Photon vs messages.dev

Photon supports 75 of the 77 features compared here, and messages.dev supports 30.

Feature comparison

Feature	Photon	messages.dev
iMessage messaging
iMessage	SupportedManaged cloud lines, or your own Mac with the local provider	Supported
Group chats	SupportedOn the Business plan (dedicated lines)	SupportedSend into existing groups once someone in them has messaged; receive group messages.
Group management	SupportedCreate groups and add, remove or leave members; Business plan (dedicated lines)	Not supportedDocs say Apple does not let third-party software create groups; no member endpoints.
Group name and photo	SupportedRename groups and set group photos; Business plan (dedicated lines)	Not listed
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; reaction.added and reaction.removed webhooks.
Threaded replies	Supported	Supportedreply_to with a message ID or GUID.
Typing indicators	Supported	SupportedSending works; inbound typing events are not delivered yet.
Read receipts	SupportedMark chats read and receive read events; group receipts are best-effort	PartialYou can mark chats read; inbound read receipts are not delivered yet.
Edit and unsend	SupportedEdit within 15 minutes and unsend within 2 minutes (Apple limits)	Not listedNot in the endpoint list in llms.txt.
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 uploaded file 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	Not listed
Voice messages	Supported	SupportedNative waveform voice messages; inbound memos include Apple's transcription.
Contact cards	SupportedvCard or structured contacts, plus the bot's own native contact card	SupportedSDK helper builds the vCard, photo included.
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	PartialOutbox status pending, claimed, sent or failed; no separate delivered or read state.
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	SupportedTerms say messages.dev runs the Mac hardware, Apple IDs and carrier links for each line.
Dedicated numbers	Supported$250 per line per month on Business	Supported$99/mo per line with a dedicated number.
Shared numbers	SupportedFree and Pro route each user through a managed shared pool	SupportedShared sandbox line, 50 messages a day, only to your own paired phone.
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	PartialMultiple lines supported, but you choose the line per user in your own code.
SMS fallback	SupportedOn every plan per pricing; carrier rules apply to fallback traffic	Not listedLines can be iMessage, SMS or auto; fallback behaviour is not documented.
RCS fallback	Supported	Not listed
Outbound-first messaging	SupportedBusiness plan, up to 50 new contacts per line per day	Not supportedContact-first: the recipient must message your line before you can send.
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	SupportedSMS lines use the same endpoints; audio messages are iMessage only.
RCS	PartialSent on the iMessage line when the recipient cannot get iMessage	Not listedHomepage and terms mention RCS; the API docs do not document it.
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	SupportediMessage and SMS lines share the same endpoints.
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@messages-dev/sdk, MIT.
Python SDK	Betaphotonhq-api on PyPI, for the 2.0 beta API	Not supportedOnly a TypeScript SDK; docs point other languages to the REST API.
Other SDKs	SupportedGo client for Advanced iMessage; Rust and Go clients for the 2.0 API	Not supported
CLI	Supported@photon-ai/cli manages projects, lines, users and billing	Supportedmessages-dev CLI: send, list, manage webhooks and stream events.
Webhooks	Supported	Supportedmessage.received, message.sent, reaction.added and reaction.removed.
Signed webhooks	SupportedHMAC-SHA256, plus Standard Webhooks signatures	SupportedHMAC-SHA256 over timestamp and raw body, 5-minute replay window.
MCP server	SupportedHosted MCP server, plus an MCP server for the docs	Not listed
Open source	SupportedMIT: spectrum-ts, imessage-kit and most SDKs	PartialTypeScript SDK and CLI are MIT on GitHub; the service 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	PartialSDK builds signed test webhook deliveries; real messaging still needs your phone.
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	Not listed
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	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	SupportedCursor-paginated chats and messages per line.
Plans and compliance
Free plan	SupportedUp to 10 users on shared lines	SupportedSandbox: 50 messages a day to your own paired phone.
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$99/mo per line with unlimited messages.
Uptime SLA	SupportedContractual SLA on the Enterprise plan	PartialCustom SLAs on Enterprise only; terms say no formal uptime SLA at launch.
Isolated infrastructure	SupportedEach line runs in an isolated, dedicated environment	SupportedDedicated infrastructure on the Enterprise plan
SOC 2 Type II	SupportedStated on photon.codes	Not supportedSite footer lists SOC 2 as in progress.
GDPR	SupportedPrivacy policy covers GDPR rights and SCC transfers	SupportedSite says GDPR compliant; a DPA is available on request.

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

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