Photon vs LoopMessage

Photon supports 75 of the 77 features compared here, and LoopMessage supports 53.

Feature comparison

Feature	Photon	LoopMessage
iMessage messaging
iMessage	SupportedManaged cloud lines, or your own Mac with the local provider	Supported
Group chats	SupportedOn the Business plan (dedicated lines)	SupportedSend and receive in iMessage groups; not available in the sandbox.
Group management	SupportedCreate groups and add, remove or leave members; Business plan (dedicated lines)	SupportedCreate groups (needs the Init conversations add-on) and add or remove members.
Group name and photo	SupportedRename groups and set group photos; Business plan (dedicated lines)	SupportedSet group name (32 characters max) and photo with PATCH.
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 tapbacks or any emoji; inbound reactions arrive as message_reaction webhooks.
Threaded replies	Supported	Supportedreply_to_id on send; inbound webhooks carry a thread object.
Typing indicators	Supported	SupportedUp to 60 seconds; fails if the chat had no two-way activity in the last 5 minutes.
Read receipts	SupportedMark chats read and receive read events; group receipts are best-effort	PartialYou can mark chats read; no read event is documented for your outbound messages.
Edit and unsend	SupportedEdit within 15 minutes and unsend within 2 minutes (Apple limits)	SupportedEdit within 15 minutes, unsend within 2 minutes of sending.
Message effects	SupportedAll bubble and screen effects, including invisible ink	Supported13 bubble and screen effects via the effect field.
Animated text effects	SupportedPer-range effects such as bloom, shake, explode and jitter	SupportedMarkup for shake, nod, explode, ripple, bloom and jitter.
Stickers	SupportedPlace image stickers on any bubble with position, scale and rotation; sticker events inbound	PartialInbound messages can have type sticker; sending stickers is not documented.
Formatted text	SupportedMarkdown rendered as native bold, italic, underline and strikethrough	SupportedBold, italic, underline, strikethrough and text sizes in iMessage.
Attachments	SupportedFiles up to 100 MiB by default, including Live Photos	SupportedUp to 10 public HTTPS file URLs per 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	SupportedLinks get rich previews by default; preview: false sends plain text.
Voice messages	Supported	SupportedSend audio files as voice messages; inbound audio is transcribed.
Contact cards	SupportedvCard or structured contacts, plus the bot's own native contact card	Supportedcontact_file adds a vCard to the message.
Polls	SupportedCreate, vote, add options and receive poll events; all managed plans	Not listedA helpdesk article lists polls among features, but no poll API is documented.
Chat backgrounds	Supported	Not listed
Location sharing	SupportedFind My requests and live location; Business plan	PartialInbound messages can have type location; sending a location is not documented.
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 listedDocs suggest sending a vCard so recipients see your name and photo.
FaceTime calls	Not listed	Not supportedFaceTime API is in progress on the roadmap; today only an inbound FaceTime call webhook.
Delivery status	SupportedSent, delivered, read and send-error fields per message	Supportedmessage_delivered and message_failed webhooks, plus a status lookup by ID.
iMessage availability check	SupportedCheck if a number or email can get iMessage, SMS or RCS before sending	PartialThrough LoopLookup, a separate LoopMessage service.
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	SupportedDedicated senders run on hardware LoopMessage rents to you.
Dedicated numbers	Supported$250 per line per month on Business	SupportedPhone number option is +$15/mo per dedicated sender; email senders also offered.
Shared numbers	SupportedFree and Pro route each user through a managed shared pool	SupportedShared senders for AI assistant use from $20/mo; free sandbox for testing.
Bring your own number	SupportedYour own Apple ID when self-hosting on a Mac, and your own number for WhatsApp Business	PartialYou can port a US number in; your own Apple IDs are not accepted.
Line pooling	SupportedBusiness: auto-scale adds lines and a routing endpoint balances users	SupportedSender pools balance new contacts across senders and match replies to the right one.
SMS fallback	SupportedOn every plan per pricing; carrier rules apply to fallback traffic	SupportedPaid add-on, +$15/mo per dedicated sender; included on shared plans.
RCS fallback	Supported	SupportedSame add-on uses RCS instead of SMS when the device supports it.
