupportedHosted MCP server, plus an MCP server for the docs	SupportedRemote server with OAuth at getdial.ai/mcp, or local stdio through the CLI.
Open source	SupportedMIT: spectrum-ts, imessage-kit and most SDKs	PartialThe Chat SDK adapter is MIT on GitHub. The platform is closed.
Self-hosting	SupportedRun the open-source core on your own Mac and number, no Spectrum Cloud	Not listedSelf-Hosted mode only means calls are driven by your own agent server; the platform itself is hosted.
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	PartialWebhooks retry up to 6 attempts. The live stream replays only about 2 minutes of missed events.
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 with message and call triggers, and send, call and provision actions.
CRM integrations	Not listed	Not listed
Built for AI agents
Agent framework	SupportedSpectrum is a multi-channel agent framework with streaming replies	PartialHosted AI voice agent runs calls from a prompt. Messaging is send and receive only.
Agent framework integrations	SupportedVercel Chat SDK, Mastra, LangChain, Convex and others	SupportedLangChain, Vercel AI SDK, CrewAI, AutoGen, Microsoft Agent Framework and a Vercel Chat SDK adapter.
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	PartialThe voice agent can transfer a call to a person. No handoff for messaging.
Audit logs	BetaAPI logs and traces in the 2.0 beta dashboard	Not listed
Message history API	SupportedList and get messages per chat	SupportedList and search messages, up to the 100 most recent per request.
Plans and compliance
Free plan	SupportedUp to 10 users on shared lines	Supported$5 of free credit, no card. Free accounts are capped at 5-minute calls and 2 concurrent calls.
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	PartialMessages from a $250/month iMessage number are free. SMS on standard numbers is billed per message.
Uptime SLA	SupportedContractual SLA on the Enterprise plan	PartialUptime SLA listed for Enterprise only.
Isolated infrastructure	SupportedEach line runs in an isolated, dedicated environment	Not listed
SOC 2 Type II	SupportedStated on photon.codes	PartialSite says SOC 2 certified. Report type and a report are not published.
GDPR	SupportedPrivacy policy covers GDPR rights and SCC transfers	SupportedDPA covers GDPR and UK GDPR, with Standard Contractual Clauses.

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 management, group name and photo, mentions and edit and unsend.

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

Frequently asked questions

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