Photon vs Mac Messages MCP

Photon supports 75 of the 77 features compared here, and Mac Messages MCP supports 25.

Feature comparison

Feature	Photon	Mac Messages MCP
iMessage messaging
iMessage	SupportedManaged cloud lines, or your own Mac with the local provider	SupportedReads chat.db and sends through Messages.app
Group chats	SupportedOn the Business plan (dedicated lines)	SupportedRead and send to named group chats by chat ID; no files to groups
Group management	SupportedCreate groups and add, remove or leave members; Business plan (dedicated lines)	Not supportedDocs say creating groups or changing members is not supported
Group name and photo	SupportedRename groups and set group photos; Business plan (dedicated lines)	Not supportedDocs say editing a group chat is not supported
Mentions	SupportedSend @mentions in multipart messages and read mention ranges on inbound	Not supportedOnly text and files can be sent
Tapbacks	SupportedSix native tapbacks plus emoji reactions, send and receive	BetaUnreleased: reads show tapback tags; docs say sending is not supported
Threaded replies	Supported	BetaUnreleased: reads tag replies; sending inline replies is not offered
Typing indicators	Supported	Not supportedNo tool for it
Read receipts	SupportedMark chats read and receive read events; group receipts are best-effort	Not supportedDocs say marking messages read is not supported
Edit and unsend	SupportedEdit within 15 minutes and unsend within 2 minutes (Apple limits)	Not supportedDocs say editing and unsending are not supported
Message effects	SupportedAll bubble and screen effects, including invisible ink	Not supportedDocs say effects cannot be sent
Animated text effects	SupportedPer-range effects such as bloom, shake, explode and jitter	Not supportedOnly text and files can be sent
Stickers	SupportedPlace image stickers on any bubble with position, scale and rotation; sticker events inbound	Not supported
Formatted text	SupportedMarkdown rendered as native bold, italic, underline and strikethrough	Not supported
Attachments	SupportedFiles up to 100 MiB by default, including Live Photos	PartialReleased: search and fetch attachments; sending files is unreleased on main
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 supportedOnly text and files can be sent
Chat backgrounds	Supported	Not supportedNo tool for it
Location sharing	SupportedFind My requests and live location; Business plan	Not supported
iMessage apps	SupportedCustom and live app cards; iMessage mini apps on the Business plan	Not supported
Live app cards	SupportedEdit an app card in place and render live UI without a new bubble	Not supported
Sender name and photo	SupportedShares the agent's name and photo automatically; Business plan	Not supported
FaceTime calls	Not listed	Not supportedNot offered
Delivery status	SupportedSent, delivered, read and send-error fields per message	BetaUnreleased: reads tag outbound messages that were not delivered
iMessage availability check	SupportedCheck if a number or email can get iMessage, SMS or RCS before sending	PartialGuesses from past messages in chat.db; no live Apple lookup
Focus and Notify Anyway	SupportedCheck if a recipient has Focus on, then trigger Notify Anyway	Not supportedNo tool for it
Numbers and delivery
Managed lines	SupportedSpectrum Cloud runs the Mac fleet; no Mac needed	Not supportedRuns on your own Mac
Dedicated numbers	Supported$250 per line per month on Business	Not supportedNot offered; uses your own Apple ID
Shared numbers	SupportedFree and Pro route each user through a managed shared pool	Not supportedNot offered
Bring your own number	SupportedYour own Apple ID when self-hosting on a Mac, and your own number for WhatsApp Business	SupportedYour own Apple ID on your own Mac
Line pooling	SupportedBusiness: auto-scale adds lines and a routing endpoint balances users	Not supportedNot offered
SMS fallback	SupportedOn every plan per pricing; carrier rules apply to fallback traffic	SupportedFalls back to SMS for one-to-one sends; group chats stay iMessage
RCS fallback	Supported	Not listedDocs say SMS/RCS fallback, but the code sends through the SMS service
Outbound-first messaging	SupportedBusiness plan, up to 50 new contacts per line per day	SupportedSend to any phone number, email or contact
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	PartialOnly as the automatic fallback for one-to-one sends, through the Mac's SMS account
RCS	PartialSent on the iMessage line when the recipient cannot get iMessage	Not listedNot documented beyond the fallback wording
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 supported
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	PartialiMessage and SMS share the same send and read tools
Developer tools
REST API	SupportedREST API for projects and lines; sending over REST in the 2.0 beta	Not supportedstdio MCP only
TypeScript SDK	Supportedspectrum-ts, plus low-level iMessage and WhatsApp SDKs	Not supportedNot offered
Python SDK	Betaphotonhq-api on PyPI, for the 2.0 beta API	SupportedThe package exports its read and send functions
Other SDKs	SupportedGo client for Advanced iMessage; Rust and Go clients for the 2.0 API	Not supportedNot offered
CLI	Supported@photon-ai/cli manages projects, lines, users and billing	Betamac-messages-cli is on main but not in a PyPI release yet
Webhooks	Supported	Not supportedNo webhooks; an unreleased tool waits for new messages
Signed webhooks	SupportedHMAC-SHA256, plus Standard Webhooks signatures	Not supportedNo webhooks
MCP server	SupportedHosted MCP server, plus an MCP server for the docs	Supportedstdio, also packaged as a Claude Desktop extension
Open source	SupportedMIT: spectrum-ts, imessage-kit and most SDKs	SupportedMIT
Self-hosting	SupportedRun the open-source core on your own Mac and number, no Spectrum Cloud	SupportedRuns on your own Mac
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	BetaUnreleased since_rowid cursor reads every message after a stored row
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 listed
Agent framework integrations	SupportedVercel Chat SDK, Mastra, LangChain, Convex and others	PartialClaude Desktop extension and an agent skill; no framework adapters
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	BetaUnreleased confirm=true asks a human through MCP elicitation before sending
Audit logs	BetaAPI logs and traces in the 2.0 beta dashboard	Not listed
Message history API	SupportedList and get messages per chat	SupportedRecent messages, fuzzy search and paging from chat.db
Plans and compliance
Free plan	SupportedUp to 10 users on shared lines	SupportedFree, open-source software
Public pricing	Supported	SupportedFree; no paid tiers
No per-message fees	SupportedNo per-message fees for iMessage, WhatsApp or Telegram; SMS, voice and email are metered in the 2.0 beta	SupportedFree software with no usage fees
Uptime SLA	SupportedContractual SLA on the Enterprise plan	Not supportedMIT license, provided as is
Isolated infrastructure	SupportedEach line runs in an isolated, dedicated environment	SupportedRuns on your own Mac
SOC 2 Type II	SupportedStated on photon.codes	Not listedRuns locally; compliance is up to the user
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 management, group name and photo, mentions and typing indicators.

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

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