Photon vs iSnap

Photon supports 75 of the 77 features compared here, and iSnap supports 37.

Feature comparison

Feature	Photon	iSnap
iMessage messaging
iMessage	SupportedManaged cloud lines, or your own Mac with the local provider	Supported
Group chats	SupportedOn the Business plan (dedicated lines)	PartialGroup messages are received into one chat; iSnap does not send to groups.
Group management	SupportedCreate groups and add, remove or leave members; Business plan (dedicated lines)	Not supportediSnap does not send to groups.
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	SupportedSend the six tapbacks; contacts' tapbacks and custom emoji reactions arrive by webhook. iMessage only.
Threaded replies	Supported	Supportedreply_to_message_id; shown threaded when the device supports it, as every rented line does.
Typing indicators	Supported	PartialSend only; iMessage lines never report that a contact is typing.
Read receipts	SupportedMark chats read and receive read events; group receipts are best-effort	SupportedSend read receipts by marking a chat read; outbound iMessages report read when the contact shares it.
Edit and unsend	SupportedEdit within 15 minutes and unsend within 2 minutes (Apple limits)	Not supportedNo edit or unsend call, and edits or unsends by contacts are not reported.
Message effects	SupportedAll bubble and screen effects, including invisible ink	Supported4 bubble and 9 screen effects, on text-only iMessages.
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	PartialStickers that contacts place arrive as received files; sending stickers is not documented.
Formatted text	SupportedMarkdown rendered as native bold, italic, underline and strikethrough	Not listed
Attachments	SupportedFiles up to 100 MiB by default, including Live Photos	SupportedThe API takes up to 10 files, but the device sends only the first; files expire after 72 hours.
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	SupportedAn audio-only send becomes a voice note; received voice messages arrive as audio files.
Contact cards	SupportedvCard or structured contacts, plus the bot's own native contact card	SupportedBuilds and sends a vCard 3.0 from the fields you pass.
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	Supportedqueued, sent, delivered, read and failed events; SMS and RCS report no delivered or read.
iMessage availability check	SupportedCheck if a number or email can get iMessage, SMS or RCS before sending	SupportedLookup for a phone number or email; answers are cached 24 hours and shared across accounts.
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	SupportedRented lines are iPhones with eSIM numbers, bridged by Mac minis that iSnap runs.
Dedicated numbers	Supported$250 per line per month on Business	SupportedUS numbers only; take a listed line or pre-order one of 83 area codes.
Shared numbers	SupportedFree and Pro route each user through a managed shared pool	SupportedShared plan at $77/month and a free Starter test line; shared lines have no number of their own.
Bring your own number	SupportedYour own Apple ID when self-hosting on a Mac, and your own number for WhatsApp Business	SupportedBYOP: pair your own iPhone with a Mac running the iSnap bridge app, $15/month per line.
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	SupportedWhen the device knows the recipient is not on iMessage; no fallback after a failed iMessage.
RCS fallback	Supported	PartialFallback can go out as SMS or RCS; Apple and the carrier choose which, not iSnap.
Outbound-first messaging	SupportedBusiness plan, up to 50 new contacts per line per day	SupportedBusiness, Shared and BYOP lines; Inbound lines reply only. 50 new contacts a day by default.
Calls on the iMessage number	SupportedPlace and receive SIP calls from the line people already text	Not supportedNot offered
Other channels
SMS	BetaStandalone SMS and MMS numbers with 10DLC in the 2.0 beta; SMS fallback on iMessage lines today	SupportedSent by the line's device to recipients not on iMessage; you cannot force SMS per message.
RCS	PartialSent on the iMessage line when the recipient cannot get iMessage	PartialDocs define Android lines with SMS and RCS, but the site sells iPhone lines and the Android bridge is unavailable.
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 supportediSnap does not send to email addresses.
Phone calls	SupportedSIP calls on iMessage lines; the 2.0 beta adds calls on SMS numbers	Not supportedNot offered
Apple Messages for Business	BetaListed as available in the 2.0 beta	Not supported
Unified channel API	SupportedOne Spectrum SDK across channels, and one REST model in the 2.0 beta	SupportedRented and BYOD lines share one API, webhooks and message objects for iMessage, SMS and RCS.
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@isnap/sdk, MIT, for Node.js 20+ and Bun.
Python SDK	Betaphotonhq-api on PyPI, for the 2.0 beta API	Not supportedNo Python SDK; the docs show Python with requests.
Other SDKs	SupportedGo client for Advanced iMessage; Rust and Go clients for the 2.0 API	Not supportediSnap says the TypeScript SDK is the only one.
CLI	Supported@photon-ai/cli manages projects, lines, users and billing	Not listed
Webhooks	Supported	Supported37 event types, delivered at least once.
Signed webhooks	SupportedHMAC-SHA256, plus Standard Webhooks signatures	SupportedStandard Webhooks HMAC-SHA256, with secret rotation.
MCP server	SupportedHosted MCP server, plus an MCP server for the docs	Not supportediSnap says it has no MCP server.
Open source	SupportedMIT: spectrum-ts, imessage-kit and most SDKs	PartialThe TypeScript SDK is MIT on npm; the platform is closed.
Self-hosting	SupportedRun the open-source core on your own Mac and number, no Spectrum Cloud	Not supportedBYOP runs the bridge on your own Mac, but iSnap provides the API and dashboard.
Local testing	SupportedTerminal chat UI provider, no phone or number needed	Not supportedNo sandbox; test keys act on real lines and every send is a real message.
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 finished deliveries while their records exist, and read a 72-hour events feed.
OpenTelemetry	SupportedOpt-in messaging traces in spectrum-ts, and traces in the 2.0 beta dashboard	PartialAccepts a W3C traceparent header and returns its trace id; no trace export documented.
No-code integrations	Supportedn8n community nodes and a Dify plugin	PartialPricing lists a native GoHighLevel integration on the BYOP plan only; no docs found for it.
CRM integrations	Not listed	PartialOnly GoHighLevel is named, on the BYOP plan; other CRMs connect through webhooks and the API.
Built for AI agents
Agent framework	SupportedSpectrum is a multi-channel agent framework with streaming replies	Not supportediSnap says it does not build agents; it gives yours a phone line.
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 supportediSnap does not send to groups.
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	PartialList messages and chats, but iSnap deletes every message at least 72 hours after recording it.
Plans and compliance
Free plan	SupportedUp to 10 users on shared lines	SupportedStarter: $0, no card, one contact on a shared test line.
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 supportediSnap says it does not publish an uptime SLA.
Isolated infrastructure	SupportedEach line runs in an isolated, dedicated environment	PartialEach rented line is its own iPhone; Shared and Starter plans use iSnap's pooled numbers.
SOC 2 Type II	SupportedStated on photon.codes	Not supportediSnap says it does not claim SOC 2 certification.
GDPR	SupportedPrivacy policy covers GDPR rights and SCC transfers	Not supportediSnap says it does not claim GDPR certification.

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 iSnap if you need CRM integrations.

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