Outbound-first messaging	SupportedBusiness plan, up to 50 new contacts per line per day	PartialInit conversations add-on (+$30/mo), warm-up and recent opt-in required; no cold messaging.
Calls on the iMessage number	SupportedPlace and receive SIP calls from the line people already text	PartialInbound cell calls to the sender number are forwarded (add-on); no outbound calls.
Other channels
SMS	BetaStandalone SMS and MMS numbers with 10DLC in the 2.0 beta; SMS fallback on iMessage lines today	SupportedSet channel to sms; needs the SMS/RCS add-on.
RCS	PartialSent on the iMessage line when the recipient cannot get iMessage	SupportedSet channel to rcs; needs the SMS/RCS add-on.
WhatsApp	SupportedWhatsApp Business, one-to-one, on the Business plan	SupportedAdd-on, +$10/mo, on the same phone number and API.
Telegram	Supported	Not supportedPlanned on the roadmap, not available yet.
Slack	Supported@spectrum-ts/slack provider on npm and GitHub	Not listed
Email	BetaYour own domain with DKIM, SPF and inbound MX in the 2.0 beta	Not listed
Phone calls	SupportedSIP calls on iMessage lines; the 2.0 beta adds calls on SMS numbers	PartialInbound cell calls are forwarded to a number you choose (add-on); no call API.
Apple Messages for Business	BetaListed as available in the 2.0 beta	Not supportedNot offered; the helpdesk contrasts LoopMessage with it.
Unified channel API	SupportedOne Spectrum SDK across channels, and one REST model in the 2.0 beta	SupportediMessage, SMS, RCS and WhatsApp on one number and one API.
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	PartialNo own SDK; Twilio's SDKs work through the Twilio-compatible API.
Python SDK	Betaphotonhq-api on PyPI, for the 2.0 beta API	PartialNo own SDK; docs show Twilio's Python SDK pointed at the Twilio-compatible API.
Other SDKs	SupportedGo client for Advanced iMessage; Rust and Go clients for the 2.0 API	PartialNo own SDKs; Twilio's SDKs work through the Twilio-compatible API.
CLI	Supported@photon-ai/cli manages projects, lines, users and billing	Not listed
Webhooks	Supported	SupportedRetried up to 30 times over several hours.
Signed webhooks	SupportedHMAC-SHA256, plus Standard Webhooks signatures	PartialYou set an authorization header and verify it; no HMAC signature.
MCP server	SupportedHosted MCP server, plus an MCP server for the docs	PartialDocumentation-only MCP server; no access to your account or messages.
Open source	SupportedMIT: spectrum-ts, imessage-kit and most SDKs	PartialOnly the n8n node 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 listed
Local testing	SupportedTerminal chat UI provider, no phone or number needed	Not listedThe sandbox needs a real iPhone or Mac to message it.
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	PartialWebhook history API to fetch past events; no replay call.
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	Supportedn8n, Zapier, Pipedream, HighLevel and LeadConnector.
CRM integrations	Not listed	SupportedHighLevel CRM and LeadConnector; no HubSpot or Salesforce found.
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 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	PartialPeople can reply from Slack, email or the embedded inbox; no agent handoff controls.
Audit logs	BetaAPI logs and traces in the 2.0 beta dashboard	PartialMessage, webhook and API request history kept; no account audit log found.
Message history API	SupportedList and get messages per chat	SupportedPaginated history per contact, filterable by date, direction and type.
Plans and compliance
Free plan	SupportedUp to 10 users on shared lines	SupportedSandbox with 5 contacts; free shared plan for schools and non-profits.
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	SupportedUnlimited messages; plans cap unique active contacts per day.
Uptime SLA	SupportedContractual SLA on the Enterprise plan	Not supportedHelpdesk says LoopMessage does not provide SLAs or contracts.
Isolated infrastructure	SupportedEach line runs in an isolated, dedicated environment	SupportedA dedicated sender's number and server are allocated to you alone.
SOC 2 Type II	SupportedStated on photon.codes	Not supportedHelpdesk says LoopMessage has not been through a SOC 2 audit.
GDPR	SupportedPrivacy policy covers GDPR rights and SCC transfers	SupportedHelpdesk says data is stored following GDPR.

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, Live Photos, polls and chat backgrounds.

Choose LoopMessage if you need CRM integrations.

Frequently asked questions

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